Groundbreaking soccer star receives much-deserved spotlight
- Mark Parker
- May 11
- 4 min read
A new documentary is providing a long-overdue look at how Clyde Best overcame incessant racial bigotry to become England’s first Black football superstar and a soccer legend in the United States.
In 1968, a 17-year-old Best left his native Bermuda to play for West Ham United in the top-tier English Premier League’s First Division, where he quickly became known as a prolific scorer and trailblazer. After enduring eight years of blatant racism in London, he joined the Tampa Bay Rowdies and immediately won a championship in the burgeoning North American Soccer League (NASL).
“Transforming the Beautiful Game: The Clyde Best Story” is a meticulously detailed, full-length documentary that explores how a teen from Bermuda helped shape soccer’s global trajectory. Director Dan Egan screened the film, which features 43 interviews from some of the sport’s most respected voices, from Thursday through Saturday at the Palladium Theater in St. Petersburg.
Egan enlisted Tony Head, a prominent actor whose credits include HBO’s hit series “The Wire,” to narrate the documentary. They joined Best at a special screening on Friday afternoon to discuss the film’s creation and importance.
“I don’t know another story like this,” Head explained. “I compare it to Jackie Robinson, favorably. Jackie was 28 when he was brought into Major League Baseball. He had a family. He was a very mature man, and he had the support of Branch Rickey, who was president of the Brooklyn Dodgers. They made a decision to let Blacks … into the major leagues. So, he had that support.
“Clyde had none of this, and he was a teenager. And on top of that, he becomes an icon.”
The film begins by highlighting the racial tensions that permeated life in the 1960s. Best, a soccer phenom in his native Bermuda, the first English colony to participate in the transatlantic slave trade, arrived in London alone and without a place to stay.
By chance, a stranger introduced Best to Jessie Charles, a white woman and mother to fellow West Ham players John and Clive Charles. The teen lived with the family for six years.
“If it wasn’t for the Charles family, God knows what would have happened to me,” Best said in the film. “She took me in and treated me just like one of her own children.”
Best, known for his strength and athleticism, immediately excelled with West Ham. While he was not England’s first Black footballer, his predecessors were never afforded an opportunity to achieve the same level of prominence in the country’s top division.
The striker scored 47 goals for West Ham between 1968 and 1976, a record that stood for 50 years. In 1970, the club was invited to play a series of exhibition matches in the U.S., an experience that allowed a young Best to compete against the world’s premier soccer players.
Best faced off against Edson Arantes do Nascimento, better known as Pelé, who was already widely regarded as one of the greatest players in soccer history at the time. The up-and-coming star scored twice.
“He came up to me and said, ‘Clyde, I’m the king. You’re now the prince,’” Best recalled of his post-match encounter with Pelé. “I will never forget that, because he was one of my heroes.”
The film describes Best, typically the only Black face on the field or in stadiums throughout England, regularly enduring racist chants. Grounds crews often filled garbage bags with bananas that fans hurled onto the field.
There were also written threats of violence, and Best said the only time he ever “lost it” was when a fan spat in his face. “If you let them know they can get in your head, they’re going to destroy you.”
One interviewee noted that Best’s ability to meet adversity with excellence fostered opportunities for other Black players. The trailblazer said his dad would often remind him, “You’re not playing for yourself, you’re playing for the people coming after you.”
Best eventually became a fan favorite at Upton Park, his home field, and an inspiration to Black kids throughout England who saw someone who looked like them on television for the first time. However, racial tensions persisted, and he decided to pursue an opportunity in the NASL.
His 88th-minute goal in his first year with the Rowdies secured a Soccer Bowl ‘75 victory in the team’s inaugural season. Best then led the club to an indoor title the following spring, and was named the tournament’s best player.
Best’s presence helped attract other high-profile foreign athletes to the U.S., and he was instrumental in boosting the sport’s stateside popularity. The film ends by discussing lingering inequalities in professional sports and society.
After the screening, Best said he hopes the documentary will help young people overcome negativity and challenges. He believes anyone can “make it to the top, if you put in the time and effort, pay attention, and do what you have to do.”
“You have to be strong mentally,” Best said. “Never let anyone tell you that you can’t do something in life.”
Portland, Oregon, is the next stop on a North American film tour that Egan plans to eventually include every FIFA World Cup host city. He is also working on a publishing deal with streaming services, and pledged that “Transforming the Beautiful Game” will soon be available online.
For more information about the documentary, visit the website here.
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