Peter: Gentlemen, as usual, good to talk to the maestros.
Ace:And we are alive and kicking.
Banks:Oh yes …
Peter: Okay, so what's the story this week?
Banks:This is a story about one of the greatest characters our football has ever known. He was a big man in more ways than one.
Peter: What do you mean?
Ace:Banksie's talking about the late Jack Sello, better known as 'Big Daddy'.
Peter: Oh yes, what a guy …
Banks:Jack was with Swallows for a long time. He was the General Manager of Swallows for years and years. I think he was also one of the biggest shareholders in the club. When you thought of Swallows, you thought Jack 'Big Daddy' Sello. He was a huge man, big and fat, and he had a big character as well.
Ace: Big Daddy was also a policeman at John Vorster Square. You know in those days, policemen from John Vorster Square were feared. They had a licence to kill so to speak. They were notorious. They could do what they wanted. But Big Daddy Sello wasn't like that. He was a nice guy. In fact, we were friends with him. Often he would invite me and Banksie to his house for supper. You could see from the way his children played and the atmosphere in the house that he was a very friendly guy.
Banks:So one day myself, Ace and Jackie Masike were driving a Valiant through Soweto. A Valiant was a very popular American car. Now in Soweto in those days, if you saw someone you knew, you'd stop the car and have a chat.
Ace:But, Banksie, you're forgetting, the Valiant belonged to Peter Moloi, who was a very loyal Moroka Swallows supporter. He owned 10 or 12 Valiants and he was a sort of taxi boss. Peter was also notorious in Soweto - he was kind of a mafia boss if you know what I mean. To us he was a very nice guy, we were friends … actually he was more Banksie and Jackie Masike's friend. But to other people, I recall that he could be very hard if he wanted to.
Banks: Oh, yes.
Ace:I remember when Peter Moloi was getting married. Banksie, Jackie and I were involved. I was standing next to Peter when he was getting ready and I saw this big gun hanging from a holster around his waist. I said, "Hey, Peter, you're getting married right now. How can you carry a gun on you at a time like this?" He just laughed and said, "Ace, you can never be too sure!"
Peter: Maybe he was scared of his wife! Ha, ha …
Ace: Ha, ha … ja.
Banks:Ha, ha. Anyway, there we were … Ace, Jackie Masike and myself driving one of Peter Moloi's many Valiants when we saw Jackie 'Big Daddy' Sello walking on the side of the road. We stopped and started to talk. This was on the Thursday and Kaizer Chiefs were playing Moroka Swallows in a big derby at Orlando Stadium that weekend.
Ace: They were all talking Zulu and I could only pick things up here and there.
Banks:Ace is just saying that now!
Peter: Why?
Banks:You see Jackie said to us, "Guys, you like Peter Moloi's Valiant you are driving. I know you don't own any cars yourself. You are relying on Peter Moloi. Well, if you let Swallows beat Kaizer Chiefs on the weekend then I will speak to Peter Moloi and he will give each of you a Valiant as a present!"
Peter: Big Daddy tried to bribe you?
Ace: Ha, ha … it looks like it.
Banks:I said to him, "Man, you don't have any money, you can't buy us, and the cars belong to Peter Moloi." But Jackie was adamant … eventually we just laughed at him and drove away. The funny thing is that none of the five of us spoke about it again. Also, we were afraid to tell our teammates and management in case something went wrong and they blamed us for losing to Swallows.
Peter: Surely Jack Sello was only joking …
Banks: Well, listen to what happened in the match. Ten minutes into the game, Ace got the ball and was clear through with only the goalkeeper to beat … and he missed the sitter. I thought, "Oh no, Ace is collaborating with Jack Sello!"
Ace: Then after 30 minutes Banks made a blunder and Swallows scored to make it 1-0. I thought, "Oh no, Banksie is collaborating with Jack Sello!"
Peter: Amazing … then what happened?
Banks: At half time I said to both Ace and Jackie, "Come on, guys, we have to win this otherwise we are in trouble." Both Ace and Jackie looked at each other and said to me at the same time, "But I thought you were collaborating with Jack Sello!" Suddenly we realised that our mistakes looked deliberate and we were now even more determined than ever to put things right.
Ace: In the second half, Banks was unbelievable - he was like a wall for everything that Swallows threw at him. Then, with half of the second half gone, I went past the Swallows defenders and the keeper to equalize.
Banks:It was a helluva goal!
Ace:Then with five minutes to go, we got a corner.
Banks:I said to Jackie, "Go up there and get the winner. Let them not be able to ask any questions or point any fingers." I tell you the next thing 'Bang!' Jackie connected the corner with his head and the ball rocketed into the net to make it 2-1 to Chiefs. The next minute the referee blew the whistle and Chiefs had beaten the Birds 2-1.
Ace:Ja … thank goodness.
Peter: What did Big Daddy Sello say after the game?
Banks: He just looked at the three of us as we were leaving the stadium, pointed his finger at us and smiled. Then he said, "Well played, boys."
Peter: Ha, ha.
Ace:Ja, but the funny thing was a little later we were having a drink in a shebeen when in walked Peter Moloi. Now, as we said before, he was a really big Swallows supporter and a big man in Soweto … you know, notorious. You could see he was really sad about the defeat. He just looked at us and said, "Gents, from now on, no more transport for you. You'll have to find some other Valiants. Mine are off limits for you three."
Banks:Ha, ha … fortunately he was only joking because after a few days we were driving his Valiants again as usual. Peter wasn't serious and obviously Jack Sello wasn't either. In those days you could never bribe a player. Players were devoted to the club in our day, you could never get them to sell out.
Ace: True.
Peter: Brilliant. Gents, you deserve a break after all that.
Banks:Thanks. Well, Ace, you and I know what we have to do.
Ace:Oh yes … take it easy … just like Sunday morning …
