Des Minors, a prolific former striker with PHC Zebras before later playing for several Commercial League teams, has died after a long illness.

Minors, who turned 55 last month, had cancer in the pelvis diagnosed in 2011 after going to the doctor for blood clots that were determined to be malignant. His treatment in the past two years included visits to Thomas Jefferson hospital in Philadelphia and Johns Hopkins in Baltimore, where he spent three months before returning to Bermuda on Good Friday.

According to his mother, Nedra Cook, the cancer spread to his legs, stomach, kidney and lungs and, upon his return to Bermuda, Minors spent a few days at Agape House.

“I’ve seen him in so many hospital beds and gowns that I’m relieved that he’s relieved,” his mother said. “He’s been in pain for about 2½ years. It is a long time for someone to suffer like that.

“I couldn’t stand to see him suffer any longer. I’m really sorry that Des is gone, but at least he is out of his pain. He had too much of it. The cancer was in his stomach and then it went to his back and also in his lungs, and that isn’t something a mother would enjoy seeing her child go through.”

Despite the pain, and being unable to walk, Minors still had a sense of humour. “Once I kissed him on the forehead and said, ‘I love you, but I know sometimes I get on your nerves’ and he gave me a big, wide grin,” Ms Cook said.

“We brought him back home [from Agape House] because that was his wish.”

Minors, who played his first season with PHC in 1977, also played for Warwick United and Paget, although it was in the Commercial League where he made his mark, finishing as the top scorer for three different teams — Forties, Robin Hood and Spinning Wheel Raiders.

Kyle Lightbourne, although several years younger, played with Minors at PHC and then again with him at PHC Raiders when he returned to Bermuda from playing professionally in England.

“It is sad that we’ve lost someone like him, such a gentleman and well loved around the club,” Lightbourne said. “He will be sadly missed. I didn’t even know he was sick until the day before yesterday when I saw his brother Dyrone and he said Des mentioned me.

“Des moved away [to California] for a period and you lose touch with people, but he is one who will always be remembered at PHC. I played with him a few times at senior level and in the Commercial League when I first came back. I always had respect for him as a youngster coming through at PHC.”

Sammy Swan is another PHC stalwart who played with Minors in the 1980s, along with the likes of Ty Williams and Carlyle Crockwell, the goalkeepers, the late Osei Jones, Mike Dill, Ed Lightbourne, Jack Castle, Frank Ming, Eugene Simmons, Brian Anderson and Kenny Burt.

“I hadn’t seen him and was concerned why I hadn’t seen him,” Swan said. “I didn’t even know he was sick. He was a guy who was always in good shape.”

Minors led the Forties scoring in 1988-89 with 26 goals before joining Warwick in the Second Division the next year and scoring 15 goals to leading the division’s scoring charts. After helping Warwick to gain promotion, Minors stayed to play with them in the First Division before returning to the Commercial League in 1991-92 with Spinning Wheel Raiders, where he finished as top scorer with 22 goals in 18 games.

The next season Minors joined Robin Hood and was the league’s leading scorer with 24 goals before repeating the feat in 1993-94, when he led all scoring with 26 goals.

Based on newspaper clippings from his two scrapbooks in which he meticulously documented his scoring feats, Minors brought up his 100 goals in 1994-95 when he returned to Spinning Wheel, finding the net 17 times to finish behind Troy Berkeley, who had poached 25 for Ireland Island Rangers. In 1996-97, Minors netted 27 goals to take his tally, at age 37, to 142 from 124 Commercial League games.

By the 1998-99 season, Spinning Wheel had evolved into PHC Raiders, but Minors kept up his appearances in the goal columns with 27 goals to reach the 200 mark for his career.

Leon Desmond Minors is survived by two children, son Grae, 22, and daughter Dia, 19, and brothers Du-val and Dyrone. Funeral arrangements are being made.