As we appraoch Jamaica’s 60th Independence anniversary we highlight one of the great sportsmen that has inspired black athletes, not only in Jamaica but also worldwide.
Lindy Delapenha was known as the man whose penalty kick broke the net, but he was much more than that. Read on to find out how Lindy inspired a whole movement of black footballers in England.
Delapenha, who played for Middlesbrough Football Club from 1950 to 1958, was regarded highly for his precision and power. The 5ft 7in Jamaican footballer was known to have a lethal right foot, and the most dangerous penalty kick in football history.
Middlesbrough’s first black player
Lindy was also Middlesbrough FC’s first black player, and the first Jamaican footballer to play in British League football.
Lloyd Lindberg Delapenha was born in Kingston, Jamaica on May 20th 1927. He excelled at track and field, tennis, cricket, hockey, and football. As a schoolboy he once completed 16 events in the span of two days. Although his primary focus was track and field, a teenage Delapenha had ambitions to play football. He followed the advice of his Munro College sports master and enlisted in the Army as a means of getting to England to play football.
In 1946, he traveled to Britain and signed up for the Armed Forces. As a member of the Royal Fusiliers, he attracted the attention of talent scouts while playing football for his battalion in Egypt. This led to an opportunity to try out for Arsenal. Lindy thought he was successful but Arsenal rejected him.
Lindy turned down an opportunity to represent Britain at the 1948 Olympic Games and opted to play professional football.
He played for Portsmouth from 1948 to 1950 and caught the eye of the Boro coach during a game at Ayresome Park. The 5-1 win performance clearly impressed Middlesbrough manager David Jack who subsequently signed him for £6,000 in April 1950.
On 6th May 1950 Delapenha made history by becoming the first professional black Middlesbrough football player.
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He scored the winning goal in the 2-1 victory over Arsenal – the team that rejected him at the try outs.
Lindy was a winger and inside forward at Boro for nine seasons. He was also top scorer in three. He played in 270 matches for Middlesbrough and scored 93 goals. He helped Boro climb to sixth place in the First Division during the 1950-51 season.
The 1953-54 season saw the club relegated, but Brian Clough’s arrival in 1955-56 brought about a reversal of fortunes. Clough scored 85 goals in less than three seasons, thanks to Lindy’s inspiring assists.
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A broken net!
Delapenha, who was also known as the “Spot-kick king”, has a very bizarre story tied to his name. It all started with a friendly against Sunderland at Ayresome Park on 16 October 1957 before 27,000 people. The match was held to celebrate the newly installed spotlights. Clough was taken down by a Sunderland player and Delapenha won the penalty kick. Everyone was in amazement after the penalty kick was taken. The shot was so powerful the ball went through the net. To this day there are different versions circulating about what really happened. Some say the ball pierced a small hole in one corner of the net. Others claim the ball was so fast that it broke the net. Whatever version it was, the referee couldn’t believe his eyes and didn’t recognize the goal.
Popular, but with a strong racist undercurrent
Teessiders loved Lindy Delapenha dearly, but the love wasn’t universal. Throughout his career Lindy was often subjected to racial abuse Any minor error would result in racial epithets. This didn’t stop Lindy from being a great player. In an interview on the eve of his 89th birthday, Lindy recalled laughing at the abusers and denied that there was any effect on his performances.
Delapenha declined a Manchester City transfer offer in order to stay with Joan Crawford, his future wife. His fans loved him even more for this decision.
His sporting talents extended beyond football. The Hartlepool-based Northern Daily Mail reported in 1953 that Horden Cricket Club had signed an ‘forceful batsman as a professional’ – it was none other than Boro’s Delapenha, who had played with Middlesbrough in both the North Yorkshire League and South Durham League. Later, the Boro star and his teammate Brian Clough appeared on stage at Middlesbrough Empire for a tennis match.
Lindy played for Jamaica in the 1950s and captained a team against an English FA touring side. He was offered the job as a player-coach, but he returned to Middlesbrough. Delapenha then moved to Mansfield Town and later Hereford United.
A key figure within the Jamaican Broadcasting Corporation
He returned to Jamaica in 1964 as the Sugar Manufacturers Association’s Physical Training Officer. After that, he became a key figure within the Jamaican Broadcasting Corporation. One of his roles at JBC was a breakfast presenter, where he met some of the world’s leading sporting personalities.
Lindy Delapenha was inducted into The Black Athletes Hall of Fame in New York in 1974.
He was 89 when he died on 26 January 2017. His legacy was not only for Teesside, but for all black footballers in England.
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