Umapati Kumar
Personal information
Full name Umapati Kumar
Date of birth (1898-02-08)8 February 1898
Place of birth Burdwan, Bengal Presidency, British India
Date of death 20 November 1992(1992-11-20) (aged 94)
Place of death Calcutta, West Bengal, India
Position(s) Inside forward
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1916–1936 Mohun Bagan
International career
1923–1936 India
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Umapati Kumar was a former footballer who played mostly as an inside forward. As a footballer, he represented India in international football, and Mohun Bagan AC in the Calcutta Football League.[1][2][3]

Personal life

Umapati Kumar was born on 8 February 1898 in Chagram, located in the Burdwan district of West Bengal. His father Rajanikanta Kumar was a barrister in Kishanganj, Purnia district, Bihar. The Kumar family was having their hereditary Khagra Nawab Estate Zamindari during Presidency rule under British Raj.[4] By 1916, he completed his matriculation from Kishanganj Higher English School, and represented the school team in interschool football tournament.[4] and came to Kolkata. In 1919, Kumar married Sailabala Devi and in 1920, he graduated from the Scottish Church College.[5] One of his son, Bishwanath Kumar, was a sportsperson and represented Mohun Bagan alongside playing cricket and hockey.[4]

Playing career

Umapati Kumar is best remembered for his long and cherished career with Mohun Bagan AC. He joined the club as a youngster in 1916 and would continue to don the Green & Maroon jersey for more than two decades. Earlier coached by Dukhiram Majumder,[6][7] Kumar played alongside some of the stars from Mohun Bagan's famous 1911 IFA Shield winning team, as well as later icons including Gostha Pal,[8][9] Bimal Mukherjee, Satu Chowdhury, Balaidas Chatterjee,[10][11] Karuna Bhattacharya,[12] Dr. Sanmatha Dutta.[13] He predominantly played inside left for the club with Syed Abdus Samad,[14] and retired in 1936.[15] In 1923, he was part of the Mohun Bagan team that defeated both the Calcutta Football League and IFA Shield winner Calcutta FC.[16] In the same year, they met Calcutta FC again in the final of IFA Shield in their 3–0 defeat.

Kumar was also a regular participant in exhibition matches that took place in Kolkata like Indians vs Europeans and Civilians vs Military. Kumar captained the Indian team in these matches for four consecutive seasons and the Civilian team (which would also contain Europeans) for two consecutive seasons in 1926 and 1927.[17] He was also an integral part of the IFA XI which toured Ceylon (Sri Lanka) and South Africa in the 1930s.[17][18] On 4 July 1936, he played for India against visiting Chinese team in their 1–1 draw in Calcutta.[19]

With Mohun Bagan, Umapati Kumar won Coochbehar Trophy six times and a host of other trophies. He was also the captain of the side which reached the 1923 IFA Shield final.[5] After retirement, he remained closely associated with Mohun Bagan till his death, serving in a number of positions such as secretary, general secretary, treasurer and vice-president.[17]

Playing style

Umapati Kumar was one of the most skillful players of his generation and was well known for his passing range. He is often considered to be the first Indian footballer to have perfected the art of through passes.[20] He was an intelligent, elegant footballer who was supremely fit. Despite playing without boots, kneecaps or anklets for most of his career Umapati Kumar never suffered from a long term injury. Amrita Bazar Patrika once remarked that Kumar's skills and crafts were "as smooth as muslin".

Post-playing career

After retiring from football, Kumar went on to began his administrative career in his club Mohun Bagan and served as both the football secretary and president.[4] He later joined the governing body of the Indian Football Association (IFA) and also served as president of the Calcutta Referees' Association.[4]

Death and legacy

Kumar died on 20 November 1992 in Calcutta, aged 94.[4] The Kolkata Municipal Corporation paid tribute to him by renaming a road "Umapati Kumar Sarani".[4]

Honours

Mohun Bagan[21][22]

  • Coochbehar Cup: 1916, 1931, 1935, 1936
  • Asanullah Cup runner-up: 1916[4]
  • Rovers Cup runner-up: 1923
  • IFA Shield runner-up: 1923

Individual

See also

References

  1. ↑ Kapadia, Novy (7 June 2015). "Mohun Bagan: Blaze of Glory". indianexpress.com. The Indian Express. Archived from the original on 22 February 2016. Retrieved 4 March 2016.
  2. ↑ "Era of Legends – 1930 to 1939". Mohun Bagan Club. Archived from the original on 5 May 2022. Retrieved 5 May 2022.
  3. ↑ "Mohun Bagan to honour legend Karuna Bhattacharya". Business Standard. 12 July 2015. Archived from the original on 6 May 2022. Retrieved 6 May 2022.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 "Mohun Bagan Athletic Club: Umapati Kumar". mohunbagangorbo.com. Kolkata. Archived from the original on 28 April 2016. Retrieved 26 January 2015.
  5. 1 2 Some Alumni of Scottish Church College in 175th Year Commemoration Volume. Scottish Church College, April 2008. p. 591.
  6. ↑ Webdesk, Xtratime Bangla (21 April 2020). "ভাইপোকে পোস্টে বেঁধে লাথি মেরে ছিলেন স্যার দুখিরাম মজুমদার…" [Sir Dukhiram Majumdar tied his nephew to a post and kicked him...]. xtratimebangla.in (in Bengali). Kolkata: Xtratime Bangla. Archived from the original on 21 October 2022. Retrieved 21 October 2022.
  7. ↑ Mitra, Atanu (9 October 2017). "A 19th century visionary: The legend behind one of India's first football scouts". scroll.in. Kolkata: Scroll. Archived from the original on 23 October 2021. Retrieved 21 October 2022.
  8. ↑ Majumdar, Rounak (22 April 2019). "The Golden Years of Indian Football". www.chaseyoursport.com. Kolkata: Chase Your Sport. Archived from the original on 7 November 2020. Retrieved 28 January 2022.
  9. ↑ "Gostha Pal – IFAWB: biography". ifa.org. Indian Football Association. Archived from the original on 22 September 2022. Retrieved 2 October 2022.
  10. ↑ "Balai Das Chatterjee is Mohun Bagan Ratna 2013". Mohun Bagan Athletic Club. Archived from the original on 26 February 2020. Retrieved 26 February 2020.
  11. ↑ "Balaidas Chatterjee". themohunbaganac.com. Archived from the original on 26 February 2020. Retrieved 26 February 2020.
  12. ↑ "Mohun Bagan to honour legend Karuna Bhattacharya". Business Standard. 12 July 2015. Archived from the original on 6 May 2022. Retrieved 6 May 2022.
  13. ↑ "Era of Legends – 1930 to 1939". Mohun Bagan Club. Archived from the original on 5 May 2022. Retrieved 5 May 2022.
  14. ↑ Nasar, S. A. (2020). "SAMAD: FOOTBALL WIZARD OF INDIA". Booksie. Archived from the original on 29 September 2020. Retrieved 7 November 2022.
  15. ↑ McDaniel, Alonzo Simpson (1990). "The Absorption of Hydrocarbon Gases by Non-aqueous Liquids - Alonzo Simpson McDaniel". Archived from the original on 31 March 2022. Retrieved 20 September 2015.
  16. ↑ "Mohun Bagan Ratna — Late Balaidas Chatterjee to receive the award posthumously". www.mohunbaganac.com. Mohun Bagan Athletic Club. 26 July 2013. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 28 September 2014.
  17. 1 2 3 Majumdar, Boria, Bandyopadhyay, Kausik (1 February 2006). Goalless: The Story of a Unique Footballing Nation. New Delhi: Penguin India. ISBN 9780670058747. Archived from the original on 8 April 2022.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  18. ↑ "Barefoot tourists, 1934". PressReader. The Mercury. Archived from the original on 6 May 2022. Retrieved 6 May 2022.
  19. ↑ "INDIA FOOTBALL". Archived from the original on 15 August 2018. Retrieved 15 August 2018.
  20. ↑ History of Indian Football - Nirmal Nath, Page 115
  21. ↑ "Creation of History – 1910 to 1919". Mohun Bagan Athletic Club. Archived from the original on 5 May 2022. Retrieved 5 May 2022.
  22. ↑ "Countrywide success – 1920 to 1929". Mohun Bagan Athletic Club. Archived from the original on 5 May 2022. Retrieved 5 May 2022.
  23. ↑ "Mohun Bagan Ratna – The Jewels of Mohun Bagan". Mohunbaganac.com. Archived from the original on 9 September 2015. Retrieved 20 September 2015.

Bibliography

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