Had it not been for the persuasive John Tucker, Granville (Sam) Nusum and Wendell (Joe) Trott, Ralph (Gumbo) Bean might have ended up wearing a Devonshire Colts? jersey instead of the red and white of North Village.

After rising up through the junior ranks at Social Club and Devonshire Lions, Bean opted to join then powerhouses of local football Colts who used to share the same training facilities at Frog Lane Field in Prospect with Village in 1970.

However, Tucker, Nusum and Trott had thoughts of their own.

?Those guys had seen me play before and so they knew some of the qualities I had. I wanted to play for Devonshire Colts but Frog Lane had two training pitches and so I had to cross one to get to the other. But I never made it across the pitch where Village was training because Joe, John and Sam stopped and had a talk with me,? explained Bean, 53.

The rest, as they say, is now history as Bean?s football career ascended to dizzying heights.

Growing up in a family with footballers virtually coming out of the woodwork, Bean was always destined to excel in the sport.

His father, Arthur Bean Sr, was actually a cricketer with Pond Hill Stars. But his uncle Cyril (Scratchy) Baxter and brothers Arthur Jr, Raymond and Mel were all footballers right down to the core.

Mel and Ralph would later be linked up together at the senior national level and also at Vasco Da Gama where they formed one of the most lethal attacking partnerships ever seen in domestic football.

Like many kids his age at the time, Bean could be found absorbing all the action at the former Box Arena located opposite the Berkeley Institute on St.John?s Road on any given Sunday afternoon.

?It was a big thrill to watch football in those days. After attending Sunday school at St. Monica?s Mission I would walk out to the Box and watch teams such as Pembroke Juniors play against Dock Hill Rangers. Football used to be so exhilarating back then and all the players were fit and very powerful,? he recalled.

Bean took particular delight in watching his uncle (Cyril Baxter) suit up for powerhouse Pembroke Juniors.

He also spent many hours refining his skills with younger brother Mel at the family?s North Street and Dock Hill residences.

?I never played too much with my brother Arthur because basically at the time he was going out of the game,? Bean said. ?But Melvin was more or less coming into the game and later on we played at Vasco and also on the national team together.?

Bean officially joined a Village side containing the likes of Nusum, Trott, Tucker, Randy Bean, the late Russell Leverock and Kingsley Hassell at age 18 shortly after representing Bermuda at the youth level in a regional tournament held in Cuba.

?Football then was very competitive and it seemed that every time we were drawn in the cup competition we were drawn against teams like Somerset, PHC, Colts or Social Club in the first round ? they were some of the best clubs on the Island at the time,? Bean said.

?So when we finally ended up winning a major trophy (Premier Division championship in 1973-74) it was that much sweeter because we had to take a hard road in order to get there in the first place.

?That was icing on the cake because we were always playing spoilers. We were always guaranteed to beat the team that was in contention to win the league. But we were never able to maintain that form long enough to win a championship. So when we finally won our first championship it was really sweet.?

Village won their first major domestic cup title in 1965-66 when they were crowned inaugural Friendship Trophy champions after defeating Wellington Rovers 1-0 ? earlier this month the Reds won a seventh Friendship Trophy title after defeating Dandy Town 2-1 at the National Sports Centre (NSC).

Bean also won a Martonmere Cup title with Village in 1973-74.

But it was in 1977-78, the year Village won the triple crown championship (League, Friendship Trophy and FA Cup), when Bean?s extraordinary dribbling skills rose to the fore and his football career really took flight.

?To achieve the triple crown was even greater,? he recalled. ?We had a lot of pride and we were just one big happy family and whenever you went to the games the people made you feel as though you were a part of the group.

?Everyone was embraced at Village and I remember us holding team meetings every Monday to sort out where we might have gone wrong the day before or even air out any grievances. We got it all out in the open so that when the next game arrived we went out there as a unit.?

Eventually Bean would rise to legendary status at Village.

?I just loved to play football and allowed the sport to take me wherever it did. Everybody would always tell me that I?m good. But I always considered myself as a player who wanted to do their best. I just let my performances on the field do all the talking and always tried to do the best for my team,? he said.

? We used to train and play football every chance we had in a place that we called the Yard. That?s where we were able to adapt to playing in a confined area which helped me a lot in the development of my football.

?I never really liked to train, but of course training is a big part of playing football.?

Bean gained widespread acclaim for his uncanny ability to turn on the magic when it mattered most, something many a defender would come to dread.

?Whenever I got behind a defender, it was curtains,? the former Reds striker smiled.

One of Bean?s most memorable moments during his career at Village unfolded at Devonshire Recreation Club ? his favourite local football venue ? where he converted a penalty with the final kick of the match to help Wendell Dill?s squad avoid relegation.

To this date Village have never been relegated to the First Division.

?We were down 2-1 against Devonshire Cougars and facing relegation when we were awarded a penalty and the whistle blew for full time,? Bean recalled.

?I had to take the penalty which determined whether we stayed up or went down and I scored. That point kept us up and it was a very nerve wracking experience.

?Dill (coach Wendell Dill) was so tense and nervous that we were going to take the plunge and we also had people up on the bleachers who were actually crying tears of joy once the ball went in the net.

?I also remember another time playing against Somerset (Trojans) at the Den when I took possession of the ball from the centre circle and faked several players, including the goalkeeper, before I scored. When the game finished I was told that I had left four players on the ground in my wake. Once I dribbled past you I didn?t want to see you anymore.?

In 1974 and 1978 Bean was a member of the Island?s Central American and Caribbean (CAC) Games national squad that won bronze medals in Columbia and Venezuela.

And in 1979 Bean, along with brother Mel, captured the hearts and imagination of an entire nation when their combined talents helped Bermuda qualify for the 1980 Pan American Games in the most dramatic fashion at the former National Stadium in Prospect.

During earlier matches Ralph Bean had scored crucial goals to keep the Island?s hopes alive, and set the stage for brother Mel to steal the show. Needing only a point to to qualify, Bermuda were trailing Mexico 1-0 with time fast running out when Mel Bean ? on as substitute ? notched an equaliser right at the death.

?We had a lot of pride for the national team and you could see this in everyone who played for the national team at the time,? Bean said.

?And I?ve never witnessed the amount of support we received when we hosted the tournament here (Pan Am qualifiers in 1979).

?The stands and the bank were completely packed every game that took place up there (National Stadium) and I have never heard so much noise, it was a great experience.?

Watching younger brother Mel score was even greater.

?That was probably the most memorable part of the entire campaign. There are a lot of goals that were scored that I can?t remember, but that one in particular stands out as clear as day,? said Bean, who attended Central Primary School and the Berkeley Institute.

Months after the euphoria of Bermuda?s successful Pan Am Games qualification had subsided, Bean dropped a bombshell when he transferred to Portuguese club Vasco ? a move he executed without any regrets.

?It wasn?t very difficult for me to leave because in the back of my mind I knew I would return to Village,? he said.

?I had talks with a few of the prominent players at Village over my decision to move on to Vasco. And at the time Village had so many good players breaking into the ranks like the Calderon twins (Richard and Robert Calderon) and Wholly Baxter (Wendell Baxter). I had absolutely no questions whatsoever in my mind that Village would be alright because of the crop of players they had.?

Bean soon found himself facing a new challenge at a new club eager to make their mark on the local football scene.

?It was a challenge because I had always been surrounded by really good players at North Village and so I sort of had to adjust a bit,? he said. ?We had guys at Vasco who were not as skilful, but really played hard with lots of determination.?

In 1980 Vasco shocked the local football community when they upset perennial FA Cup kings Somerset Trojans in the final on the original carpet and then successfully defended their crown the next year against PHC Zebras.

Bean earned Vasco a penalty in their infamous win over Trojans in 1980.

?To this day Larry Simmons (former Trojans defender) thinks I fell in the box,? he said. ?But I can honestly tell you that if I am ever in front of goal with the ball the last thing I want to do is fall down. The only time I would actually fall down is if someone trips me. So I didn?t dive, I was actually fouled.?

Incidentally, it was Village ? now led by midfield maestro Andrew Bascome ? who denied Vasco from winning three straight FA Cup titles.

Bean also finally put rumours that Vasco built his house as part payment for his services to rest.

?We can quash those rumours right now, that house was built by me,? he insisted.

Even after severing ties at Village, Bean was still regarded as a part of the family.

?Village are so good in that respect, I was still a part of the family even when I went to play for Vasco. I was treated no different,? he said.

Bean got a rare treat in the early 1980s when English side Tottenham Hotspur toured the Island with a depleted squad which paved the way for the Bermudian to suit up for the tourists.

?I actually sat on the bench for a quite a long spell but when I came onto the pitch I scored a goal and set up another,? he said. ?But before that my feeling was that they thought I could not play and when I finally got onto the pitch and had a few touches of the ball that?s when they started to play me more into the game.?

During the course of his career, Bean said he never once considered playing professionally overseas.

?At the time there were still racial conflicts going on in England and even though Clyde (Clyde Best) was over there, there was still a lot of bias going on,? he said.

?When I played for Tottenham they wouldn?t pass me the ball at first. But it just so happened that I managed to intercept a loose ball that wasn?t intended for me and scored. Only after that they started passing the ball to me and I actually created another goal for them.

?But up until then I had been running around the pitch unnoticed.?

Bean returned to Village to finish off his career in 1983 and officially retired from top flight football one year later at age 32.

?I left the game without any regrets,? he said.

Along with former PHC Zebras? Ed (Beaver) Burrows and Johnny Nusum, Bean helped form Commercial Division outfit Spinning Wheel Raiders ? now referred to as PHC Raiders.

?We all decided to go and play in the Commercial Division and so we obtained sponsorship from Spinning Wheel and played with them for a number of years,? Bean recalled.

?After that Village formed a Commercial team of their own and I was one of the first members of their Commercial team as well.?

Now retired, Bean takes pleasure watching his son ? Ralph Jr ? ply his trade at Bernard Park.

And 28 years after celebrating a triple crown championship, Bean?s son is on the verge of duplicating the feat under first year coach Dwayne (Streaker) Adams.

?Every now and then I pass on a few pointers to him,? the elder Bean smiled. ?I told him last week ?not to take Hamilton Parish too lightly? like they did in last year?s FA Cup final.

?And I knew if Village did that they would destroy Parish who had no right being on the same pitch as those guys.?

When asked which defender gave him most difficulties during his career, Bean replied: ?There were a couple out there who were a nuisance like Woodgate (former Southampton Rangers Wendell Simmons) and Johnny Nusum.

?These guys were a pain in the neck. But on the whole, I treated everyone with respect because you had to in order to gain respect. And if they were a good player, then I had to raise my game just a little bit more in order to get on top of them.?