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Brazil had the iconic Socrates Sampaio, the doctor and midfield maestro. Kenya has had three medical doctors who played for Harambee Stars in the '80s to mid-90s. They are Joe "JJ" Masiga, William Obwaka and Dan Shikanda.
The three were all born in the sixties with Masiga being the oldest and Shikanda the youngest.
Gentle giant Joseph Jesse "JJ" Masiga signed for AFC Leopards in 1979 while still a student at University of Nairobi's School of Medicine. He did not have the opportunity to play at the national secondary schools championships because Nairobi School where he went to was known more for rugby than football. An all-round athlete, Masiga played hockey and rugby in high school and football and rugby for the national teams. He helped Leopards win the league regional title thrice in a row in 1980, 1981 and 1982 and CECAFA Cup between 1982 and 1984. He also won the league in 1986 and 1988.
In 1980, Masiga travelled to Malawi with Leopards (then known as Abaluhya) for the CECAFA Club Championship. He played all the matches to the semifinal where he scored the only goal that sank Green Buffaloes of Zambia. He then took a plane back to Nairobi to sit for an exam paper before flying down to play in the final against Gor Mahia. Leopards lost the finals 3-2 with Masiga, who was known for his speed and a killer right foot, scoring the two goals.
Gor Mahia won the 1981 edition but Masiga led his club to clinch the next three titles. They beat Gor at the 1982 semifinals to set a date with Rio Tinto of Zimbabwe.
The match tied at 0-0 until the dying moments of second half of extra time. Leopards' fans had endured all emotions as penalties loomed. Then Masiga picked the ball on the right flank and cut in a cross for Wellington Lidonde to head in the winner.
Leopards were Kenya's representatives to the 1987 CAF Champions Cup. They met Egyptian giants Al Ahly in the second round and the first leg was in Cairo. They fell by four goals to nil by half time and got two more before the final whistle. Their coach Graham Williams praised Al Ahly in the post-match interview match which angered his chairman Alfred Sambu and he got the sack. Masiga was appointed player coach to prepare the side for the return leg two weeks later. He scored the two goals that helped Ingwe to beat the Egyptians 2-1 at Bukhungu Stadium in Kakamega.
Obwaka was born and raised in Ziwani estate in Nairobi's Eastlands. His family hailed from Mumias near the border with Ugenya. He followed his elder brother Enock who also played football. He caught the football bug at Starehe Boys Schools and Ziwani, which was home to great football talents like Sammy Owino "Kempes". Umeme B, the famous Ziwani estate football club, was where he honed his skills until he joined the University of Nairobi to study Medicine in 1981. He graduated in 1987 a few months before winning the Mandela Cup with Gor Mahia in December.
While at university, he featured for Uthiru Sportiff where his brother Enock played before leaving for Gor Mahia at the end of 1982. The one year academic layoff after the August 1, 1982 coup was a blessing in disguise as he kept himself busy playing football. In 1983, Obwaka who had become a goal poacher at Uthiru, was recruited by Jonathan Niva to join Super League side Hakati Sportiff. That season they avoided relegation by a whisker and he opted to move on.
Obwaka went for trials at AFC Leopards with the hope of redeeming the family name among Luhyas because his elder brother was at Gor Mahia. Ugandan Robert Beru who coached Leopards did not rate him highly and Gor took advantage of the situation and signed him in 1984. He won the league title with Gor Mahia in 1984 though he was a fringe player.
In 1985, Gor Mahia featured in the CECAFA Club Championship in Khartoum. K'ogallo's six top players who had been suspended by CAF after the 1984 Zamalek debacle in Cairo did not travel to Sudan. The job now rested on the likes of Obwaka and Nyangi Odembo and they did not disappoint. Gor Mahia met AFC Leopards in the finals and Obwaka scored the two goals to help the club reclaim the regional title that Leopards had made their own.
In comes Shikanda, the current AFC Leopards chairman. He grew up in Makongeni estate where he followed his elder brother, the late Hezekiah Shikanda, into football. He joined Ingwe in 1986 while still a student at Mang'u High School. In 1989, he left the den in a cloud of controversy to their arch rivals Gor Mahia.
The truth is he took time off to sit his exams at University of Nairobi's Medical School so he was to miss Leopards' match against Gor Mahia the following weekend. After his last paper on Friday, he featured for the university side in a friendly match where he scored a hat trick.
Gor Mahia beat Leopards the following day and some players including Shikanda were accused of sabotage and suspended. Gor Mahia took advantage of that and signed him. He had won three league titles with Leopards, and he went on to win three more at K'ogallo.
Like Obwaka in 1988, he stopped playing football when he began to practice medicine in 1995. These are the three doctors who managed to balance the rigorous medical school regime with equally demanding top flight football.
