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US Soccer Hall of Fame
Posted: Wed Mar 28, 2012 12:08 pm
by KCMax
This is pretty pie in the sky, but I heard a podcast a few weeks talking about how there is no US Soccer Hall of Fame. There used to be one in Oneonta, NY, but it closed up shop a few years ago. They still technically induct people in the HOF (Tony Meola I think is getting inducted), but the HOF only exists as an abstract concept.
Soo......what about KC? I think a US Soccer HOF should be connected to an MLS Stadium. Why not put it in KCK? They wanted the NASCAR HOF, why not the US Soccer HOF? Or alternatively, put it in the West Bottoms or the Bannister site with some tournament-quality youth soccer fields. I don't know how much this would cost or who would pay for it or whatever.
My pipedream would be to have had the SKC stadium on the river near downtown, or maybe in the West Bottoms, with an adjoining US Soccer HOF, and some tournament-quality youth fields. But alas, the ship has sailed on that.
Re: US Soccer Hall of Fame
Posted: Fri Mar 30, 2012 11:36 am
by AllThingsKC
This would be a great get for KC....which is why we'll never get it.
It would be the sweet to have the CBE/HOF/NABC connected to the Sprint Center and have a US Soccer HOF connected to Livestrong Sporting Park.
Re: US Soccer Hall of Fame
Posted: Fri Mar 30, 2012 1:10 pm
by aknowledgeableperson
It would be nice to have it in the area but St. Louis has a deeper history of soccer than KC.
Re: US Soccer Hall of Fame
Posted: Fri Mar 30, 2012 2:13 pm
by KCMax
aknowledgeableperson wrote:It would be nice to have it in the area but St. Louis has a deeper history of soccer than KC.
But they don't have a team. I don't know that history matters that much for the current location.
Re: US Soccer Hall of Fame
Posted: Fri Mar 30, 2012 7:57 pm
by aknowledgeableperson
Neither does Canton or Cooperstown.
Re: US Soccer Hall of Fame
Posted: Fri Mar 30, 2012 10:41 pm
by phuqueue
Good point akp, St. Louis shouldn't be overlooked since it has the same level of significance for soccer as Canton and Cooperstown do for football and baseball
Re: US Soccer Hall of Fame
Posted: Sat Mar 31, 2012 2:02 pm
by aknowledgeableperson
homepages.sover.net/~spectrum/saintlouis.html
St. Louis has a long history as one of the major hotbeds of soccer in the United States. During the early years of soccer, St. Louis was the western outpost of the major soccer regions, as immigrant communities brought their game to the major industrial centers of the country. Unlike other regions, St. Louis was known mostly for the major amateur clubs that achieved national distinction in the US. Open Cup and National Amateur Cup during the middle part of the 20th century. Between 1920 and 1957, six different teams won the US Open Cup. Later, as the amateur circuit faded in prominence, St. Louis enjoyed distinction as a hotbed for college soccer as St. Louis University won a string of consecutive NCAA titles during the 1960s. Success at the amateur level paid off in bigger ways, as St. Louis players had a prominent rule on the National Team. Five of the 11 players on the team that defeated England in the 1950 World Cup were from St. Louis, and every World Cup squad had at least one St. Louis player on its roster. In addition, twenty St. Louis soccer personalities are enshrined in the National Soccer Hall of Fame.