Forgotten heroes now hall of famers

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June 6, 1951-the day three First Nations members from Vancouver Island helped the Victoria All-Stars rock the international soccer world by becoming the first Canadian team (amateur, at that) to defeat a professional English team.

Nov. 3, 2001-the day the Victoria All-Stars were finally recognized for their victory in 1951 at an awards ceremony and banquet where they were inducted into the Greater Victoria Sports Hall of Fame.

Ken Williams and Herman Henry of Duncan, and Stan Bob of Nanaimo came to the aid of the Victoria All Stars soccer club when three of the team's leading kickers were unavailable for a dust -up with Fulham, an undefeated British pro-club, a first division team since 1948. The All Stars' management had put out a distress call to local Native players asking that those who thought they might have the skills to compete at this elite level should try out for the team.

According to Henry, who was just 27 at the time, he was happy to be selected for the team, made up of a bunch of eager young guys.

"We had a good manager, a good team. We were all good boys who just wanted to play good ball," said Henry, who was chosen by the players to be team captain for the game.

The Victoria All Stars were a respected club in Canadian circles, but not considered of international calibre.

"Obviously, the Canadian teams were outclassed, and holding to a respectable score or netting a goal against the visitors was all they could aim for," said Dave Unwin, Victoria soccer historian and founder/chief archivist of the Greater Victoria Sports Hall of Fame. "Although there may have been dreams of playing to a draw, it was sheer fantasy to suggest that they could win."

Before the game, the Native boys "prayed a lot," said Henry. "We really wanted to beat them. We prayed even as our team was being picked."

Then he got some advice from his father.

"They got two feets, two hands, just the same as you have. Use yours to go out there and beat 'em."

Henry usually played for the Duncan Native Sons and was among the second generation players in the club who learned their craft from the old timers who had introduced the Cowichan area to the sport in the early 1900s. And a trick Henry learned from their soccer-playing elders proved to be their most effective tool in taking on the English.

With Bob playing inside, Williams in the mid-field and Henry running as fullback, along with a lineup which included two Brits and six Canadians, they trotted into battle. While on the field the Native players spoke Cowichan, frustrating any efforts of the opposing players to learn their strategy.

Thirty minutes after the kickoff, the All Stars scored the first and only goal of the game, tenaciously shutting out the pros till the last whistle of the evening when the audience erupted in wild celebration. Spectators spilled out onto the field to lift their heroes onto their shoulders and parade them around the field. Herman said that his priest, who had traveled all the way from Duncan to attend the game, was so thrilled he threw his clerical hat into the air, and never got it back.

The next day, soccer hit the front page of the Victoria Colonist newspaper with the headline: Victoria Humbles Powerful Visitors.

"With a spirited display of dogged tenacity, that select side had unbelievably beaten Fulham 1-0 in front of 2,800 fans," Unwin was to write later.

When they returned home, Herman said everybody in the village came out to meet them-the conquering heroes-though it wasn't for another 30 years, in the early 1980s, that his village held a feast to recognize them for this important victory.

Herman didn't mind the wait. The 79-year-old former millworker spent 40 years in soccer cleats, playing as a fullback in the Pacific Coast Soccer League and devoting years to coaching youth soccer for Native soccer clubs.

He claims his key strategy during his playing days continued to be to speak the Cowichan language to communicate on the ield. It could be used for instant commands and moves between the players.

Herman and his fellow players have the satisfaction of knowing they accomplished what was then viewed as the impossible and that they are finally recognized for their accomplishments. The game against Fulham marked a turning point in world soccer, as other amateur teams realized they, too, could beat the mighty British.

According to Unwin, who wrote a book on the history of soccer in British Columbia, "A solid combined team effort had achieved that great June evening victory and made Canadian sports history by beating a touring English professional side for the first time ever."