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The rich history of soccer in the St. Louis region not only promises to
support a Major League Soccer team, it begs for its arrival.
- St. Louis' national soccer prominence has a rich history that
reaches as far back as the U.S. upset of England in the 1950 World Cup,
where nearly half of the U.S. National Team was recruited out of St.
Louis. The movie, "The Game of Their Lives" is a documentary of this
historical moment. Despite an unlikely finish in the 1950 World Cup
with a roster chock-full of St. Louis players, the United States would
not reach the World Cup again until 1990.
- Al Trost became the
21st St. Louis soccer personality to be inducted into the National
Soccer Hall of Fame on August 28, 2006. St. Louis is home to more Hall
of Fame inductees than any other city in the nation, with the exception
of New York.
- The Raiders, part of
the original North American Soccer League, were the first St. Louis
semi-professional soccer team in 1947. Four members of the Raiders
represented the United States in the 1948 Olympics; five played on the
1950 World Cup team. The semi-professional NASL folded in 1953 due to
lack of fields.
- Kutis emerged as the
prominent amateur soccer team during the 1950s. In 1958, the entire
Kutis team was selected to represent the United States National Team.
Bob Kehoe is perhaps Kutis' most legendary player, acting as captain of
the U.S. National Team in 1965 and as coach of Kutis in 1972. The team
still exists today.
- Bob Hermann, St.
Louis native, pioneered the first American professional soccer league,
the North American Soccer League (NASL). He also inaugurated the
Hermann Award (college soccer's equivalent of the Heismann trophy for
men and women). He was also President and Owner of the St. Louis Stars
(NASL). Saint Louis University's soccer-specific Hermann Stadium is
named after him.
- The St. Louis Stars
immediately drew attention from many mainstream sports fans who
previously would have never been distracted from MLB Cardinals
baseball, NFL Cardinals football, or NBA Hawks basketball. Using known
St. Louis-based players, the Stars led the league in attendance in its
first year, averaging over 7,000 fans per game.
- The inception of
Major Indoor Soccer League (MISL) and the St. Louis Steamers say the
revival of professional soccer in the St. Louis area in 1979, drawing
over 18,000 in its first game and averaging over 14,000 per game for
the season. In 1982, average attendance reached over 17,000 per game, a
franchise record. In 1983, team management and ownership changed hands,
resulting in progressively lower attendance figures over ensuing
seasons. With poor performances (below .500) in the 1986 and 1987
seasons, fan attendance dropped dramatically. The MISL franchise folded
in 1988. The team returned in 1989 as the St. Louis Storm with new
ownership and management, achieving similar success as it had early on.
The MISL changed its name to Major Soccer League (MSL) in 1990. In 1992
when MSL folded, the National Professional Soccer League franchise
(NPSL) St. Louis Ambush came to town. That season average attendance
returned to 10,000 per game with a season high of 16,000. In 1995, the
Ambush drew a season high attendance of 17,603 and over 182,000 fans
attended Ambush games throughout the season. With the re-forming of the
Steamers in St. Charles and World Indoor Soccer League (WISL) in 2000,
the Ambush folded as several of its key people moved to the Steamers.
Two years later, the Steamers left the WISL for the revived Major
Indoor Soccer League (MISL). The club sat out of the 2002-03 season to
identify potential investors and returned in 2003. In 2004, the
Steamers moved back to the downtown St. Louis area, playing in the
Savvis Center. A season-high 13,798 fans attended a Steamers game in
2005. In the same year, the MISL season finals were broadcast live on
ESPN2. The Steamers, winners of the 2006 MISL regular season title,
advanced to the Championship game in St. Louis, playing in front of
16,061 fans.
- Saint Louis
University men's and women's teams rank nationally in the top ten and
twenty respectively, in attendance. Saint Louis University Men's Soccer
holds the NCAA record with 10 National Championships; Saint Louis
University Women's Soccer celebrated its 10th season of existence in
2005 with an NCAA tournament berth and 1st round upset over Stanford
University. Saint Louis University Men's Soccer is considered the first
true soccer dynasty, having won 5 National titles between 1959-1965 and
10 titles in its storied history.
Note: 6,500 people attended Saint Louis University's first
match in the newly renovated Hermann Stadium in 1999, a 2-1 upset of
defending NCAA National Champions Indiana University. Hermann
Stadium was also host to the 2006 NCAA Men’s College Cup in December
that saw California-Santa Barbara defeat UCLA 2-1.
- St. Louis youth soccer has the highest average rate of
participation in the game of any MLS existing or proposed markets, with
303,000 participants or 10.2% of the population. (CSL Preliminary
Study: Participation by Metro Area, CSL.)
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