Sylvester (Silu) Fernandes will always be remembered for being one of the guys who ever played any sport. He lived his life with a happy smile no matter what the situation. He drove many an opposing play around the bend with some of his unconventional antics as a left half-back … for example, on one occasion, his stick got stuck in an opposing player’s sock … they had a laugh and beer after the game. Hockey mates used to say that Silu had a trick and a smile for every occasion. He remains amongst the most loved of any sport he played.
Hailing from Carmona-Salcete, three-time Kenya hockey international, Silu, the second of five brothers, was born on November 26, 1936, in Nairobi where he attended the Goan Mecca of sportsmen and sportswomen, the famed Dr Ribeiro Goan School.
Growing up at the Railway quarters (homes for employees of the East African Railways and Harbours in Desai Road Nairobi, Silu played hockey alongside neighbouring young lads … including future Olympians Alu Mendonca, Hilary and Leo Fernandes, Saude George, Reynold D’Souza, Edgar and Egbert Fernandes … on a tiny patch of murram (hard red earth) near where they lived. Silu told me that he and others would hang around the nearby Railway Goan Institute hockey ground hoping to play alongside the seniors.
This is how he describes his story: “Although I played a lot of hockey, cricket was my first love and much to the disappointment of my dear (late) Mum who wanted very much for me to become a schoolteacher. I was tempted by the offer of a job to play cricket for the Standard Bank of South Africa in the Kenya Commercial League (alongside other Goans, which was popular at the time). Fortunately, my younger brother Steve came to the rescue by becoming a teacher and later a Headmaster, both in Nairobi and later in the UK.
“As a cricketer, I was privileged to play with the likes of Blaise D’Cunha, Maurice Gracias, Johnny Lobo, all Kenya Representatives, I also had the distinction of having my own team, Silu’s Eleven, made of players such as a Zulfikar Ali, Charanjive Sharma, V. S. Lamba and Ramesh Bhalla with annual fixtures against most of the leading clubs in Kenya.”
He and his daughter Sandra were keen squash players and were part of the Parklands Sports Club in Nairobi (once a “whites only” club). Sandra was Junior Squash Champion and Silu was a “veteran squash champion” three years in a row.
Earlier at school, he came under the “inspirational influence” of Anthony D’Souza, who was “one of the greatest hockey coaches in Kenya, an ex-Lusitanians star player. Silu says D’Souza knew the game as it should be played at the highest level and passed this knowledge to the likes of (late) Alu Mendonca, (late) Anthony Vaz (Velsao), Hilary Fernandes, Edgar and (late) Egbert Fernandes (Calangute). Silu said that D’Souza passed on his knowledge with several generations of young boys and girls who attended the school.
Looking back, he said his ticket to the Olympics came from playing the Emar D’Souza Gold Cup (the premier annual hockey tournament in East Africa) winning teams twice when he was spotted by the selectors. Silu was selected in 1958 for Kenya, Rome Olympics in 1960, Tokyo in 1964 where Kenya finished in sixth place, their best performance and Mexico in 1968, where Silu was the stand-in captain for the injured Avtar Singh Sohal. Silu retired from international hockey in 1970 but continued playing club hockey until the age of 55.
Looking back on his career, he says: “When the Railway Goan Institute first won the Emar D’Souza Gold Cup, I played at centre forward. I also represented Kenya at Centre Forward at the opening of Kampala’s Lugogo Stadium by the Queen Mother in 1958. I played at centre half for the RGI and Left Half for Kenya.”
In his professional life, he continues to gather accolades, even today, in the insurance business.
Soon after migrating to Canada, he took up Golf and more than two decades later he still plays the game with a passion. From the very first year, Silu introduced the annual Tusker Classic charity tournament which continues to raise thousands of dollars for charities in Kenya, India and Canada.
He says: “The secret of my success was my late wife, Ivy, who still inspires me to this day.”
Silu’s three all-time greatest sporting heroes are: Muhammad Ali, George Best (Ireland and Manchester United), Cajetan Fernandes (Bombay and Kenya field hockey).
(Excerpts from ‘Stars Next Door’)
The writer was the first full-time sports journalist hired by Daily Nation in Nairobi, Kenya in 1960. In many ways, he changed the way sports was reported
