He was one of Jamaica’s most popular sportsmen throughout the 1970s, reaching folk-hero status with athletic feats for Santos in the local National League that football aficionados labelled as “legendary.”
Cole also had professional stints in the United States with the Atlanta Chiefs in the late 1960s, and with Brazilian club Nautica in the early 1970s. He was signed after management at both teams recognised his prodigious talent, but the mercurial Cole fell out with them before establishing himself.
A new generation of Jamaican football fans saw glimpses of Cole’s prowess during the 1980s when he featured in several Jamaica invitational matches against top Brazilian clubs.
Leader of the Opposition Mark Golding, in an Instagram post, expressed his condolences, stating:
“I am deeply saddened to hear of the passing of Allan ‘Skill’ Cole, a Jamaican legend who many consider our greatest ever footballer, with silky, elegant passing skills and ball control that were second to none”.
“Skill’s unique and influential personality also had an impact on the development of reggae, through his close relationship with Bob Marley and other music legends of that era. I am grateful for having benefited from his generosity in sharing his deep, first-hand knowledge of the history of that seminal period of our cultural development,” said Golding.
He added that Cole’s contributions should be “documented for posterity among the annals of Jamaica’s great personalities.”