Liberian soccer star dies homeless

NEWARK, N.J., Dec. 28 (UPI) -- George McDonald Sacko, a star on the Liberian national soccer team in the 1950s and 1960s, died homeless in Newark, N.J., months ago.

His death was first announced in a brief legal notice seeking information on his next of kin, The Star-Ledger of Newark reported. Saint Michael's Medical Center placed the notice after Sacko died of natural causes at the hospital on Sept. 17.

Sacko grew up in Monrovia, the son of an indigenous Liberian father and a mother who had been born in Georgia. While his family was relatively prosperous, he learned soccer playing on the street barefoot.

He became a star midfielder for the Lone Star, the national team. While Liberia had little international impact, the team was a source of national pride.

Benedict Wisseh, a star in the next generation of Liberian soccer players, said Sacko's mixed heritage was important in a country that was starting to divide along ethnic lines.

"Sacko was very, very important to our national pride, because he brought us together," Wisseh told the Star-Ledger. "He made us forget our differences."

One of the women Sacko dated was a future president, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf.

Sacko moved to the United States in 1971 to join his wife and two brothers. By that time, a knee injury had interrupted his soccer career.

Garretson Sacko, who was also a star on the Lone Star, said his brother's life started to unravel when he lost his job at a metal-working plant. His wife moved to Rhode Island with their sons, and for the last 10 years Sacko apparently lived on the streets, sleeping in the train station addicted to heroin and alcohol.

When he turned 75 in May, the Liberian community threw a party. Guests came from Washington and Johnson Sirleaf sent a commemorative pin.

"I'm sick," Sacko told his brother. "Pray for me."