December 20 (1899)

With the 20th century about to dawn, one of the greatest players in the early years of St. Louis soccer tells the St. Louis Post-Dispatch what is needed for the sport to grow in the United States. “Governing bodies for the game in this country have not made very strenuous efforts for the promotion of its popularity,” former Welsh international Dick Jarrett says in an interview published in the Dec. 20, 1899, edition. A real national body could organize intercity games and annual championships, he adds, as in Great Britain. “All lovers of association football in America would be overwhelmed with joy if as much interest and painstaking were exhibited in America as in England,” he says. Jarrett’s recommendation will come to pass with the formation of the U.S. Football Association, today’s U.S. Soccer Federation. But the birth of the USFA will come too late for Jarett, who will be 44 years old when the USFA is formed in 1913. Nevertheless, Jarrett impacts St. Louis soccer immeasurably during his playing days. He will be called “the greatest association football player that ever toed the leather in these parts,” the Post-Dispatch will write in 1900, and will be considered the best forward to have played in St. Louis by the time his playing career ends around 1910. His career began in his native Wales, where he earned two caps in 1889-90. He scored three goals against Ireland in his first international appearance. He immigrated to Canada and moved later to Chicago, where he established a reputation as one of the better players in the United States. The Cycling Club built one of St. Louis’ top teams of the late 1890s by importing Jarrett, fellow Chicagoan and future U.S. Soccer Hall of Famer Benny Govier, and other players. Jarrett will remain in St. Louis as a city employee from 1901 until his death at age 66 on Jan. 29, 1935.