Albert Harker (April 11, 1910 – April 3, 2006) was a U.S. soccer player who was a member of the U.S. team at the

1934 FIFA World Cup The 1934 FIFA World Cup was the second edition of the FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international football championship for senior men's national teams. It took place in Italy from 27 May to 10 June 1934. The 1934 World Cup was the first in w ...

. During his Hall of Fame career, he won three American Soccer League championships, two league cups, a National Amateur Cup title and the 1935 National Challenge Cup.

Youth and college

Harker attended

Girard College Girard College is an independent college preparatory five-day boarding school located on a 43-acre campus in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The school was founded and permanently endowed from the shipping and banking fortune of Stephen Girard upon ...

where he played on the men's soccer team from 1926 to 1929.

Professional

Following his graduation from Girard, he signed with Corinthians of the National Soccer League of Philadelphia. In 1930, he moved to Upper Darby and in 1931 to the Kensington Blue Bells. In 1932, he moved to the

Philadelphia German-Americans Philadelphia German-American was an American soccer club based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania that was an inaugural member of the professional American Soccer League. Before the 1941/42 season the club became known as the Philadelphia Americans. ...

. When the second American Soccer League formed in 1933, the German-Americans moved to the new league. That year, the team won the

National Amateur Cup The National Amateur Cup, also known as the USASA Amateur Cup, is an American soccer competition open to all amateur teams affiliated with the United States Soccer Federation through United States Adult Soccer Association (USASA). In 1923, U.S. ...

and the National Challenge Cup in 1935. The team became known as the

Philadelphia Americans Philadelphia German-American was an American soccer club based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania that was an inaugural member of the professional American Soccer League. Before the 1941/42 season the club became known as the Philadelphia Americans. ...

in 1941. Under its new name, Harker and his teammates won the ASL championship in 1942, 1944 and 1947, as well as the league cup in 1941 and 1943.

National team

Harker was called into the for the

, but did not see time in the lone U.S. game of the cup, a 7–1 loss to eventual champion

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

.
/sup> He was also called into the U.S. Olympic soccer team for the 1936 Summer Olympics, but declined because he was unable to take two months off work. He was inducted into the National Soccer Hall of Fame in 1979 and the Girard College Athletic Hall of Fame in 2006.

Personal

Harker died on April 8, 2006, at a nursing home in Camp Hill, Pennsylvania, eight days before his 96th birthday. He was the last surviving member of the 1934 World Cup squad.New York Times Obituary
/ref> Even in his later years Al would sit with his great-granddaughter and recall the days of playing with his teammates. He would recall how they would come over to the house during the summer and pick up a game of volleyball in the backyard. Al always held those fond memories of soccer close to his heart. Seventy-three years later he still wore his National Amateur Cup ring.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Harker, Al 1910 births 2006 deaths Soccer players from Philadelphia American men's soccer players American Soccer League (1933–1983) players Uhrik Truckers players National Soccer Hall of Fame members 1934 FIFA World Cup players Men's association football defenders