Encyberpedia of American Soccer Stars
Welcome to the Encyberpedia of American Soccer Stars, a special page here at PhiladelphiaAtoms.com. Here, you'll find a bit of American soccer history...with an attitude!
In case you haven't figured it out by now, there is a serious anti-soccer bias in the media. Soccer games are not reported in the news, unless a riot broke out at the game. Pele was not even included in ESPN's Greatest 100 Athletes of the Century. If you read about soccer at all, it's usually a condescending article about "soccer moms" and about how soccer is not a "real" American game.
Finally, if you hear any actual reporting on American soccer, you are led to believe that it is a sport that is now, and always has been, totally dominated by foreigners. If other writers are to be believed, Americans have contributed absolutely nothing to soccer's history in this country. Instead, according to lore, soccer is only played by immigrants.
This, of course, is a flat-out lie. Unfortunately, the lie is so pervasive that it is self-perpetuating. For example, dozens of respected, serious soccer history books refer to the U.S. World Cup team of 1930 (which, you never hear, also took third place) as a team of Scottish pros--when, in fact, it was made up almost entirely of native-born Americans! This myth continues whenever the 1950 U.S. World Cup team is mentioned. That team defeated England, 1-0, in what is considered the greatest soccer upset of all-time. In an effort to save face, British authors have written that the team was composed of all immigrants and British pros, with not a single "real" American in the bunch. As it is, the ENTIRE team that day, except for three players, was born in the United States.
Yes, America has had dozens of legitimate, bona fide, big-time soccer stars--lovers of mom and apple pie, and with names you can pronounce. This page will contain dozens of biographies of these players, along with the most complete statistical compilations ever seen ANYWHERE. Please feel free to visit this page often, and enjoy pieces of America's "secret" soccer history.
For the purposes of this page, an "American" is defined as someone who was born and raised in the United States. As a result, you will not find biographies on Tab Ramos, Hugo Perez, Archie Stark, or a number of other stars who certainly blossomed in the United States. Some people will be upset at this bias, and point out that, in a nation that has been built by the sweat and labor of immigrants, this approach is unfair. This criticism, of course, is absolutely valid. However, the totally slanted perception created by the media has made such a harsh definition necessary. (Just in case you attribute a more sinister motive to this approach, keep in mind that the author of these pieces was born in Canada!)
These pieces are all authored by Steve Holroyd. Besides being a long-time player and coach, he is also an avid soccer historian. Holroyd's articles on American soccer history have appeared on The United States Soccer History Archives (http://www.sover.net/~spectrum), and he has contributed to The Encyclopedia of American Soccer History by Roger Allaway, Colin Jose and David Litterer, a 496-page comprehensive work that will be available from Scarecrow Press in February 2001. He has contributed team histories to PhiladelphiaAtoms.com, and has provided similar histories for pages devoted to bringing MLS to Houston and New York.
Dave Brown
Billy Gonsalves
Tom Florie
Sam Renzulli
Bobby Geudert
Walt Bahr
Jack Hynes
Len Oliver
Ruben Mendoza
Pat McBride
Bob Rigby
Kyle Rote, Jr.
Arnie Mausser
Joe Fink
Mark Pederson
Steve Moyers
Ricky Davis
Peter Vermes
John Harkes
Tony Meola
Kasey Keller
Claudio Reyna
Mia Hamm
Michelle Akers
More to come!