In 1987, Pamensky received the Order of Meritorious Service Gold Medal by the South African government. This resulted in English, Sri Lankan, West Indian, and Australian tours to the country. He was one of the “main drivers of the short-lived unity process in the mid-1970s and, as honorary president, was supportive of Dr Bacher becoming Transvaal cricket’s first full-time chief executive in 1981.ĭuring the 1980s, with the national team banned from international competition after the cancellation of the proposed tour to Australia in 1971/2, Pamensky, Bacher, and fellow administrator Geoff Dakin initiated the controversial “rebel tours”. He was one of the drivers of the negotiations which lead to the formation of the South African Cricket Union in 1976 and was its president until 1991. His election onto the South African Cricketers’ Association board followed in 1967. On the Transvaal board, he served as vice-chairperson, chairperson, treasurer – and, eventually, president.
Pamensky served on the Wits All Sports’ Council as a student and was elected to the Transvaal Cricket Union’s junior board as a 23-year-old in 1953 before being elected to the full board two years later. Dr Ali Bacher (MBBCh 1967, LLD honoris causa 2001) remained a life-long friend and colleague. Pamensky studied as a chartered accountant at Wits and played club cricket for the university and, later, at Pirates in Johannesburg. He attended Grey High School, excelling in maths and playing first team cricket, where he opened the innings and kept wicket. Pamensky was born in Port Elizabeth (now Gqeberha) on 21 July 1930 to jewellery store owners Samuel and Freda Pamensky. Joseph Leon Pamensky – or “Papa Joe” (CTA 1953) – died on 8 March 2023, in Johannesburg after a long battle with dementia at the age of 92.
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