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 Gene
took up
soccer when he was 12 years old playing for the junior team of the Bayonne
Rangers during the 1933-34 season.
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Personal Information |
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Class of 1971 |
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Born: September 23, 1920 - Bayonne, NJ |
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Position:
Goalkeeper |
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Int'l
Caps: 1 |
Int'l
Goals: 0 |
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Throughout his years at Bayonne High School he played for the
school team from 1933 to 1937, and at the same time was a member of the
Bayonne Rangers senior team and then the New York Brookhattan "B'
team. In 1937 he was signed by
the Hatikvoh Football Club of Brooklyn playing for them until the end of
the 1938-39 season and helping them win the National League Cup in
1939. At the start of the 1939-40
season he moved to Brooklyn Swedish Football Club and won his second National
League Cup medal. In 1941 he was signed by Brooklyn Hispano of the American
Soccer League and was in goal when they won the U.S. Open Cup in 1943 and
1944 against Morgan Strasser of Pittsburgh. In 1944 Hispano completed the double winning the American
League championship in addition to the Open Cup. During these years of World War II he
served with the United States Navy as a deep sea diver and while assigned
to the various Navy schools in the East continued to play for
Hispano. In the latter part of 1944,
and all of 1945 he served overseas in the European theater of war and was
discharged in 1946. Returning to
the United States he won the Lewis Cup with Hispano in 1946 and continued
to play for the team until 1953 at which time he retired from the
game. The premier American
goalkeeper of the 1940s he played for the American Soccer League
All-Stars against Liverpool in 1946, Djurgarden of Sweden in 1948, and
Scotland and Inter-Milan in 1949, before his retirement in 1953. He also saw action for the New York
All-Star team against Atlante of Mexico in 1942, Liverpool in 1946,
Hapoel Tel Aviv in 1947, Liverpool twice in 1948, Belfast Celtic in 1949
and Manchester United in 1950. In
1948 he played for the United States national team against Israel and in
1949 against Scotland in New York. In 1954 he initiated a Youth
Recreation Program in Florence, New Jersey and later served a president
of the youth recreation committee for 20 years. He attended Northwestern and Temple Universities
participating and completing Police Administration courses and joined the
New Jersey State Police in 1946 eventually serving as Deputy
Superintendent with the rank of Major and in 1975 was promoted to Superintendent
and held the rank of Colonel.
Hall of Famer Spotlight:
Gene was born in Bayonne, NJ on
September 23, 1920 and his mother, Irene MacGregor, was of
Scottish heritage and his father, Victor Olaff, was a Swedish
seaman who jumped ship in America and joined the National Guard
to obtain his U.S. citizenship.
more>
U.S. National Team
Statistics |
