Sports Development Foundation

SUNDAY, JULY 18, 2021 33 I F THERE was a Guinness Book of Jamaican Sports Records, a spe- cial spot would undoubtedly be reserved for local folk hero Dennis ‘Den Den’ Hutchinson. His achieve- ments in football are not only remarkable but are indeed the stuff of legends. Hutchinson is widely believed to be theonlyplayer tobeapart of champion Manning Cup and daCosta Cup teams (Jamaica’s premier high school football competitions) in successive years. He led Ti vol i Gardens Comprehensive High School to the Manning Cup title in 1976, then helped secure Clarendon College’s hold on the daCosta Cup in 1977. Especially noteworthy is the fact that Hutchinson finished as the leading goalscorer during both campaigns, scoring nine for Tivoli and an impres- sive 26 for the central Jamaica school. But it is the story of his journey fromTivoli to Clarendon that elevates his story from the mundane to that of an entertaining and inspirational tale of overcoming adversity, with a little comic relief and drama thrown in for good measure. As Hutchinson revelled in the tre- mendous on-field success hewas hav- ingwithTivoli Gardens Comprehensive High School, he was equally obliged to take steps to protect his safety as he travelled daily along SpanishTown Road, MaxfieldAvenue, and surround- ing areas. At the time, violent clashes between supporters of the island’s two major political parties were frequent and just living in certain areas made you a target. “The political climate at the time was very terrible, atrocious, it was hell. We couldn’t even wear our school tie. When we were leaving home to go to school, we had to take the tie off for safety and security, and once you get to school you put the tie on. When you leave school, you have to do the same thing,” Hutchinson said. As a 16-year-old youngster, Hutchinson had no interest, let alone involvement, in politics, but that didn’t mean much to others for whom navigating the tense climate was in fact a matter of life and death. CLOSE CALL Hutchinson, a Rose Town resident, had been doing a good job of keep- ing himself away from the political fray until one fateful day when it actively sought himout, with near-fa- tal consequences. Still high on the accomplishment of contributing significantly to the deliv- ery of the Manning Cup title to Tivoli Comprehensive High, Hutchinson, who was also a member of a youth and community club known as Uniques United, was hanging with his club colleagues on thewest side of Maxfield Avenue one evening, when a group of men accosted him. Uniques transcended the political landscape, with membership from Whitfield Town, Rose Town, Rema, Greenwich Town, Maxfield Park andmuch further. “One of them ask me wah me ah deal wid, ‘yuh make Tivoli win Manning Cup’. He came with a friend and his friend was a little way off and as himsay that, I just hear the gunshot. Luckily, immediately when I got the shot, a police car came,”he explained. Thebulletwent across his body from his shoulder, narrowlymissinghis heart and exiting along the other side just belowhiswaist. Major surgery and the fact that he had been in such impres- sivephysical shape for his age arewhat saved his life. Needless to say, Hutchinson did not want to stay in his area in case his assailant sought to succeed where he had initially failed. So, a plan was hatched by his club Uniques to send him off to a rural school to continue his development as a footballer. Leveraging the connections of his long-time friend and current general manager of the Sports Development FOLK SPORTS HERO DENNIS ‘DEN DEN’ HUTCHINSON Dennis Hutchinson PLEASE SEE ‘DEN DEN’, 42