Football coaching for juniors at Bally Athletic Club. Picture by Anup Bhattacharya

Bally’s glory in the football arena can be largely attributed to Bally Athletic Club. The club that will complete 125 years of its existence next year has been the stepping stone for many big players of Bengal. From Sachindranath (Langcha) Mitra to Samar (Badru) Banerjee and Satyajit Chatterjee, the list continues to grow as more young players, who are being trained at this club, get placed in the premier clubs of Calcutta. Football is the main sport of Bally Athletic Club and training takes places in three age groups – from nine to 11 years, 14 to 15 years and senior. Ably headed by Satyajit Chatterjee, there are nearly 100 young players who are presently being trained at Bally Athletic Club.

Bally Athletic Club was not founded by a footballer. It started as Bally Wellington Club in 1888 founded by Monomohan Goswami, a famous playwright and stage actor, along with his friends. At that time, they played football, practised athletics and rowing on the Hooghly river. In 1912, Sasanka Sekhar Banerjee and Rajendranath Seth joined the club and organised an athletic meet where players from across Bengal participated in a variety of events. In that year, Narendranath Mukherjee and Bhulidan Mukherjee, reputed footballers of the time, joined the club team. The same year, the club team lifted the Vowel Cup at Uttarpara after beating Royal Garrison Artillery 3-1. The club reached its pinnacle of glory in 1925-26 with players like Radhanath Banerjee and Kartick Chandra Chatterjee. In 1954, Bally Wellington Club was renamed Bally Athletic Club. With time, other players who started their football career at Bally Athletic Club, made a name in Calcutta. They were Amarnath Mukherjee, Sambhunath Seth, Bimal Mukherjee, Souren Banerjee — all of whom joined Mohun Bagan. At present 12 players from the club are playing in Calcutta’s premier league teams.

Beside football, hockey was also played at Bally Athletic Club. The club team was affiliated to the Bengal Hockey Association and played second division. However, for lack of players, the game was discontinued. Football continued as the club gained popularity in Calcutta maidan. “Even today we get players from the rural belt of Howrah, Midnapore and from Calcutta and Hooghly who want to learn football here,” said Krishnakamal Chatterjee, the former secretary of the club. Other than its popularity, Bally Athletic Club’s huge football ground on the bank of the Hooghly is another rare asset.

Table tennis started some years back. There are 30 to 35 players who come to train at the club. “We are encouraging young table tennis players to come here. We organised a district table tennis tournament in December,” said Chatterjee. The club tent was small but the members collected funds to expand the building. Now there is a table tennis hall with two boards.

The 125th year celebrations of Bally Athletic Club started with a rally in December 2012 and will continue till March 2014. From January 6 to 13, was a night football tournament was held with 16 football teams from Calcutta and the districts playing. At the final, Belghoria’s R K Developers lifted the trophy after beating Bally Nabin Sangha 3-0. On the day of the inauguration, the club members felicitated veteran footballers Chuni Goswami, Badru Banerjee and P K Banerjee. The annual club sports was held on January 23 and 26. “This year we invited local schools to take part in the event,” said Chatterjee. Other events like a veterans’ exhibition football match, blood donation camp, seminar on the development of football, a state level table tennis tournament are slated for the next one year. There are development plans as well. “We want to extend the another floor of the club house where a multi-gym will be opened,” said Ashoke Chakraborty, a senior member.

Factfile

• Name: Bally Athletic Club
• Estd: 1888
• Address: 384/1, G T Road, Bally
• Activities: Football, table tennis