Moripe reminds us to tell our tales

Many of the young generation first heard about Lucas “Masterpieces” Moripe when news spread of the sprightly former footballer’s passing this week.

The only connection the youngsters have to him is a cauldron in Atteridgeville, formerly known as Super Stadium, which was renamed in 2010 in appreciation of the contribution made by the soccer idol in the city of Tshwane and the country.

Count me among those who never saw him sashay his skills on a soccer pitch for Pretoria Callies.

I am not sure whether I was an idea in my father’s head when he and my mother did the deed that produced me, but Moripe’s prowess preceded my landing in the world of the living as I blurted out my first cry a year after the man was bestowed with the National Professional Soccer League player of the year award in 1973.

We carry in this edition a recollection by a person who witnessed Moripe at play, and the picture he has painted in words leaves one envious and wondering how beautiful it would have been to see it for oneself.

There was no television in South Africa when Moripe — who answered to many a monicker, chief among them being “Modimo wa Bolo” [God of Football] – was bestowed with the crown of the best in the business.

Decried by apartheid prime minister Hendrik Verwoerd as undesirable and denounced by his minister of posts and telegraphs Albert Hertzog as the “devil’s own box for disseminating communism and immorality”, televisoin only hit South Africa in 1976, the year of the Soweto massacre. As a result, Moripe’s magic remains unknown. It resides largely in the memory of those who saw him with the naked eye. It lives in archived black and white images captured through the lens.

Hence Moripe remains an enigma, particularly to those whose interest in football developed when Phillip was here [read 2010 World Cup].

The only Lucas they’re familiar with is Radebe, the man lauded for his exploits for Leeds United in Elland Road and across England and Europe, whose nickname Rhoo reverberated around the arena for his diligent defensive duties for Bafana Bafana.

Moripe’s death, which came in the week when some of his illustrious peers like Nelson Teenage Dladla, Shakes Mashaba and Jomo Sono were inducted into the South African Hall of Fame, is a sombre reminder that we have neglected our duty to document the stories of our sports stalwarts.

Despite the advancement of technology, we are found wanting when it comes to preserving the history of our heroes. Various streaming services are flooded with documentaries telling rags-to-riches tales of past and present international sports stars. But finding material reflecting local content in that regard is as futile an exercise as searching for a needle in a haystack.

I hear you asking: ‘What are you doing about it?’ Guilty as charged, I plead. Watch this space, I add. Let me take this moment to doff my cap off to one Charley Pietersen, who has taken the trouble to work on a book on Moripe, a project whose fruition the legend could not live long enough to see.

Another gem who remains hidden in history is Germiston-born star Albert Johanneson, one of South Africa’s earliest exports to Europe who starred for Leeds. When his plaque was unveiled in 2019 at Elland Road, CEO Angus Kinnear highlighted Johanneson’s massive role in the history of the club. “Not only did Albert play for Leeds at a time when there were very few black players playing professionally in the top flight of English football, he also holds the accolade of being the first black player in 1965 to play in an FA Cup final.

“The impact of both these feats, and the inspiration it would have given to so many people, should never be forgotten or underestimated. There is no doubt that Albert’s accomplishments also played an important role in helping to pave the way for future generations of black footballers from across the globe to play in England as he once did from South Africa, and this alone is a truly wonderful legacy. A blue plaque at Elland Road in recognition of Albert and all that he achieved is the least that he deserves.”