In the years 1951, 1952 and 1953, it was in the capable hands of the late Patrick Eric Steele that the St Mary's Intercol Team placed their final trust on the football field.
At last week's Funeral Mass at Our Lady of Fatima Roman Catholic Church, Curepe, in celebration of Steele's life cut short by lung cancer, so many of us could visualise the tall, lanky young goalkeeper in his trade-mark, dark blue, turtle neck jersey between the St Mary's uprights.
He had left behind his beloved wife, Shirley (nee Williams), sons, Doctors Warren and Sheldon Steele, daughter Jozette, and granddaughter, Celeste.
Long-time friend, Peter Pena's eulogy praised Steele for his contribution in the 60's as part of the British West Indian Airways team responsible for implementing the airline's first computer system, with people like Jesus Pazos, Jackie Raymond, Cheryl Lai Fang, Lucille Chan, Theo Oliver, Pena and others, "Patsy came into his own in charge of computer operations, both in setting the system up and afterwards." The congregation chuckled as Pena stressed "this was the pre-Shirley period of his life and no matter where he was the night before or how late he came home, he was always at work on time and effectively discharged his responsibilities. Indeed he continued in that same vein at CLICO and then Neal & Massy's Datalink"
But it was as St Mary's Intercol 'goalie' that thousands of cheering teen-age girls and boys of the early fifties will remember Patsy Steele. Queen's Royal College, for example, has never stopped heckling their St Mary's counterparts about the 1951 game when having lost for eight straight years to the Saints, in Steele's first Intercol outing between the uprights, the Royalians stunned the entire Grand Stand by beating their arch-rivals four goals to one.
But Colin Agostini, captain of the St Mary's team, will tell you that "in 1952 it was Patsy who brought off some magnificent saves or it could have been six goals for QRC, instead we drew nil-nil, played the game over and won one-nil."
Agostini reminisced "Patsy was also a very hostile fast bowler and also had a hell of a sense of humour." Hammond Furlonge and Steele were best friends "from the time we entered College at age thirteen to the time of his passing. We played Colts football and Colts cricket for St Mary's then moved on to Notre Dame and Harvard."
Steele, who came from Belmont, had chosen as his role model leading goalkeeper, Joey Gonsalves. It was ironic that when Steele joined the Notre Dame football team, he found himself in the role of goalkeeper in the 1956 team which won the Port of Spain League First Division Championship title, with Gonsalves playing at full back.
At Harvard, says Furlonge "he was one of the top goalkeepers at that time and we won all three years that Harvard played in the Northern League. Patsy was always very interested in sports since in College and was always pretty successful from our St Mary's days. He also played cricket for Harvard with a lot of us who went on to represent Trinidad and Tobago. Actually he was paired with fast bowler Kenny Roberts and Harvard won the Trinidad Cricket Council League twice back then."
And although Steele was a devoted member of Harvard Sports Club on Tragarete Road for the greater part of his adult life, for some reason he never accepted a management position, but was a member of the Ballot Committee for many years, and was made a Life Member of the Club.
Patrick Eric Steele - March 17, 1934 - September 15, 2001. May he rest in peace.