From the Parel Sports Club to almost the top of the Indian Hockey Federation. This was the meteoric rise of one of the most able sports administrators that Bombay was privileged to have. Jos Gonsalves had a long reign in Indian hockey and it is doubtful if his record tenure of 24 years as secretary of the Bombay Hockey Association will be bettered. He was close to sportsmen and was invariably the first to arrive on the sports field. Whether it was the St.Xavier’s ground, Parel, Naigaum Police grounds, Cross Maidan he was invariably the centre of attraction.
From humble beginnings, he rose to be the vice president of the IHF to his intimate knowledge of the game earned him the post of national selector. He had the knack of getting it out of tight situations and probably the greatest tribute was paid to him in the late Naval H. Tata, an IHF president, who chose him as the Secretary of the National Sports Club of India.
Probably, the greatest hour of the genial Gonsalves was the cold evening of November 1955 when Prime Minister Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru inaugurated the first floodlit stadium in Bombay. The Tata-Gonsalves combination could be considered the best BHA had. Later, with Jimmy Nagarvala, who came after Mr. Tata, Gonsalves established closer rapport. In those days, when hockey attracted a full house at the BHA Stadium, it was a treat to see him work out the minutest of details and solve problems. Often called ‘Uncle’ by players, many of them Olympians, he had a knack of getting to the root of the players’ problems and it was not surprising that he was acclaimed as the most popular, if not the most efficient, manager. He was for the players, but at the same time maintained ‘the dignity of the high office of secretary’.
That he could get on admirably well with all the presidents he worked with from Naval Tata to Luis Cordeiro only proved his adaptability. To him goes the credit for establishing the Charanjit Rai tournament, which brought the youth of the country to Bombay.
Even after laying down office, he was a regular at the BHA or Parel where he had sown the seeds of junior hockey in the city.
Before he left for Goa, the BHA, in a noble gesture, presented him a purse of Rs. 25,000. He deserved much more for he had virtually built the BHA Stadium. There will never be another like Jos.
Obituary Courtesy: K. Arumugam’s Hockey Archive