Fabriciano “Fabri” Salcedo (May 28, 1914 in
Santander, Cantabria
Santander () is the capital of the autonomous community and historical region of Cantabria situated on the north coast of Spain. It is a port city located east of Gijón and west of Bilbao with a population of 172,000 (2017).
It is believed ...
,
Spain
, image_flag = Bandera de España.svg
, image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg
, national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond")
, national_anthem = (English: "Royal March")
, i ...
– August 25, 1985 in
Rochelle Park, New Jersey
Rochelle Park is a township in Bergen County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, the township's population was 5,814, reflecting an increase of 284 (+5.1%) from the 5,530 counted in the 2010 Census, which had in tu ...
) was a U.S.
soccer forward. Salcedo spent thirteen seasons in the
American Soccer League, leading the league in scoring three of those seasons, one season in the
St. Louis Soccer League and part of one season in the
National Soccer League of Chicago. He is a member of the
National Soccer Hall of Fame.
Early career
Salcedo was born in Spain and played with several youth teams before moving to the United States in May 1929. He played with a string of amateur clubs playing in city leagues, including Segura F.C. (Metropolitan League of New York City), Madrid F.C. and Portuguese Victoria F.C. (Westchester County League). When Portuguese Victoria won the 1934 league title, Salcedo came to the attention of Duncan Othen, coach of the
American Soccer League club
Brooklyn Hispano
The Brooklyn Hispano was an American soccer club based in Brooklyn, New York that was an inaugural member of the reformed American Soccer League. The club was named the Brooklyn Giants for the 1942/43 season only.
The Hispano club competed in th ...
.
Brooklyn Hispano
In 1934, Salcedo signed with Hispano and would play most of his career with the Brooklyn team, beginning as a center forward before moving to right forward. While with Hispano, Salcedo would play with
Walter Bahr
Walter may refer to:
People
* Walter (name), both a surname and a given name
* Little Walter, American blues harmonica player Marion Walter Jacobs (1930–1968)
* Gunther (wrestler), Austrian professional wrestler and trainer Walter Hahn (born 19 ...
, another great American player. In his first season, Salcedo scored eleven goals, putting him sixth on the league's scoring list. This led to his selection to the U.S. national team for an unofficial game with
Scotland
Scotland (, ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a Anglo-Scottish border, border with England to the southeast ...
on May 19, 1935. In 1937, Hispano went to the ASL title game, only to fall to the
Kearny Scots
The Kearny Scots are an American soccer club based in Kearny, New Jersey. The club presently plays in the Eastern Premier Soccer League, which is a United States Adult Soccer Association-affiliated league and an amateur affiliate of the professio ...
.
Chicago
On September 9, 1938, Chicago Manhattan Beer purchased Salcedo's contract for $500. In Chicago, he joined
Billy Gonsalves, a future Hall of Famer. In the 1938–1939 season, Manhattan Beer played in the
St. Louis Soccer League which had invited several Chicago teams to join the league. Manhattan finished second in the league standings.
/sup> The team also went to the National Challenge Cup final before falling to Brooklyn St. Mary's Celtic.
In September 1939, Salcedo signed with the Kearny Scots
The Kearny Scots are an American soccer club based in Kearny, New Jersey. The club presently plays in the Eastern Premier Soccer League, which is a United States Adult Soccer Association-affiliated league and an amateur affiliate of the professio ...
(ASL). He played one game, against Hispano. However, Hispano disputed Salcedo's signing with the Scots, claiming they still owned his rights in the ASL. The US Football Association agreed with Hispano and nullified Salcedo's contract with the Scots. Salcedo returned to Manhattan Beer for the start of the 1939-1940 St. Louis Soccer League season. However, he then jumped to the Danish-Americans of the National Soccer League of Chicago. He played only briefly with the Danish-Americans before moving back east to sign with Hispano.
Brooklyn Hispano
Beginning in 1939, Salcedo would play the next eight seasons with Hispano. While Salcedo is best known for his goal scoring exploits, he did play part of one game in the fall of 1941 in goal. That season, he dropped to ninth in the end of year goals list after missing part of the season with a leg injury. Hispano won its only league title in 1942–1943. It also took the National Challenge Cup giving Salcedo and his teammates a “double”. Hispano repeated as National Cup champions the next year. At the start of the 1947–1948 season, Hispano released Salcedo and he signed with 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. ...
. That season, Salcedo won his last championship as the Americans took the ASL title.
Non-soccer career
The low salaries paid by soccer teams during this era was not enough to live on. Consequently, Salcedo and his teammates had non-playing jobs in addition to their soccer careers. Salcedo worked a variety of manual labor jobs. When he moved to Chicago Manhattan Beer in 1938, he worked in the Manhattan Beer brewery. After returning to Brooklyn in 1939, he was hired by Federal Shipyard and Drydock where he became a machinist in 1940. In 1946, he left Federal to join the Engineering & Research Division of the ITT Continental Baking Company. He retired in 1979.
He was married with two children, a daughter, Diane, and a son, Hank who married Eileen Mandeville of Oradell NJ. Who gave birth to Craig Mandeville, Cindy Mandeville, Elaine Mandeville, Tom Salcedo and Steve Salcedo.
He was posthumously inducted into the National Soccer Hall of Fame in 2005.
Honors
League titles
1943, 1948
National Cup titles
1943, 1944
Leading goal scorer
1937–1938, 1940–1941, 1945–1946
External links
Biography
Book
{{DEFAULTSORT:Salcedo, Fabri
1914 births
1985 deaths
Spanish footballers
Footballers from Santander, Spain
Spanish emigrants to the United States
American Soccer League (1933–1983) players
Brooklyn Hispano players
Kearny Scots players
National Soccer League (Chicago) players
Chicago Manhattan Beer players
St. Louis Soccer League players
National Soccer Hall of Fame members
People from Rochelle Park, New Jersey
Association football forwards
American soccer players