Background
Kropfelder grew up in Baltimore where he played baseball, basketball, and soccer at Mount Saint Joseph College, a secondary school, from 1938 to 1940.
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Nicholas Kropfelder
Edit ProfileCareer
He played professionally in the American Soccer League, leading the league twice in scoring. He was inducted into the National Soccer Hall of Fame in 1996. In soccer, he was a high scoring centerforward.
From 1941 to 1942, then played for Santa Maria K of C in the Baltimore Catholic soccer league.
From September to November 1941, he went on trial with Baltimore South Carolina of the American Soccer League, but returned to Santa Maria as it made a run to the semifinals of the 1942 National Amateur Cup. In the fall of 1942, he signed as an amateur with the Baltimore Americans of the Advanced Systems Limited. In 1943, Kropfelder"s career was interrupted by military service during World World War II and he didn’t return to the Americans until 1946.
In addition to playing for the Americans, he also attended Loyola College where he played on the school"s soccer team in 1947. However, he was stripped of his collegiate eligibility based on his time as a professional with the Americans.
Kropfelder led the Advanced Systems Limited in scoring during the 1947-1948 season with 19 goals.
In 1948, he moved to the Philadelphia Nationals and played with them through the end of the 1952-1953 season. He led the league in scoring for a second time with seventeen goals in 1950-1951. He was also part of two teams which lost the National Challenge Cup championship (1949 and 1952).
He finished his career with one season with the Baltimore Rockets before retiring in 1954.
After retiring from playing professionally, Kropfelder served as both an National Collegiate Athletic Association and amateur referee for several decades. In 1993, he was elected president of the Maryland Old Timers Soccer Association in 1993.
Kropfelder was inducted into the National Soccer Hall of Fame in 1996.
Achievements
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Born
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Died
August 4, 2012 (aged 89) -
Nationality
Mexico