David “Wagga” Hunt Memorial Football Classic off to Flying Start
By Everton Bailey
The inaugural David Hunt Memorial Classic got off to a solid start on Saturday, August 8th at the UWI Mona Bowl with two games.
In the David “Buggo” Haughton trophy match, the venerable Jamaica Nats (USA) Masters team which featured, among others, Tony Keyes, Carlton “Pappa B” Briscoe, Peter Duggan and Roger Martin, narrowly lost 0-1 to a strong Pelicans Masters team on a late goal. The late David Haughton was a co-founder of Meadhaven Football Club along with David Hunt and Dr. Alvin Lue. In a show of ongoing love of and gratitude to their alma maters, the KC and Calabar members of Jamaica Nats also donated JA$100,000 to their respective schools.
In the feature game, KC, in typical fortis fashion, fought back to score a late goal which resulted in a 1-1 tie with Calabar. The schools will therefore (fittingly) share the inaugural David “Wagga Hunt Trophy.
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Winston "Chungie" Chung-Fah, former Jamaica national youth coach, presents the David Hunt Trophy to the captains of the KC and Calabar Manning Cup teams
The event was a success due primarily to hard work by the organizing committee spearheaded by the tireless Arnold “Dullo” McDonald, and which included, among others, Stephen Vascianne, David Batts and Donnie Streete.
The corporate community also stepped up to the plate and provided strong support. Victoria Mutual Building Society, for example, funded one of the two scholarships to be set up at KC and Calabar in Hunt’s name. Air Jamaica also provided a round-trip ticket for the raffle prize. Crimson Dawn and its Director of Marketing and Export, Mrs. Paulette Rhoden., also provided invaluable support by providing gears for the visiting Jamaica Nats team, and shirts for the organizing committee and event crew.
Michael McPherson, former Calabar Manning Cup player, presents a check to KC's acting principal, Everton Burrell
Christopher Hunt, brother of the late David Hunt, and former KC Manning Cup player, presents a check to Calabar's principal, Cpt. Lincoln Thaxter
The level of support the event received is a testament to the enormous among of goodwill Hunt generated during his lifetime through his commitment to football and his personal integrity, and the esteem in which the Hunt family, who supported his life work, is held both in Jamaica and North America. The entire Hunt family, including his wife, Georgette, daughter, Amira, mother, Mrs. Normadelle Hunt, brothers Garth, Paul, and Christopher and sister, Sheryl, all attended the event.
The sole blemish on the day was the no show of the KSAFA Invitational team which was scheduled to play Meadhaven in the curtain-raiser. Hunt served as general secretary of KSAFA from 2004 until his death in 2007.
A companion event, planned jointly by the Florida chapters of the KC and Calabar Old Boys’ Associations, will take place in Florida on Saturday, August 22nd at the Miramar Regional Park, Miramar, Florida, with two games scheduled:
- David Haughton Trophy - Cornwall vs. Munro, Old Boys’ Teams
- David Hunt Trophy - KC vs. Calabar, Old Boys’ Teams
Proceeds from both events will go toward establishing a scholarship at KC and Calabar, respectively, to commemorate the memory of David “Wagga” Hunt.
Hunt, a KC Old Boy, had a passion for football and dedicated his life to the sport and was deeply committed to his players’ well-being both on and off the field. He was a former Jamaica National Under-17 coach, a KC and Calabar Manning Cup coach, and led Calabar to both Manning and Oliver Shield titles before his untimely passing in October 2007 from a heart attack.
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