Kolkata Sports Heritage

KOLKATA SPORTS

Kolkata Sports − Fact Sheet •23 February, 1792 − first ever cricket match reported in the Madras Courier played by the Calcutta Cricket Club (CCC) against Barrackpore and Dumdum. •The first organized match in India with detailed record was played on 18th and 19th of January 1804 at Calcutta. The complete scorecard was printed in the Calcutta Gazette on 26th January , 1804. •Auckland Circus Gardens was named as Eden Gardens after the Misses Eden , Auckland’s sisters ( some time in mid 1800) •1829 : The Royal Calcutta Golf Club was established. •1858 : First recorded soccer match was played at Esplanade between the Calcutta Club of Civilians and The Gentlemen of Barrackpore. •Ballygunge Cricket Club was set up in 1864. In 1950 it merged with CCC . •Calcutta Football Club (CFC) was set up in 1872. •In 1888−89, first English team lead by G. F. Vernon, visited Eden Gardens. •1889 : Mohun Bagan club was founded. •First Indian Hockey club was formed in 1885 in Calcutta •1891 : Mohammedan Sporting Club founded. •1892 : Shovabazar Club scored the first ever victory of an Indian team over a European one. •1893 : IFA ( Indian Football Association) was formed.

1911, 29th July: Mohun Bagan won the IFA Shield defeating East Yorkshire 2-1 in final. 1920 : South Club ( Lawn Tennis) was established. 1921 : Gobar ( Jatindracharan) Guha won the World Light-Heavylight title at San Francisco. 1921 : East Bengal club was founded. 1926-27, first official tour of MCC 1938 : Bengal won Ranji Trophy for the first time ( led by Tom Longfield). 1952 : In Helesinki Olympics Indian women took part for the first time in Olympics. Among the four , two were from Calcutta : Nilima Ghosh for Athletics and Arati Saha for swimming. 1959 : Arati Saha became the first Asian woman to cross the English Channel. 1977 : Football King Pele ( Cosmos Club) visited the city and played one exhibition match against Mohun Bagan.

•1982 : Nehru International Gold Cup - first ever international soccer tournament was held in Calcutta. •1985 : Yubabharati Krirangan ( Salt Lake Stadium) , largest in Asia ( capacity 120,000) was inaugurated. •1987 : World Cup Cricket ( Reliance Cup ) Final match was held in Eden Gardens. •1990 : Dibyendu Barua won Gold Medal in the 2nd board in Chess Olympiad in 1990. •1996 : Leander Paes of Calcutta won the only medal ( bronze medal in Tennis singles) for India in 1996 Atlanta Olympics. •1999 : Saurav Ganguly was declared as the captain of Indian Cricket team. •1999 : Baichung Bhutia started playing for Bury Club of England. First Indian to play in professional British League. •1900: Norman Pritchard of Calcutta won two silver medals at the Paris Olympics in the 200 meters run and 200 meters hurdles. First Asian to win a medal in Olympics. •1980 : biggest tragedy - 16 people died in a Calcutta Senior Division League match between East Bengal and Mohun Bagan at Eden Gardens.

Labeled as the nucleus of Indian Football. The first football enthusiasts in Calcutta were the students of St. Xavier's College, Bengal Engineering College, Presidency Premier League 2006 College, La Martiniere etc. Who played soccer with gusto. Team Matches

Kolkata Soccer

Points K. East Bengal 14 32 Mohun Bagan 14 30 Mohammedan 14 24 Chirag United 14 17 Calcutta P T 14(-1) 14 Eastern Rail 14(-1) 14(-3) George Teleg. 14 13 Railway F.C 14 8

Nagendra Prasad founded the first Indian football club. It was the 'Wellington Club' in 1884 and then in 1885 the Shobhabazaar Club. Norman Pritchard, a Calcuttan of St. Xavier's College and the first Indian Olympic medallist (silver 200 m dash and hurdles at thr 1900 Paris Olympics) scored the first hat trick against Shobhabazaar Club. In 1892, Shobhabazaar Club registered a grand victory over the East Surrey Regiment in the Trades Cup. This was the first glorious triumph of an Indian team over the Europeans. Indian Football Association (IFA) was born in 1893 and since then, the IFA Shield became the most esteemed soccer trophy in India. The first winner of the exclusive Shield was the Royal Irish Regiment. The 5th Royal Artillery became the runnersup.Shobhabazaar lost miserably (0-3) to the 5th Artillery in their maiden match.

Issued in 1989 to mark the centenary of Mohun Bagan Club, Calcutta

Mohun Bagan ground. Mohan Bagan Club founded in 1889, won the IFA Shield on 29th July, 1911 beating East Yorkshire 2-1. Shibdas Bhaduri and Abhilash Ghosh scored for Mohan Bagan. This mega incident gained unprecedented applause from the Indians. On the eventful day, two rupee tickets were sold for fifteen. They played bare foot. Indian players used to play bare-footed and were reluctant to play with boots on. In the 1930s, the Mohammedans persuaded the Indian players to wear boots for the first time.

Mohammedan Sporting Club came into being in 1891 as a formidable team to reign the rest of British era. To celebrate its promotion to the first division in 1934, the club won the IFA League with elan. The triumph-story of Mohammedan Sporting continued unabated till 1941 save 1939.The Mohammedan Sporting players were regarded by all for their integrity, killer instinct, skill and plucky attitude. East Bengal Club emerged in 1921. It finished as runners-up in the League five times before winning it in 1942. The club bagged both League and Shield in 1945. After partition, Calcutta was deluged by people coming from East Bengal. These tortured victims of partition who had lost all hopes and aspirations, found a new ray of hope in life through this soccer team. The East Bengal team as if, reflected their dreams and, joys. Their forward line in the late 1950s was simply irresistible. Appa Rao, Dhanraj, Ahmed, Venkatesh and Saleh the invincible five were a nightmare to any opponent during that time.

In 1955 a worthy technical innovation was introduced in Calcutta soccer by changing from the two-back to three-back system. This was, again, changed to four-back system in the mid-1960s. 'Arjuna Awards' instituted since 1961 has been won by several footballers. Chuni Goswami, P.K. Banerjee, Jarnail Singh, S. Nayimuddin. Sudhir Karmakar etc. are some of the towering figures. A multitude of players have come from all over India to play in the Calcutta soccer since the 1930s. Some such illustrious names are Venkatesh, Appa Rao, Ahmed, Saleh, Rahim, Abbas, Murgesh, Masum, Taj Muhammad, Peter Thangaraj, Ram Bahadur, Sattar, Jarnail Singh, Balaram, Kittu, Shyam Thapa, Habib, Xavier Pias, Babu Mani and many others. Several foreign players have also played for Calcutta teams and been household names at different times. Pugsli, Majid Baskar, Jamshid Nasiri, Omar, Musa, Masud Fakri, Chima Okerie, Bernard etc. are some of the better known foreign players

Kolkata Cricket Calcutta has played the big brother in organizing and standardizing Cricket a game invented in England. 'The Madras Courier' matches were played by the 'Calcutta Cricket Club' against Barrackpur and Dum Dum as early as 1792 (23rd February).'The Calcutta Cricket Club' was the oldest one of its kind. The first organized cricket match in India was played in Calcutta on 18th and 19th January, 1804. The contenders were the old Etonians and a team with an exotic designation 'Calcutta'. The participants were the 'writers' of the Writers' Building. The pitch was laid in the Maidan. Ballygunge Cricket Club was founded in 1864, which merged with the Calcutta Cricket Club (CCC) in 1950. The first official international cricket in India Was against the MCC held in 1926-27. Triangular school compitition Sarada Ranjan Roy (1858 - 1925), an erudite scholar, fielded a 'Bengalee Schools' team against the 'British Schools' in 1913. This became a regular fixture. The Anglo-Indian Schools followed and thus emerged a triangular competition.

Local Clubs The notable cricket playing clubs are the Aryans, the Town Club, the Sporting Union, the Kalighat Club etc. Ironically, Kolkata the progenitor of Indian Cricket, has not produced many talents to represent the national team. Calcutta can however be proud of Sharadindu ('Shute') Banerjee (1911 - 1980) of the Aryan Club, was an 'Express' bowler and arguably one of the fastest bowlers India has ever produced. Pankaj Roy was another illustrious cricketer from Bengal who played 43 Tests and opened India's innings for four years with aplomb. Prabir Sen, Dilip Doshi and Arun Lal have also made the city proud by being members of the national squad at different times. 'Made-in-Calcutta' genius The latest feather in the cap of Calcutta Cricket is the inimitable Saurav Ganguly the has carved a niche for himself in the history of the game. A spontaneous, graceful and flamboyant left-hander batsman, a witty bowler and a great thinker of the game he led the team to victory against

The Maidan, about two miles in length and a mile in width, is the best-known open space; the major soccer, cricket, and hockey fields are located there. Adjacent to the Maidan is one of the oldest cricket fields in the world, Ranji Stadium, in the Eden Gardens; Netaji Stadium, for indoor events, is also in the vicinity. The Salt Lake Stadium, built to the east of the city, can seat 100,000 spectators. There are two racecourses and two golf courses within the city, and rowing at the Lake Club and the Bengal Rowing Club is popular._

Hockey -The first Indian hockey clubs were formed in Calcutta in 1885. The Beighton Cup Tournament was initiated in 1895 in Calcutta. The All India Hockey Federation held its first National Championships at Calcutta in 1928. Calcutta had established itself as a formidable power in hockey both in the Senior League as well as the Beighton Cup. Apart from the Customs, Port Commissioners and Railways as well as private clubs viz., the Xaverians, Mohan Bagan and the Rangers had also made remarkable progress. Some outstanding players in Calcutta, in the pre-independence era were Allen, the Tapsell brothers, Dickie Carr, Shaukat Ali, Joe Gallibardy etc. In the post-independence era, Calcutta made outstanding contributions to Indian Hockey through Pat Jansen, G. Glacken, Leslie Claudius, Keshav Dutt, M. Daluz, Gurbux Singh, G.S. Dubey, C.S. Gurung. Incidentally, the first woman recipient of the Arjuna Award for Hockey was Ms. Ann Lumsden of Calcutta.

Lawn Tennis - Though not a hot favourite of the

LAWN TENNIS CLUBS OF KOLKATA Bengal Tennis Association Calcutta South Club

masses, it has contributed immensely to the game at the higher levels. 'The Bengal Lawn Tennis Championships' started in 1887 in the outfield at Eden Gardens. Japanese players like Zenzo Shimidzu and Okamoto dominated the Tennis circuits in Calcutta. The oldest tennis club in Calcutta was the North Club at Beadon Square (now Rabindra Kanan). However, the South Club, which followed, soon (1920), grew more popular in a short while. Akshay and Gyanesh Dey and Anandi Mukherjee founded it. With six well-tended grass courts, the club was justifiably referred to as the Wimbledon of the East. Renowned players from all over the globe have played in this court. Several Davis Cup ties have been played at the South Club.

International Club Outram Club Royal Calcutta Golf Club Saturday Club Shyambazar Tennis Club The Calcutta Gymkhana Tollygunge Club

This club started the Calcutta Lawn Tennis Championships in the early 1930s. It inaugurated the National Championships in 1946. Some of the illustrious players of South Club who have enriched Indian Tennis are Dilip Basu, Sumant Mishra, Naresh Kumar, Akhtar Ali, Joydeep Mukherjee, Enrico Piperno etc. Leander Paes, the Junior Wimbledon titleholder in 1990, is a proud possession of Calcutta.

Badminton - Calcutta has made a

significant contribution in Badminton as well. In 1934, the All-India Badminton Association was founded in Calcutta. The first National Tournament was held here the same year. The winner was Vijay Madgavkar, a Calcuttan. The city can boast of producing some outstanding Badminton players like Manoj Guha, Gajanan Hemmadi, Dipu Ghosh, Ramen Ghosh and even the national women's champion Madhumita Singh Bisht (Goswami).

Table-Tennis - The Bengal Table

Issued in 1975 on the occasion of the World Table Tennis Championships at Calcutta

Issued in 1980 on the occasion of the Asian Table Tennis Championships at Calcutta

Tennis Association was founded in 1934 as the first one of its kind in India. Three years later, the All-India TableTennis Federation was established at the South Club. Calcutta has produced some of the best exponents of the game like Rupa Mukherjee, Kalyan Jayant and Indu Puri. Calcutta hosted the World Table-Tennis Championships in 1975 at the Netaji Indoor Stadium exclusively built for that stupendous occasion.

Body-Building - The legendary Eugene

"Before doing muscle-control", he said gently, "it helps if you have some muscles…."

Sandow came to Calcutta in 1905 and bolstered the spirits of the youth. Bodybuilding became a craze in the city. S.N. Majumder introduced the first modern discloading barbell set in India around 19071908. An All India Association was founded in the 1920s and subsequently the national weight lifting championship started. The Bengal State Association for weight lifting was formed in 1933. Notable weight lifters from Calcutta who represented India in the international meets were Nilmani Das, Mohanlal Ghosh, Alok Ghosh, Kamalakanta Santra, Anil Mandal etc. Body-builders from Calcutta won the 'Bharat Shri' national body-building championships umpteen times. Parimal Ray, a Calcuttan had won the title of 'Mr. Asia' for the first time. Later, Monotosh Roy and Monohar Aich bagged the 'Mr. Universe' titles in their respective categories. Bishnucharan Ghosh was another renowned body-builder and a yoga maestro.

Monotosh Roy Born 1917 in Gajaria in Dacca district of India. Died June 29th 2005. Mr. Universe 1951 (Class 3-short men division - 5' 5") Founder Member IFBB in India

Monohar Aich : Mr. Universe 1952 Physical instructor, circus strongman, circus proprietor, gym owner, Monohar Aich has had a chequered career. All through the long years he has kept up his training. "Without regular training I don't see how one can exist as a human being."

BOXING was introduced in Calcutta by the British Army. The first recorded bout took place in October, 1884 at the Parsee Theatre. The Anglo Indian schools cultivated the sport and made pugilism a popular sport among the Calcuttans. The Bengal Amateur Boxing Federation was founded in 1930. The All India Boxing Federation was founded at Calcutta in 1948. Ace pugilists from Calcutta like Bob Lal, Binay Basu, Robin Bhatta, M. Joachim, R. Cranston etc

GOLF - The Royal Calcutta Golf Club, which was established in 1829, is the oldest institution of its kind outside Britain. At present, it has shifted to Tollygunge from Dumdum via the Maidan. The Tollygunge Club has a marvellous course. The 'Royal' is the founding force behind the Indian Golf Union. It conducts the Amateur Golf Championship at Calcutta, Delhi and Mumbai in rotation.

KOLKATA RACES - As per Hicky's Gazette the first recorded meet of a Horse Race held in Calcutta was on 16th, 17th and 18th January 1794. Races were held at Akra near Metiabruz till 1809. Then the venue was shifted to the Maidan. Races were first held on a straight course in the morning. Later, the rules were amended and today the racecourse is a triangle with the corners rounded off. Racing in the afternoon started after 1876.

Two supplementary courses were founded at Tollygunge and Barrackpore. However, the latter was very short lived. The Calcutta Turf Club was founded in 1847. It was rechristened the 'Royal Calcutta Turf Club' after the visit of George V in the city in 1911. Until the 2nd World War, the jockeys were mostly Australians and Britons. The first Indian jockey who won the prestigious Calcutta Gold Cup was Kheem Singh in 1950.