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Name: My Nguyen
Collin Hull
English 2010
Profile Revised Draft
Date: 12/05/2013
A tragic battle with the bottle
GEORGE BEST
If you are an enthusiastic fan of football (soccer in the United States), definitely you
should have heard of the beautiful genius named George Best. According to Pele, another
legendary soccer player, Best is “the greatest footballer in the history of the world” (qtd. in
Herbert). Former Prime Minister Tony Blair also joined
tributes to the man he called "probably the most naturally
gifted footballer of his generation, one of the greatest
footballers the UK has ever produced" (qtd. in
Herbert).George Best is remembered for his greatest
achievements, including helping Manchester United
(MU) win the European Cup in 1968. He made 466
appearances and scored 178 goals for the club. He also
played in the North American Soccer League, scoring 54
goals in 139 games for the Los Angeles Aztecs, Fort
Lauderdale Strikers and San Jose Earthquakes. His
well-reputed triumph will never fade by time. As a
Figure 1: The image of George Best
Before the BOTTLE
Source: Google Image
famous hero like Best, Best surely confronts many difficulties and tension in his career and
personal life. Unfortunately, Best considers that alcohol also is an effective prescription to help
relieve stress and pressure. The orgiastic, luxurious, and extravagant lifestyle on alcohol of this
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star robbed his health quickly, and his player career began to decline drastically. Ultimately, the
drink killed him.
Alcohol Ruined George Best’s Passionate Career
George Best was born in Belfast, Ireland on May 22, 1946. Seemingly, he was destined
for an athletic career. Blessed with natural pace and balance, excellent technique, and ability to
produce goals with both feet combined with artful vision and brilliant imagination, Best left
defenders bewildered and beaten. Due to his outstanding skills, Best was famous for being
precious, talented, and one of finest footballer of his generation to compete in football at his teen
age with only the height of five foot five. His skill on the ball was untouchable. He would skip
away from tackles using a drop of his shoulder, with a twist and turn. Undoubtedly, his gifts as a
player had become evident. At the height of his fame, Best received hundreds of thousands of
letters a week from fans (qtd.in Jones).
Unimaginably, those hundreds of thousands of his fan did not know that Best was a fool
alcoholic. Best admitted, “My drinking over the last 12 years has been the root of my trouble”
(qtd. in Bell). In a short interview, Best once said frankly “I've stopped drinking, but only while
I'm asleep.” When asked what had happened to his money, Best simply replied, “I spent 90% of
money on booze, birds (women), and fast cars. The rest I just squandered” (Best). Alcohol
caught him up at early year of his life, at the beautiful and vigorous age of twenty-five. Best's
career was at the top by the time he was 25 years old. Twenty-five years old was a significant
turning point which marked tons of Best’s scandals. When he was only 27, the team had grown
tired of his constant absences and heavy drinking. The bottle ruined his passionate career. The
craving of alcohol induced Best into stealing money from a women’s handbag. "We were sitting
in a bar on the beach, and when she got up to go to the toilet I leaned over and took all the money
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she had in her bag." (qtd. in Lovejoy, p.306). Consecutively, he faced bankruptcy in 1982.
Worse, he was arrested for drunk-driving, and also charged with assaulting a police officer
(qdt.in Bell).
The Bottles of Alcohol Robbed George Best’s Two Marriages
Best believed that marriage was a scissor to untie his alcohol addiction. Best married the
first wife, Angela MacDonald Janes. When Best witnessed his son, Caluum Best was brought
into the world, witnessed Caluum’s umbilical cord was cut, and right at that time Best hoped that
scene would change his personal lifestyle. Sadly, Best
could not defeat the momentum of alcohol. While under
the influence of alcohol made Best was easier to anger,
and become reckless and often erratic. His first marriage
was deteriorated, and they divorced in 1986. Signatures
of their divorce paper as a liberation for Angela after
eight miserable years.
Eleven years later, he married his second wife,
Alex Pursey, 23-year-old Virgin Airlines stewardess 26
years his junior. They seemed happy together for many
Figure2: Alcohol breaks off marriages
Source: Mike Kemp. Google Image
Web. Oct, 30, 2013
years. Disappointingly, his addiction to alcohol took
control once more. Alcohol turned George Best from a
gifted hero of Manchester into a crazy drunken man. People often say that habit is one’s second
nature. Alex revealed the full extent of George Best's alcoholic binges and drink-fuelled rages in
the frank interview that “the fallen soccer idol has damaged his liver by drinking "huge" amounts
of wine, whisky and brandy” (qtd. in McIntyre).Best seemed to become an aggressive, abusive,
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and disruptive man after drinking excessively. Worse, by brute behavior, Best turned Alex’s life
into hell on earth. It was horrible every time Alex reminisced how Best treated her. Best
swallowed a tank of wine, cursing, and screaming like a lunatic. He jumped on her, trying hard
to strangle and beat her. Again, divorce was a key for Alex to escape from the shadow of the
awful jail.
The Drink Killed George Best
Binge drinking has also significant adverse effects on Best’s body physically and
spiritually. The Journal of the American Medical Association defines alcoholism as "a primary,
chronic disease characterized by impaired control over drinking, preoccupation with the drug
alcohol, use of alcohol despite adverse consequences, and distortions in thinking, most notably
denial." (JAMA). That frightful day came to Best. In February 2000, George's drinking had
really taken its toll and he ended up in the Cromwell Hospital in London, where Professor Roger
Williams, a liver specialist, admitted him straight away. Tests confirmed George's liver was
seriously damaged and he was admitted to hospital with pneumonia. He tried many kinds of
treatments, from conventional rehabilitation to having an Antabuse implant sewn into the lining
of his stomach. “It all went wrong with football, the thing I loved most of all, and from there my
life slowly fell apart," Best wrote in "Blessed," his 2001 autobiography (qtd. in Lones).
Eventually, a liver transplant in 2002 gave George new hope but its success was to be short
lived. Professor Williams, who supervised Best’s liver transplant, warned it would be disastrous
if the soccer legend continued to drink. He said, “"It is dangerous in that if he really went on
drinking, relapsing heavily, then the graft would become damaged and that, of course, would be
a disaster" (Williams). After the life-saving operation, Best promised himself to take care of his
health by staying away booze. However, Best family were in despair from knowing he had
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started drinking again after less than a year since he had been given a liver transplant. Once
again personal problems and alcoholic addiction drove Best back to the bottle and this time he
could not combat to stay off alcohol. Best received much criticism as he openly drank alcohol
following the transplant.
In October, 2005, Best was admitted to the private Cromwell Hospital in London with
flu-like symptoms. He had suffered a kidney infection and internal bleeding as a result of the
immunosuppressive drugs that increased the possibility of infection excessively. Best spent three
weeks in intensive care, with family and friends spending time at his bedside. Tubes led in and
out of his bloodied and bruised skeletal body that was ravaged by the effects of a lifetime of
boozing. The tension was unbearable. Best wrote in a recent update to his second autobiography
"Blessed" that "drink is the only opponent I've been
unable to beat." Knowing that Best could not overcome
this serious circumstance, he said remorsefully through
his agent during last week of his life that “I hope my
plight can act as a warning to others”, according to
Belfast Telegraph. His skin had started to turn yellow.
He had a catheter attached to his neck for the drugs. He
was having trouble with breathing. He was painfully
thin, with a deathly yellow pallor and his sunken eyes were
glazed with tears of regret. Ultimately, his last breath was
right on his deathbed in the hospital in November 2005 due
Figure 3: George Best Deathbed
Source: Gary Martin, 2006.
Phrases.org. Web. Oct, 30, 2013
Web. Oct, 30, 2013
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to massive infection .He suffered from multiple organ failures after a long struggle with alcohol.
Suddenly the room was utterly and unbearably quiet. His voice was barely audible and he had
tired quickly. Best’s last dying words begged to the world “Don’t Die Like me” (Best).
Alcohol turned a talented hero into a fool man. Alcohol broke off two beautiful
marriages. Alcohol also was poisonous drug that killed a gifted star. Best’s pitiful death is a
precious lesson for all next generations to see and learn the perilous consequences of alcohol
and. Best’s pathetic death is an illustration for all young people to stay away alcohol.
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Works Cited
Bell, Jack. “George Best, Soccer Star and Pop Icon, Is Dead at 59”. New York Times.Published
Nov,26.2005. Web. Oct,27,2013.
Lones, Grahame. “Soccer sensation ran with talent, turned success into life of excess”. Los
Angeles Times. Published Nov. 2005. Web. Oct. 29, 2013.
Lovejoy, Joe (1998), "Bestie", Pan, pg 306
Herbert, Ian. “George Best: A last, tiny act of defiance - then the inevitable came”. Published 26
2005. Web. Oct. 30, 2013.
Journal of the American Medical Association. "JAMA -- Abstract: The definition of alcoholism.
The Joint Committee of the National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence and
the American Society of Addiction Medicine to Study the Definition and Criteria for the
Diagnosis of Alcoholism, August 26, 1992, Morse and Flavin 268 (8): 1012". Retrieved
2008-05-21. Web. Oct 26, 2013.
Jones. Grahame. “George Best, 59; Soccer Superstar Was Also Known for His Rock-Star
Lifestyle”. Retrieved Nov, 2005. Web. Oct.26, 2013.
McIntyre, Sinead. “Alex reveals all about Best”. Daily Mail. Web. Oct,27,2013.
Images Cited
Figure 1: The image of George Best before the Bottle. Google Image. Web. Oct, 30, 2013.
Figure 2: Kemp, Mike. Alcohol breaks off marriages. Google Image. Web. Oct, 30, 2013.
Figure 3: Martin, Gary. George Best Deathbed. Google Image Search. Web. Oct, 30, 2013.
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