Cyrille Regis Inspirational hero who changed the face of football In his own words
DEATH OF A LEGEND West Brom star died on Sunday at 59
Swatting defenders away with ease, racing away from opponents like they were in quicksand and smashing the ball into the net, Cyrille Regis was one of the most exciting footballers of his generation.
His talent, pace and extraordinary power meant he sometimes made the game look easy. In fact, the dynamic England striker got to the top despite the odds.
And in overcoming a torrent of racist abuse and threats, he blazed a trail for generations of players to follow.
Cyrille, who died of a heart attack on Sunday, aged 59, was used to being the underdog.
He was born in French Guiana in 1958 to labourer Robert and seamstress Mathilde.
Cyrille moved to London with his family in 1963. In a hostel and, for a time, in a convent away from his parents, life was not what they had hoped for.
As a child he was so poor he played football in boots that were too small, permanently damaging his feet. After school he became an apprentice electrician and played non-League football for Hayes on the outskirts of London.
He was spotted by West Bromwich Albion and made his debut for the club in 1977 aged 19 – becoming one of the first black players in the top flight.
He then became only the third black footballer to play for England, his West Brom team-mate Laurie Cunningham
Nothing was being done by clubs or police to curb the racism
being the second. In a 19-year pro career, Cyrille also represented clubs such as Coventry City, with whom he won the FA Cup in 1987, Aston Villa and Wolves.
He won five England caps. After his playing days, the dad-of-two, who lived in Birmingham, became a coach and football agent and was awarded an MBE.
In his 2010 book, My Story, he revealed how he beat the racists to become one of the country’s favourite and most iconic footballers... “I made my England debut in 1982 against Northern Ireland, coming on for the last 20 minutes.
“After waiting so long to get the callup, I was determined to enjoy the moment. I took a photo of me and my son Robert with an England flag.
“But someone with an irrational hatred of black people didn’t approve of my selection. All players received fan mail and I was casually opening mine in the dressing-room when I took a closer look at the letters on one piece of paper.
“They’d been cut out of a newspaper and stuck down to create a chilling message: ‘If you put your foot on our Wembley turf you’ll get one of these through your knees’. Also in the envelope was a bullet.
“That was the worst item of mail I ever received. My West Brom team-mate
Laurie Cunningham got far more abuse in the post than I did. We laughed about it, though – and I kept the bullet. “Racial abuse was mainly confined to the stadium. I never had individuals come up and say things to me outside the ground, on the streets or when I was out shopping. But it could have escalated, so in that sense it was scary and deeply offensive. “It would have been a completely different ball game if your wife and kids had been affected by the abuse and you were getting bricks thrown through your window.
“The first time I experienced taunts from the crowd at West Brom was my first away game at St James’s Park, Newcastle. There ere were monkey chants whenever whenthe we touched the bal l. It would ld become commonplace - over the next few seasons.
“We didn’t get stick from too many fans, but it was enough for us s to hear. The one ne chant I truly hated ted was ‘ N*****, n***** *** – lick my boots’. That chant is loaded with overtones of colonialist supremacy, slavery and subservience. It was a horrid and disgusting chant.
“The racist stick that Laurie and I initially copped got worse after Brendon Batson joined West Brom in
1978. was Three supporters, too black much players who in for one some even team stretched to bringing bananas to hurl on the pitch. Nothing was being done by clubs, police or the football authorities to curb this behaviour which had been going on far too long to be dismissed as a passing fad. “The racism spread to most grounds. West Brom were doing well, so we were now high-profile players. Almost ev everywhere we went we got racist abuse. “W “We just said to the pe people who gave us s stick, ‘See you next week, next month, next year – we’re not going away’. “I n e v er allowed racism to a affect me personally. al Quite the con contrary – it made me try har harder. I very quickly realise realised that the best way to fight back was to use your talent to score goals. “Nothing hurt the racist cowards in the crowd more than seeing black guys like me scoring goals against their team. There has been much talk about what I, Brendon, Laurie and others did. At the time I didn’t understand... But with hindsight you get to understand what really happened.
“And you hear the testimonies of players whose lives changed for the better because of what we achieved and you have to feel proud.
“Players like Dwight Yorke, Andy Cole and Ian Wright have all said that we inspired them, and that’s very flattering. Young players still come up to me today to say we inspired their dad or they have read about us.
“That does now make me proud, but at the time, when you’re a teenager, you aren’t aware of what is happening. You’re not thinking: I’m going to leave a legacy and be remembered as one of the pioneering black players who made that possible. Only history has shown this is what actually happened.
“I remember going to a Manchester United game and Andy Cole... said: ‘ Cyrille, you’re the man’. [ England goalie] David James did the same.
“Looking back, I can see that we were pioneers, opening the door for the diversity of players you see in the beautiful game today, who are judged purely on their ability to play football.”
My Story by Cyrille Regis is published by Andre Deutsch and is available to buy and download.
I was not thinking: ‘I’m going to leave a legacy’. Only history has shown this is what actually happened