alwaysthereinspirit Posted March 4, 2021 Share Posted March 4, 2021 I was a huge Leeds United fan as a youngster in the late 60’s early 70’s. Could name the team backwards and forwards as a 7 through 10 years old. This morning reading about Ian St John I came on the name Albert Johannsen who played for Leeds in the 1965 FA Cup Final. Cant believe I’d never heard of him before. Quite the life story. Worth looking up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jamdub Posted March 4, 2021 Share Posted March 4, 2021 Thanks mate, I was the same, will take a look. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
willie wallace Posted March 4, 2021 Share Posted March 4, 2021 I remember him. Think he may have have been a left winger or inside left((,younger members can google that ,) He was a good player Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
niblick1874 Posted March 4, 2021 Share Posted March 4, 2021 45 minutes ago, Jamdub said: Thanks mate, I was the same, will take a look. Same here. Thanks alwaysthereinspirit It was a sad reflection of the times that, although Johansson had flourished in second tier football, when Leeds reached the top division and the Cup Final his form deserted him. The Leeds captain of the time, the late Billy Bremner, when interviewed after Johansson’s death, tellingly said “Albert had no confidence. He could play, but it was as if Albert couldn’t believe it was happening to him, as if he thought a black man wasn’t entitled to be famous.” Albert Johansson left Leeds in 1970 and retired completely from football in 1972. The pressures of being in the spotlight drove him to alcoholism and he eventually died alone in his council flat in Leeds in 1995, having shunned offers of help. Most of his team mates from the line up above played at International level, but racist times eroded his self belief so he never fulfilled his potential. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jamdub Posted March 4, 2021 Share Posted March 4, 2021 40 minutes ago, niblick1874 said: Same here. Thanks alwaysthereinspirit It was a sad reflection of the times that, although Johansson had flourished in second tier football, when Leeds reached the top division and the Cup Final his form deserted him. The Leeds captain of the time, the late Billy Bremner, when interviewed after Johansson’s death, tellingly said “Albert had no confidence. He could play, but it was as if Albert couldn’t believe it was happening to him, as if he thought a black man wasn’t entitled to be famous.” Albert Johansson left Leeds in 1970 and retired completely from football in 1972. The pressures of being in the spotlight drove him to alcoholism and he eventually died alone in his council flat in Leeds in 1995, having shunned offers of help. Most of his team mates from the line up above played at International level, but racist times eroded his self belief so he never fulfilled his potential. Very sad and yet in 2021 players today are having to take the knee. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tazio Posted March 4, 2021 Share Posted March 4, 2021 11 minutes ago, Jamdub said: Very sad and yet in 2021 players today are having to take the knee. What is odd is that black players at the time weren’t unusual in rugby league and in the 60’s Leeds had a black manager who took them to great success. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dusk_Till_Dawn Posted March 4, 2021 Share Posted March 4, 2021 Bless him, he was destitute by the time he died and had been dead in his flat for a week. Went to a funeral in Leeds a few years ago and he was buried in the same graveyard. You’d hardly look twice at the gravestone which is really sad Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Locky Posted March 4, 2021 Share Posted March 4, 2021 Desperately sad story this. Had never heard of him myself either. Left to rot away as an alcohol in a council flat. Can only imagine how must hurt the man experienced. And he couldn't even go back to his home country to get away from it all, as things were even worse over there. I looked at his Wikipedia and saw a mention of David Oluwale, a Nigerian immigrant who was basically bullied to death by Leeds police officers for being black, in 1969. It's little wonder there's so much going on at the moment trying to shine a light on black history. These are 2 very different people, but equally tragic tales of lives in living memory, to which very little of us seem to actually know. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
132goals1958 Posted March 4, 2021 Share Posted March 4, 2021 3 hours ago, alwaysthereinspirit said: I was a huge Leeds United fan as a youngster in the late 60’s early 70’s. Could name the team backwards and forwards as a 7 through 10 years old. This morning reading about Ian St John I came on the name Albert Johannsen who played for Leeds in the 1965 FA Cup Final. Cant believe I’d never heard of him before. Quite the life story. Worth looking up. His nephew Carl Johannsen was a top class pro boxer who conclusively beat both Ricky Burns and Michael Gomez Remember his uncle as a skilful and cult like figure Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alwaysthereinspirit Posted March 5, 2021 Author Share Posted March 5, 2021 1 hour ago, Locky said: Desperately sad story this. Had never heard of him myself either. Left to rot away as an alcohol in a council flat. Can only imagine how must hurt the man experienced. And he couldn't even go back to his home country to get away from it all, as things were even worse over there. I looked at his Wikipedia and saw a mention of David Oluwale, a Nigerian immigrant who was basically bullied to death by Leeds police officers for being black, in 1969. It's little wonder there's so much going on at the moment trying to shine a light on black history. These are 2 very different people, but equally tragic tales of lives in living memory, to which very little of us seem to actually know. The South Africa connection is what made me look him up originally. I noticed the flag on the team sheet and wondered who he was and then realized he was black. Moving to the United Kingdom in the early 60s from South Africa couldn’t have been the norm. Or unfortunately easy. Sad story. The first black player I remember was Clyde (Clive) Best at West Ham. As a kid I remember him being huge. Uche type size. I bet if I looked him up now he was probably not as big as I remember. Good player I think. My long time memory is probably wrong on that too. The world has come a long way with regards to racism but not even close to where it should be. FFS 🤦🏻♂️ It’s 2021. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oi oi Posted March 5, 2021 Share Posted March 5, 2021 There's a little known tune called Leeds United Calypso which was released in the 60s. I've got a version of it in the house somewhere on a compilation record by Cherry Red records. Anyway, Albert Johannesen gets mentioned in it with a little bit of casual racism that was way too common at the time. There's bound to be a version of it online somewhere. I've read a number of articles about him over the years and his is a moving and sad story all too common in society at that time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Locky Posted March 5, 2021 Share Posted March 5, 2021 5 hours ago, oi oi said: There's a little known tune called Leeds United Calypso which was released in the 60s. I've got a version of it in the house somewhere on a compilation record by Cherry Red records. Anyway, Albert Johannesen gets mentioned in it with a little bit of casual racism that was way too common at the time. There's bound to be a version of it online somewhere. I've read a number of articles about him over the years and his is a moving and sad story all too common in society at that time. Haven't heard that one but I've heard the Football Calypso. Boy just singing names of football teams for 4 minutes . Decent wee tune. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnthomas Posted March 5, 2021 Share Posted March 5, 2021 6 hours ago, oi oi said: There's a little known tune called Leeds United Calypso which was released in the 60s. I've got a version of it in the house somewhere on a compilation record by Cherry Red records. Anyway, Albert Johannesen gets mentioned in it with a little bit of casual racism that was way too common at the time. There's bound to be a version of it online somewhere. I've read a number of articles about him over the years and his is a moving and sad story all too common in society at that time. Watched a TV programme about him years ago Seem to remember Yorkshire cricket club didn't have any black players long after the 60s Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dusk_Till_Dawn Posted March 5, 2021 Share Posted March 5, 2021 9 hours ago, 132goals1958 said: His nephew Carl Johannsen was a top class pro boxer who conclusively beat both Ricky Burns and Michael Gomez Remember his uncle as a skilful and cult like figure I was at the Burns fight (lived in Sheffield and my mate was a big boxing fan). It was very tight for about seven rounds but when Johanneson started landing, he absolutely destroyed him. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
132goals1958 Posted March 5, 2021 Share Posted March 5, 2021 43 minutes ago, Dusk_Till_Dawn said: I was at the Burns fight (lived in Sheffield and my mate was a big boxing fan). It was very tight for about seven rounds but when Johanneson started landing, he absolutely destroyed him. I yeah remember watching it on Sky. If I recall it could have been stopped but went to the cards for an easy unanimous decision Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dusk_Till_Dawn Posted March 5, 2021 Share Posted March 5, 2021 7 minutes ago, 132goals1958 said: I yeah remember watching it on Sky. If I recall it could have been stopped but went to the cards for an easy unanimous decision Burns was winning on points at halfway. I forget the story now but Johanneson was having problems with his management or something and took a long time to get going. He could really punch though Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
132goals1958 Posted March 5, 2021 Share Posted March 5, 2021 2 hours ago, Dusk_Till_Dawn said: Burns was winning on points at halfway. I forget the story now but Johanneson was having problems with his management or something and took a long time to get going. He could really punch though Date: Friday, February 9, 2007 Location: Town Hall, Leeds, Yorkshire, England, UK Rounds Scheduled: 12 Contracted Weight: 130 Titles at Stake: BBBofC Junior Lightweight British Title Referee: Howard John Foster Official Judging Victor Loughlin 118 - 109 Phil Edwards 117 - 110 Mickey Vann 117 - 110 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.