The Tribune

By BRENT STUBBS

Chief Sports Editor

bstubbs@tribunemedia.net

NEVILLE Wisdom, who helped to transform sports as a coach and an administrator, died on Saturday morning, leaving a generation of local and international competitors saluting him for his contributions.

Wisdom laid down a solid foundation as a long-time coach at the Government High School and the Bain Town Flyers Track Club and he was the ninth Minister of Youth, Sports and Culture.

The 76-year-old proprietor of Florarama leaves behind his loving wife Manita Wisdom, son Donovan Wisdom, brothers Dr Keith and Evon Wisdom and a host of relatives and friends, including an outstanding cast of national star athletes.

Troy Kemp, the men’s high jump world champion from the1995 World Championships in Athletics, who still holds the Bahamian national record at 7-feet, 9 3/4-inches or 2.38 metres that he established in 1995, said he owes Wisdom a great debt of gratitude.

"He was one of the coaches to produce a new generation of athletes at the time," Kemp said. "How much he meant to do came from the training that he gave all of us during that time to mould us to do better.

"Before I became involved in club sports, he was a friend of our family and so there is a history that goes back a bit. I last saw him about two years ago for the Athletics Alumni Association honoured him. He was an inspiration, an intelligent person, a great speaker and he taught me a lot about discipline, sacrifice and hard work and how I carried that throughout my entire track career." Now a mental health counsellor in San Francisco where he resides with his family, Kemp said if it wasn't for Wisdom, he would not have been able to attend Boise State University and excel as one of the top collegiate high jumpers before he ascended on the world stage.

"By the time I got to college, training was a joke," Kemp lamented. I was with a unique group of individuals training on the sand and the golf course on Cabbage Beach at 4am in the morning. It all paid off in the end.

"To look back and see the quality of athletes who came from that era, people who won medals and set national records. It's wonderful to look back at his achievement and what he did to give back to the sport."

Frank Rutherford, who went on to become the first Bahamian track and field Olympic medallist as well as World Indoor and Pan American Games bronze medallist, said outside of his family, Wisdom and Tom Tellez, who coached him at the University of Houston, were the two most influential men in his life.

"God has decided to take one of those earthly adopted fathers of mine," Rutherford said. "What Neville means to me is simply a bee that is flying to pollinate a young man who became one of the greatest Bahamian successful stories.

"From the time I met Neville, he exuberated and insisted on me and the members of the Bain Town Flyers that we are second to nobody in the world when it comes to our athletic greatness and what we could become."

At the end of every club meeting, especially those returning from their colleges and universities, they should not believe they have arrived until they reach out and pull somebody else up.

"When you are able to pull someone else up, you are on the way to being successful," Rutherford said. "That was one of the impactful messages that Neville Wisdom taught me, to always look out for others, even before you look out for yourself."

Rutherford said he remembers how Lynden Sands encouraged him to join the Bain Town Flyers when he was just learning how to triple jump and he in turn introduced Pauline Davis - a sprinter at LW Young - to Wisdom, who took her under his wings like his own daughter. 

During their journey together, Rutherford said Wisdom introduced them to the late Sir Lynden Pindling, the first Prime Minister of The Bahamas, who also inspired them.

After establishing his Frank Rutherford Foundation in Houston, Texas, Rutherford said he was able to get a number of Bahamian basketball and football players to take their game to another level through high school and college before they ventured into the pro ranks.

"He was my adopted father. I am sad because of his physical absence off this planet, but I am rejoicing that God had put such a prophet, an angel, a pioneer, a visionary, an architect, philanthropist, a selfless spirit, a man who cared more about everybody else but himself," Rutherford charged.

"He even sacrificed his own family for the greatness of inspiring young Bahamians to find the greatness that they didn't even know they had in themselves. 

"You will never see another Neville Wisdom in this selfish world that we live in. Neville woke up everyday asking himself how he could make the world better. Nobody has done it better than him.”

“Golden Girl” Pauline Davis, the first Bahamian to win an Olympic gold medal in the 200m and as a member of the women's 4 x 100m relay team, said she spent about an hour the night before Wisdom died talking about the way the country has treated her and even Rutherford.

"I'm not taking it well," Davis said. "The only thing that man didn’t do for me was to provide the sperm that made me. Coach loved me, supported me and stood by me when other persons were saying that I won't amount to anything because I came out of Bain Town.

"He believed in me and he made me believe in myself. He called me his pearl. He didn't call me Pauline. He called me Pearl."

In 1984 when she suffered an injury before the CARIFTA Games here, Davis said Wisdom personally took her through her rehabilitation and she was able to answer the call to compete, leading the charge for Team Bahamas, including her magnificent come-from-behind run over Jamaica on the anchor leg in the women's 4 x 400m relay.

From there, Davis said Wisdom remained her personal coach even when she went on to compete for the University of Alabama and then as a pro athlete.

Fellow “Golden Girl” Eldece Clarke-Lewis, another shining star, said Wisdom recognised her potential and encouraged her to dream beyond the tracks of high school. 

"Throughout the years of competing in university to track around the world and ultimately to the Olympics, you remained a respected and most trusted mentor," Clarke-Lewis said. 

"Thank you. Gone but never forgotten. May your soul rest in peace, Sir."

Michael 'Boy Blue' Newbold, hailed as one of the greatest high school sprinters in the country, called Wisdom his "mentor, coach and father figure.

"My Wisdom was that dude. He was the spark between all of his athletes, including myself, Frank, Pauline, Eldece. He was that beacon on the hill that shone upon us. He was really, really good to everybody."

Newbold, now living in Mississippi as the operations manager for public housing in the city of Clarksdale, said Wisdom made it a point to teach those whom he came in contact with about life.

He said Wisdom believed him in him when nobody else did. “I know my fondest memory of him came at CARIFTA in 1986 in Barbados when I was hurt and I couldn't run the 200m," Newbold said.

"He came to me and told me to warm up after he rubbed me down himself. I went on to run my personal best of 20.78 to establish a Bahamian junior national record that stood for over 26 years."

Bahamas Olympic Committee president Romell Knowles extended deepest condolences to the family, friends, former students, athletes and colleagues of Wisdom.

"Coach Wisdom was a brilliant and dedicated coach who possessed the remarkable ability to bring out the very best in his athletes," Knowles said. 

"He could rightfully be regarded as one of The Bahamas’ most prolific coaches, having developed athletes who excelled at regional and international championships and contributed to Olympic gold-medal performances."

As an educator, Knowles said Wisdom helped shape the lives of hundreds - if not thousands - of students and athletes, many of whom went on to achieve tremendous success in sports and in their professional lives. 

"His discipline, knowledge, commitment and passion for developing young people left an indelible mark on Bahamian athletics and education," he stressed.

Beyond his many accomplishments, Knowles said Wisdom was a terrific human being and a valued friend of the Olympic Movement.

"His extraordinary contribution to sports and national development will be remembered for generations," he summed up.

Mario Bowleg, the Minister of Youth and Sports, called Wisdom a "dedicated public servant" and a man who understood the tremendous value of investing in young people and he helped to advance the development of sports in The Bahamas.

"As the minister, now entrusted with responsibility for youth and sports, I have a special appreciation for the work of those who served before me," said Bowleg.

Bowleg noted that Wisdom's contributions helped strengthen the foundation upon which they continue to build today.

"Beyond the offices he held, he will be remembered for his love of country, his commitment to serve and his belief in the potential of the Bahamian people," Bowleg said.

"The Bahamas has lost a dedicated nation-builder, but Neville Wisdom's contribution to youth, sports and culture will remain a meaningful part of his legacy," Bowleg concluded. 

Wisdom graduated from St Anne’s High School as head boy and a budding triple jumper and 400 metres runner. He later attended Queen’s College for 6th grade to college prep. 

From there, Wisdom furthered his studies at Mankato State University (now Minnesota State University) where he earned a bachelor’s degree in international relations with a minor in English.

After college, he was encouraged by the late Dr Norman Gay to join the Bain Town Flyers Track Club, where he felt that he could make an impact on children from over-the-hill communities. 

Wisdom served as a coach when The Bahamas won the CARIFTA Games in two back-to-back years from 1990-91 and 1983-84, the last being the memorable one at the original Thomas A Robinson Track and Field Stadium.

Wisdom's impact was transcended to the political arena where he was named by then Prime Minister Perry Christie, of the Progressive Liberal Party, to serve as the Minister of Sports from 2002-2007

Evon Wisdom, his brother who along with the late Gerry Wisdom also made their impact on the world of sports in the country, called Neville Wisdom a "legend.”

"The late Neville Wisdom left an indelible mark on Bahamian track and field, guiding sprint teams through that golden era of four CARIFTA Games victories (1980, 1981, 1983, and 1984) and remains an unmatched standard of leadership and excellence," said Evon Wisdom, a former pole vaulter and hurdler who branched out into coaching as well. 

"Beyond his iconic coaching career, his dedicated public service as Minister of Youth, Sports, and Culture further cemented his status as a true giant in Bahamian national development. That historic streak is a testament to his vision, discipline, and passion for empowering young athletes."