On Sunday 14 January 2018, the English football mourned the sudden and unexpected passing of footballer Cyrille Regis who died from a heart attack.
Regis was an MBE international footballer who played as a forward. His professional football career spanned 19 years (1975 – 1996) with 614 league appearances where he scored 158 league goals and won the FA Cup with Coventry City in 1987.
Regis first obtained public notice when he was signed to West Bromwich Albion where he played alongside two other black players, mates Laurie Cunningham and Brendon Batson. The then manager of West Bromwich Albion Ron Atkinson christened the trio the Three Degrees and a photo shoot was arranged with the namesake pop group to cement their iconic title.
Cyrille Regis recounted in a previous interview that during their time, they suffered verbal racial abuse to the degree that at certain games, fans from the opposing sides would chant racist abuse at them and even threw bananas onto the pitch. Even during the now iconic 5-3 win at Old Trafford in late 1978, the abuse was audible enough for commentator Gerald Sinstadt to refer to it. When he made his debut for England (a total of five caps) a bullet was posted to him in the fan mail.
Like his fellow players, Regis’ response was to retaliate by performing on the pitch and scoring goals.
As the Independent newspaper defined him, he was “A trailblazer for black footballers who overcame racism and bigotry to inspire a generation”.
After the death of his colleague Laurie Cunningham, Regis became a born-again Christian and lived his life until his passing as a member of an evangelical church in Birmingham.
Booker T Washington stated that ‘Success is to be measured not so much by the position that one has reached in life as by the obstacles which he has overcome.’
We all face obstacles in life where we often find ourselves with challenges. However, like Regis we can remember God’s words and say, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” Phil 4:13
