The Story of Joe GaetjensThe story of Joe Gaetjens has been making the rounds in the American media of late, especially given the US v. England match of last week. In honor of the United States taking on Slovenia today--and in honor of this being my hundredth post on this blog, and my being more or less American--I give you the harrowing tale of a co-opted Haitian man.
Having failed to make a living playing soccer professionally in Haiti, Joe Gaetjens came to the United States to study accounting at Columbia University on a Haitian government scholarship. While working as a chef, Gaetjens was cajoled by a co-worker into joining the Brookhattan soccer team in New York, with which team Gaetjens became the top goal scorer in the American Soccer League.
In preparation for the World Cup of 1950, hosted by Brazil, the United States co-opted Gaetjens by having him officially state that he intended to declare American citizenship. According to rules at the time, this allowed Gaetjens to play for the American team.
In the first round of the 1950 World Cup, the United States took on England. In one of the great upsets in the history of sport, America defeated the Britons 1-0. Gaetjens scored the only goal of that game.
In 1954, Joe returned to Haiti to live the life of an entrepreneur. In 1964, Haitian president François "Papa Doc" Duvalier declared himself rule for life--read: officially became military dictator--and began the purge of all who stood in opposition to him.
Unfortunately for Gaetjens, who had no interest in politics, the footballer’s brothers were connected to a group in the Dominican Republic that was rumored to be staging a coup against the Haitian president. Famous as he was, Gaetjens was something of a public figurehead for this group, despite his disinterest and non-participation.
On the morning of July 8th 1964, Gaetjens was arrested by the Haitian secret police, never to be seen again. His body was never found. It is assumed that Joe was tortured and/or murdered within a month of his disappearance.
Posthumously, Joe Gaetjens was inducted into the American Soccer Hall of Fame. The film The Game of Their Lives depicts his exploits with the American soccer team, and stars Gavin Rossdale as a British player and, weirdly enough, Scotsman Gerard Butler as the American goalkeeper.
No comments:
Post a Comment