By Duncan Mlanjira
Nyasa Big Bullets boasts as the best supported and most successful team ever in the football history of Malawi and much of it’s rise from infancy, to become a giant team with many accolades can be heavily attributed to John Gilmore.
The name John Gilmore is fondly remembered by the older of football fans, both for Bullets and Mighty Wanderers alike.
The revered mentor and Team Manager is no more. His son, Malcolm Gilmore has just confirmed of his passing on yesterday, November 11.
Gilmore had retired to the United Kingdom after working for many years in Malawi with the United States Embassy.
With former Bullets treasurer Tamutamu on his
last visit to Malawi
Gilmore is deservedly credited with the formation and rise of the team when it was known as Bata Bullets.
According to Malawi Super League News on www.facebook.com, the club was formed by a group of players in Blantyre in 1967 as a splinter group from Mighty Wanderers.
The pioneers wanted to set up a complete new club in order to gain more game time since almost the whole team was very talented and was difficult for everyone to have a place for a game.
Kinnah back then
The moment that was done, the two became arch rivals because another reason was that Wanderers was predominantly composed of whites and colored and the blacks were being sidelined.
The original name was Nyasaland Bullets and became very strong and started winning all games which were played.
Bullets’ and Wanderers’ rivalry came to the fore when Yasin Osman decided to defect to Bullets in 1968, which angered Wanderers who decided to sell him at 100 Malawian pounds — quite a huge sum at that time.
Yasin Osman went into Malawi soccer history as the first player to be sold.
Yasin (right) fueled the rivalry then
The club managed to source good sponsorship for Bata Shoe Company and unconfirmed reports indicate that this deal was brockered by late John Gilmore.
It renamed to Bata Bullets and the majority of its players at the time ended up being employed by Bata Shoe Company.
Over the years, Bullets have been the biggest contributor to the Malawi national team both at senior and at youth levels.
Bata Bullets
Malawian soccer legends from Bullets include Kinnah ‘Electric’ Phiri, Charles Kagwa, Henry Moyo, Kanjedza Kamwendo, Damiano Malefula, Yasin Osman, Henry Kapalamula, Mustafa Munshi, Dennis Saidi, Spy Msiska, Elywin Mwafulirwa, Mike Mkuntha, Bosco Munthali, Thom Kazembe, Topsy Msuku.
Others include Harvest Kanyenda, Tonny Mkandawire, Ngulube, Greyson Simika, Elton Mkondowaguluka, Harry ‘Barbed’ Waya, Lawrence ‘Lule’ Waya, Gilbert Chirwa, Chauncy ‘Vinny’ Gondwe Mabvuto Lungu and Patrick Mabedi.
The great national team
The Bata Bullets of the 1990s had great combination of players like Lawrence ‘Lule’ Waya, John Phiri, John Banda, Mabvuto Lungu, Acton Munthali, Richard ‘Tuwiche’ Mambelera, George ‘Amunamtapu’ Waya, Patrick Mabedi, Mzee Josamu, Lawrence Mnenula, Nelson George, Gilbert Chirwa, Brian Maulidi, Lawrent Kamanga, James Mandambwe, Jephry Lajabu, Chancy Vinny Gondwe — it was a indeed a team full of talented players.
The 96 Flames squad
Players from the above generation who carried on the baton of success include Acton Munthali, Jones Nkhwazi, Chikondi Banda, James Chimera, Andrew Chikhosi, James Chimera and Muzipansi Mwangonde .
The likes of Jones Nkhwazi, Patrick Mabedi and Acton Munthali were part of the squad for the 1998 World Cup qualifiers against South Africa’s Bafana Bafana in 1996 at Kamuzu Stadium who had just been crowed Africa Cup of Nations champions the previous year.
Kinnah as Flames coach
Big Bullets is best supported and most successful team ever in the football history of Malawi and attracts followers across the length and breadth of the country.
It set a record for 7 successive title defences before surrendering it about five years ago and have swept other honors available in all the years.
Beyond borders also, Bullets also left an indelible mark way back in 1979 when they won the bronze medal in the East and Central Africa Club Championship hosted by Somalia.
Another great era of Malawi football
Four years earlier, Big Bullets were the pioneer side to join the Africa Club Championship competition.
People cannot talk of football in Malawi without Bullets being part of it and without late Gilmore being an architect of its strong foundation.
Staunch Wanderers fan Limbani Magomero paid tribute to late Gilmore, saying he helped make Malawi football glamorous together team managers for the Nomads, late Dumbo Lemani and for Admarc Tigers’ Bob Akule.
“These three were like the three musketeers of Malawi football,” Magomero said. “They were always in the newspapers almost every day.
“A newspaper edition that carried either the name or a picture of one of these three as its lead story at the back page was a must-read.
“We came to marvel at our players because of the way these three could describe them in the match day previews.
“Though a fan of Wanderers, late Gilmore endeared me to love some of Bullets players, who were part of the national team such as Kinnah Phiri, Charles Kagwa, Henry Moyo, Kanjedza Kamwendo, Damiano Malefula, Yasin Osman, Henry Kapalamula, Dennis Saidi, Spy Msiska, as well as Elton Mkondowaguluka and Harry Waya,” Magomero said.
In a Post on Facebook in 2017, Inno Chanza wrote: “John Gilmore was probably the best team manager to grace the shores of Nyasaland.
He had acknowledged Gilmore’s role of facilitating the sponsorship deal with Bata Shoe company and that he was part of the recruitment of Spy Msika and Kinnah Phiri from Chaminade Secondary school.
“He further recruited Isaac Mhura and Damiano Malefula. The rest is history,” Chanza had said.
Muwuso Kachali added voice, saying Gilmore was indeed a great manager “and this is the period Malawi had a competitive national football team.
“The rivalry with Yamaha Wanderers helped create excellent players for the nation.”