Soccer Made In St. Louis

ST. LOUIS, MO — A “goodly number of spectators” trooped into the Grand Avenue Baseball Park—soon to become Sportsman’s Park and the eventual home of two Major League Baseball teams—on Friday afternoon, May 28, 1875. They saw what the St. Louis Globe-Democrat described as “foot-ball — a lively game and plenty of sport.” This otherwise inconsequential event is important for one reason: It is the first reported game of soccer in St. Louis, the nation’s original capital of the world’s most popular sport.

This contest and far more consequential

matches that followed are chronicled in Soccer Made in St. Louis, the first comprehensive history of the game in St. Louis. Starting with that first reported game in 1875, Soccer Made in St. Louis covers the history, playing styles, and evolution of the world’s most popular sport in the city that produced generations of native-born players who won 89 national championships, stocked professional and U.S. national teams, and sent 38 of their number into the U.S. Soccer Hall of Fame.

Author and longtime St. Louis soccer writer Dave Lange tells the stories of those who took the game from the sandlots of St. Louis to soccer’s biggest stage, the World Cup. From Harry Ratican, the first St. Louisan to gain nationwide soccer fame; to the six St. Louisans who led the United States to the biggest upset in World Cup history; to Lori Chalupny, who helped the U.S. Women’s National Team to

Olympic gold; the book covers the rich heritage of soccer in St. Louis and shows how the sport is woven into the fabric of the city’s makeup.

Says Dan Flynn, a St. Louis native who is the chief executive officer and secretary general of the U.S. Soccer Federation: “Dave Lange provides a comprehensive and compelling look into the history of soccer in St. Louis. With a collection of remarkable pictures, in-depth coverage of specific matches and events, and insight into some of the most influential individuals in the sport, Soccer Made in St. Louis takes soccer fans on a fantastic journey that educates and also entertains.”

Soccer Made in St. Louis is published by Reedy Press. For more information, contact Reedy Press at (314) 644-3400 or by e-mail at books@reedypress.com

Soccer Made in St. Louis:

A History of the Game in America’s First Soccer Capital

by Dave Lange with Foreword by Bill McDermott, ISBN: 9781933370668, hardcover, 208 pages, $35.00

SOCCER MADE IN ST. LOUIS: A HISTORY OF THE GAME IN AMERICA’S FIRST SOCCER CAPITAL

(Available at St. Louis Costco and Barnes & Noble

stores, and from Amazon, the St. Louis Soccer

Hall of Fame and the St. Louis Youth Soccer Association)

NEW: RECORD ST. LOUIS SOCCER CROWD OF 48,623 SEES MAN CITY TOP CHELSEA 4-3

NEW: LOOKING BACK: MAN CITY’S FIRST VISIT TO ST. LOUIS, 1958

CATCH STL UNITED SOCCER SHOW, 10 A.M. SATURDAYS, KFNS 590

In the news:

St. Louis Post-Dispatch

stlmag.com

STL TV City Corner

StL Sports Radio

IMSoccer News (Sept. 1)

IMSoccer News (Sept. 8)

Kirkwood-Webster Times

What they are saying about Soccer Made In St. Louis:

“Dave Lange provides a comprehensive and compelling look into the history of soccer in St. Louis. With a collection of remark-able pictures, in-depth coverage of specific matches and events, and insight into some of the most influential individuals in the sport, Soccer Made in St. Louis takes soccer fans on a fantastic journey that educates and also entertains.”

- Dan Flynn,

CEO & Secretary General, US Soccer

•

“(Soccer Made in St. Louis) should be considered required reading for any American sports fan or someone curious about this country’s rich soccer past.”

- Clemente Lisi,

New York Post Soccer Blog

•

“Just about everyone in St. Louis knows the city has had a major impact on soccer in America but just what that impact was ... gets increasingly hazy with each passing year. Soccer Made in St. Louis addresses that problem and is an elegant solution.”

- Tom Timmermann,

St. Louis Post-Dispatch

•

“Soccer Made in St. Louis ... is a wonderful book that I would recommend to anyone, even if you’re not from St. Louis.”

- Brian Quarstad,

IMSoccer News

•

“Soccer Made in St. Louis ... is a beautiful book written with passion and care by Dave Lange. ... And even if you are not from St. Louis, it’s an informative read for anyone who loves American soccer.”

- Chris Dobens,

Total FootBlog

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“If you’re a writer with any aspirations of writing a soccer book about your area, Dave Lange’s book is the model to follow.”

- Cesar Diaz,

USSoccerPlayers.com

•

“On crisp fall Saturday mornings, tykes from Fenton to Shrewsbury — and beyond — run, pass and kick on close-cropped athletic fields. They are the youngest cohorts in a Gateway City legacy: St. Louis soccer. To learn more about that legacy, you can do no better than to consult the new book by sportswriter Dave Lange, “Soccer Made in St. Louis: A History of the Game in America’s First Soccer Capital.”

- Don Corrigan,

Webster-Kirkwood Times

•

“(There are) Almost too many chapters to count in an impossibly sweeping life story of St. Louis soccer. But David Lange can tell that story. And he tells it in a beautiful book, Soccer Made In St. Louis: A History of the Game in America’s First Soccer Capital, that is more like a Smithsonian exhibit than coffee table curiosity and is the product of more than two years of dedicated work.”

- Sean Reid,

believeinussoccer.com

•

“Soccer Made in St. Louis has certainly done St. Louis soccer a huge favor by putting the history, so well stated and documented, between two beautifully bound covers. What a wonderful kickoff by Bill McDermott — never at a loss for words, but he so eloquently put them together to kick-start the book. The book has once again put St. Louis on the map. Soccer Made in St. Louis will have everyone else working to catch up.”

- Terry Michler,

Head Coach, CBC High School and all-time U.S. leader in boys’ high school soccer coaching victories

Soccer Made in St. Louis.

dave@soccermadeinstlouis.com

Hall of Famer Pat McBride (top); Lori Chalupny (17) (bottom)