Clyde Best: Difference between revisions

Clyde Best
Personal information
Full name	Clyde Cyril Best MBE
Height	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)
Position(s)	Striker
Youth career
	Somerset Trojans
Senior career*
Years	Team
1968–1976	West Ham United
1975	→ Tampa Bay Rowdies (loan)
1976	Tampa Bay Rowdies
1977–1981	Portland Timbers
1977–1978	Feyenoord
1979–1980	Cleveland Force (indoor)
1980–1980	Portland Timbers (indoor)
1981–1982	Toronto Blizzard
1981–1982	Toronto Blizzard (indoor)
1982–1984	Los Angeles Lazers (indoor)
International career
	Bermuda
	*Club domestic league appearances and goals

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Revision as of 04:57, 17 July 2011

Clyde Cyril Best MBE (born 24 February 1951 in Bermuda) is a Bermudian former football player who most notably played as a striker for West Ham United, and was one of the first post-World War II black players in British football. He was also the very first black player to play professionally for the Hammers.

While he initially suffered through some racist chanting from rival fans, Clyde became a true fan favourite at Upton Park. He was a strong, powerful player with the skills of the traditional English centre forward, tough to dispossess when he had the ball and good in the air. He made his first team debut for West Ham in a 1–1 home draw against Arsenal on 25 August 1969 at the age of 18. His first goal for the Hammers being in the League Cup in a 4–2 win against Halifax Town, on 3 September 1969. Best played 218 games and registered 58 goals for West Ham over 7 seasons between August 1969 and January 1976.^[1]

Best also played in the Dutch Eredivisie for Feyenoord, where more than 30 years later he is still remembered as the biggest failure in club history^[2], scoring only 3 goals in 23 appearances. Furthermore he played for Tampa Bay Rowdies, Toronto Blizzard and Portland Timbers of the North American Soccer League. He was also an assistant coach for the San Diego Sockers for a brief period in the early 1990s.

Best received his first cap at the age of fifteen playing for the Bermudian national team. Best also coached the national team from 1997 to 1999.

Best was also instrumental in the origins of football at Irvine Valley College in Southern California, as a founding member of the coaching staff along with Head Coach Martin McGrogan in 1993.

Best was inducted into the Bermuda National Sports Hall of Fame in 2004. He was awarded an MBE in the January 2006 New Year's Honours list for services to football and the community in Bermuda.^[3]

References

^ The Wonderful World of West Ham United statistics Clyde Best
^ From Ove Kindvall to Clyde Best (in Dutch)
^ Determined to look the part, Best went into a swish London outfitters to buy a top hat. He was somewhat taken aback to find out it would cost him 500 GBP, but, unwilling to go incorrectly dressed to his investiture, paid up - only to have it confiscated on his arrival at the Palace as a security risk page (S5, Sports section Sunday Telegraph issue no 2,428 dated 23rd December 2007)

External links

NASL/MISL stats

Template:Persondata

[1] The Wonderful World of West Ham United statistics Clyde Best

[2] From Ove Kindvall to Clyde Best (in Dutch)

[3] Determined to look the part, Best went into a swish London outfitters to buy a top hat. He was somewhat taken aback to find out it would cost him 500 GBP, but, unwilling to go incorrectly dressed to his investiture, paid up - only to have it confiscated on his arrival at the Palace as a security risk page (S5, Sports section Sunday Telegraph issue no 2,428 dated 23rd December 2007)

[1]

[2]

[3]

@@ Line 49: / Line 49: @@
 While he initially suffered through some [[racist]] chanting from rival fans, Clyde became a true fan favourite at Upton Park. He was a strong, powerful player with the skills of the traditional English centre forward, tough to dispossess when he had the ball and good in the air. He made his first team debut for West Ham in a 1–1 [[Boleyn Ground|home]] draw against [[Arsenal F.C.|Arsenal]] on 25 August 1969 at the age of 18. His first goal for the Hammers being in the [[Football League Cup|League Cup]] in a 4–2 win against [[Halifax Town A.F.C.|Halifax Town]], on 3 September 1969. Best played 218 games and registered 58 goals for West Ham over 7 seasons between August 1969 and January 1976.<ref>[http://www.westhamstats.info/westham.php?west=2&ham=42&united=Clyde_Best The Wonderful World of West Ham United statistics Clyde Best]</ref>
-Best also played for [[Feyenoord]] in the Dutch [[Eredivisie]] as well as the [[Tampa Bay Rowdies (1975–1993)|Tampa Bay Rowdies]], [[Toronto Blizzard (NASL)|Toronto Blizzard]] and [[Portland Timbers (NASL)|Portland Timbers]] of the [[North American Soccer League]].  He was also an assistant coach for the San Diego Sockers for a brief period in the early 1990s.
+Best also played in the Dutch [[Eredivisie]] for [[Feyenoord]], where more than 30 years later he is still remembered as the biggest failure in club history<ref>[http://www.metronieuws.nl/regionaal/van-ove-kindvall-tot-clyde-best/SrZkbb!kZE9XntcyttUY/ From Ove Kindvall to Clyde Best (in Dutch)]</ref>, scoring only 3 goals in 23 appearances. Furthermore he played for [[Tampa Bay Rowdies (1975–1993)|Tampa Bay Rowdies]], [[Toronto Blizzard (NASL)|Toronto Blizzard]] and [[Portland Timbers (NASL)|Portland Timbers]] of the [[North American Soccer League]].  He was also an assistant coach for the San Diego Sockers for a brief period in the early 1990s.
 Best received his [[first cap]] at the age of fifteen playing for the [[Bermuda national football team|Bermudian national team]].  Best also coached the national team from 1997 to 1999.