Steve ‘Kalamazoo’ Mokone was born in Doornfontein, Johannesburg. He became the first black professional footballer to play in Europe, when he signed for the English Club Coventry in 1955. In 1959 he was elected Europe’s best soccer player. He is regarded as the greatest footballer South Africa has ever produced, often being compared with the world’s all time greats including The inimitable Pele of Brazil.
eventREF E-0151998Verified
23 March 1923
South African football legend Steve Mokone is born 23 March 1923
- Updated
- 7 Jun 2023
How we know this
- 01IMDb[online] Available at: www.imdb.com/name/nm3011101/ [Accessed on 24 April 2023] by Mark Hornby, Coventry City [online] Available at: www.ccfc.co.uk/news/2020/october/feature-a-profile-of-steve-mokone---coventry-citys-first-black-player/ [Accessed on 13 October 2020]
Last updated · 7 Jun 2023
South African History Online. (2023, June 7). South African football legend Steve Mokone is born 23 March 1923. South African History Online. https://sahistory.org.za/ref/E-0151998
South African History Online (2023) 'South African football legend Steve Mokone is born 23 March 1923', South African History Online, 7 June. Available at: https://sahistory.org.za/ref/E-0151998 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).
South African History Online, South African football legend Steve Mokone is born 23 March 1923 [website], https://sahistory.org.za/ref/E-0151998, (accessed 12 October 2026).
"South African football legend Steve Mokone is born 23 March 1923." South African History Online, 7 June 2023, https://sahistory.org.za/ref/E-0151998. Accessed 12 Oct. 2026.
South African History Online. "South African football legend Steve Mokone is born 23 March 1923." South African History Online. June 7, 2023. https://sahistory.org.za/ref/E-0151998.
Also on 23 March
- 1863William J. Burchell (71), botanist and explorer of the South African interior, dies
- 1952Chief Cyprian Zulu warns his people not to participate in the Defiance Campaign
- 1966South African Communist Party leader Abram Fischer is sentenced to life imprisonment on charges of communism
- 1970South Africa is banned from competing in the Davis Cup, because of its Apartheid policy in sport.
- 1992NP presents its revised constitutional proposals
- 1993Prof. Hudson Ntsanwisi, former Chief Minister of Gazankulu, dies in Johannesburg
- 1994Government withdraws ten police officers from service
- 2005About 130 people are reported drowned or missing when a Nigerian boat capsizes along the coast Cameroon
Search events by date
This day in history
What happened on your birthday?
SAHO is free because readers fund it. Donate →
Contribute to this record0 comments
Comments are reader contributions. They are not part of the archival record.