Former national player and administrator Winston ‘Cally’ Callender passes on

Dec 28, 2017 Sports, https://www.kaieteurnewsonline...callender-passes-on/

The football fraternity was plunged into a state of mourning when former National player and Administrator, Winston Alwyn Callender passed away on Christmas Eve Day, December24, 2017, last in his adopted homeland, USA.

Callender, aka, ‘Cally’ was also a former Banks DIH employee, serving the company for 36 years before retiring in 1995. After ending an illustrious career as a club and national player, the easy going Callender served the sport he loved in various administrative capacities ending as the First Vice President of the Guyana Football Federation under the presidency of Colin Klass, his long time buddy and friend.
He also served as Manager of numerous National Teams passing on his vast knowledge to hundreds of players during his years as an administrator and player.
Born on October 12, 1944 in Cane Grove, East Coast Demerara, ‘Cally’ relocated to Kitty at age 4-years and during that era, football was not popular in that area so he spent his spare time as a youth playing cricket; developing into a competent wicketkeeper and opening batsman plying on the Kitty foreshore in those days.
However, Cally made a switch to football around age 10 and developed his trade as a ball weaver at the Rifle Ranges Ground now Camp Ayangana. In 1958 at the age of 14, Callender represented Northern Rangers Football Club at the second division and senior levels.
His first competitive match was against St. Barnabas FC in the FA Cup competition playing as a right back marking another former great national player, the late Louis ‘Waterboat’ Whitters. After this match ‘Cally’ developed into a fearsome defender.
He moved on to represent Victoria FC for a 12-month period in 1963. One year later, Trinidad and Tobago was on their way to play Suriname and made a pit stop in Guyana for a match. Many senior players opted out of this match and an Under-23 team was then selected with Joseph ‘Reds’ Pereira as the Coach.
Among some of the players selected on that team were Ovid Henry, Burdette Marshall, Ken Gibbs, Gerald ‘Beef’ Francisco and Compton Callender. Back in those days, to make the senior national team one had to be playing a first division team; Callender then made his way into the Georgetown Football Club (GFC) team in 1965 through the instrumentality of Attorney-at-Law, Stanley Moore who was the Northern Rangers FC President at the time.
His choice was actually St. Barnabas FC but Moore persuaded Callender to make GFC the preferred club.
That same year Barbados visited Guyana to engage the host in a five-test series with Callender as a reserve player for the first test. The Bajans engaged GFC in a warm-up match and Callender was outstanding, marking out Bajan Captain Victor Clarke and their leading forward, Harcourt Hinds.
Callender’s performance in this game earned him a call up for the second test when he replaced the great ‘Father’ Niles. It was the breakthrough that the developing solid defender needed and never looked back thereafter.
From 1965 to 1972, Winston Alwyn Callender donned national colours on 27 occasions during which time he had the privilege of being Vice Captain. He also had the opportunity of being the Captains of GFC for some time during his playing career winning a number of trophies.
A knee injury in 1971 ended his national career but Callender continued playing for GFC up until 1983 when he commenced a new career, studying at the University of Guyana.
Towards the end of his playing days, Callender also enjoyed a short coaching stint with Bedford Methodist in 1969 and some of the players he worked with then were Vibert ‘Durdy’ Butts, Clive Perry and Dennis ‘Chow’ Hunte.
Prior to serving as Senior Vice President of the Guyana Football Association (now Guyana Football Federation) from 1998, Callender was elected President of the then Georgetown Football League (now Georgetown Football Association).
He was also Chairman of the GFF Disciplinary Committee and called it quits as a national administrator in 2009 to focus more on his family. Kaieteur Sports takes this opportunity to extend sincere condolences to the wife and family of the late Winston ‘Cally’ Callender.
Meanwhile, a Service will be held today in New York from 11:00hrs at the Denis S. O’Connor Funeral Home, 91-05 Beach Channel Drive, Rockaway Beach. The remains of Winston Callender will be buried in Guyana in January 2018, more details to follow in a subsequent story.