We think most Jamaicans are too young to properly understand the high regard by their elders for celebrated footballer Mr Allan Cole, hailed as “Skill” and “Cherry Baller”, who died on Tuesday at age 74.Obviously, most people around today never saw him play.

Furthermore, Mr Cole entertained in the 1960s, 70s and early 80s when football in Jamaica — despite its popularity among the masses — wasn’t held in very high esteem. It left much to be desired organisationally, and lacked the winner’s tag at the regional and international levels.

Change for the better came during the late 1990s in the triumphant campaign to qualify for the 1998 FIFA Men’s World Cup in France.

Since then, though, failing to replicate that 98 achievement, Jamaica’s Reggae Boyz have remained a respected force in Concacaf — early exit from the 2025 Gold Cup notwithstanding.

Hence the comment from president of Jamaica Football Federation (JFF) Mr Michael Ricketts that, “I think if Allan was around now… the sky would be the limit…”

Yet, even with the challenges generations ago, highly talented individuals constantly came to the fore in local football. In the 1950s Mr Lindy Delapenha, who had been a star in schoolboy sport, became an outstanding performer in top-tier club football in England. During that same period, ‘ball artists’ such as Messrs Sydney Bartlett and Lester “Fairy Boots” Alcock captured public imagination locally.

It was his artistry, perhaps more than anything else, that first gained acclaim for Mr Cole at the schoolboy level in the mid-1960s. He is said to have made his international début at age 15.

Early acclaim grew to complete adulation while he played for country and various clubs, including Santos and Boys’ Town through the latter 60s, 70s, and even into the early 80s.

He played professionally in North America and gained great fame when he became the first Jamaican to play at the highest club level in Brazil — the Mecca for local football lovers decades ago.

During a spell he spent in Ethiopia, Mr Cole also played and coached in that East African country, according to reports.

We are left to assume that People’s National Party President Mr Mark Golding, now 60 years old, actually saw Mr Cole play.

For, in his tribute, Mr Golding describes a ’baller with “silky, elegant passing skills, and ball control… second to none”.

Indeed, sublime control was the very essence of Mr Cole, as a player, at all levels.

With the ball seemingly tied to his boot he never seemed to hurry, eluding defenders in tight situations as if by magic, a process usually followed by a precise pass.

And when occasionally the play broke down, adoring fans found no reason to blame their hero. “Dem cya’ read ‘Skill’…” would be the sympathetic cry from the sidelines.

Flamboyantly charismatic, Mr Cole’s talent wasn’t confined to football. We are reminded that he was close friend, confidant, and tour manager for the legendary Mr Robert Nesta Marley, collaborating in the creation of the reggae classic, War.

We agree with Prime Minister Andrew Holness that Mr Cole was “part of a cultural movement that defined an era and carried Jamaica’s voice to the world”.

We believe we can safely say his kind won’t easily pass this way again.