Baba Yara

One day, upon striking the ball hard against a wall, behind which his mother sat, she exclaimed, “Ei, Baba Yara!”, therefore, his nickname stuck with him forever.

The end result was 0–0, but his game was still excellent, meaning that Asante Kotoko would go on a long run of great performances against their arch-rivals Hearts of Oak.

As predicted, the Real Republicans proved to be a practically unbeatable team, also reaping successes at the continental level.

However, it was while playing for the Republicans, that a car accident suddenly ended the supreme rise of Baba Yara, just as he was at the peak of his career, forcing him to retire at the age of only 26.

In 1961 he won the award for Most Distinguished Member of the Black Stars team, regarded as the highest Ghanaian football honor of the time.

[3][7] At the age of 26, he was injured in a motor collision at Kpeve in the Volta region while travelling back to Accra with his team, Real Republicans.