.jpg) Bahr (left) with then-Vice PresidentJoe Biden atPhiladelphia Union's inaugural match | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Walter Alfred Bahr | ||
| Date of birth | (1927-04-01)April 1, 1927 | ||
| Place of birth | Philadelphia,Pennsylvania, U.S. | ||
| Date of death | June 18, 2018(2018-06-18) (aged 91) | ||
| Place of death | Boalsburg, Pennsylvania, U.S. | ||
| Height | 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) | ||
| Position | Midfielder | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| Philadelphia Nationals | |||
| 1953 | → Montréal Hakoah | ||
| Uhrik Truckers | |||
| →Montréal Sparta | |||
| Brookhattan | |||
| Philadelphia United German-Hungarians | |||
| International career | |||
| 1948–1957 | United States | 19 | (1) |
| Managerial career | |||
| 1969–1970 | Philadelphia Spartans | ||
| 1970–1973 | Temple Owls | ||
| 1974–1988 | Penn State Nittany Lions | ||
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Walter Alfred Bahr (April 1, 1927 – June 18, 2018) was an American professionalsoccer player, considered one of the greatest ever in the United States.[1][2] He was the long-time captain of theU.S. men's national team and played in the1950 FIFA World Cup when the U.S.defeated England 1–0. Bahr's three sonsCasey,Chris, andMatt, all played professional soccer in the defunctNorth American Soccer League. Casey and Chris also played for the U.S. Olympic team, and Chris and Matt later becameplacekickers in theNational Football League, each earning two Super Bowl rings.
Bahr, a native ofPhiladelphia,Pennsylvania, began playing soccer at the age of 11 and joined thePhiladelphia Nationals of the professionalAmerican Soccer League as an amateur player. He was paid a great compliment during theScottish national team tour of the U.S. in 1949 by former Scottish internationalTommy Muirhead, who wrote in theGlasgow Daily Mail, "Bahr is good enough to play for any First Division team in the United Kingdom."[citation needed]
After participating in the1948 Summer Olympics,[3] Bahr turned professional and helped his club win ASL titles in 1950, 1951, 1953, and 1955. In the summer of 1953, he helped Montréal Hakoah FC reach theCanadian final.[4] He then switched to the Uhrik Truckers, another team in the Philadelphia area, and won the ASL title in 1956. He then joinedMontreal Sparta in late August where he won the 1956 Quebec Cup.[5]
As professional soccer players at that time made relatively little money, Bahr also was a high school teacher during his playing years. He coached the Philadelphia Spartans of the American Soccer League from 1969 to 1970. He moved to the college ranks to coach Temple University from 1970 to 1973. He then coached Penn State to 12 NCAA tournament appearances from 1974 to 1988, including taking the Nittany Lions to the 1979 semifinals, when he was named College Coach of the Year.[6] He coached two of his sons early in his tenure at Penn State.
Pennsylvania State University Coaching Legacy
100 Years, 4 Generations of Penn State Coaching History
Bahr is linked to CoachBill Jeffrey, the head coach ofPenn State University's men's soccer program in the early 1920s, who later became the men's national team head coach in theWorld Cup. Coach Jeffrey died in 1966 and his coaching lineage worked through four generations at Penn State University. By 1970, the captain of Jeffrey's 1950 U.S. team, Walter Bahr became the coach at Penn State from 1974 to 1988. His assistant,Barry Gorman, would later succeed him as head coach, keeping the Penn State job through the 2009 season. In 2021, the connection to Jeffrey continues with Coach Gorman's youth player,Fraser Kershaw, who took the head coaching job atPenn State Altoona. The coaching connection reached four separate generations ofsoccer, reaching a 100-year continual coaching succession.[7]
Bahr was selected to theUnited States men's national soccer team in 1949 and appeared in 19 games, with one goal. In the1950 FIFA World Cup, the U.S.upset the English team 1–0, with the goal scored byJoe Gaetjens off a pass by Bahr. The entire team was inducted into theNational Soccer Hall of Fame in 1976.[1][8] Bahr was featured in the 2009 soccer documentaryA Time for Champions discussing the U.S. upset victory over England in the1950 World Cup. Bahr was portrayed byWes Bentley in the 2005 movieThe Game of Their Lives, which has been distributed in DVD under the title "Miracle Match."
Bahr's three sons,Casey,Chris andMatt, played professional soccer in the originalNorth American Soccer League. Casey and Chris also played for the U.S. Olympic team, while Chris and Matt becameplacekickers for the NFL and wonSuper Bowl titles. The last living member of the 1950 U.S. World Cup team, Bahr died on June 18, 2018, inBoalsburg, Pennsylvania, from complications related to a broken hip.[6]
United States squads | |||||||||||||
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