Robert Gormley (August 3, 1918 – December 11, 2003) was an American soccer

forward Forward is a relative direction, the opposite of backward. Forward may also refer to: People * Forward (surname) Sports * Forward (association football) * Forward (basketball), including: ** Point forward ** Power forward (basketball) ** Sm ...

who spent seventeen years in the American Soccer League. He also earned one cap with the U.S. national team in 1954. He was inducted into the

National Soccer Hall of Fame The National Soccer Hall of Fame is a private, non-profit institution established in 1979 and currently located in Toyota Stadium in Frisco, Texas, a suburb of Dallas. The Hall of Fame honors soccer achievements in the United States. Induction ...

in 1989. Gormley was born and raised in

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 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 ...

, where he began playing youth soccer with the

Lighthouse Boys Club The Lighthouse Boys Club is an American soccer club established in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1897. The team was the dominant U.S. youth soccer club of the early twentieth century. While other youth teams grew in prominence by mid-century, Th ...

before moving to another local club, the McKinley Soccer Club. In 1933, he signed with 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. ...

of the American Soccer League. However, he spent three years with the reserve team before leaving the team in 1936 to sign with the Kensington Blue Bells of the Eastern Pennsylvania League. After only one season, he returned to the German-Americans, where he spent the rest of his career. In 1937, he scored ten goals. In 1944, he scored sixteen goals in nineteen games. In 1947, he scored twelve goals in nineteen games and in 1948, he added another thirteen goals. He ended his career in 1954 with the German-Americans, now known as Uhrik Truckers after having been purchased by the trucking company during the 1953–1954 season. During his seventeen years with the team, Gormley was captain for twelve. Gormley died in December 2003 at the age of 85.

National team

In 1947, he played two U.S. exhibition games, which are not considered full internationals, against Israel. In the second of the two games, played on October 14, 1948, Gormley scored a goal in the 4-1 U.S. victory.USA - Details of International Matches 1885-1969
Gormley did not play with the full U.S. national team until a meaningless April 3, 1954 victory over

Haiti Haiti (; ht, Ayiti ; French: ), officially the Republic of Haiti (); ) and formerly known as Hayti, is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles archipelago of the Caribbean Sea, east of Cuba and Jamaica, and ...

in a World Cup qualifier. By this game, the U.S. had already failed to qualify for the finals.

References

External links

National Soccer Hall of Fame bio
1918 births 2003 deaths American Soccer League (1933–1983) players American soccer players Lighthouse Boys Club players National Soccer Hall of Fame members Soccer players from Philadelphia Uhrik Truckers players United States men's international soccer players Association football forwards {{US-footy-forward-stub