Eddie Mizzi, one of the finest ball players of the late 1950s and 60s, was born in Cospicua on August 11, 1937. He was the son of the legendary Hibernians and St George’s half-back Wenzu Mizzi, better known as il-Bagaga.
It was, therefore, a sure bet that Eddie would eventually play professional football in domestic leagues for St George’s.
During the war, the Mizzi family moved to Balzan and it was with the Balzan Youths minors team that Eddie and his brothers, Joe, Manuel and Tarcisio, kicked their first ball.
Mizzi was a student at De La Salle College and he was already a first-team college player at the tender age of 11.
From Balzan, Mizzi moved to St George’s minor string before being promoted to the senior side which, at the time, was in the Second Division. With Mizzi’s help, St George’s won promotion to the First Division in 1953-54 but his debut in the top league was anything but rosy.
St George’s were soundly beaten by Ħamrun Spartans to the tune of seven goals to nil.
That season the Saints were relegated but when they bounced straight back the following year, Mizzi played a key role.
He was a prolific goalscorer as he showed in 1956-57 when hitting five goals in the 11-0 thrashing of Gżira United.
Another occasion when he displayed his natural flair for scoring goals was in 1958-59 when he scored a superb double in the 6-1 victory over Little Rainbows in the Second Division Cup final.
Mizzi’s greatest thrill, however, came in 1956-57 in the Division Two league decider against neighbours and rivals Vittoriosa Stars.
The Stars had a very strong team in those days made up mostly of players with First Division experience. Yet, two Mizzi goals lifted the Saints to a hard-earned 3-2 victory and promotion to the First Division.
Mizzi had his first taste of representative football when he led the MFA U-21 team against Leyton Orient. In all, he played once for the full Malta side, once for the U-21 XI and three times for the MFA XI against foreign clubs visiting the islands.
This was some achievement for someone who spent a big part of his career in the Second Division.
In 1961, Mizzi’s attacking qualities, which made him such a bundle of trouble for opposing defences, caught the eye of Sliema Wanderers.
Mizzi joined the Blues but, somehow, he could not reproduce the form he showed at St George’s in the Wanderers’ shirt.
He stayed with Sliema for only one year and at the end of season 1961-62, he packed his bags and returned to Cospicua.
With St George’s he soon recaptured his old magic.
Mizzi was a fine centre-forward. Slightly built, he made up for his lack of height with his impeccable ball control, timing and hard and accurate shooting.
He never waited for the ball to reach him. Instead, he preferred to chase scoring openings or pull the opposing centre-half with him, leaving wide spaces for his team-mates to exploit.
Mizzi stayed with St George’s up to the end of his career. He died in April 1999 leaving behind him many fond memories of a fine and skilful footballer.