June 3 (1988)

Former Anheuser-Busch president Denny Long (pictured) says he and St. Louis attorney and former St. Louis Stars player Steve Frank have joined forces with Milan Mandaric of San Diego to try to save the MISL’s St. Louis Steamers. The Steamers are close to $1 million in debt, according to Joe Farrell, the team’s chairman. Long is a lifetime fan of soccer and a former player and coach who spearheaded Anheuser-Busch’s considerable support of the sport at the local, national and international levels. His efforts included completion of the St. Louis Soccer Park, the founding of Busch Soccer Club (which later merged with others to form today’s St. Louis Scott Gallagher Soccer Club), and monetary support of professional teams, leagues, FIFA, the World Cup and the U.S. Soccer Federation. A signature accomplishment was the financial lifeline that Anheuser-Busch tossed to the struggling USSF. “I’m not sure too many people realize it, but A-B was pivotal in keeping the (U.S.) Soccer Federation alive,” Anheuser-Busch executive and former St. Louis Stars player Bruce Hudson told author Dave Lange in “Soccer Made in St. Louis: A History of the Game in America’s First Soccer Capital.” Long’s efforts will land him in the U.S. Soccer Hall of Fame in 1993. However, the efforts of Long and his associates will not save the Steamers, who go out of business. Instead, Long’s group will form a new franchise, the St. Louis Storm, which will play in the MISL from 1989-92.