By Charwayne Walker
This year will be 68 years since sportsmen in this country, British Guiana/Guyana, were honored with the distinguished Sportsman-of-the-Year award.
On January 10th 1956, a panel of judges headed by Chairman G.W.E Cooper and including the following Mrs. R. Williams (Secretary) Berkley Gaskin, Ken Richison, Ian Mc Donald (advisor) Mc Donald Bailey (advisor) Victor A. Li, B.L. Crombie, C.A Low and Cedric Wiltshire selected lawn tennis champion Derrick Phang and long-distance stalwart, Clem Fields, as joint Sportsmen-of-the-Year (1955) award winners.
Today, Stabroek News will look at the other distinguished winners of Guyana’s most coveted sports award from 1955 to 1971.
After the inaugural selection of Phang and Fields, a panel, headed by Sir Lionel Luckhoo selected West Indies cricketer Rohan Kanhai and sprint queen Claudette Masdammer as Sportsman and Sportswoman-of-the year winners for 1956.
The following year 1957, the Sir Lionel Luckhoo led panel selected lawn tennis champion Ian Mc Donald and long distance champion, George DePeana as joint Sportsmen-of-the-Year.
Masdammer was selected for the second time as Sportswoman-of-the-Year of 1957. The G.W.E Copper led panel selected weightlifter Roy Mc Arthur and lawn tennis champion Judy Franker as Sportsman and Sportswoman-of-the-Year in 1958.
The following year 1959, boxer Carl Crawford and sprinter Myrna Fawcett were selected Sportsman and Sportswoman-of-the-Year.
The winners for 1960 were rifle shooter Mohammed Ali and high jumper Brenda Archer while the 1961 winners were West Indies cricketer Lance Gibbs and table tennis queen Claire Harris.
Weightlifter Martin Dias and table tennis wonder girl Harris were the 1962 winners.
Because of the political situation in the colony there was no award presentation in 1963.
However, weightlifter Dias and table tennis sensation Harris were the 1964 winners.
West Indies cricketer Basil Butcher and cycling champion David DeFreitas were joint winners in 1965 and hockey sensation Rita Braithwaite was the Sportswoman-of-the-Year winner in 1965.
West Indies cricketer Sir Clive Lloyd was Sportsman-of-the-Year in 1966 with hockey star Rita Braithwaite the Sportswoman-of-the-Year.
West Indies cricketer Roy Fredericks was the 1967 Sportsman-of- the-year winner while table tennis wonder girl Denise Osman won the Sportswoman-of-the-Year award. Lloyd won the award again in 1968 while table tennis champion Barbara Jekir and hockey star Shirley Babb were joint winners of the Sportswoman-of-the-Year award.
Distance sensation Harry Prowell and 15-year-old lawn tennis queen Debbie Phillips were the Sportsman-and Sportswoman-of-the-Year in 1969.
Cycle champion Neville Hunte and table tennis champ Doreen Chow-Wah were selected Sportsman and Sportswoman-of-the-Year in 1970.
Racing car champion Erick Vieira and netball star Dawn Hines were the 1971 winners of the respective awards.
Part two will feature the award winners from 1972 to 1987.
