July 11 (1961)

In the first meeting between two foreign teams in St. Louis, Ireland’s Shamrock Rovers defeat Israel’s Hapoel Petah Tikvah, 3-1, before 8,000 appreciative fans at Public Schools Stadium. Foreign clubs had been playing exhibition matches in St. Louis since Toronto’s Western Football Association met the St. Louis Thistles on Dec. 25, 1884. That game is believed to be the first international soccer match played in the United States. That and subsequent games had matched foreign clubs against St. Louis or U.S. teams until the match on July 11, 1961. The Rovers, based in Dublin, are the Republic of Ireland’s most successful club, winning three League of Ireland championships and two Football Association of Ireland Challenge Cups during the 1950s. Hapoel Petah Tikva, located in Petah Tikva, had just won their third of what will be a record five consecutive championships of the then-first division Liga Leumit. The teams don’t disappoint the St. Louis crowd. U.S. Soccer Hall of Fame Journalist Dent McSkimming, known for his blunt commentary, will praise both teams effusively in the next day’s St. Louis Post-Dispatch. “In between the scoring there were a thousand nice touches, clever ball handling, fantastic dribbles, spectacular heading and terrific saves by the goalies,” McSkimming will write. Paddy Ambrose, who will score a Rovers’ record 109 league goals during his 16-year career, dazzles the crowd in the second half with two goals to break a 1-1 halftime tie. The Rovers’ Liam Tuohy and Petah Tikvah’s Jehoshua Glazer each score in the first half. Noting “the most generous round of applause that has been heard at a soccer match in St. Louis in many years,” McSkimming will conclude that “the lasting impression was a picture of fine competition and thrilling entertainment. That kind of soccer would win a big following here. It deserved applause.”