Tesilimi Olawale Ayinde "Teslim" Balogun (27 March 1931 – 30 July 1972) was a Nigerian football player and coach. Balogun played at both professional and international levels as a striker, before becoming Africa's first qualified professional football coach.
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Tesilimi Olawale Ayinde Balogun[1] | ||
| Date of birth | 27 March 1931[2] | ||
| Place of birth | Lagos, Nigeria | ||
| Date of death | 30 July 1972 (aged 41) | ||
| Place of death | Nigeria | ||
| Position(s) | Striker | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| Apapa Bombers | |||
| 1947 | Marine Athletics | ||
| UAC XI | |||
| 1949 | Railways XI | ||
| 1951 | Jos XI | ||
| 1952 | Pan Bank Team | ||
| 1953 | Dynamos Club | ||
| SCOA XI | |||
| 1955–1956 | Peterborough United | 0 | (0) |
| 1956 | Skegness Town | ||
| 1956–1957 | Queens Park Rangers | 13 | (3) |
| 1957–1958 | Holbeach United | ||
| 1959–1961 | Ibadan Lions | ||
| International career | |||
| 1948–1960 | Nigeria | ||
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Playing career
editEducated in Port Harcourt and graduating from St. Mary's Catholic School,[3] Balogun played in his native Nigeria for a number of teams, including Apapa Bombers, Marine Athletics, UAC XI, Railways XI, Jos XI, Pan Bank Team, Dynamos Club and SCOA XI.[4] During his time in Nigeria, Balogun won the Challenge Cup a total of five times in seven finals.[4] He was the first player to score a hat-trick in the competition, in Pan Bank's 6–1 rout of Warri in 1953.[5]
After originally touring with a Nigerian select team in 1949, Balogun returned to the UK in August 1955 to sign with Peterborough United.[6] However, Balogun never made a league appearance for Peterborough,[7] and spent time with Skegness Town before signing with Queens Park Rangers, scoring 3 goals in 13 appearances in the Football League during the 1956–57 season.[8] After leaving QPR, Balogun returned to non-League football, playing with Holbeach United.
Balogun was also a member of the Nigerian national side for 12 years.[5]
Coaching career
editBalogun became the first African to qualify as a professional coach.[4] He was the coach for the Nigeria football team at the 1968 Summer Olympics.[4]
Legacy
editThe Teslim Balogun Stadium in the Nigerian city of Lagos is named after him.[4] The Teslim Balogun Foundation was founded after his death to assist the families of Nigerian ex-international footballers who may have fallen on hard times.[9]
Personal life
editBalogun was nicknamed "Thunder" because of his powerful shot,[10] and was also known as "Balinga" for a similar reason.[4] During his time touring schools to coach youngsters, he was nicknamed "Baba Ball."[4]
Balogun died in his sleep on 30 July 1972, at the age of 45.[4] He had eight children.[4]
References
edit- ^ Teslim Balogun at the English National Football Archive (subscription required)
- ^ "Teslim Balogun". Barry Hugman's Footballers. Retrieved 30 April 2024.
- ^ "'I Came 4,000 Miles to Score the Greatest Goal of My Life' – Tesi Balogun – Independent Rs". Independent Rs. 11 June 2015. Retrieved 14 May 2018.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i "Meet Teslim". Teslim Balogun Foundation. Retrieved 5 November 2010.
- ^ a b "Teslim Balogun, Nigeria's first professional footballer". Retrieved 14 May 2018.
- ^ Phil Vasili (30 May 2008). "The Occluded History of Black Footballers in Britain". Pitch Invasion. Retrieved 6 November 2010.
- ^ "Profile". Up The Posh!. Retrieved 6 November 2010.
- ^ "QUEENS PARK RANGERS : 1946/47 – 2009/10". Post War English & Scottish Football League A – Z Player's Database. Archived from the original on 19 December 2013. Retrieved 6 November 2010.
- ^ "About". Teslim Balogun Foundation. Retrieved 5 November 2010.
- ^ Chris Green (7 September 2003). "Leaders of the new school". The Observer. Retrieved 6 November 2010.