Tony BeccaHE was christened Leighton Duncan and he represented Wolmer's, YMCA, Melbourne and Jamaica. He will, however, be remembered as "Dunks", founder of Cavalier, and probably as the man who contributed most to Jamaica's success in football.
Duncan certainly was one of the men responsible for the growth of football in Jamaica. He was a dreamer and his dreams made him a pioneer. In his dreams he saw Jamaica matching skills with the best in the World Cup, his goal was to develop players with the skill to carry Jamaica to the World Cup, and out of his dreams and in the pursuit of his goal, came Cavalier.
In the early 1960s, clubs like St. George's Old Boys, Melbourne, YMCA, Railway, Kensington and Lucas ruled the roost, it was not easy for young players who were not privileged to play in the Manning Cup and daCosta Cup competitions to get in, Duncan wanted a place for them and after passing along Connolley Avenue one afternoon and seeing a number of youngsters in action, after a few days watching them, he got involved and out of it came Cavalier - a team of young, classy players who, themselves dreaming of parading on the World Cup stage, epitomised Duncan's dreams and who became known as "Duncan's Dedicated Dreamers".
The young dreamers, players who probably would not have been exposed but for Duncan and Cavalier, included the brilliant Art Welch and his twin brother Asher, Delroy "Mutty" Scott and Ruddy Pearce, and later on, when the club attracted young and gifted players like magic, one like Neville Oxford, the master dribbler with a deadly explosion of pace, was also numbered among them.
Cavalier, with its beautiful, entertaining play, was the talk of Jamaica in its first season in 1962, like Santos and Real Mona which were formed around the same time, it set an example for others to follow and today, instead of cricket clubs playing football, football clubs are all over Jamaica.
Instead of St. George's Old Boys, Melbourne, YMCA, Railway, Kensington and Lucas, it is now Wadadah, Seba, Reno, Violet Kickers, Harbour View, Waterhouse, Constant Spring, Arnett Gardens, Tivoli Gardens, et cetera, et cetera.
The founding of Cavalier in the early 1960s triggered a new day in Jamaica's football and although the club is no longer the powerhouse it used to be, its contribution should never be forgotten.
And neither should Duncan's. Jamaica would probably not have been in France in 1998 parading their skills at the World Cup but for "Dunks". It was his dream and his pioneering spirit that started the ball rolling almost 40 years ago.
To "Dunks", football was never simply about winning and losing. To him, football was an art, it was something beautiful, and something to be enjoyed by those who played the game and those who watched the game. That was why he always encouraged the likes of Art Welch and Neville Oxford to express themselves - that was why there was always a smile on face whenever one or the other went down the wing, beat a man, or two, or three and headed for goal.
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