WHEN you consider Belfast’s best footballing export, your thoughts instantly wanders to George Greatest – and rightly so.
However whereas Greatest has gone down in folklore as one of many all time greats – up there with Pele and Diego Maradona – one other Northern Irish icon has considerably pale into the mist.
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That man is Jimmy Hasty.
To say his story is exclusive could be an understatement.
Hasty misplaced his arm aged 14, made historical past on the soccer pitch, took a job as a bookie and was shot lifeless at point-blank vary aged 38 throughout ‘The Troubles‘ in Northern Eire.
Following his loss of life in 1974, Hasty has slowly been forgotten by the lots.
However his story is completely value regaling.
Born in Belfast in 1936, Hasty was simply 14 years previous when he misplaced his left arm.
{The teenager} had simply taken a job at Jennymount Mill when he was concerned in an accident on his first day.
Hasty received his arm caught in a machine and needed to have it amputated. He was awarded £1,200 in compensation.
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Nonetheless, the teenager was decided to comply with his ardour: soccer.
Hasty performed for a number of youth groups in and round Belfast earlier than ending up at Newry City in Northern Eire’s B division.
The ahead was firing purpose after purpose, earlier than Dundalk chairman Jim Malone – out and about on a scouting mission – urged the board to signal him.
Nevertheless, one other member of the board had heard the title – and rapidly clicked he was the “One-Armed Surprise”.
The board rejected their chairman’s plea – however Malone refused to surrender and signed the participant together with his personal cash, bringing him simply south of the border.
Finally, Malone pestered the board and the boss onerous sufficient to persuade them to present younger Hasty his debut.
Information declare seemingly half of Dundalk descended on the stadium, curious to verify the rumours of their new one-armed ahead.
And what a debut he had.
Dundalk’s official report of the match claims: “He scored as soon as and introduced gasps of astonishment at his soccer expertise.
“His capacity to ghost previous defenders was greeted with disbelief.
“Nor was he only a scorer – he was the final of each assault, holding the ball till executing good passes to his colleagues.”
Crew-mates have been in awe of his expertise, in clear defiance of biology.
Francie Callan, his strike companion for Dundalk, claimed: “It’s not straightforward to be a footballer with an arm lacking, you utilize your arms an terrible lot in working, motion, steadiness…
“However by some means you wouldn’t know he had just one arm.”
Ex-Dundalk captain John Murphy even claimed Hasty used his lacking limb to his benefit.
Murphy revealed: “He might lean on you with that stump so that you couldn’t get off the bottom, and the ref may very well be wanting and see solely a sleeve dangling.
“Everybody wished to see the one-armed bandit… it was just like the circus coming to city.
“He took the League of Eire by the cobblers.”
Son of the ex-chairman, Paddy Malone, revealed he and his childhood pals would tuck their arm of their sleeve to emulate their hero.
He mentioned: “We by no means thought-about that Jimmy Hasty had a incapacity, we simply thought-about that he was a fantastic participant.”
Regardless of a string of accidents, Hasty went down in Dundalk historical past.
He scored 103 occasions throughout six seasons.
Most-impressively, Hasty helped to finish the membership’s 30-year league title drought in 1963.
That win resulted in a European Cup look – finally shedding 4-2 on mixture.
After shedding 3-0 to Zurich at dwelling, Hasty almost dragged his facet into the following spherical, scoring one, establishing one other and almost scoring his facet’s third.
Dundalk in the end misplaced 4-2 on mixture, however the 2-1 win in Switzerland went down in historical past as the primary European win by an Irish facet ever.
After a quick stint at Drogheda between 1966 and 1967, Hasty retired and solid a brand new life in Belfast.
He married childhood sweetheart, Margaret, and the pair welcomed two sons – Paul and Martin – to the world.
TRAGEDY
Hasty took a job as a bookmaker – and it was on his solution to work someday that tragedy struck.
Round 8am on October 11, 1974, Hasty was strolling to work when a automotive stopped.
The motive force shot Hasty thrice within the again in a sectarian homicide attributed to the Protestant Motion Group – a canopy title for the Ulster Volunteer Drive.
Within the catalogue of these killed in The Troubles, Hasty options as #1,205.
The homicide left chairman and buddy Malone heartbroken.
Son Paddy mentioned: “It was the one time I noticed my father cry.”
His household, too, have been left crestfallen.
However Hasty’s son, Paul, received to dwell his dream, too: To observe his father play soccer.
Since 2015, there have been three documentaries centering across the ‘One-Armed Surprise’ – most lately launched on Uefa TV in March 2023.
Seeing previous footage of his dad in his hey-day, Paul revealed: “[Getting to see him play] you knew it wasn’t a fairytale or made up.
“It was improbable. Like 100 Christmases without delay.”
