'Bound to score' Woodley is dead
By: Glen Mohammed (Express)Wednesday, February 6th 2008
FLASHBACK: St Mary's College striker Luciano Woodley in his playing days in the Colleges Football League. Woodley died last Friday at the age of 54. LUCIANO WOODLEY, a goal-scoring machine for St Mary's College in the Colleges Football League in the 1960s and early 70s, is dead.
Woodley, a former president of the Racehorse Owners Association (ROA) and a Port of Spain Alderman, died at his home last Friday after ailing for some time.
The 54-year-old Woodley leaves to mourn his wife Lauren and three children, including the apple of his eye, daughter Leighara.
The funeral service to celebrate the life of Woodley will be held at 10.00 a.m. tomorrow at St Theresa's RC Church, de Verteuil Street, Woodbrook.
Woodley, also known as "Barbie", is best remembered as the prolific Saints striker but he was also a very good athlete, winning from 100 metres to 400 metres while attending Belmont Boys RC and St Mary's.
On the football field, he was referred to as the "hat-trick man", having scored six hat-tricks in the InterCol competition, and he held the record for most goals scored in a single season, netting 34 for St Mary's in 1970.
He played alongside the likes Keston Nancoo, current chairman of the National Carnival Committee, and goalkeeper Trevor Leiba, making the Saints almost unstoppable as they marched to InterCol glory in 1970.
Woodley, who was self-employed having set up his own insurance brokerage firm in St James, was also a football coach.
In 2006 he coached Real Dimension women's football team to success. He also coached Holy Name Convent and St Francois Girls.
US-based T&T and MLS striker Scott Sealey, whom Woodley coached, was considered his protege.
While his first love was always football, the excitement of horse racing took his fancy after his school days. He owned several horses and served on the Trinidad and Tobago Racing Authority (T&TRA) and also the Betting Levy Board (BLB) and took a prominent role in the ROA.