The son of Kyle Rote, an all-American college football player at Southern Methodist University who played in the National Football League for the New York Giants, Rote, Junior. graduated from Highland Park High School in Dallas, Texas in 1968.
He attended Oklahoma State University, initially intending to concentrate on American football.
He led the NASL in scoring in 1973. He later coached the Memphis Americans of the Major Indoor Soccer League. He played for the Black Bandits in the Dallas youth soccer league while in high school.
He played soccer to stay in shape during the offseason, but after a broken leg ended his football career, he started playing it full-time.
Rote transferred to the University of the South in Sewanee, Tennessee, then one of the few universities in the South with a varsity soccer program While at Sewanee, Rote also competed in track and field
Rote was discovered by legendary sports businessman Lamar Hunt, who was searching for an American star to help market the newly established North American Soccer League. The Dallas Tornado selected Rote in the first round of the 1972 draft.
He spent the 1972 season on the bench before becoming a starter in 1973.
That season, he led the league in scoring, the first American to ever do so and was named the. In October 1978, the Houston Hurricane purchased Rote"s contract from the Tornado for $250,000. He played the 1979 season with Houston, then announced his retirement in February 1980.
In August 1983, Rote took over as head coach of the Memphis Americans of the Major Indoor Soccer League.
At the time, he was the team"s general manager. When the team moved to Las Vegas, Nevada during the 1984 off-season, Rote chose to remain in Memphis.
In July 1984, the Dallas Sidekicks offered him the position of head coach, but Rote declined. After his retirement, Rote became a sports agent.
Rote also works as a motivational speaker.
Rote hosted a local quiz show called News Channel 3 Knowledge Bowl for many years before WREG meteorologist Jim Jaggers took over as host. Rote is married to Mary Lynne Lykins and has four children: Will, John, Josie and Ben. In 2009, he was inducted into the Texas Sports Hall of Fame.
On April 10, 2009, the National Soccer Hall of Fame announced that Rote was selected for induction into the Hall of Fame.
While in the NASL, Rote won the made-for-television Superstars competition three times in a four-year period in the 1970s. He currently lives in Memphis, Tennessee and is the founder and chief executive officer of Athletic Resource Management, Incorporated., representing professional and post-collegiate athletes and coaches in football and basketball.
He is a member of the National Soccer Hall of Fame.
