North Village Community Club have paid tribute to the legacy of pioneering footballer Howard “Boxhead” Romaine after the former central defender and club captain passed away on Monday at the age of 83.

Romaine had the honour of serving as Village’s first captain and scored in a convincing win against Paget Bombardiers on their debut in the former Bermuda Football League, which featured all Black players in the late 1950s.

“On behalf of the North Village Community Club, I take this opportunity to extend our most sincere condolences to the family of the legendary Howard ‘Boxhead’ Romaine,” Shervin Dill, the North Village president, told The Royal Gazette.

“Boxhead was the first captain of North Village when we entered the league for the first time in 1957.

“We played against the Bombardiers at White Hill Field and won by a score of 4-1 with Boxhead actually scoring a goal in that match.”

Romaine was among those inducted into North Village’s Hall of Fame during a gala banquet held at the Hamilton Princess last October in conjunction with the club’s 65th anniversary celebrations.

“North Village celebrated its 65th anniversary last year and the Romaine family has been a significant part of our rich history,” Dill added.

“Starting with Mr Henry Romaine and Mrs Marie Romaine as founding members and the legend Boxhead as our first captain, who has led generations of his family members to have assisted North Village to become the successful, highly regarded and respected club we are proud to be today.

“We are honoured to have Inducted Boxhead into the North Village Community Club Hall of Fame at our Legends Banquet held last year in October.”

Wendell “Joe“ Trott, the former Village central defender, captain and coach, described Romaine as a tough and intelligent player.

“Boxhead was a tough guy who read the game well and the most outstanding thing I can recall about him is how he won balls,” he said.

“He had these rubber legs or something and just used to win the ball every time. If he was marking, his leg used to go around and take the ball, and it was really amazing. He also never butted any balls in the air and always used his foot instead.”

Romaine began a remarkable journey in the sport at Village before joining former club Dock Hill Rangers, where he earned an FA Cup runner-up medal in 1963, and moving on to PHC Zebras where he ended his career.

The late player also represented Bermuda and was a member of the national team that lost 4-3 against Iceland, in Reykjavik, on the island’s international debut in 1964.

Romaine was also an avid golfer and represented North Village in tournaments.