Herman Wecke

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Herman Wecke
Personal information
Full nameHerman William Wecke
Date of birth (1927-03-10) March 10, 1927
Place of birthSt. Louis, Missouri, United States
Height5 ft 7 in (1.70 m)
Playing positionDefender
Youth career
Schumacher Junios
Senior career*
YearsTeamApps(Gls)
1948-1949Paul Schulte Motors
1949-1950→ McMahon Pontiac
1950-1951Zenthoefer Furs
1951-1952St. Louis Raiders
St. Louis Kutis
National team
1954-1957United States6(0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only.
† Appearances (Goals).

Herman Wecke (born March 10, 1927) is a former U.S. soccer defender. He earned six caps with the U.S. national team between 1954 and 1957. He was a member of the U.S. Olympic soccer team at the 1956 Summer Olympics.

Club career

Wecke grew up in St. Louis, Missouri where he graduated from Cleveland High School in 1945.[1] While in high school, he played for the Schumacher juniors.[2] The nature of team sponsorship in St. Louis during the 1940s and 1950s make it seem as if Wecke jumped between teams during his career. He actually only played for two teams; however, sponsorship changes led to several team name changes. In 1948, he turned professional with Paul Schulte Motors which became McMahon Pontiac for the 1949-1950 St. Louis Major League season. In April 1950, he jumped to Zenthoefer Furs which had been hit with several injuries as it prepared for a National Amateur Cup game. The team won the 1950, St. Louis Major League title. He then returned to his original team, now known as the St. Louis Raiders, for the 1951-1952. When Tom Kutis began sponsoring the team in 1953, the team was renamed St. Louis Kutis S.C. and Wecke remained with it until 1960. He was part of the Kutis team which won the 1957 National Challenge Cup and five consecutive National Amateur Cups from 1956 to 1960.

National and Olympic team

Wecke was a mainstay of the U.S. national team, playing all seven U.S. games from April 3, 1954 through the end of 1957. On April 3 and 4, 1954, the U.S. defeated Haiti in two qualication matches for the 1954 FIFA World Cup. However, by the time the U.S. played these two games, it had already been eliminated due to earlier loses to Mexico. Wecke played the only U.S. game in 1955, a 3-2 loss to Iceland. He then played in all four of the U.S. games in 1957. While the national team was idle in 1956, Wecke was not. He was part of the U.S. soccer team at the 1956 Summer Olympics in Melbourne, Australia. In the games, the U.S. lost to Yugoslavia in the first round of the single elimination tournament. In 1959, Wecke played on the U.S. soccer team at the 1959 Pan American games. The U.S. took the silver medal in those games.

Wecke was inducted into the St. Louis Soccer Hall of Fame on October 26, 1983.

Family

Herman is the father of Matt and Chris Wecke both who played collegiate soccer at Southeast Missouri state. Also father of Rick Wecke who played for Benedictine and won a national championship.

References

External links

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