Jimmy George

2022-06-12T02:30:16Z

103.161.144.92:

{{short description|Indian volleyball player}}
{{other uses}}
{{Refimprove|article|date=January 2010}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2019}}
{{Use Indian English|date=July 2019}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Jimmy George
| image =
| image_size =
| caption =
| nickname =
| nationality = Indian
| birth_date = {{birth date|df=yes|1955|03|08}}
| birth_place =Thundiyil, [[Peravoor]], [[Kannur]], [[Kerala]], [[India]]
| death_date = {{death date and age|df=yes|1987|11|30|1955|03|08}}
| death_place = [[Province of Modena]], [[Italy]]
| module = {{Infobox volleyball player
| embed = yes
| spike = 
| block = 
| position =
| currentnumber =
| currentclub =
| college = [[St. Thomas College, Palai]],
[[Government Medical College, Thiruvananthapuram]]
| height = {{height|m=1.87}}
| weight = {{convert|78|kg|lb|abbr=on}}
| fullname = Jimmy George
| hometown = Kerala, India
| years = 1979-1982<br/>1982-1986<br/>1986-1987
| clubs = Abu Dhabi Sports Club<br/>Pallavolo Treviso<br/>[[Pallavolo Gabeca]]
| nationalyears =
| nationalteam = [[India men's national volleyball team|India]]
| updated =
| medaltemplates = {{MedalCountry|{{IND}}}}{{MedalCompetition|[[Asian Games]]}} {{MedalBronze|[[1986 Asian Games|1986 Seoul]]|[[Volleyball at the 1986 Asian Games|Team Competition]]}}
| medaltemplates-expand = no
}}
}}
'''Jimmy George''' (8 March 1955 – 30 November 1987) is often considered one of the greatest volleyball players of all time and was a member of [[India men's national volleyball team]]. <ref name="IndianExpressJuly09">{{cite news|url=http://www.indianexpress.com/news/remembering-jimmy-who-soared-higher-than-anyone-before-or-since/494080/0|title=A commentary in the Indian Express|date=26 July 2009|publisher=The Indian Express|accessdate=6 October 2011}}</ref> He was the first Indian volleyball player to become a professional and played club volleyball in [[Italy]]. He is brother-in-law of the olympian [[Anju Bobby George]]. <ref name="IndianSportsPortal">{{cite web|url=http://sportal.nic.in/legenddetails.asp?sno=667&moduleid=&maincatid=59&subid=0&comid=55 |publisher=Indian Ministry of Youth Affairs & Sports |title=Jimmy George |accessdate=2008-07-22 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20080514040141/http://sportal.nic.in/legenddetails.asp?sno=667&moduleid=&maincatid=59&subid=0&comid=55 |archivedate=2008-05-14 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

==Career==
Jimmy George was born to the famous Kudakkachira family, at [[Thundiyil]] near [[Peravoor]] in [[Kannur district]], as the second son of Adv. George Joseph and Mary George. He learned to play volleyball from his father, a former university-level player. He played for St. Joseph's High School in [[Peravoor]]. In 1970, Jimmy became a member of the [[University of Calicut]] volleyball team. In 1973, he joined [[St. Thomas College, Pala]]. Jimmy represented the Kerala University four times from 1973 to 1976. The Kerala team won the All India Inter-University Championship during these four years. He became the captain of the team in 1973. He secured a berth in the Kerala State Team at the age of 16, in 1971, and thereafter he represented the state nine times.

In 1976, Jimmy quit medical college to join [[Kerala Police]] where he remained a member of the police team until his death. He took leave from the Kerala Police in 1979 and went to [[the Persian Gulf]] to play for Abu Dhabi Sports Club. In 1982 he left Abu Dhabi to join Coletto Club at Treviso in Italy and played for them for a season. He then switched to System Impiani and played for them in 1983-84. Returning to India he rejoined Kerala Police, played his last Nationals at Kanpur in 1985 <ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.thehindu.com/features/metroplus/JIMMY-still-stands-tall/article15616482.ece |title=JIMMY still stands tall |last=Rayan |first=Stan |publisher=The Hindu |date=November 29, 2012 |website=The Hindu Metroplus |access-date=November 29, 2012 | quote=He, along with Jose and Jimmy, played in the 1976 Kolkata National and again, along with Jimmy in the 1985 Kanpur National}}</ref> and went back to Italy to play for Arrital team. In 1987-88 he signed a contract with Eurostyle-Euroslba team at Montchiari in Brescia and it was during that period that he died in a car crash.<ref name=IndianSportsPortal/>

Jimmy played for India's national volleyball team in the [[Asian Games]] in Tehran (1974), Bangkok (1978) and in Seoul (1986) where India won the bronze medal. He was captain of the Indian team that played at [[Saudi Arabia]] in 1985, and led the Indian team to victory in India Gold Cup International Volleyball Tournament at [[Hyderabad, India|Hyderabad]] in 1986.

==Awards & legacy==
At age 21, Jimmy 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. He was judged the best player in the [[Arab states of the Persian Gulf|Persian Gulf region]] while playing for Abu Dhabi Sports Club, from 1979-82. He played as a professional in Italy from 1982-1984 and 1985-1987, and in his prime was considered one of the best attackers of the world. In 2000, [[Malayala Manorama]], a newspaper in Malayalam, honored him as the best sportsman of Kerala of the 20th century.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.edubilla.com/award/arjuna-award/jimmy-george/ |title=Jimmy George Arjuna Award Awarded In 1976 | quote=In 2000, Malayala manorama newspaper honored him as the best sportsman of Kerala of the 20th century}}</ref>

==Death==
[[File:Jimmy returns.JPG|thumb|right|250px|The volleyball match which Indian Team won the bronze medal in Seoul Asian Games (1986) displayed in Kuwait (April 2012) in memory of Jimmy George.]]
Jimmy died in a car accident in Italy on 30 November 1987, at the age of 32. His funeral ceremony was an unforgettable day for the natives of Peravoor. Thousands of people from different parts of Kannur District and Kerala State reached Peravoor to attend the function. His Body now rests at the Cemetery of St. Joseph's Church Peravoor, Thondiyil. Following his death, the Jimmy George Foundation was established, which in 1989 instituted the Jimmy George Award for best sportsperson of Kerala. The foundation also makes available cash awards at St. Joseph's High School, Peravoor, and at [[Devagiri College]].

The government of Kerala dedicated its indoor stadium at [[Thiruvananthapuram|Trivandrum]] named as Jimmy George Indoor Stadium. At St. Thomas College, Pala, a volleyball stadium is named after him, as were a stadium of St.Joseph's Higher Secondary School and a road at Peravoor. At Kannur, the District Headquarters, Police Department named its conference hall in the name of Jimmy George. An indoor stadium in Italy, called [[PalaGeorge]], was dedicated in his memory at [[Montichiari]], [[Brescia]], and an annual junior tournament is organized in his memory.<ref name=IndianExpressJuly09/> Since 1989, the Kerala Volleyball League of North America organizes the Jimmy George Super Trophy Volleyball Tournament.

At the time of Jimmy's death, his wife Lovely, whom he married in 1985, was pregnant for six months. She gave birth to a son named George in February 1988, three months after his father's demise.

==References==
{{Reflist}}
3. [https://www.khelkhiladi.in/jimmy-george-one-of-the-greatest-volleyball-players-of-all-time/ भारतीय वॉलीबॉल का वो महान खिलाडी ,जिसके याद में इटली में भी बना स्टेडियम!]

==External links==
*[https://www.youtube.com/user/sebastiangeorge2 A Collection of Jimmy's Videos] on [[YouTube]]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20111001000706/http://www.hindu.com/2009/12/01/stories/2009120150340200.htm A news article in The Hindu on Jimmy George]

{{DEFAULTSORT:George, Jimmy}}
[[Category:Indian men's volleyball players]]
[[Category:Malayali people]]
[[Category:People from Kannur district]]
[[Category:Recipients of the Arjuna Award]]
[[Category:1955 births]]
[[Category:1987 deaths]]
[[Category:Volleyball players from Kerala]]
[[Category:Asian Games medalists in volleyball]]
[[Category:Volleyball players at the 1974 Asian Games]]
[[Category:Volleyball players at the 1978 Asian Games]]
[[Category:Volleyball players at the 1986 Asian Games]]
[[Category:Asian Games bronze medalists for India]]
[[Category:Medalists at the 1986 Asian Games]]

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Jimmy George