Jardine were the 1956-1957 Hong Kong Football Association 2nd Division champions. This could be a photograph of that team.
There is a report in the 10th March 1957 issue of Ta Kung Pao (大公報) about Jardine travelling to Yuen Long for a match with the Yuen Long United team, and being invited for dinner by a local Yuen Long merchant. Mr. HO Chee Tin was a forward in the team.
Many thanks for this. That would make sense if this were a photo of the 2nd Division Jardine team. My only guess that it is Jardine is the Saltaire on the kit as I know Jardine has its roots in Scotland. Interesting to hear that my grandfather was a forward in that team. Would 2nd Division players likely to have other jobs and then play in their spare time?
Not sure about the Jardines team in the 50s, but even today, some players in Hong Kong have second jobs in addition to playing football.
My impression of teams with company names in the past is that at least some of them were (partly?) made up of company employees. Some good players who were recruited into the team were given a day job in the company. Did your grandfather work for Jardines?
I'm afraid I don't know whether my grandfather ever worked for Jardines. From the few photos we have he was in the Navy in the early 50s and seemed to play a lot of sports while serving. All my Dad said is that he played for Jardines and South China after he was in the Navy and he seemed to think that that was his job, but it would have been when my Dad was very young. Later on he worked in shipping.
Hi tennis ball, yes that is correct. Before the late 1960s, there was no professional football players in the Hong Kong Football Association leagues. Players in teams like Kowloon Motor Bus had jobs with the company. As the first professional league in Asia, it is not so right that nowadays footballers hold a second job (e.g. working as a coach in other lower tier teams or football schools), but it is reality.
ho.ming-lun, perhaps it is worth checking with the archives of Jardine to see if there is any record of your grandfather, and to get more information about this photograph?
Hi C. Thanks for this. I'll get in touch with Jardines and see if they hold any records. After a brief search, it looks like Jardines archives are held in here in the UK.
That's interesting. The Saltaire on the kit shows it's almost certainly Jardines. Based on the eBay photo I wonder whether there must have been European teams and Chinese teams that played separately?
Comments
Re: Football team in 1957 in Hong Kong (Possibly Jardine's)
Jardine were the 1956-1957 Hong Kong Football Association 2nd Division champions. This could be a photograph of that team.
There is a report in the 10th March 1957 issue of Ta Kung Pao (大公報) about Jardine travelling to Yuen Long for a match with the Yuen Long United team, and being invited for dinner by a local Yuen Long merchant. Mr. HO Chee Tin was a forward in the team.
Re: Football team in 1957 in Hong Kong (Possibly Jardine's)
Many thanks for this. That would make sense if this were a photo of the 2nd Division Jardine team. My only guess that it is Jardine is the Saltaire on the kit as I know Jardine has its roots in Scotland. Interesting to hear that my grandfather was a forward in that team. Would 2nd Division players likely to have other jobs and then play in their spare time?
Not sure about the Jardines…
Not sure about the Jardines team in the 50s, but even today, some players in Hong Kong have second jobs in addition to playing football.
My impression of teams with company names in the past is that at least some of them were (partly?) made up of company employees. Some good players who were recruited into the team were given a day job in the company. Did your grandfather work for Jardines?
I'm afraid I don't know…
I'm afraid I don't know whether my grandfather ever worked for Jardines. From the few photos we have he was in the Navy in the early 50s and seemed to play a lot of sports while serving. All my Dad said is that he played for Jardines and South China after he was in the Navy and he seemed to think that that was his job, but it would have been when my Dad was very young. Later on he worked in shipping.
Re: Not sure about the Jardines…
Hi tennis ball, yes that is correct. Before the late 1960s, there was no professional football players in the Hong Kong Football Association leagues. Players in teams like Kowloon Motor Bus had jobs with the company. As the first professional league in Asia, it is not so right that nowadays footballers hold a second job (e.g. working as a coach in other lower tier teams or football schools), but it is reality.
ho.ming-lun, perhaps it is worth checking with the archives of Jardine to see if there is any record of your grandfather, and to get more information about this photograph?
Jardines archives
Hi C. Thanks for this. I'll get in touch with Jardines and see if they hold any records. After a brief search, it looks like Jardines archives are held in here in the UK.
Jardines Football Kit
By chance. Probably an Inter-Hong football match between Jardines and Butterfield & Swire at Hong Kong Football Club in 1952 (before the stadium was built) as seen at: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/143622414876?itmmeta=01J0T0FZY8VEAFDQVVVSJGS2T9&hash=item217090221c:g:C2MAAOSw-qNeu64p
Jardines Football Kit
That's interesting. The Saltaire on the kit shows it's almost certainly Jardines. Based on the eBay photo I wonder whether there must have been European teams and Chinese teams that played separately?