..After Nigeria stunned em @ 1968 Olympics
By Jacob Ajom
It is 52 years since the demise of one of Nigerias most gifted football players, Teslim Thunder Balogun whose exploits on and off the pitch continue to reverberate around the world. Balogun brought a lot of joy to millions of Nigerians who watched him play. In his book Teslim Thunder Balogun, Legacy of a Legend, football historian and renowned sports journalist, Kunle Solaja wrote: to many who were born in the 1940s or before 1960 Balogun was the best footballer to have come from Nigeria. He was regarded as a total footballer who combined scheming skills with that of striking. He was seen as a footballer with sharp shooting, dribbling and heading skills.
Balogun played in Nigeria for a number of teams, including Apapa Bombers, Marine Athletics, UAC XI, Railways XI, Jos XI, Pan Bank Team, Dynamos Club and SCOA XI. He was a serial winner of the Challenge Cup which he won a total of five times in seven finals He was the first player to score a hat-trick in the competition, in Pan Banks 61 rout of Warri in 1953.
In 1949, Balogun was selected among the first assembled Nigerian national football team famously called The UK Tourists. Following the tour of the UK, the quintessential footballer returned to the United Kingdom in 1955 to sign with Peterborough United and spent time with Skegness Town before moving to Queens Park Rangers, scoring 3 goals in 13 appearances in the Football League during the 195657 season.
