BELIZE CITY–I was in L.A. for a couple weeks around the end of October for a special birthday/family reunion with my in-laws (my mother-in-law, Rosella “Rose” Smith, celebrated her 80th birthday), and I also had the opportunity to make contact with a former football teammate, who was one of Belize’s best, as in All-Belize stature, in both football and basketball. We’re talking about the man that team manager Edison Michael called our “Big Striker” on the original Charger football team of 1975-76 – the team captain, Harry Cadle. (See the X’s “Sin, Sports and Subversion.”)

Like some other big name athletes of that era, Harry left the Jewel at the peak of his sports career in his early 20’s in search of “greener pastures” in Uncle Sam.

And he has no regrets. Employing the same dedication to hard work, self-discipline, and commitment to excellence, along with an outgoing and charismatic personality that endeared him to hundreds of sports fans in Belize, Harry has done well in Los Angeles, where he now resides with his wife and daughter. With no professional sporting opportunity coming his way in L.A., Harry did what many Belizeans dream of doing in the U.S., holding on to a good job and owning a very nice home with his family.

The above picture was taken at the home of my brother-in-law, Karl Arnold and his wife Jenny in Los Angeles. Harry has been Karl’s good friend in L.A. for a number of years (Harry’s mom, Ms. Gwen, and Karl’s mom, Ms. Rose, are best friends from way, way back in Belize, before both migrated to L.A.), but Karl didn’t know how big a sports star Harry had been in Belize until I enlightened him a bit. Karl is a few years younger, and was into cycling, and Harry left Belize before Karl got to see him perform in football or basketball.

In a subsequent issue, I hope to share some tid-bits of my chit-chat with Harry in L.A.