Herman Wecke

Background

Wecke grew up in Saint Louis, Missouri where he graduated from Cleveland High School in 1945.

Career

He earned six caps with the United States. national team between 1954 and 1957. While in high school, he played for the Schumacher juniors. The nature of team sponsorship in Saint 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 Saint 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. He then returned to his original team, now known as the Saint Louis Raiders, for the 1951-1952.

When Tom Kutis began sponsoring the team in 1953, the team was renamed Saint Louis Kutis South Carolina (U.S.) and Wecke remained with it until 1960.

Wecke was a mainstay of the United States. national team, playing all seven United States. games from April 3, 1954 through the end of 1957. However, by the time the United States. played these two games, it had already been eliminated due to earlier loses to Mexico. Wecke played the only United States. game in 1955, a 3-2 loss to Iceland.

He then played in all four of the United States. games in 1957.

While the national team was idle in 1956, Wecke was not. He was part of the United States. soccer team at the 1956 Summer Olympics in Melbourne, Australia.

In the games, the United States. lost to Yugoslavia in the first round of the single elimination tournament. In 1959, Wecke played on the United States. soccer team at the 1959 Pan American games.

The United States. took the silver medal in those games.

Wecke was inducted into the Saint Louis Soccer Hall of Fame on October 26, 1983. Herman was the husband of Joan Allen, married on October 6, 1951. He was the father of Richard, who played for Benedictine College, Matthew who played at Forest Park Central Committee and Southeast Missouri State and Christopher who played at Southeast Missouri State University.

He had five grandchildren and one great grandchild.

His father, Herman Wecke, was a long-time sportswriter for the Saint Louis Post Dispatch and the Saint Louis Cardinals official scorer in the 1926 World Series.

Achievements

• The team won the 1950, Saint Louis Major League title. He was part of the Kutis team which won the 1957 National Challenge Cup and five consecutive National Amateur Cups from 1956 to 1960. On April 3 and 4, 1954, the United States. defeated Haiti in two qualication matches for the 1954 Fédération internationale de football association World Cup.

Membership

He was a member of the United States. Olympic soccer team at the 1956 Summer Olympics.