When Southern Railways' football team had an important match, passengers at Madras' railroad terminals faced a problem. They had to do without porters, because these men deserted the stations en masse for the stadium, where they rooted for their team, proudly wearing their red turbans.
Such enthusiasm for the sport came from other quarters too. To give just one example, top actors followed the fortunes of their favourite teams with astounding fanaticism. For any major match, Nagesh, Muthuraman and Srikanth would take time out of their shooting schedules and dash to the playground. They used to be spotted at football grounds, wearing the costumes of their on-screen characters. R.M. Veerappan — leader and movie producer — also followed the sport keenly. He was a regular sight at major football tournaments.
Nagesh and Muthuraman supported the initiatives of the State football association. They would don the jerseys for exhibition matches. Muthuraman XI versus Nagesh XI, where the actors led two teams, each consisting of top players provided by the Association, was always a big draw.
In 1943, when I came to Madras, football's popularity was rivalled only by cricket. As the sport did not entail purchase of any expensive gear, it was patronised by a vast section of the population. At 5 p.m., every public ground in Madras was overrun with footballers. Many of them were children playing football with tennis balls and bare feet.
In those days, even top footballers in the country, with the exception of those in the teams of British regiments, played without shoes. Accustomed to playing this way from a young age, they dribbled the ball better with shoeless feet. This practice stopped in the 1950s when the All India Football Federation made shoes mandatory for players.
Footballers of those days lacked the outward symbols of professionalism, but they looked upon the sport as a craft. As if to reward this dedication, fans thronged local tournaments. When top teams such as Wimco, Minerva, Pachaiyappa's, Tilak-Moti and Southern Railways played, tight security was ensured. Fans worshipped teams and top players. For example, many flocked to the grounds just to watch Wimco's star striker Thangaraj. He seldom disappointed them.
The sight of huge crowds impelled footballers to give every match their best shot. Sometimes, they did so ignoring injuries. For instance, ICF's captain Janakiraman soldiered on despite a sprained ankle and scored two goals, one in the dying moments of the game, to give his team a 3-2 victory over Wimco in the Gymkhana Club Football Tournament in 1960.
Football fans missed good players when they left the scene. In 1951, Truman scored a hat-trick and scripted an easy win for Tilak-Moti over Indian Railway Institute in the early rounds of the Social Service Invitation Football Tournament at SIAA in 1951. Considering Truman was planning to migrate to Australia, this brilliant performance only deepened the sorrow of Madras' football fans.
BIO T.R. GOVINDARAJAN: Born in 1925, TRG (as he is known) has distinguished himself as a football administrator and a referee. He has held many terms — totalling up to 24 years — as secretary of the Tamil Nadu Football Association (TFA). He had associated with the All India Football Federation's Referees Board for three decades and retired as its chairman last year. He served with the Southern Railways. At present, he is the president of Nethaji Sports Club, which he founded with a few others in 1946.
I REMEMBER In those days, the SIAA grounds and MUC grounds were venues for major football tournaments. When a match was in progress at MUC, the foot-over bridge at the Fort Railway Station was occupied by football fans trying to catch a glimpse of the action. They hindered the movement of passengers but nobody would complain.
