Soccer Fever

One can understand why soccer took on a feverish pitch in Sec 3B Science when one realised that 1966 was the year of the 8^th FIFA World Cup.  England hosted the tournament from 11 to 30 July 1966. The final match was played at Wembley Stadium between England and Germany. Rafflesians rooted for England since we were at that time, quite anglophile. Players like Bobby Moore, Bobby Charleston, Geoff Hurst, Gordon Banks, Martin Peters and their manager Alf Ramsey were household names. When England beat Germany 4 to 2 to lift up the Jules Rimet Trophy, our class went ballistic.

The 1966 World Cup probably triggered a life long penchant for soccer among many of the boys in Sec 3B Sc. Even today, some of us continue to follow the English Premier League on TV. We have rivalries between supporters of different clubs, Manchester United, Liverpool, Arsenal and others among us and these rivalries sometimes become vocal during our reunion parties.

Chen Wen remembered the 1966 world cup best. He said that we had rehearsals for the first National Day Parade during the World Cup and he had to bring along his portable shortwave radio to hear the matches. He recalled,  "After Germany had taken an early lead, Hurst leveled the score for England by half time from a free kick taken by Bobby More, the England captain. Victory was in sight when Martin Peters kicked in their second goal 13 minutes from full time. However a free kick 15 seconds from full time gave Germany's Wolfgang Weber, a shot at close range that passed Gordon Banks. The score was 2:2, Alf Ramsey was heard to rally his team saying, "All right. You let it slip. Now start again" Striker Geoff Hurst came through with a goal at extra time which appeared to glance off the line by a Weber's save but was awarded after consultation between the Swiss referee and the Soviet linesman. Nevertheless, there was no doubt of England's victory when Hurst sent in his hat trick goal and became a hero."

Rafflesians were nuts over soccer and rugby but because it was easier to kick a round soccer ball around, almost every class owned a football. The boys would come at least an hour early to school which started at 1 p.m. By 12 noon the RI field would see numerous teams playing and dribbling the football, our class was no exception; in fact more crazy about soccer than any other class.

We played in the hot noonday sun in our white school uniforms. Chan Yau Seng remembered, “Yup those were the days when we were mad about football, totally drenched when the classes started. Just wondered why our teachers didn’t scold us. Perhaps a drenched white shirt is not easily spotted”. Lionel Lee noticed that Yap Cheng Hua was particularly energetic, he would chase down every ball. Cheng Hua confessed, “I had boundless energy when young. I loved football and even played on weekends with the Belvedere Rangers”. When the pitch was wet and sodden, we would not only be drenched with perspiration but arrived at classes with the bottoms of our white shorts caked with mud. It was very embarrassing to have dirty pants at the start of the day’s lesson but none of us seem to care.

There was an inter-class tournament for every form in RI and off course Sec 3B Science were the champions for the Secondary 3 inter-class soccer tournament.

The Soccer Master Mr Pates was a much-loved teacher. In his younger days he was a Southampton footballer in the English League. During WWII, Mr Pates was a major in the 134th Royal Artillery Regiment and served in the Burma Campaign. As the teacher in charge of football he promoted the game enthusiastically (well as much as a stiff British could). Chen Wen remembered when in Pre-U 1, Pates was form teacher of the class which happened to win the inter-class soccer tournament. At that time Chen Wen was the class treasurer; Mr Pates took out some cash from his pocket, handed them over to Chen Wen and asked him to get the class to celebrate the win. 

Yes, Mr Pates was a generous man. Cheng Hua informed that when he was in Sec 2, Mr Pates asked him to join the school team and train 3 times a week. He offered to buy a pair of boots for Cheng Hua. Cheng Hua had this to say, "I explained to him that I could not afford to train in the mornings as I have to do hawking to put food in the table. I am the eldest of 9 siblings.  I did not accept his offer and also missed the opportunity for formal training". Cheng Hua's passion for the sport was such that he played during the weekends and stopped only 5 years ago when his heart started to feel the strain of stop-start running and dribbling. When he was in the UK he even organised games in the muddy snow.

The RI Senior Soccer Team with Mr Pates

The RI Senior Soccer Team were the National School Champions in the late 1960s. That team featured football legends, Quah Kim Song and Lim Tien Jit of the National Team that won several Malaysian Cups. Kok Wai Leong who was also on Mr Pates’s team eventually became the Executive Director of the Singapore Soccer League (S-League) in the 2000s.

Teep Khee remembered that playing in the hot sun was never a deterrent for energetic boys in the '60s. We played games like 'Hantam Bola' and Police and Thieves before class in Primary school. So Sec 3B Science, played in the midday sun until the school bell rang summoning us to class. Forty-four boys rushed to class, many of us sweaty with our shirts drenched and the backs of our white shorts, brown in colour. After saying the national pledge we would take our seats and that is when some of us discovered to our dismay that someone had dropped a chewed gum onto our seats. Our backsides got stuck on the gum and we had to remove it with difficulty, staining our pants.

Contributed by Lionel, Chen Wen and Teep Khee