Being the only Indian player to play professional volleyball for the Italian club Trevisco , being rated amongst the top ten attackers in the world in the 1980's and winning the bronze medal at the Seoul Asian Games in '86 this image of a 6'2'' human spring leaping high in the air and staying their longer than most could , made Jimmy George a legend in Indian Volleyball.
Born in in a remote and obscure village of North Kerala , Peravoor , on 8th March 1955 the Volleyball player in Jimmy was groomed at his country court at Peravoor. The meteoric rise of the Volleyball wizard started from his Calicut University Team and then onto becoming the captain of the Kerala Volleyball Team. He represented the country in the Asian Games and played for Abudhabi Sports Club and Trevisco Volleyball Club in late 70's and 80's.
At age 21, George was the youngest volleyball player to win the Arjuna Award. He was given the G.V. Raja Award in 1975 and won the Manorama Award, for the best sportsman of Kerala, in 1976. Later on Jimmy was honored as the best sports person in Kerala of the 20th Century
Jimmy George might not be known for his heroics in his own country but he had a considerable fan following during his six seasons in the Italian Volleyball league. Jimmy made sure his club was promoted to Serie A top division .Jimmy died on November 30th , 1987 , at the age of 33 in a car accident in Italy , just two months after his son was born. An Indoor stadium in Brescia was named after him. And a street of Colleto club , close to Milan , has been christened Jimmy George ! The Great Jimmy George has become immortal.....
Born : 8th March 1955
Calicut Univ team : 1970
Kerala State Team : 1971 (at the age of 16 !)
Captain of Kerala : 1973
Indian Team debut : 1974
Abu Dhabi Sports Club : 1979 to 1982 (adjudged best player in Gulf)
Trevisco Club Career : 1982 to 1987 (promoted to Serie A)
India Honors : 1974 Tehran Asian Games
1978 Bangkok Asian Games
1985 Captain of Indian Team in Saudi Arabia
1986 Champions at the India International Gold Cup
1986 Seoul Asian Games Bronze
Died : November 30th , 1987 (at the age of 33)
Source : Wikipedia and TheIndianExpress
