Gostha Pal
Personal information | |||
---|---|---|---|
Full name | Gostha Behari Pal | ||
Date of birth | 20 August 1896 | ||
Place of birth | Faridpore, Bengal Presidency, India | ||
Date of death | 8 April 1976 | (aged 79)||
Place of death | Kolkata, West Bengal, India | ||
Position(s) | Defender | ||
Senior career* | |||
Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
1907-1912 | Kumartuli A.C., Kolkata | ? | (?) |
1912-1936 | Mohun Bagan | ? | (?) |
International career | |||
? – ? | India | ? | (?) |
*Club domestic league appearances and goals |
Gostha Behari Pal (20 August 1896 – 8 April 1976) (Bengali: গোষ্ঠ পাল) was an Indian professional football player.
Personal life
He was born in Bhojeswar, Faridpore, Bengal Presidency (currently located in Bangladesh). He moved to Kolkata when he was an infant and lived there till his very last days.
Football career
Nicknamed as "Chiner Pracheer" (The Wall of China) he was one of the best defenders of contemporary Indian football. He started playing for Kumartuli A.C. aged 11, and joined Mohun Bagan at the age of 16. In 1921, Gostho Paul was honored with the captaincy of the Mohun Bagan football team, and he remained as the club captain for next 5 years. In 1924, he was also appointed as the captain of the Indian national football team. He retired in 1935.[1]
He was the first Indian footballer to be honoured with the Padma Shri, on 27 April 1962. (The second was Sailen Manna in 1970).[2]
Legacy
A statue was erected In his memory in 1984 on the Gostho Paul Sarani [3] in Kolkata.
Professional awards
Mohun Bagan awarded him the Mohun Bagan Ratna posthumously, which is given to former greats of that club, in 2004. An archive was launched in his honour and named the Gostho Paul Archive, inside the Mohun Bagan club premises.
Notes
- ^ "Gostho Pal: The Chinese Wall of Indian Football". Live Indian Football.
- ^ India's greatest footballer (about Sailen Manna), SportsStar, The Hindu, 15 April 2006
- ^ "People forgetting Gostha Paul: Son". The Times of India. Retrieved 22 January 2016.
External links
- Live Indian Football: Legends' Corner
- 123india.com
- Kokatafootball.com
- Mohunbaganclub.com
- Cricinfo article on Pal's resistance