May 17 (1968)

On leave from the U.S. Air Force, St. Louis native Carl Gentile scores in the 88th minute to give the St. Louis Stars a 1-1 draw with the Cleveland Stokers in an NASL match at Busch Memorial Stadium. A medic in the U.S. Air Force Reserves, Gentile had been activated the previous Monday to assist with casualties returning from the Vietnam War to nearby Scott Air Force Base. “We patch ’em up, take care of them and send them out,” Gentile tells Jeff Meyers of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. “We try to comfort them and make things as pleasant as possible.” Gentile makes things pleasant for the 5,839 fans at Busch Memorial Stadium in the game’s dying moments. The Stokers score in the 18th minute on a goal by Joe Kuzman, then are content to sit on their lead with a defense led by 1967’s NPSL MVP, center halfback Ruben Navarro. Gentile beats Navarro after taking a pass from Gentile’s old St. Louis U. teammate and future U.S. Soccer Hall of Famer, Pat McBride. “Navarro was waiting for me to commit myself, but I just kept getting closer and closer,” Gentile says. “Finally, I got close enough and I shot.” Gentile drives the ball from the right about eight yards out into the left corner of the net for his second goal of the season. Gentile, an All-American at St. Louis U., scored five goals in three games with the U.S. Olympic team in its failed attempt to qualify for the 1964 Olympics. Gentile will appear in his first of six matches with the U.S. National Team on Sept. 15, 1968. One of the top all-around athletes in St. Louis history, Gentile played minor-league baseball in the Mets’ organization and will be on the reserve team of the NFL’s Houston Oilers as a placekicker in 1969-70.