Clyde Best

Clyde Cyril Best Template:Post-nominals (born 24 February 1951) is a Bermudian former football player. He was one of the first black players in First Division football in England, scoring 47 goals as a striker for West Ham United between 1968 and 1976.

Early and personal life

Best's father Joseph moved from Barbados to Somerset Village, Bermuda as part of the navy, where he met Best's mother Dorothy, a prison warden.<ref name="Bermudian">Template:Cite web</ref> He began playing football for local team Ireland Rangers aged 12, and after falling out with the teams' coach Ed Smith, moved to Somerset Trojans, where he made his début aged 15.<ref name="Bermudian"/> Smith would later recall the falling out came after Best had "physically challenged" him, and led to Best being disciplined and dropped from the team.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Best moved from Bermuda to England at the age of 17, to play for West Ham United. Upon his arrival he was looked after by club captain Bobby Moore.<ref name="BBC2019">Template:Cite news</ref> He has credited Moore and fellow West Ham players Harry Redknapp and Billy Bonds with helping him deal with racist abuse.<ref name="BBC2019"/>

Playing career

As one of England's first black footballers, Best was regularly targeted with racist chanting from the terraces,<ref name="Polley2002">Template:Cite book</ref> but eventually became a 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 debut for West Ham United in a 1–1 home draw against Arsenal on 25 August 1969 at the age of 18. His first goal for the Hammers came during League Cup competition, in a 4–2 win against Halifax Town, on 3 September 1969. In 1973 Best deputised for an injured Bobby Ferguson in goal against Leeds United.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Best played 218 games and registered 58 goals for West Ham over 7 seasons between August 1969 and January 1976.<ref name="westhamstats">Template:Cite web</ref>

Best also played in the Dutch Eredivisie for Feyenoord where he was generally viewed as a failure, scoring only three goals in 23 matches,<ref name="feyenoordgeschiedenis">Template:Cite web</ref> and in the United States and Canada for Tampa Bay Rowdies, Toronto Blizzard and Portland Timbers of the North American Soccer League. While playing for Tampa Bay in Soccer Bowl '75, he scored an 88th-minute goal to secure the Rowdies' first NASL championship in a 2–0 victory over Portland Timbers.<ref name="blogspot">Template:Cite web</ref> The following spring he led the Rowdies to the 1976 indoor title and was named tournament MVP.<ref name="blogspot2">Template:Cite web</ref> He was the Rowdies leading scorer for the brief 1976 indoor season with 11 goals, 5 assists for 27 points.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Managerial career

Best was an assistant coach for the San Diego Sockers for a brief period in the early 1990s.<ref name="bernews">Template:Cite web</ref> Best coached the Bermuda national team from 1997 to 1999.

Later life

After his coaching career finished he retired back to Bermuda.<ref name="BBC2019"/>

Honours

Best was inducted into the Bermuda National Sports Hall of Fame in 2004. He was awarded an MBE in the 2006 New Year Honours list for services to football and the community in Bermuda.<ref>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, 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 23 December 2007)</ref><ref>United Kingdom:Template:London Gazette</ref>

External links

• Template:NFT
• NASL/MISL stats