Fred Pugsley

{{Infobox football biography

| name = Fred Pugsley

| image =

| caption =

| fullname = Fred Pugsley

| birth_date =

| birth_place = Rangoon, Burma, British India

| death_date = 1958

| death_place = Burma

| position = Forward

| years1 =

| clubs1 = Rangoon Customs

| caps1 =

| goals1 =

| years2 = 1942–1945

| clubs2 = East Bengal

| caps2 =

| goals2 = 48{{cite web|first1=Gautam|last1=Roy|first2=Swapan|last2=Ball|date=2007|url=http://www.eastbengalfootballclub.com/club/famousPlayers.asp|title=East Bengal Football Club – Famous Players|access-date=25 February 2009|website=www.eastbengalfootballclub.com|url-status=usurped|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090221072205/http://www.eastbengalfootballclub.com/club/famousPlayers.asp|archive-date=21 February 2009}}

| years3 = 1944–1945

| clubs3 = Bengal

| caps3 =

| goals3 =

| nationalyears1 = 1938–1948

| nationalteam1 = Burma XI

| nationalcaps1 =

| nationalgoals1 =

}}

Fred Pugsley was an Anglo-Burmese football player, who played primarily as a forward and achieved fame and popularity during his days in Indian club East Bengal FC.{{Cite web|url=https://eastbengaltherealpower.com/pugsley/|title=PUGSLEY|website=East Bengal the Real Power|date=13 November 2020 |access-date=7 March 2021|archive-date=24 June 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210624223305/https://eastbengaltherealpower.com/pugsley/|url-status=live}}{{Cite web|url=https://theworldsportstoday.com/one-hundred-years-of-east-bengal-a-century-of-struggle-and-accomplishments/|title=One hundred years of East Bengal: A century of struggle and accomplishments|website=theworldsportstoday.com|access-date=12 May 2021|archive-date=12 May 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210512160247/https://theworldsportstoday.com/one-hundred-years-of-east-bengal-a-century-of-struggle-and-accomplishments/|url-status=live}} He was born in Rangoon, Burma, a British colony, where football is one of the popular sports. He began his football career in an amateur league club in Rangoon during the late 1930s. He is considered as the first ever foreign signing by an Indian football club.{{Cite web|url=https://www.newsclick.in/fred-pugsley-anglo-burmese-refugee-who-helped-shape-east-bengal-mohun-bagan-rivalry|title=Fred Pugsley: The Anglo-Burmese Refugee Who Helped Shape the East Bengal-Mohun Bagan Rivalry|website=newsclick.in|date=15 April 2020|first=Jaydeep|last=Basu|access-date=7 March 2021|archive-date=25 January 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210125235818/https://www.newsclick.in/fred-pugsley-anglo-burmese-refugee-who-helped-shape-east-bengal-mohun-bagan-rivalry|url-status=live}}{{Cite web|url=http://www.indianfootballnetwork.com/blog/2013/06/12/foreign-recruits-in-indian-football-a-short-recap/|title=Foreign recruits in Indian football – A short recap|website=indianfooty.net|date=13 June 2013 |access-date=7 March 2021|archive-date=21 March 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210321092935/http://www.indianfootballnetwork.com/blog/2013/06/12/foreign-recruits-in-indian-football-a-short-recap/|url-status=live}}

Personal life

Pugsley was born in an Anglo-Burmese family in British controlled Burma. In his childhood days, he chose football as his love and later joined a local Rangoon-based amateur club during the late 1930s.

At the beginning of the Second World War, Burma was still a British colony from 1939 to 1942 and was attacked by the Japanese forces simultaneously. Pugsley faced tremendous helplessness in his homeland before moving to neighbouring country India in 1942.{{Cite web|first=Amitabha|last=Das Sharma|url=https://sportstar.thehindu.com/magazine/east-bengal-100-years-indian-football-covid-19-man-united-kolkata-derby-mohun-bagan/article32211064.ece|title=ISL 2020-21 news: One hundred years of East Bengal|website=sportstar.thehindu.com|publisher=Sportstar|date=1 August 2020|access-date=7 March 2021|archive-date=25 January 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210125000712/https://sportstar.thehindu.com/magazine/east-bengal-100-years-indian-football-covid-19-man-united-kolkata-derby-mohun-bagan/article32211064.ece|url-status=live}}

It was not an easy journey. The refugees had to travel for almost 500 kilometres entirely on foot, through dense forests, over mountains and across rivers. Several of them perished on the way and many of the ones who survived were injured or seriously ill. Pugsley and his family survived, but were essentially in a land which was foreign to them; they had never visited India before and didn't know anybody there and had no jobs to feed themselves.

Luckily for Pugsley, his reputation as a footballer earned him a job in Burnpur at the Indian Iron and Steel Company, which was majority-owned by Sir Birendranath Mookerjee, who later became president of East Bengal's arch-rival Mohun Bagan Club.

Pugsley returned to Burma in 1946 with his family after the war. He also worked as an employee in Rangoon Customs.{{cite web|url=https://www.angloburmeselibrary.com/lists.html|title=Evacuee List, Burma 1942 — "The Trek Out of Burma"|publisher=The Anglo-Burmese Library|date=2009|website=angloburmeselibrary.com|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220929054839/https://www.angloburmeselibrary.com/lists.html|archive-date=29 September 2022|access-date=24 May 2019}} He died in 1958.

Club career

Holding the hands of his wife and daughter, Pugsley literally walked down to Calcutta (now Kolkata). He was a reputed player in Rangoon (now Yangon), but had no friends in India. All he knew were few officials in East Bengal Club since the red and yellow team had toured Burma a few years ago to play some exhibition matches. Extremely ill because of the inhuman exhaustion he suffered while running away from his country, a frail looking Pugsley requested East Bengal club officials to try him out for their team.{{Cite web|url=https://scroll.in/field/985042/indian-football-fred-pugsley-chima-okorie-ranti-martins-the-foreign-strikers-who-shone-in-india|website=Scroll.in|access-date=7 March 2021|title=Indian football: Fred Pugsley, Chima Okorie, Ranti Martins – the foreign strikers who shone in India|date=25 January 2021 |archive-date=14 May 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210514105606/https://scroll.in/field/985042/indian-football-fred-pugsley-chima-okorie-ranti-martins-the-foreign-strikers-who-shone-in-india|url-status=live}}

File:1945 IFA Shield Final - East bengal captain P chakraborty and Mohun Bagan captain Anil Dey.png Final – East Bengal and Mohun Bagan captains before the match, in which, Pugsley scored the lone goal.]]

The club officials were hesitant. First, East Bengal had never included a foreigner before.It is only befitting that East Bengal, once taunted as a "refugee club" by one of its former opponents, signed Fred Pugsley as their first ever foreign player – an actual wartime refugee immigrant who went on to shine for his team and show the fans what a talented immigrant is capable of if given the proper opportunities And more importantly, Pugsley's poor health was surely a cause of worry. They reluctantly fielded him in three matches and when Pugsley started vomiting midway through the third, he was withdrawn promptly for the season. But it was only the beginning of an unbelievable success story. To cut the long story short, the Burmese striker recovered soon and went down in the history as one of East Bengal's greatest strikers.{{Cite web|url=https://www.espn.in/football/east-bengal/story/4139529/a-century-of-excellence-east-bengals-greatest-hits|title=A century of excellence: East Bengal's greatest hits|website=ESPN|date=August 2020 |access-date=7 March 2021|archive-date=24 June 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210624211824/https://www.espn.in/football/east-bengal/story/4139529/a-century-of-excellence-east-bengals-greatest-hits|url-status=live}}{{cite web|first=Ritabrata|last=Banerjee|date=16 May 2020|url=https://www.goal.com/en-us/lists/indian-football-east-bengal-10-best-foreigners/10npgrhj9eyrc1969hv0yp2uqf|title=Indian Football - The 10 best foreigners to have played for East Bengal|work=Goal|access-date=27 June 2021|archive-date=14 February 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210214231557/https://www.goal.com/en-us/lists/indian-football-east-bengal-10-best-foreigners/10npgrhj9eyrc1969hv0yp2uqf|url-status=live}}{{cite web |author=soumen78 |url=https://eastbengalclubrecords.wordpress.com/2016/03/31/list-of-foreign-players-to-play-for-east-bengal-club-from-1942/ |title=List of Foreign Players to Play for East Bengal Club from 1942 – East Bengal Club, India – Records, Funs and Facts |publisher=Eastbengalclubrecords.wordpress.com |date=2016-03-31 |access-date=2018-12-18 |archive-date=19 October 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181019001914/https://eastbengalclubrecords.wordpress.com/2016/03/31/list-of-foreign-players-to-play-for-east-bengal-club-from-1942/ |url-status=live }}

In the 1945 season,{{cite web |url=https://www.eastbengalfootballclub.com/team-archives.php |title=TEAM ARCHIVES — East Bengal FC |access-date=13 May 2020 |url-status=usurped |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190609144422/https://www.eastbengalfootballclub.com/team-archives.php |archive-date=9 June 2019}} East Bengal won their first "double" in domestic football – they won both the Calcutta Football League and IFA Shield. In the Shield final, East Bengal beat their traditional rivals Mohun Bagan AC by a solitary goal. The second-half strike came from the boot of Pugsley. It was an epoch-making achievement in East Bengal history, something the club fans could never forget.

Indian football had rarely seen a goal-machine like Pugsley.{{cite web|last=Gupta|first=Shirshaditya|date=13 November 2020|url=https://eastbengaltherealpower.com/pugsley/|title=Fred Pugsley — The Greatest|work=East Bengal the Real Power|access-date=25 June 2021|archive-date=24 June 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210624223305/https://eastbengaltherealpower.com/pugsley/|url-status=live}}{{cite web|first=SC East Bengal|last=Media Team|date=24 Apr 2021|url=https://www.sceastbengal.co/post/fred-pugsley-east-bengal-s-first-foreign-player|title=Fred Pugsley: East Bengal's first foreign player|work=SC East Bengal|access-date=2 Jul 2021|archive-date=24 April 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210424103837/https://www.sceastbengal.co/post/fred-pugsley-east-bengal-s-first-foreign-player|url-status=usurped}} In a Rovers Cup match, East Bengal struck 11 goals, Pugsley scored eight of them. While representing Bengal football team in Santosh Trophy (there was no rule those days against playing foreigners in state teams), he scored seven goals in the 7–0 rout of Rajputana.{{Cite web|first=Novy|last=Kapadia|url=https://www.sportskeeda.com/football/memorable-moments-in-the-santosh-trophy-2|website=sportskeeda.com|publisher=Sportskeeda|date=27 May 2012|access-date=7 March 2021|title=Memorable moments in the Santosh Trophy|archive-date=12 April 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210412140304/https://www.sportskeeda.com/football/memorable-moments-in-the-santosh-trophy-2|url-status=live}}

His thundering left footers left may goalkeepers spending sleepless nights before he decided to return to his country after the war.{{Cite web|url=https://eastbengalclubrecords.wordpress.com/tag/foreign-players/|website=Wordpress.com|access-date=7 March 2021|title=EAST BENGAL CLUB, INDIA – RECORDS, FUNS AND FACTS|date=31 March 2016 |archive-date=28 January 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210128214908/https://eastbengalclubrecords.wordpress.com/tag/foreign-players/|url-status=live}} He scored a total of 48 goals for East Bengal.{{Cite web|last=Sen|first=Debayan|date=1 August 2020|url=https://www.espn.in/football/east-bengal/story/4139529/a-century-of-excellence-east-bengals-greatest-hits|title=A century of excellence: East Bengal's greatest hits|website=ESPN|access-date=24 June 2021|archive-date=24 June 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210624211824/https://www.espn.in/football/east-bengal/story/4139529/a-century-of-excellence-east-bengals-greatest-hits|url-status=live}}{{cite web|first=Sayan|last=Chatterjee|date=6 April 2021|url=https://thebridge.in/football/top-5-foreign-footballers-india-20628|title=Top 5 foreign footballers to have played in India|access-date=26 June 2021|archive-date=27 June 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210627161354/https://thebridge.in/football/top-5-foreign-footballers-india-20628|url-status=live}}

International career

Pugsley represented Burma during its maiden international tour to India in 1938, where they played against India and IFA XI representative sides. They also played against the major Calcutta clubs Mohun Bagan and East Bengal.{{cite web|url=https://eap.bl.uk/archive-file/EAP262-1-2-2-128#?c=0&m=0&s=0&cv=10&xywh=-4637%2C0%2C16100%2C9250 |title=Jugantar. (31 May 1938) |page=11 |access-date=20 January 2024 |publisher=Endangered Archives Programme: British Library }} He scored two goals in the match against the India XI side on 30 May 1938 at Calcutta. After the War, he also returned for a national team tour to India in 1948 and played against the IFA XI side and the major Calcutta clubs.

Goalscoring records

Most goals in a single match: (8 goals) for East Bengal (vs BCLI Rail), 1945 Rovers Cup{{Cite web|url=https://eastbengalclubrecords.wordpress.com/|title=EAST BENGAL CLUB, INDIA – RECORDS, FUNS AND FACTS|website=eastbengalclubrecords.wordpress.com|access-date=7 March 2021|archive-date=28 June 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210628181024/https://eastbengalclubrecords.wordpress.com/|url-status=live}}{{cite news|title=From the History Book|url=https://www.the-aiff.com/news-center-details.php?id=87|access-date=18 December 2016|work=The All India Football Federation|date=27 May 2012|archive-date=25 January 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180125031429/https://www.the-aiff.com/news-center-details.php?id=87|url-status=dead}}
He also holds the unique record of scoring 8 goals in a single match against B.C.L.I Railways in the 1945 Rovers Cup match, which is till date the most goals scored by an individual in a single match in Indian football.{{cite news|title=From the History Book|url=https://www.the-aiff.com/news-center-details.php?id=87|access-date=26 June 2021|work=The All India Football Federation|date=27 May 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161221062031/https://www.the-aiff.com/news-center-details.php?id=87|archive-date=21 December 2016|url-status=dead}}

Honours

East Bengal

Calcutta Football League: 1942, 1945{{Cite web|title=India - List of Calcutta/Kolkata League Champions|url=https://www.rsssf.org/tablesi/indiacalchamp.html|access-date=23 March 2021|website=RSSSF|archive-date=2 August 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200802035706/http://rsssf.com/tablesi/indiacalchamp.html|url-status=live}}
IFA Shield: 1943, 1945{{Cite web|url=https://www.rsssf.org/tablesi/india-ifahist.html|title=India - List of IFA Shield Finals|website=RSSSF|access-date=6 February 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121031142319/http://rsssf.com/tablesi/india-ifahist.html|archive-date=31 October 2012|url-status=live}}

Bengal

Santosh Trophy: 1945–46{{cite web|title=Santosh Trophy Winners|url=https://www.rsssf.org/tablesi/indiasantoshhist.html|website=RSSSF|access-date=7 March 2021|archive-date=18 September 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210918131806/http://www.rsssf.com/tablesi/indiasantoshhist.html|url-status=live}}

Individual