SOCCER: Soccer's History Lives On In The Souls Of These Stars

They came from all over. Indiana, New York, Staten Island, all across the country. They came from their houses and families. They came to Oneonta to see the other family they have. The family of inductees at the National Soccer Hall of Fame. The history lives on in these men, congregated at the Hall of Fame during the weekend's induction ceremonies. The history they share, the accomplishments made in an era where soccer was not a national sport, simply one for local amateur teams with the national team only occassionally coming together. Nearly a dozen of them came back. They came back the night before for dinner, retelling stories and tales and catching up on each other. Then, on Saturday, the induction ceremony beckoned. They came through the entranceway, escorted by Hall officials. They came up to the Hall in cars just like them — classics. They came through the entranceway with a standing-room only crowd all standing up, giving them the recognition so richly deserved. It was a trip back in time for those men, the ones who make up the Hall inductees class. Sitting in a room, telling stories, enjoying each other's company. "We score a lot of goals," 1992 inductee Chico Chacurian said. "We score more goals than we ever did before." They were men that would play in a higher profile today that they previously did. Chacurian, an Argentine native, played for the New York Armenian Club and Brooklyn Hispano of the American Soccer League, playing on the national squad in 1949. Jackie Hynes, a class of 1977 inductee. He arrived in the U.S. at age 13 and has been a New York City area fixture his life since. He played in three decades, played on the national team. Harry Keough, a member of the U.S. World Cup team in 1950, the upset over England that is still talked about to this day. He made 17 appearances on the national team, including two Olympics. He won two U.S. Open Cup medals and seven U.S. Amateur Cup medals. Walter Bahr, known as one of the classiest players of his time. Four ASL titles with the Philadelphia Nationals. Nineteen appearances on the national team. Bahr, the one who assisted on Joe Gaetjens winning goal against England. It was a different era. Different coverage. Different times, morals, values, different everything. While he played soccer, Hynes served in World War II and was a NYC Fireman for 28 years. How many athletes today do that? So that's why we celebrate them. We celebrate them because they are the history of the game. They are the inspiration behind the generation that inspires the next generation that inspires the next. "They were so important to us immigrant boys," Bob Gansler, coach of the Kansas City Wizards, said. "Harry, to me, was a genuine hero. These guys were good players — if they had been in another country at the time, they could have played there." Gansler, who played in the NASL. The NASL, which led young boys to believe that soccer was the sport to play, those boys who are now in MLS. The youth teams, ranking among the best in the world, raising the profile of U.S. Soccer. "We have a proud history, starting in 1930 with the World Cup," Hynes said, remembering the team that made the World Cup semifinals. "From that, we've been a part of it." Keough and Bahr, for example, were honored for the 1950 World Cup win over England. A win that was sparsely covered at the time, a win that when it came across the wire as 1-0, people in England though it stood for 10-0 in their favor. How wrong they were. "We got so little recognition at the time," Keough said. "Now, we're getting recognition so maybe we'll just keep talking about it...I remember that game better than something that happened last week." This was the foundation. So each year they come back. They come back to Oneonta, the little hamlet in New York. They come back to share in each other's company, each other's stories. Some of it changes, some of it is different, in its own way. "It revives the old memories," Keough said. "It's just a great thrill to come back. We tell the same jokes, we just try to change the wording a little bit." "It's an honor," Chacurian said of being with the group. "When they mention your name and ask you to be a part of it, it's a tremendous feeling...it's one of the biggest honors I've ever had in my life."