Steve Mokone
Encyclopedia
Stephen Madi Mokone OIG
(born 23 March 1938) is a former South Africa
n footballer who was the first black player to play in a professional European league. He was nicknamed The Black Meteor and Kalamazoo.
, a suburb of Johannesburg
, but his family moved to Sophiatown
before settling in Kilnerton in Pretoria
.
but for the intervention of his father, who wished him to continue his studies. Mokone began his professional career in 1955 with English side Coventry City
, where he made four league appearances, scoring one goal in the process. He later played in the Netherlands with Heracles Almelo
, later joining Cardiff City
, making a goalscoring debut on the opening day of the 1959–60 season on 22 August 1959 during a 3–2 victory over Liverpool
. He made just two more league appearances for the side, before being signed in 1959 by Spanish side FC Barcelona
. However, because Barcelona had filled their quota of foreign players, he was loaned to French side Marseille
. Mokone later played in Italy for Torino
and in Spain for Valencia CF
, before finishing his career in Australia
with Sunshine George Cross
and in Canada
.
In 1996 he founded the Kalamazoo South African Foundation. Dutch sports journalist Tom Egbers
wrote a novel based on Mokone, which was made into a movie in 2000; both novel and movie are called The Black Meteor
(De Zwarte Meteoor).
2. Mokone v Fenton, (habeas corpus proceeding before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit), reported at 710 F. 2d 998 (3d Cir. 1983) -- shows the length of the New Jersey Sentence.
3. New York State Department of Corrections website; "Inmate Lookup" for DIN # 85A5876, Mokone, Steve—shows correct date of birth, crime of conviction, length of sentence, and release date.
See also Phil Vasili 'Colouring Over the White Line. The History of Black Footballers in Britain' (Edinburgh: Mainstream 2000)
Order of Ikhamanga
The Order of Ikhamanga is a South African honour. It was instituted on 30 November 2003 and is granted by the President of South Africa for achievements in arts, culture, literature, music, journalism, and sports...
(born 23 March 1938) is a former South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
n footballer who was the first black player to play in a professional European league. He was nicknamed The Black Meteor and Kalamazoo.
Biography
Mokone was born in DoornfonteinDoornfontein, Gauteng
Doornfontein is an inner-city suburb of Johannesburg, South Africa, located to the east of the city centre, Region 8. The area, whose name means "thorn fountain", was originally the southern part of a farm owned by Frederick Jacobus Bezuidenhout, and was proclaimed a public diggings after the...
, a suburb of Johannesburg
Johannesburg
Johannesburg also known as Jozi, Jo'burg or Egoli, is the largest city in South Africa, by population. Johannesburg is the provincial capital of Gauteng, the wealthiest province in South Africa, having the largest economy of any metropolitan region in Sub-Saharan Africa...
, but his family moved to Sophiatown
Sophiatown, Gauteng
Sophiatown is a suburb of Johannesburg, South Africa.Sophiatown was a legendary black cultural hub that was destroyed under Apartheid, rebuilt under the name by Triomf, and in 2006 officially returned to its original name.Sophiatown was one of the oldest black areas in Johannesburg and its...
before settling in Kilnerton in Pretoria
Pretoria
Pretoria is a city located in the northern part of Gauteng Province, South Africa. It is one of the country's three capital cities, serving as the executive and de facto national capital; the others are Cape Town, the legislative capital, and Bloemfontein, the judicial capital.Pretoria is...
.
Football career
Mokone attracted much attention in his native South Africa, making his international debut at the age of just 16. He was close to signing for English side Newcastle UnitedNewcastle United F.C.
Newcastle United Football Club is an English professional association football club based in Newcastle upon Tyne, Tyne and Wear. The club was founded in 1892 by the merger of Newcastle East End and Newcastle West End, and has played at its current home ground, St James' Park, since the merger...
but for the intervention of his father, who wished him to continue his studies. Mokone began his professional career in 1955 with English side Coventry City
Coventry City F.C.
Coventry City Football Club, otherwise known as the Sky Blues owing to the traditional colour of their strip, are a professional English Football league club based in Coventry...
, where he made four league appearances, scoring one goal in the process. He later played in the Netherlands with Heracles Almelo
Heracles Almelo
Heracles Almelo is a football club from Almelo, Netherlands.Heracles Almelo were founded on May 3, 1903 as Heracles, after the demigod son of Zeus. They changed their name on July 1, 1974 to SC Heracles '74 and finally settled on the current name in 1998. The club has won the Dutch national title...
, later joining Cardiff City
Cardiff City F.C.
Cardiff City Football Club are a Welsh professional football club based in Cardiff, Wales. The club competes in the English football pyramid and is currently playing in the Football League Championship. Cardiff City is the best supported football club in Wales, averaging approximately 22,500 for...
, making a goalscoring debut on the opening day of the 1959–60 season on 22 August 1959 during a 3–2 victory over Liverpool
Liverpool F.C.
Liverpool Football Club is an English Premier League football club based in Liverpool, Merseyside. Liverpool has won eighteen League titles, second most in English football, seven FA Cups and a record seven League Cups...
. He made just two more league appearances for the side, before being signed in 1959 by Spanish side FC Barcelona
FC Barcelona
Futbol Club Barcelona , also known as Barcelona and familiarly as Barça, is a professional football club, based in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain....
. However, because Barcelona had filled their quota of foreign players, he was loaned to French side Marseille
Olympique de Marseille
Olympique de Marseille is a French association football club based in Marseille. Founded in 1899, the club plays in Ligue 1 and have spent most of its history in the top tier of French football. Marseille have been French champions nine times and have won the Coupe de France a record ten times. In...
. Mokone later played in Italy for Torino
Torino F.C.
Torino Football Club, commonly referred to as simply Torino, is a professional Italian football club based in Turin, Piedmont, that was founded in 1906. The club has spent most of its history in the top tier in Italian football....
and in Spain for Valencia CF
Valencia CF
Valencia Club de Fútbol is a Spanish football club based in Valencia, Spain. They play in La Liga and are one of the most successful and biggest clubs in Spanish Football and European Football. Valencia have won six La Liga titles, seven Copa del Rey trophies, two Fairs Cups which was the...
, before finishing his career in Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
with Sunshine George Cross
Sunshine George Cross FC
Sunshine George Cross Football Club is an Australian football club from Sunshine, a western suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, and plays in the Victorian State League Division 1. Sunshine George Cross have played at Chaplin Reserve after agreement was reached with Sunshine City Soccer Club...
and in Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
.
After football
In 1964 Mokone moved to the United States. There he was convicted and imprisoned for separate felony assaults committed in 1977 against his then wife, Joyce Maaga Mokone, and the 34-year-old female attorney who was representing Ms. Mokone in divorce and custody proceedings at the time. On 31 October 1978, Mokone pleaded guilty in Superior Court of Middlesex County New Jersey to the crime of atrocious assault for having personally attacked his wife with lye on 20 November 1977. He was subsequently sentenced to serve between 8 and 12 years in New Jersey State Prison. In 1980 Mokone stood trial in New York County, New York, accused of having orchestrated an attack on his wife's lawyer, Ann Boylan Rogers, in which sulfuric acid was thrown in her face outside her home in Manhattan on 8 October 1977. Ms. Rogers was left seriously disfigured and blind in one eye. Mokone was found guilty of Assault in the First Degree in May 1980 and later sentenced to serve 5 to 15 years in New York State Prison after having completed his New Jersey sentence. He was released from custody in August 1990.In 1996 he founded the Kalamazoo South African Foundation. Dutch sports journalist Tom Egbers
Tom Egbers
Tom Egbers is a Dutch journalist, writer and TV presenter . He studied at the School voor de Journalistiek in Utrecht, and was employed by Studio Sport in 1984 as presenter. Between 1990 and 1992 Egbers worked for Veronica...
wrote a novel based on Mokone, which was made into a movie in 2000; both novel and movie are called The Black Meteor
The Black Meteor
The Black Meteor is a 2000 Dutch film directed by Guido Pieters. The film is based on the novel by Tom Egbers, a Dutch sports journalist, which was adapted for the screen by Kees van Beijnum...
(De Zwarte Meteoor).
Court documents
1. Mokone v. Kelly, (habeas corpus proceeding in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York), reported at 680 F. Supp. 679 (S.D.N.Y. 1988) -- shows basic facts of case and, in discussion of "Evidence of Other Crimes and Bad Acts," the New Jersey Case.2. Mokone v Fenton, (habeas corpus proceeding before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit), reported at 710 F. 2d 998 (3d Cir. 1983) -- shows the length of the New Jersey Sentence.
3. New York State Department of Corrections website; "Inmate Lookup" for DIN # 85A5876, Mokone, Steve—shows correct date of birth, crime of conviction, length of sentence, and release date.
General
See also Phil Vasili 'Colouring Over the White Line. The History of Black Footballers in Britain' (Edinburgh: Mainstream 2000)