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 Began playing
organized soccer at the age of six while attending St. Matthew School and
remained with the school team through grade school.
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Personal Information |
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Class of 1997 |
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Born:
December 27, 1908 -
St.
Louis, MO |
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Died:
August 21, 1999 -
St. Charles, MO |
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Position: Inside Left |
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Upon graduation
entered Christian Brothers College where he played until joining his first MUNY team, the Marzes for the 1928-29 season. The next year he was with
St. Matthew (not to be confused with his school team) while Russell
Florists claimed his services for the 1929-30 season. However, in the
middle of that season he became a member of the famous Stix, Baer and
Fuller team, owned and operated by a large St. Louis department store.
Although he was still young and not very tall his play had so impressed
soccer followers that he won a spot at inside left in a team full of some
of the top players in the United States. In 1933 with Jimmy at inside
left Stix, Baer and Fuller won the national Open Cup for the first time
and won it again a year later. In 1935 the team was sold to Central
Breweries and Jimmy won his third Open Cup medal. Another change of
ownership in 1936 saw the team become the Shamrocks and with Roe still in
the line up reached the final again and also in the following year losing
on both occasions. Even so, five consecutive national finals is quite a
record. In 1937 he was selected to the United States national team that
traveled to Mexico to play in the Castillo Najera Cup and there he
suffered the knee injury that ended his career prematurely. During World
War Two he joined the 456th AA Battalion and served in Europe.
Hall of Famer Spotlight:
Like so many of soccer's giants of
the past, Jimmy was not very tall. You don't have to be a
behemoth to play soccer, and being built close to the ground can
be an asset, especially if you were an inside forward in Jimmy's
day.
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