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Hockey umpires in Madras always had it tough. They officiated before knowledgeable crowds that closely watched their performances. Balaji – the president of Madras Fans' Association whose squads cheered at football, cricket and hockey matches – would raise slogans to praise good umpiring decisions and to decry bad ones.
Even the best hockey umpires in Madras, which included Yaqoob, Gregory Joseph and Venkatapathy, were not spared of the extreme reactions. Gregory appeared to be Balaji's pet target. Whenever this umpire was at error, Balaji pounced on him with a stock slogan: “Giri Giri, you Moore Market umpire!” However, he got syrupy when Gregory showed good judgment: “Giri Giri, I love you ma!”
Sounding the cymbals and coining catchphrases, Balaji and his men made the gallery a lively place. No surprise that dignitaries such as M.A.M. Ramaswamy preferred planks in the galleries to plush seats in the VIP bay. Balaji's fame spread far and wide and in the 1970s, he and his trademark cymbals were allowed to accompany the Indian team to the hockey World Cup at Amsterdam.
If hockey fans kept umpires under the scanner, you can imagine how closely they would have followed the players. They were aware of each player's strengths, weaknesses and idiosyncrasies. When left extreme Rangadas of City Police had to hit a penalty corner, the crowd would roar in anticipation. This bare-footed left-extreme had the habit of spitting into his palms for better grip before a short corner.
The City Police played rough and whenever one of its players crashed into an opponent, the crowd would let out a knowing sigh. Right extreme Haridas (brother of Rangadas) would advance like a military tank and opponents instinctively swerved out of his way. He however found his match in the hefty Nazam, the left fullback of Madras Blues. Haridas never took on Nazam.
Triangular offense combinations of the big teams had a fan following of their own. The famous trios included those of Southern Railways (inside-right Jimmy Carr, outside-right C.D. Cleur and right-half Badiuddin), SBI (outside-right Uttapah, inside-right Raman and right-half Rasheed Ahmed), City Police (outside-left Rangadas, inside-left Susainathan and left-half Cunningham) and ICF (inside-right Thulasingam, outside-right Jabbar and right-half Krishnamurthy).
Fans flocked to hockey matches for the artistry of the game. Synthetic turf had not entered the scene and the grassy playgrounds – such as the ones where the MCC and MUC tournaments were conducted – provided scope for clever dribbles and manoeuvres. Synthetic turf changed the DNA of the game, but that was not responsible for the decline of hockey in Madras. In the 1960s, the Anglo-Indians began to migrate to England, Australia and Canada. The community loved the sport and most of the players in railway teams were Anglo-Indians. Their exodus arrested a major fount of hockey talent in the city.
In the 1950s and 1960s, schools such as Madrasa-e-Azam and Wesley, St. Bede's and Doveton Corrie produced great hockey players, some of whom played for the country. When colleges and schools began to turn cold to hockey, the glory of Madras hockey started to recede rapidly.
BIO: M. MUNEER SAIT: Born in 1940, he was a hockey goalkeeper who represented India at the Mexico Olympics in 1968, where the team won the bronze medal. He was also part of the Indian team to the 1967 Pre-Olympics in Madrid, where the gold medal came its way. He has represented Tamil Nadu for 17 years in national championships and has also been a longtime goalkeeper for SBI. He has been on the committees of the International Hockey Federation, the Indian Hockey Federation and the Madras Hockey Association. He has served as tournament director, judge and technical expert for many hockey Olympics and World Cup tournaments. He has received the President's Award for his contribution to the sport.
