William ''("Bill" or "Billy")'' Straub (born in

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

) is a former U.S.

soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...

player. He spent five seasons in the

North American Soccer League The North American Soccer League may refer to: *North American Soccer League (1968–1984), a former Division I league *North American Soccer League (2011–2017) The North American Soccer League (NASL) was a professional men's soccer league b ...

. He also earned three

cap A cap is a flat headgear, usually with a visor. Caps have crowns that fit very close to the head. They made their first appearance as early as 3200 BC. Caps typically have a visor, or no brim at all. They are popular in casual and informal se ...

s with the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

in 1975.

College

Straub attended the

University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (also known as Penn or UPenn) is a private research university in Philadelphia. It is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and is ranked among the highest-regarded universitie ...

where he played on the men's soccer team from 1970 to 1972. He was a third team

All-America The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed upon an amateur sports person from the United States who is considered to be one of the best amateurs in their sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an All-Am ...

n in 1972. In 2005, he was named to the University of Pennsylvania All Century soccer team.
/sup>

NASL

In 1973, Straub was drafted by the

Montreal Olympique The Montreal Olympique were a Canadian soccer team that competed in the North American Soccer League (NASL) from 1971 to 1973. The team was based in Montreal and played its 1971 and 1973 home matches at Autostade and at the Universite de Montre ...

. After only six games, the Olympique traded him to the expansion

Philadelphia Atoms The Philadelphia Atoms were an American soccer team based out of Philadelphia that played in the North American Soccer League (NASL). They played from 1973 to 1976, at Veterans Stadium (1973–75) and Franklin Field (1976). The club's colors wer ...

. He did not play a game with the Atoms until the championship game. In that game, he replaced

Jim Fryatt James Fryatt (2 September 1940 – 5 June 2020) was an English footballer who played as a striker. During his playing career he was nicknamed ''Pancho''. Football League A regular scorer for all of his club sides, the stockily built forward w ...

, who had been on loan from English team

Southport F.C. Southport Football Club is an association football club based in Southport, Merseyside. They play their home matches at Haig Avenue, which has a capacity of 5,414. They are known by their nickname "the Sandgrounders". The club's main ...

at forward when Southport recalled Fryatt.
/sup> Straub went on to score the second goal of the Atoms' 2–0 win with an 85th-minute header, to secure the 1973 North American Soccer League season, 1973 NASL championship. He missed the entire 1977 season with injuries, but came back in 1978 to play twenty-five games in the Atoms back line. The Atoms folded at the end of the 1976 season. In 1978, he was signed by the expansion

Philadelphia Fury The Philadelphia Fury was an American soccer team based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, that last competed in the National Independent Soccer Association (NISA). The club formerly competed in the American Soccer League and is currently owned by ...

. After one season with the Fury, he retired in 1979.
/sup>

National team

Straub earned three

s with the

United States men's national soccer team The United States men's national soccer team (USMNT) represents the United States in men's international soccer competitions. The team is controlled by the United States Soccer Federation and is a member of FIFA and CONCACAF. The U.S. team ha ...

at the 1975 Mexico City Cup. On August 19, 1975, he played his first game with the U.S. in a 3-1 loss to

Costa Rica Costa Rica (, ; ; literally "Rich Coast"), officially the Republic of Costa Rica ( es, República de Costa Rica), is a country in the Central American region of North America, bordered by Nicaragua to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the no ...

. Two days later, the U.S. lost, 6-0, to

Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...

. His last game was a 2-0 loss to

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

on August 24. While he started and played every minute of the first two games, in the third game, he came on for

Archie Roboostoff Archie Vincent Roboostoff (October 9, 1951 – July 29, 2019) was an American soccer forward who spent five seasons in the North American Soccer League. He was also a member of the U.S. Olympic soccer team at the 1972 Summer Olympics. He ...

in the 87th minute.
/sup>

References

External links

*
Atoms register

{{DEFAULTSORT:Straub, Bill 1957 births Living people American men's soccer players American expatriate men's soccer players Expatriate men's soccer players in Canada American expatriate sportspeople in Canada Men's association football defenders North American Soccer League (1968–1984) players Montreal Olympique players Philadelphia Atoms players Philadelphia Fury (1978–1980) players United States men's international soccer players Soccer players from Philadelphia