-urges streets to be renamed to honour sporting heroes
After tremendous sporting exploits by Guyanese athletes in the country’s colonial past, notable cricket broadcaster Joseph ‘Reds’ Perreira is peeved that much has not been done to preserve and educate today’s generation about Guyana’s golden age of sporting glory.
Perreira expressed his displeasure last Saturday night when the Joseph ‘Reds’ Perreira Foundation, in collaboration with the Clerical and Commercial Workers’ Union (CCWU), held a ‘Night of Nostalgia and Sports’.
He also believes that the media can help to preserve this legacy that remains unknown to many persons.
The sport connoisseur noted that despite the many constraints faced by British Guiana, unlike those of the French and Dutch colonies, sports personalities at that time still performed more creditably than their more equipped and exposed athletes. He hopes people will become more inquisitive about Guyana’s background and the initial problems faced in British Guiana.
Addressing a very small audience, Perreira employed the services of notable boxing historian and referee Eion Jardine to focus on many boxing exploits during the pre-independence era. Jardine related that contemporary Guyana has maintained its tradition of producing great boxers.
Jardine said that many Guyanese boxers of that time fought and won world titles for other countries but that piece of history was hardly known and recorded.
Joe Walcott was one such candidate who was born in Demerara, British Guiana, and migrated to Barbados at age five and then he went to the United States fighting under the name of the `Barbados Demon.’
Walcott, who was born on March 13, 1873, won the world welterweight title on December 18, 1901 when he knocked out James Rube Ferns in the fifth round in Ontario, Canada. He fought 166 times, won 99 (58 knockouts), drew 25 and lost 33. Moti `Kid’ Singh, born in Canje, Berbice on May 13, 1909, migrated in 1922 and started fighting in 1925.
He became the first Indian to fight in an elimination bout on December 14, 1929 against an opponent with 165 fights while he had 37 fights only in New York. He also fought Billie Gannon in an elimination bout and lost when he was disqualified.
Another Guyanese was Ben Johnson who was born on January 1, 1894 on the West Bank of Demerara and held his first title when he knocked out the great Sam Langford in the 13th round in Durez, Mexico to win the Mexican heavyweight title. He also fought for the world coloured heavyweight title on September 29, 1922 against Harry Wills and lost in the 12th round.
Dennis ‘The Hackney Rock’ Andries was another boxer who migrated from Guyana to fight out of the United Kingdom. He was born on November 5, 1953 in Buxton on Church of God Road. He won one title three times with the last time being July 28, 1990 when he beat Jeff Harding for the second time to become the WBC light heavyweight champion.
Lennox Beckles was born on October 12, 1942 and had his first bout on April 8, 1962 when he defeated Linton John. Beckles became the welterweight champion of Guyana after defeating Vernon Lewis in 1974 with his most memorable bout being against Al Cook for the British Empire welterweight title in 1967 in London.
He also beat Cameiro Bosi, Bonny Grant, Johnny De Peazer, Eddie Perkins, Carlos Marks, Vincent Reagus and Dave Patterson.
Prior to the evening’s proceedings, Perreira reiterated that some of the names of some of the streets can be changed to honour these great personalities rather than the colonial names they have retained.
