October 15th (1976)

Oct. 15, 1976: The U.S. suffers a brutal 3-0 World Cup qualifying loss to Mexico in Puebla, Mexico, with St. Louisans Steve Pecher and future U.S. Soccer Hall of Famer Al Trost in the USA’s starting lineup. Competing along with Canada in the North American Zone first round of qualifying, the U.S. and Mexico had played to a scoreless draw 12 days earlier in Los Angeles. In the rematch, the 20-year-old Pecher “was almost decapitated by a charge from (Rafael ‘Chepa’) Chavez,” writes Soccer America’s Ron Griffith, and leaves the game. A capacity crowd of 35,000 at Cuauhtemoc Stadium sees the home team score twice in the first half. U.S. players and coaches bitterly dispute a penalty that leads to Mexico’s third goal in the 52nd minute. Adding insult to injury, equipment, uniforms and personal belongings valued at $700 are stolen from the USA’s locker room. Mexican officials reimburse the U.S. players after the game. Mexico eventually will qualify for the 1978 World Cup and will lose all three of its group stage matches.