Walter A. Bahr

Considered one of the greatest American soccer players of all time, former Scottish international Tommy Muirhead, writing in the Glasgow Daily Mail during the Scottish national team tour of the U.S. in 1949, paid him the ultimate compliment. "Bahr," he wrote "is good enough to play for any First Division team in the United Kingdom."

Personal Information Class of 1976 Born:  April 1, 1927 - Philadelphia, PA Position: Half Back Int'l Caps: 18 Int'l Goals: 1

Walter's first involvement with soccer came at the age of 11, when he joined the Lighthouse Boys Club team in the Kensington section of Philadelphia.  Within four years he had signed as an amateur with the Philadelphia Nationals of the professional American Soccer League. There he developed under coach Jimmy Mills, himself a Hall of Famer, and becoming a professional helped the Nationals win American Soccer League titles in 1950, 1951 and 1953. In 1949 and 1952 he was a member of the Nationals team that reached the U.S. Open Cup final, but lost on each occasion to a team from the Pittsburgh area. He won the ASL title again in 1955 and 1956 with Uhrik Truckers another Philadelphia team. Walter also played the 1953 summer season in Canada for Montreal Hakoah and once again his team reached the national final before losing to New Westminster Royals. In other years he played in the New York German-American League for S.C. Eintract and the German-Hungarians.

On numerous occasions Walter played for the American Soccer League all-star team against some of the finest club teams in the world, including in 1948 the English team Liverpool and the national team of Israel. In 1950 against Besiktas of Turkey and Jonkopping of Sweden. In 1951 against A.I.K. Stockholm of Sweden. In 1953 against Rapid Vienna of Austria. In 1956 against the Israeli Olympic team, Everton of England and Rapid Vienna of Austria for the second time, and in 1957 against Hapoel of Tel Aviv.

In 1948 he was selected for the U.S. Olympic squad at the Olympic Games in London and captained the team.  However, soon after he signed as a professional and became ineligible to play for the Olympic team again. In 1949 Walter Bahr was a member of the U.S. World Cup team that qualified from a tournament in Mexico City for the 1950 World Cup of Soccer held in Brazil. There he played against Spain, England and Chile. Against England in Belo Horizonte he supplied the pass that led to Joe Gaetjens scoring the winning goal in one of the greatest sporting upsets of all time.  In April of 1952 he was a member of the U.S. national team that played against Scotland at Glasgow's famed Hampden Park before 107,765 fans. Altogether Walter Bahr played 19 times for the U.S. national team in full international competition at a time when the U.S. didn't play anything like as many internationals as it does today. He is known, not only in the U.S., but around the world as one of the greatest and most respected soccer players ever to wear the shirt of the U.S. national team and has often served as an ambassador for his country.

After his retirement as a player Walter Bahr became a highly successful coach at Temple and at Penn State Universities, and with two professional teams Philadelphia Ukrainians and Philadelphia Spartans. He coached Temple from 1970 to 1973 and Penn State from 1974 to 1988 as well as Frankfort High School for 17 years. His overall coaching record is 448-137-70. He was elected NSCAA Coach of the Year in 1979 and the Nittany Lion soccer team was selected to the NCAA Tournament 12 times in Walt's 14 year career. In 1995 he was elected to the National Soccer Coaches Association of America Hall of Fame.

His three sons Casey, Chris and Matt all played soccer. Casey and Chris both played for the U.S. Olympic team and all three played in the North American Soccer League, Casey and Chris for Philadelphia Atoms and Matt for Colorado Caribous. Later Chris and Matt kicked field goals for a number of teams in the National Football League.  Daughter Davies Ann also carried on the family's sports tradition and was named to the All-America gymnastics team in 1977. Walter's wife, also named Davies Ann, was a championship swimmer at Temple and a Physical
Education teacher at Penn State.

Where Are They Now: Walter is one of those guys who is good at every sport he tries - whether it be soccer, football, basketball, racquetball, or golf, Walter knows how to put up a good fight. more>

The Tobias Lopez Column: Walter Bahr Remembers: It was as much the people as the stage that earned Walter Bahr's playing era the name, "The Greatest Generation." Men like St. Louis area all-star goalkeeper Frank Borghi, who patched up Americans and Germans alike on the beaches of Normandy that earned them the right to that name. more>

Kicking It With Walter Bahr: Walter Bahr, looking quite dapper in his blue blazer and gray slacks, was getting a few last-minute tips from "The Game of Their Lives" screenwriter Angelo Pizzo before beginning a poolside chat. more>

U.S. National Team Statistics