ASK any former striker which Hotels International defender they feared most coming up against down the centre of the pitch. And chances are they would probably answer Frankie Brewster.

Indeed, the Rock, as he would later become to be known amongst his peers, packed a powerful punch back in the days when football was football, and players were truly committed to their game.

The story of one of the island's most outstanding marking centre-halfs unfolded at BAA Field in 1959/60, where a then six-year-old Brewster began to follow in the footsteps of his father Alfred (Frank) Brewster, who played senior football for BAA in the 1940's.

Brewster's natural skills were carefully nurtured while representing BAA's Snakes, Ducks, White's and Junior Greens youth teams before he was eventually introduced to senior football as a teenager.

The early days at the senior level would prove indecisive, as a young Brewster juggled between playing for BAA and Police. However, all of that changed in 1971 when the former player joined now defunct Hotels International, where he would go on to win two League championships both as a player and captain, and play alongside some of the best players ever to grace the local scene.

But those experiences alone were not by far the pinnacle of an illustrious career that came to an end at the age of 50 - fittingly where it all began, at BAA Wanderers.

During the mid 1970s, Brewster earned a call to national team duty, a distinction he so cherishes to this present day, and one in which he holds many fond memories. And the former player was by no means your average one-point man, as Brewster also dabbled in cricket at BAA in the 1970s before joining ranks with the likes of Clarence Parfitt and Rupert Scotland at the former Nationals Sports Club where he would eventually win a League championship and tour Scotland with the club.

He also represented Bermuda in darts and is a former Bermuda national darts coach.

But these days, Brewster seems to thrive most on the golf course, where he can be found - whenever he finds time to slip away from running the day to day business at the Pro Shop on Reid Street - driving balls off the tees or tapping one in for birdie (at least that's what he would have us to believe!)

And like many other local avid weekend warriors, Brewster is very anxious to challenge the new surroundings at Belmont Hills Golf Club where he is a member. "My father was an all-round sportsman. He played football and was a runner," recalled Brewster earlier this week.

"I used to play for my school team (Dellwood) until I left school at the age of 15 and began working at the Sportsman Shop."

Little did he know it at the time that one day he would own his own sports shop just a few blocks further down Reid Street called the Pro Shop.

"I played up front then because I was very small for my age. And when I reached the age of 16 I was still a small fellow and a lot of my mates were bigger then me and they got into the BAA White's and the Greens probably a year before me," he added.

"But within another six months, I went from five feet to six feet. And once I reached six foot I was able to make the BAA Greens and of course from the Greens you go into the Senior Greens and my coach Mr.Tom Warren turned me around from playing in the forward line to playing at the back."

In 1971, Brewster's career really took off at Hotels.

"We had a lot of good players. I played with a lot of good foreign players like Alan Peacock, Mustafa Aberdeen, Luigi Basadella and Gary Pimental," said Brewster. "So there were a lot of good players and it was at Hotels were I got recognised to play for Bermuda.

"In those days you had a lot of good players. Not just foreigners but also talented local players as well. We trained very hard and also worked very hard and the spectators just came out to watch us because it was just great football. And very, very rarely were there any problems. Of course you had a few minor incidents because it is a contact sport, but if you knocked somebody down you just got along with it and at the end of the game you shook hands and that was then end of it. You had your own spectators and the other team's spectators who would get down on you but it was never any hatred type of thing."

Brewster insisted he never once encountered any sort of racial abuse from fans or players during a period when he was only one of two white players playing domestically.

"I never received any abuse whatsoever. I was a Bermudian and colour didn't make any difference and the guys treated me fairly," said Brewster.

Undoubtedly, representing Bermuda in the 1974, 78 Central American and Caribbean (CAC) championships and the 1980 Pan Am Games proved to be the ultimate heights for Brewster.

"No doubt! I can still remember the day Allan (former national coach Allan Jones) walked into the Sportsman Shop and told me that he wanted me into the national squad," he recalled.

"I called my wife (Margaret) right there and then to tell her what had happened. But to make that team alone was another challenge."

Brewster competed against the likes of Danny Seymour, Wendell (Joe) Trott, Larry Simmons, Gavin Stevens and Ellsworth Lambert and later on Wendell (Wolly) Baxter for a defensive spot on the national team.

The 1979 Pan Am Games qualifying tournament held at the former National Stadium on the original 'carpet' saw Bermuda - with a star studded team - win the qualifying group in their final match against the US to advance into the 1980 Pan Am Games.

"It was all about national pride. They (coaching staff) told us to go out there and enjoy it and run around the field. The spectators were delirious," described Brewster. "We played against the likes of Mexico and the United States and we won. But we fellows had to go back work while the US and Mexico had the money behind them. But it was a wonderful feeling to get into the Pan Am Games. To beat those teams to get into the proper competition, the team had to work very hard - and the guys did.

"In those days you couldn't afford to miss training. You had to train for your own team and also with the national team. So sometimes you had to train four nights a week. So you had to sacrifice a lot. There were times there would be parties or guys going to town, but there were many nights that I had to sit out and stay at home. If you wanted to perform properly you had to be rested and my ritual was watching Star Soccer Saturday nights at home."

The 1974 CAC games in Santo Domingo proved to be one of the former player's most fondest and proudest moments as a national team player.

"Walking into the stadium with your Bermuda shorts on in front of a crowd of around 30 to 40 thousand people at the opening ceremony was unbelievable," he recalled. "And I would say that that was perhaps the highlight of my career just walking into that stadium."

However, Brewster said an altercation that occurred on the field during his later days at BAA Wanderers was his lowest moment in sport. The player was only sent off once during his career for swearing.

"Unfortunately, I would say that my lowest point during my career was in the Commercial League where one of my own players really annoyed me and I ran down to him and got into an altercation," he said. "And that was not like me because normally I can hold my temper inside. And that really upset me for quite some time."

However, on a much brighter note, the former Bermuda international left some good advice for the island's up and coming football prospects.

"You must take care of your schooling first," he insisted. "If you can get your education through football, then by all means go right ahead because in my day we didn't have that many opportunities," he said. "Settle down to the books and get your education and also be prepared to make sacrifices. You have to put in the hard work into your education and also into your career - whatever it may be. Football, track and field, whatever. Because only hard work is going to get you to where you want to be."