‘Skill Cole is a national treasure of Jamaica’
Diaspora group happy they got to honour footballer and artiste manager before his passing
For all his accomplishments, Alan “Skill” Cole had little to show in terms of honours from Jamaica. On August 14, The Ramping Shop Family, an organisation of Jamaicans in New York, recognised his worth as a footballer and artiste manager.
Cole died on September 9 at the University Hospital of the West Indies in St Andrew at age 74. His daughter Debbie, in an interview with Observer Online, said he succumbed to multiple organ failure.
Three weeks ago, Cole was presented with a trophy during the weekly Dancehall Thursday event in Kingston. Oneill Famous, that event’s founder, and music producer/dance promoter Whitfield “Witty” Henry, were also honoured.
Gerry Dawes, a member of The Ramping Shop Family, told Observer Online that Cole was a deserving recipient.
“He made his mark initially on the football pitch and holds a record that remains unbroken to this day, representing the (Jamaica) national team at age 15. In addition to his contributions on the football pitch, he made a mark in the music industry as the manager for the king of reggae, Bob Marley,” said Dawes.
Cole’s remarkable talent made him a cult hero during the late 1960s and most of the 1970s. He played as an attacking midfielder for Vere Technical High School in the daCosta Cup, Santos and Boys’ Town in the Major League and Nautico in the Brazilian First Division.
While living in Ethiopia during the 1980s, Cole coached that East African country’s national team.
He first met Marley in the late 1960s in Trench Town and they quickly became close friends and later members of the Twelve Tribes of Israel.
Cole was Marley’s manager in the early and mid-1970s, when the singer-songwriter’s career took off internationally. He returned for that role in 1980 as Marley embarked on his most ambitious tour of the United States.
They were jogging when Marley collapsed in Central Park, New York on September 21 that year. Subsequent tests revealed he had terminal cancer, and he died at age 36 in Miami, Florida on May 11 1981.
Dawes and his colleagues noted another commendable trait for honouring Alan Cole.
“As he grew older, he became a mentor for many, particularly as it related to life skills and impacted countless Jamaicans at home and abroad. Skill Cole is a national treasure of Jamaica and I am happy we were able to honour him before his passing,” he said.
