Bermuda has lost another ex-soccer star with the death of fomer Pembroke Juniors goalkeeper Jeremiah Mills.

A prominent player from the early 1940s to late 1950s, Mills was one of the Island?s best goalkeepers, playing his entire career with Juniors while representing the BMA during representative matches against RAF who featured many players visiting on English ships during the war.

One particular game, which many veterans remember to this day, was the Governor?s Cup played at Malabar in Dockyard in 1943 in a semi-final against Daniels Head.

?Those were the good old days when our best would go out and clash against the foreigners and those were great matches,? said sports historian Warrington (Soup) Zuill.

?That Governor?s Cup semi-final was a thriller, played on April 16 and ending with BMA and Daniels Head drawing 1-1, Mills playing splendidly in goal, of course. In the replay four days later BMA won by a 2-1 margin to earn the right to play RAF in the finals on April 23.?

Zuill recalls the two sides involved in an intense battle with the scores remaining deadlocked at 1-1 at the interval. Then BMA took a decisive edge in the second half by scoring twice and recording a well deserved 3-1 victory.

Thanks to Mills? performance and similar outstanding roles played by players such as Artie Black, Stan Seymour, Earl Stevens, Chippo Agustus, Cyril Baxter and Leroy (Tubby) Richardson among a few of the stalwarts.

In addition to playing a big role in goal Mills was huge in statute, standing at six foot three inches and weighing over 200 pounds and was quite an intimidating figure to onrushing forwards.

?Those were two memorable games, Bermudians enjoyed those exciting fixtures in the good old days,? recalled Zuill.

?After helping the BMA in those matches he went on to continue a long, impressive career with Pembroke Juniors, playing from their inception to just beyond the mid 50s when they folded.?