.jpg) Rudy Kuntner in 1928 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Rudolph F. Kuntner | ||
| Date of birth | (1908-10-06)October 6, 1908 | ||
| Place of birth | Vienna,Austria | ||
| Date of death | December 16, 1982(1982-12-16) (aged 74) | ||
| Place of death | Rego Park, New York,United States | ||
| Height | 5 ft 7 in (1.70 m) | ||
| Position(s) | Forward | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1927–1928 | New York Giants | 5 | (3) |
| 1928–1929 | New York Hungaria | ? | (8) |
| 1929 | New York Vienna | ||
| 1930 | Bridgeport Hungaria | 9 | (2) |
| 1930–1932 | New York Giants | ||
| 1932– | New York Americans | ||
| Brooklyn St. Mary's Celtic | |||
| Brookhattan | |||
| International career | |||
| 1928 | United States | 2 | (2) |
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Rudy Kuntner (June 10, 1908 – December 16, 1982) was an American-Austriansoccerforward who was a member of the U.S. team at the1928 Summer Olympics.[1] He is also known as a long time stage manager for theMetropolitan Opera and is a member of theNational Soccer Hall of Fame.
Kuntner immigrated to the U.S. with his family when he was seven. His family settled in the New York City area where he began playing soccer. However, he was an all around athlete and playedbaseball,football,basketball andtennis at Gorton High School inYonkers, New York.
Kuntner signed with theNew York Giants of theAmerican Soccer League during the 1927–1928 season. He played five games, all in the second half of the season, scoring three goals. In 1928, he moved to theNew York Hungaria in the short livedEastern Soccer League. After the collapse of the ESL in 1929, Kuntner moved to First Vienna (also known as Wiener Sports Club and New York Vienna F.C.) of theGerman American Soccer League. In 1930, he was back in the ASL withBridgeport Hungaria, but the team moved to Newark after ten games, then folded. He then moved to theNew York Giants of theAmerican Soccer League (ASL). The Giants folded in 1932 and Kuntner moved toNew York Americans of the second ASL.[2] In 1937, the Americans fell in theNational Challenge Cup final toSt. Louis Shamrocks. In 1939, he was playing withBrooklyn St. Mary's Celtic when it won the National Cup final over Chicago Manhattan Beer.[3] Kuntner was still going strong in the 1942–1943 season when he scored nine goals in seventeen games withBrookhattan. In 1945, he was still active with Brookhattan when it won the triple, the league title,Lewis Cup (league cup) andNational Challenge Cup.
Kuntner earned twocaps with theU.S. national team in 1928. At the time, the Olympic soccer games counted as full internationals and his first cap with the national team came in the1928 Summer Olympics. That game, an 11–2 loss toArgentina saw Kuntner score in his debut with the national team. Following the tournament, the team traveled to Poland where it tied thePoland national team 3–3. Kuntner again scored, joining a handful of U.S. players who scored in their first two international games.[4] Despite his scoring success, Kuntner was never again called up for the national team.
In addition to his success on the soccer field, Kuntner found great success as a stage hand at theMetropolitan Opera. He began as an electrician, but over the years moved into areas of greater responsibility including lighting and stage management. According to the Soccer Hall of Fame profile, he "received wide acclaim for his role in the staging of Tristan and Isolde in 1971."
In 1963, Kuntner was inducted into theNational Soccer Hall of Fame.[5]
