There is a 15th century fable of a “Boy Who Cried Wolf” depicting a shepherd who repeatedly tricked nearby villagers into thinking wolves were attacking his flock.

But when a wolf did actually appear and the boy again called for help, the villagers believed that it was another false alarm. They ignored him and the sheep were eaten by the wolf.

Centuries later in 1977, Jamaica would have its unique version of the fable when one of the island’s greatest schoolboy footballers Dennis “Den Den” Hutchinson and a legendary coach Winston Chung-Fah pulled a stunt that became folklore in the history of schoolboy football.

It was the 1977 daCosta Cup final between Clarendon College and St Elizabeth Technical High School (STETHS) being played over two legs.

Clarendon College had won the first leg 2-0 in Santa Cruz and returned to complete the job at home in Chapelton.

Hutchinson, the leading goalscorer with 26 goals, was said to be injured with his left foot heavily bandaged as he rested on the bench. The STETHS fans were happy, because the most lethal winger in schoolboy football was unavailable; or so they were led to believe.

Trailing 0-2 from the first leg, STETHS were leading 1-0 courtesy of a beautiful freekick from one of rural Jamaica’s best talent, Noel “Sweetie” Smith, in the deciding leg. Then the genius of a coach he was, Chung-Fah went into his bag of tricks and inserted Hutchinson from the bench.

As the star striker unwrapped his bandages, the Clarendon College fans erupted into ecstasy.

Hutchinson’s introduction to the game saw Clarendon College quickly overturn the one goal deficit and they won 3-1 for a 5-1 aggregate victory and secured their first hold on the daCosta Cup title.

“It was pandemonium,” Hutchinson told the Jamaica Observer when he entered the pitch. “When I came on, that changed the whole game.”

But some 40 years on, Hutchinson is now struggling with a really mysterious illness on that same left foot.

Hutchinson has been battling this illness for years, having done at least four surgeries since 1986, and now afflicted with diabetes, it’s just not going away.

“You know that saying, ‘Be careful what you wish for,” joked Hutchinson, about feigning the injury back then.

“It’s the same leg; maybe it has some bearing, maybe not. But let’s hope it is just something different and unrelated,” reflected Hutchinson, who walks with a slight limp.

“After so much treatment some people are actually saying it might be obeah, because we can’t find the solution,” he added.

There is even the thought of amputation as he visited doctors, but that’s not on the cards for Hutchinson, regardless of what they believe.

“I can’t think of that because once there is life in the leg I find it difficult to just amputate. I am not certain medical science can help. I have been to hospital so many times,” said a frustrated Hutchinson.

But his story is a unique one. That Clarendon College team is regarded as one of the best schoolboy teams of all time, and even drew comparison to the Kingston College team of 1964/65 that had 10 starting players on the All Manning team. That KC team is widely regarded as the best.

“Den Den”, as he is popularly called, is probably the first player in Jamaica to win the Manning Cup then the daCosta Cup in back-to-back years, as he had led Tivoli Gardens Comprehensive High School to the Manning Cup title in 1976, ending as the leading goalscorer with nine goals. Then he led Clarendon College to the daCosta Cup crown, once again as the top marksman with 26 goals. He even remarkably scored seven goals in one match against Ferncourt High and six against Glenmuir High.

But if it wasn’t for an unfortunate incident, Hutchinson would never have ended up creating one of the most entertaining schoolboy teams of all time.

He lined up with Lenworth “Teacher” Hyde, Roy Duncan, captain Oneil Russell, Wayne Wonder, Dave Girod, Donovan “Che” Wray, Glenroy Nembhard, Winston Mamby, Desmond Stiff, Michael Davis and goalkeeper Eric Currie.

Hutchinson as a precocious 16-year-old had just led Tivoli Gardens to the Manning Cup crown, but having lived in the Maxfield Avenue area, a People’s National Party stronghold, young Hutchinson was accused of helping a Jamaica Labour Party school to win the Manning Cup in an era when political tribalism was at it’ highest.

“I was standing on a corner on Maxfield Avenue when a couple of guys I knew came by and mentioned to me and said ‘wha me a deal with’ and my response was ‘what you mean wha me a deal with’. He was saying I was a Labourite. Then I said I have nothing to do with politics,” Hutchinson explained.

He continued: “Then I heard a shot and my friend say I got shot. But I didn’t feel anything. But little after a felt something burning me. I was shot just below the heart. Not by the two guys in front of me, but from someone who was hiding.”

Hutchinson believed his survival was due to the rigorous fitness programme of the then Tivoli Gardens coach, middle distance Olympian Neville Myton. He lost a lot of blood but the doctors revealed that his good physical condition accounted for his survival.

“I was a young youth going to school I had nothing to do with political violence so I was just lucky to be alive as the shot missed my heart, flew through, didn’t damage any organ and exited in my arm,” said Hutchinson.

The talented footballer was forced to leave Tivoli Gardens Comprehensive for fear of his life and joined Clarendon College. The rest was history.