West Ham could soon find itself having a third former player knighted, after the release of a documentary about the life and legacy of legendary Bermudian striker Clyde Best, which filmmakers hope will give a boost to efforts to earn him the highest honour available.
A Seven-Year Legacy at Upton Park
Transforming the Beautiful Game – The Clyde Best Story focuses on English football’s first black superstar. Having played in the Bermudian national team at the age of 15, two years later Best left home to come to West Ham, making his first-team debut in 1969 and for the next seven years playing alongside the likes of Bobby Moore, Sir Geoff Hurst and Sir Trevor Brooking, scoring 51 goals in 221 games, before moving on to become a huge name in the North American Soccer League.
The Campaign for Knighthood
Speaking at the film’s world premiere at Sadler’s Wells East in the shadow of the London Stadium, executive producer Dennis Lister, who is also the speaker of House of Assembly of Bermuda, told Blowing Bubbles there was a campaign for Best to be knighted, and he hoped the film would spread the word of his remarkable career, and give the movement more momentum. “Growing up in the same neighbourhood, Clyde was my hero, so it was important to make sure his story was told,” he said. “He was just a kid when he got on an aeroplane for the first time to come here, and look at all that he has accomplished. He’s risen to such heights but he’s still the same guy we knew as a teenager playing back home – he’s never changed, and that humbleness is very typically Bermudian. We are fighting in Bermuda to get him knighted, so we need to hear some words from the British government.”
Global Voices for a Local Hero
As long ago as 2009, another Bermudian politician, Randy Horton, who earlier in life was offered professional contracts to play both football and cricket in England, suggested Best, who received a MBE in 2006, should be knighted. With the film set to take the story of his life and achievements on and off the field to a global audience, that call could soon become much louder. Given the restraining cocktail of Bermudian modesty and British reserve, it has taken an American, film-maker Dan Egan, to put Best’s story on the big screen. “I knew the story had traction,” he said. “I knew the weight, the emotion and lessons we all need to learn would carry the story of the film. Most documentaries have eight to 12 voices in them – we filmed 75 interviews and used about 40 in the film. We had to, because all those voices matter and Clyde’s story is so global that we couldn’t just tell it with 12 voices.”
The Hero’s Hero: Cottee and Ferdinand
One of those voices is former West Ham and England striker Tony Cottee, who joined a visibly very emotional Best for a question and answer session after the premiere. “Growing up as a West Ham fan, Clyde was a hero, but I didn’t really know the full story before watching the film – I had no idea what he had been through, so he’s even more my hero now,” he said. “It’s a fantastic, inspirational story that you would have thought someone would pick up on – it’s from the 1970s, so it’s 50-odd years in the making.” Another former West Ham and England striker, Les Ferdinand, also features, talking about what an influence and inspiration Best was to him as a youngster in the 1970s, facing up to major cultural and social challenges and racism, and emerging triumphant. “We like to let things lie in this country, but he deserves the spotlight,” Ferdinand told Blowing Bubbles. “It doesn’t surprise me that it wasn’t someone from over here who thought ‘this is a great story, let’s tell it’, but it’s rare and really pleasing to see, because it’s usually after someone passes away that people talk about what they did. This way Clyde gets to receive the applause and everything that comes with it, and to be part of the film himself.”
The Bermudian Connection
As a fellow Bermudian who has also come to England to pursue his footballing dream, Luton Town striker Nahki Wells has double the insight into Best’s footballing achievements, and also his cultural significance. “He’s a huge deal (in Bermuda)”, Wells told Blowing Bubbles. “Of late the recognition we all believe he deserves is finally coming to fruition. We all knew him as a pioneer who opened up the game for people like me. I hope this can be the start of more people learning his story. Bermduians are reserved, mellow and humble, but it’s football-mad place. We’re particularly heavily drawn to English football, and that’s probably off the back of what Clyde achieved. We love it and live it just as much as people here do. I’m glad this film is helping his story come to light, to get the credibility and eyes on him that he deserves. It’s all about educating people, not just the younger generation, but also some of those that came before, about Clyde as a person, and the moral of his story. I wish it could have been done sooner but it’s good that it’s being done now – there’s so much positivity that comes from Clyde Best’s story being told.”
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