|
 Hall
of Famers
Walter Bahr
and
Harry
Keough
(Class of 1976) will be featured
guests in a special five part interview hosted by "Just
Kickin' It's" soccer reporter
Dave Birnbaum.
This exclusive historic interview will
be regularly heard via the Internet on BOTNradio during the week of
April 11, 2005 on
www.backofthenet.com.
 The interview will discuss the
upcoming release of the movie "The Game of Their Lives,"
but Bahr & Keough will take you beyond the highly anticipated
Hollywood version. It's the Reel Game vs. the Real Game.
Find out what really happened in Belo
Horizonte, Brazil as the U.S. Men's National Team were 500-1 underdogs
in the
1950 World Cup
and beat mighty England 1-0.
* Did Joe Gaetjens actually score the
U.S. goal or did Bahr put the ball into the back of the net?
* Why did England's great star Sir Stanley Mathews not play in the
match?
* What did the English players tell the Americans after the match?
* Why is the widow of U.S. National Team Captain, Ed McIlvenny, upset
about the movie?
* Who really managed the U.S. World Cup Team?
You'll hear a lifetime of great soccer stories from two of the best
ambassadors of the game, Bahr and Keough, who tell it
like it was on BOTNradio's "Just
Kickin' It."
With
the release of the movie “The Game of Their Lives,” Bahr & Keough’s
place in the history of soccer as members of the 1950 World Cup Team
will be spotlighted more than ever.
The 1950 U.S. World Cup team, for the most part, was a
collection of stars from the American Soccer League on the East
Coast and the St. Louis League. All were part-time players who
held a variety of jobs, from mail carrier to schoolteacher,
funeral home staff to dishwasher. Their win on a
Joe
Gaetjens’
header was totally unexpected and many newspapers, particularly
those in England, refused to publish the initial score line,
believing it to be in error. When the news finally made it to
press, the story had little impact in the United States and was
a black-bordered front-page story in the British Isles.
The
entire starting line-up was inducted into the Hall of Fame in
1976. Many historians of the game consider it to be among the
most unlikely upsets in
World
Cup history. Every subsequent
David defeats Goliath World Cup result has been measured in
comparison to this U.S. victory.
Geoffrey
Douglas, a member of the faculty at the University of
Massachusetts Lowell, wrote the book of the same title upon
which the movie is based. “This is a classic underdog story, of
ordinary men scaling to exceptional heights,” Huckel said.
“These players were among the very best in their respective
leagues and their playing ability has not been well recognized.
Players like
John 'Clarkie' Souza
and
Walter Bahr
were perennial All-Stars in the American Soccer League. Goalkeeper
Frank Borghi
and right fullback
Harry
Keough
were also regulars on any St. Louis area All Star team from the late
40's through much of the 50's. Several were offered the opportunity to
play overseas, but almost all refused, preferring the stability of
their regular jobs in the States. It is also important to note that,
typical of the great melting pot that characterizes the United States,
while the names of the players reflect many ethnic backgrounds, all
but three were born in America!"
President/CEO Will Lunn of the
National Soccer Hall of Fame said "This movie is important to the Hall
of Fame because it will reach a large U.S. audience, and for many it
will be the first time they see soccer as part of American history.
After fifty-five years, this world famous moment and these American
heroes will finally receive national recognition."
The National Soccer Hall of Fame will
host a special screening of "The Game of Their Lives" at the Oneonta
Theater on Thursday, April 14 at 7:00pm. The movie will be released
on April 22 in selected theaters nationwide.
About the National Soccer Hall
of Fame and Museum
 Located
in Oneonta, NY, the National Soccer Hall of Fame opened a 30,000
square foot, state-of-the-art museum in 1999. The Hall of Fame
tells the story of soccer in America through artifacts,
photographs, and video clips. The new Hall features an extensive
interactive, youth oriented Kicks Zone where visitors have fun
kicking, heading and playing computer trivia stations and video
soccer games. The VideoWall portrays some of the greatest
moments and the greatest goals in history as well as live soccer
action with World Cup, MLS, and U.S. Soccer matches. Unique and
rare artifacts on exhibit range from the world’s oldest soccer
ball to the FIFA Women’s World Cup trophy won by the USA in
1999,
Pelé's
and Mia Hamm’s uniforms, Kristine Lilly’s golden shoes, NASL
championship rings, the original MLS championship trophy, MLS
gallery - it’s all at the National Soccer Hall of Fame. In
addition to the interactive Museum, the National Soccer Hall of
Fame complex boasts the
Kicks
Zone Store, a research library, four world-class soccer
fields and office/meeting facilities. The Hall plans to add a
stadium, an indoor soccer arena and housing facilities in the
future.
The mission
of the National Soccer Hall of Fame is to celebrate the history,
honor the heroes, inspire the youth and preserve the legacy of
soccer in the United States.
The National
Soccer Hall of Fame is open every day of the year, except
Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year's. Admission is $9.00 for
adults, $8.00 for students, $6.50 for children 6 or older and
senior citizens. Children 5 and under are free.
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