Famed schoolboy footballer Dennis ‘Den Den’ Hutchinson has died after a prolonged battle with an undisclosed illness at the age of 63, his family confirmed to Sportsmax.TV Wednesday.

The former footballer, basketball coach and all-around humanitarian, had been battling illness for some time and was hospitalized for two to three weeks in early April. He was eventually released but was admitted to hospital again on Sunday after complaining of not feeling well.

Hutchinson, one of the top schoolboy footballers of the 1970s, won the Manning Cup title with Tivoli Gardens Comprehensive High School in 1976 before winning the DaCosta Cup title with the near invincible Clarendon College team in 1977, playing alongside fellow schoolboy greats Lennie ‘Teacha Hyde, Oneil Russell, Wayne Wonder and Donovan ‘Che’ Wray.

The Clarendon College team was coached by the legendary Winston Chung-Fah, who died in 2018.

Later on, he would Hutchinson would become a coach for the Tivoli Gardens basketball team that won three championships in the early 2000s.

According to his nephew, Allan Jones, Hutchinson believed in his community of Tivoli Gardens and did his best to help those in need, raising money to cover tuition fees and providing other well-needed resources for the children in the community.

He is survived by nine children and his girlfriend Sharon Reid.