There is a sad shortage of documented sports history in Belize, so whenever we get a chance to “pick the brains” of one of our past football or basketball stars, though their memories are sometimes fuzzy, we nevertheless jump at the opportunity to glean what we can. They always have some gems to share with us that are worth recording.
Bob Myvett, or “Mamboco,” as he is known to most football and basketball fans of the late 60’s and 70’s, is visiting home from Chicago, where he has resided since 1999. Before that, having made his first trip to the States in 1971, he has made a number of trips back to the old home town. Like a number of his peers, Bob was a recognized quality player in more than one sport, in his case, football and basketball.
Bob was born in Belize City on June 6, 1947, the third of five children for his mother, Ms. Thelma Brakeman, a hard working woman who passed away at the young age of 48, “from too much work”, according to Bob, in the very year, 1968, when he played his first junior basketball competition.
His father, Sam Myvett, who passed away about 5 years ago, had another son, Steve Myvett, who also passed on about a decade ago. Bob’s oldest brother was the late Archibald Parks, after whom the Parks Hospice on Orange Street is named. His eldest sister, Shirley Goff nee Young, presently resides in the U.S., while his next elder sister, Clarine Adolphus nee Young, presently lives in Belize City on Cleghorn Street. A younger sister, Joyce Eagan, currently resides in Rockford, Illinois. His youngest sister, Thelma Eagan, died at the tender age of around 6 years.
Bob said he grew up almost exclusively in Belize City, and his only contact with other district towns or villages, was when he went on trips to play football, and would return with the team the same day. Though he has visited a number of cities in the United States – Los Angeles, Chicago, New York, and others, up to now he has never visited Belize’s southernmost town of Punta Gorda.
Due to economic realities, Bob said he could not continue school after Standard 6 at St. Mary’s Primary, and his first job was as a messenger at B.E.C. for $7.00 per week, a job gotten him by then football referee, Delhart Courtenay, who was a staff member of B.E.C.
Bob recalled that in all his playing days in football and basketball, he never collected any money for playing; but sponsors often treated players to drinks after big games. This encouraged a drinking habit in a number of athletes. When he was offered the job as a basketball referee, for a good weekly salary, Bob didn’t hesitate to accept, and he did not regret it. Thus is explained his early retirement from active playing.
Mamboco and his wife of 38 years, Sylvia, have six children, all daughters – Pauline, Orline, Bernadette, Shelmadine and Sharon residing in Belize; while the youngest, Karema, lives in New York.
We asked Mamboco when he started playing football, what primary school he attended.
Bob: I went to St. Mary’s Primary school, and played for the football team along with guys like Clarence “Willie” Williams and the Brannon Brothers – Edmund and Dennis. Both later migrated to the States. Dennis is still in Brooklyn, New York, but Edmund returned home after he retired, and the last I heard of him he was in Cayo. Dean Barrow and Said Musa were also students at St. Mary’s at that time.
A: Did any of them play di ball or any sports?
Bob: No, nothing. Primary school football was played at Edwards Park then (later named Rogers Stadium).
A: What was your first junior team?
Bob: I played two seasons with a junior football team named Bapona Shell, managed by a Mr. Cervantes. “Canalete” (Rupert Anderson) was our goalkeeper. We came second in a season which was won by Milport with “Hashi” Ferguson. I remember we played one junior season at the Barracks, where the Princess (Hotel & Casino) now is, while the senior competition was played at the MCC. The next season we played the junior competition also on the MCC.
A: How about senior teams. Which teams did you play for?
Bob: I almost played for Milo, which then had Big Mugger (Louis “Bembe” Garbutt) along with Tiempo (Barrow), Rungu (Wallace Glynn), Aqui Esta (Clinton Frazer), Hilly Ratch (Hilbert Craig). I think Scalp (Randolph Young) was also on that team. I played the Marathon with them. In those days you could play the marathon with one team and then change and play the regular season with another team. I remember I played the left wing, and our team trailed in corners, 3-2, when I had a play on the line close to the goal with a defender near. I could have played the ball off the defender to get the corner, but I thought I could score, and I took the shot instead. The older players “cuss me up” good after the game, so I decided to quit the team. I then played the regular season with Rogers Stadium.
A: What other senior teams did you play for?
Bob: I played for Cross Spot; that was a pretty good team, sponsored by “Bullet” Craig. Pocket (Maurice Matthews) was on that team; also Salo (Solomon Usher) and Hilly Ratch, and Meegan (Wilton Meighan, Jr.). I played a few years with Rogers Stadium, along with Shape Rhodas (Mervin), Maca Lamb (Charles, the original Maca), England (Wilhelm White), “Cuchi” Dougal; Girl I Love You (Albert Robinson) was also with Rogers Stadium. I remember one time we beat Bailar’s (Lester Smith) team 6-nil and they almost broke up. But later on they got back together, and they put the same beating on us, 6-nil. A: Didn’t you play for Diamond A one year also?
Bob: I played a year with Red Stripe. The last team I played for was Rogers Stadium. (He seemed a bit unsure about Diamond A; but later told me he remembered the red and white jersey, so he may have played that one year. Diamond A appeared around 1972.)
A: Around that time you were playing basketball also?
Bob: I played junior basketball with Raiders for two seasons. The first year I played was 1968, the same year my mother died. We won two junior seasons, and then the committee pushed us up to senior. “K” used to practice with us, and it was he who took his own money and bought 12 pairs of tennis for us. He used to work with Perdomo’s at the time. He, “K,” was our sponsor for those two seasons. When we had a team beaten comfortably, we would let him get some playing time near the end of the game. He really loved the game; he is deceased now.
I remember (before their first senior season) we used to have to go practice at St. Ignatius from early, around 3:00 p.m. when the sun was still hot. And later, when the shade came, then the senior team, Jaguars, with Cama, Tilla, Kent Myvett, Eric Neal, (Arthur) Turito Neal and others would come to practice. We would sit on the side and watch. One day when they went up court, I threw a bottle on the other side and it broke up. Eric Neal swept it up and their practice continued. This happened a few times; and the same thing happened. Finally, Eric spoke to his team and they decided to invite us to practice with them. Half our team played with half of their team at first; but later, we started practicing with only our players against their players; and we beat them regularly. Finally, they couldn’t take it anymore, and one day Turito told me to give up the ball. I spun the ball to him, so that it broke back to me, and it embarrassed him and got him vex. He chased me out off the court and caught me before reaching the gate; I didn’t believe he could outrun me. But he caught me and warned me that he could cuff me good; but he said he would spare me ‘cause he knew my family. Things simmered between us after that, but by the time the new senior season came around, we knew we could beat them every time. At that time, Dunlop practiced at the S.J.C. gym.
A: The team wasn’t named Raiders in senior though?
Bob: No, the team became Carnation, but we had the same players, mostly. We came second two years straight to Dunlop. Me and “Bobby Sox” (Robert Sampson, whose father was actually named Gillett) were the guards; 6-5 or 6-6 Sammy Matthews was the center; and forwards were Frankie Flowers and Edward “Tunks” Miguel.
Frankie was the best shooter I have ever seen. I was the point guard and I used to take the ball across the line and look for Frankie; sometimes I would take the open shot.
A: Bob, I recall you were deadly from anywhere near the top of the key, so you always drew defenders; and you were an excellent passer.
Bob: I remember one time against Jaguars when I passed to Frankie in the corner on the baseline. Cama (Wilton Cumberbatch), who was six feet three or four, came over to block Frankie’s jump shot, his famous fadeaway. (A: Frankie was about 5 feet six.) Cama was over Frankie with his hands stretched out, completely blocking the path for Frankie’s shot. I actually saw Frankie bend backwards, arching his back in mid-air after he jumped, and shot the ball almost straight up, just inches over Cama’s outstretched hand….. nothing but net! The ‘Natius crowd went wild.
I used to live on the Canal side, Collet Canal, next to the Minga’s nightclub; and he lived on Dean Street. As a youngster, Frankie used to practice shooting in his yard. He had placed a rim against his aunt’s house; they lived next to each other with a fence in between the yards. Then he would shoot from his yard over the fence into the hoop against the house in the next yard. All he did was shoot.
The only one I saw who could match him one night was Sarge (Errol Skeete) of Dunlop. They had a thing going in a game we played. Everytime Saldivar (Jaime Saldivar, Dunlop captain, guard) gave Sarge the ball, he would hit; and when we came down the other end, I would find Frankie, who would hit for us. They had a real shootout that Friday night. (A: The games were played at the St. Ignatius parish court on Euphrates Avenue at that time.)
A: Were the games close that Dunlop won?
Bob: Yes, and the bad part – Frankie was the deadliest free throw shooter. When we played “twenty-one”, we had to change the rule, where you shoot free throws after you score. Frankie would shoot twenty-one free throws straight if you left him. So we only allowed two free throws, and then you had to take it in from the line. He was deadly on the free throw; but on the night when we needed one free throw to tie and one to beat Dunlop for the championship, he missed both free throws. I will never forget that game.
A: That must have really hurt you.
Bob: What hurt was that I had to watch. I couldn’t play that game, because I had got a very bad cut on my arm around the elbow the week before. I still wanted to play, but my hand was bandaged and still had in a lot of stitches, and they wouldn’t allow me to play.
How it happened was like this. Johnny Moss was a big Dunlop fan, because Sarge used to hang out at his place at Yabra. The week before, Johnny Moss had bet me that Dunlop would beat us. Only a little three stouts; and they had won. But the next week, we beat them, so I was eager to go down to Yabra to “jinx” Johnny Moss and collect my stouts. But my partner “Tunks” (Edward Miguel) said, leave it till tomorrow. But I was hot to go jinx Johnny Moss. I used to live near Minga’s on the Collet Canal side at that time. We started walking down the canal side, and I had just pulled up to say what’s up to Maloo (Glenford Flowers) who was courting a young lady (Alma Crawford) when, seemingly out of nowhere a Spanish (man) who was nearby lunged at me with a knife and made a deep cut on my hand near the elbow. I had no idea why he did that, but the Police soon intervened and took him to the station. But the wound was really bad, the flesh was hanging, and I was all bandaged up the next week when Carnation met Dunlop for the championship.
A: Who was the coach on Carnation?
Bob: Me and Anthony Neal (brother of Arthur “Turito” Neal) used to be the player/coaches.
A: Besides the Raiders junior and Carnation at senior, did you play for any other basketball team? Raiders would be ’68 and ’69, then Carnation in ’70 and ’71.
Bob: I went to the States through the back with a friend in 1971. He took me along in his car; he went across the border, and I made my own way across. I didn’t stay long though. I returned to Belize, in ’72 I guess, then I travelled again in ’73, and came back again around 1974.
A: Did you ever play for Old Parr?
Bob: No. Old Parr, with (Evan “Coby”) Coburn and Eric Gladden, Harry Cadle, Mark Neal… they had won junior undefeated; then they went up to senior, and they were going undefeated until near the end of the season. Cama was their coach. I had put together a team called Coke, and I brought out the veteran Dougie Joseph along with Phillip Neal and a number of youths. Meantime, Old Parr sponsor Quinto had promised them a trip to L.A. if they won senior undefeated also. They were a sensational team, but we spoiled their plans. After their defeat in the last game of the season, Quinto changed the team’s name the next season to Grand Marnier. I think that was the game when two brothers tackled, Mark and Butty Neal (Butty played center for Dunlop), and the game was suspended for a long time before it could continue.
A: When was your last basketball season?
Bob: My last season was that one with Coke. After that, head referee Raymond Lashley invited me to join the referees for a weekly salary. Other referees then were Eric Neal and Carlos Perdomo (now UDP Minister). I therefore retired from playing basketball and concentrated on refereeing after that.
A: How about football; your last team?
Bob: I played with a number of teams over the years in the States. In the late 70’s I played on Livingston Bullets (in Chicago?) along with Hitler, Pice, Lanzy, Tony Staine (brother of John Staine) in goal. I also played on the Bronx Bombers in New York. In Belize, the last team I played with was Rogers Stadium.
A: Were you on that trip to Flores in 1971 that ended tragically?
Bob: I was to go on that trip. I was practicing at the SJC gym with the basketball team, but I changed my mind at the last minute due to a misunderstanding, I don’t remember what about. Me and Saldano changed our mind from going on the trip. Besides, the trip was supposed to leave from 6:00 in the morning, and they kept postponing it repeatedly all day. Finally they said the trip would go at 7:00 p.m. The open back truck that finally came to pick up the guys from Pound Yard Bridge didn’t actually leave until almost 8:00 in the night. Frankie (Flowers) and (Gilroy) Buller kept trying to convince me to go all day. At one point I told Buller I was broke. He said, no worry ‘bout that, he would handle that. But I still didn’t feel like going. One last time before heading for Pound Yard Bridge in the evening, Buller stopped by my house and encouraged me again to go; but I refused.
(Errol Clarke, Kyrle “Old Man” Thurton, Charles “Bouki” Leslie and Gilroy Buller burned to death on that fateful trip in a road accident around Mile 8 on the Western Highway.)
A: There were both football and basketball players on that trip, right?
Bob: Yes. I was practicing with the basketball team before that trip. “Beebs” Menzies was the manager of the basketball selection for that Guatemala trip.
A: On the matter of retiring, and taking up refereeing; any regrets?
Bob: No. At that time players got nothing from playing from sponsors, except half an orange at half time in football games, and beer, rum or whiskey after games when your team won. When I was refereeing basketball, every week I collected my salary with no problem.
A: How about football; did you ever ref football?
Bob: No, only basketball.
A: Any other outstanding memories? How about the little run-in with the X, mentioned in his book, after a basketball game at the Island?
B: It was no big deal. How it happened was – I buck up the X at Mike’s Club the morning of the game (or maybe the day before); and he said I should not ref his game. He had a team named Geritol, with Alfred Banks, and he said when I ref he always lost. I said I didn’t pick the referees. In the game, Lashley had set me to ref, so I reffed the game. Banks got a hard foul late in the game, and a number of their players and Geritol fans “crowded” me and made threats. I was just doing my job. On the way off the Island I buck up the X. He said something; I responded, and we tackled briefly. But it was no big thing. It was just the game emotions. Me and the X were alright before that game, and we continue to be alright up to now.
A – I met Bob again at the St. Martin de Porres Church where we both attended the funeral for Ray Lightburn on Tuesday, October 13. I told Bob that my brother Nelson, who played with B.E.C. before he joined Amateur Sporting Club in the late 60’s, had said that his B.E.C. teammates would be angry with Bob for forgetting them. He insisted that Bob played briefly with B.E.C.; and it would figure, since Bob said B.E.C.’s Delhart Courtenay had gotten him his first job. Bob agreed his memory was not clear, maybe because he played with some of those same players later on Milo. He also seemed to recall the red and white jersey of Diamond A; so he believed he did play part of that 72/73 season with Diamond A. I promised to inquire of Finnegan, who put the team together, and also the X, who ended up managing the team; they should be able to confirm this.
I later checked with the X, and he confirmed that, yes, Bob did play with Diamond A. But he probably only played a part of the season, because after a few games the team was joined by a number of players from Avengers in San Ignacio.
I also asked Bob if he recalled that game at Holy Redeemer tennis court that the late Ray Lightburn recounted in his book, where Flyers won the championship after two missed free throws by Heineken. I told Bob I had always been under the impression that it was the great Dougie Joseph that had missed those two free throws. I remember seeing him rolling on the court in despair after the misses. But Ray had said it was a “Bennett”, and I also recall a Brian Bennett who played both basketball and football (goalie); and it could indeed have been Brian Bennett, as Ray said. But Bob insisted that it was Dougie Joseph who had missed those free throws. And Bob did have some experience along with Dougie playing on his Coke team some years later. So, who was it? We need to clear that up.
One interesting observation of our interview, which sheds some light on the tradition and development of sports in Belize. Bob said he played his first junior basketball tournament with Raiders in 1968, which means that he was at least 20 going on 21 years old. And when his junior team won and moved up to senior, they were top contenders for the championship, although they didn’t win. After Raiders, there was Old Parr, who won as juniors, then went to senior and also won the senior basketball title in their first senior year. In football, we recall stories of the young Dunlop team that won junior around ’58 or ‘59, then went up to senior and played a dramatic series of draw games with the senior champs Diamond A, before actually taking the senior championship themselves.
It seems that in those days, breaking into the ranks of senior games was not that easy. A youth had to fight hard to earn a spot in a senior team, because senior players did not retire quickly, and neither did they leave the team to travel abroad, as soon became the trend in the sixties and after, following Hurricane Hattie. So, junior teams tended to have players approaching the then legal voting/adult age of 21. I recall big marble and top (gama) games in Paradise Alley on West Canal Side where 20-year-old “boys” would be involved in the games. When a junior football or basketball team won their division, they were therefore physically prepared, if they were very talented, to contend with the seniors, even beat them.
I asked Bob if he had been to any games at the MCC since he came back on the last trip. He said no; he wasn’t excited about it. He’d heard nothing from his veteran friends to make him want to go watch football in Belize right now. Maybe if a really big game is on, he might be encouraged to go. It is the same feeling expressed by a number of veterans presently residing in The Jewel. The quality has dropped, they all say. And it is hard to argue. Hilly Muschamp from the glory days of Juventus and Sagitun, recently took off his coach’s jacket, after about five years retirement, and promptly held his own in the Super League competition, even scoring goals. And 42-year-old Maurice “Magic” Francis is still doing the same with his Hattieville team. These guys have a bundle of talent and football wisdom, but it says something about the level of play in our semipro leagues when they can still compete effectively at this stage of their careers.