John Abe is a retired German-American soccer player who played professionally in the American Professional Soccer League and National Professional Soccer League.

Early years

Born in Germany to an American military father and a German mother, Abe moved to

Baltimore, Maryland Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...

when he was thirteen. He graduated from Northern High School before attending Essex Community College where he was a two-time junior college All American. In 1981, the

Baltimore Blast The Baltimore Blast is an American professional indoor soccer team based in Baltimore, Maryland, United States. The team is a part of the Major Arena Soccer League. The team has won 10 championships since it was founded in 1980. Beginning with ...

drafted Abe in the 2nd round of the MISL draft .

Career

In 1987, Abe signed with the

Maryland Bays The Maryland Bays were an inaugural franchise of the third incarnation of the American Soccer League in 1988.They were based in Catonsville, Maryland, and played their games at the University of Maryland-Baltimore County. The team joined the Ameri ...

of the newly created American Soccer League. He remained with the Bays through the 1991 season and scored the game winning penalty kick in the 1990 APSL Championship game against the San Francisco Blackhawks. In the fall of 1988, he moved indoors with the

Hershey Impact The Hershey Impact was an indoor soccer club based in Hershey, Pennsylvania that competed in the National Professional Soccer League. The team played its home games at the Hersheypark Arena for all of its 3 seasons. Staff and ownership * Presi ...

of the

American Indoor Soccer Association American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, p ...

. In 1991, the Impact moved to Harrisburg, Pennsylvania and became the Harrisburg Heat. Abe was named the first ever captain of the Heat but after just two season in Harrisburg, the team released Abe after they could not agree on contract terms. On November 23, 1993, Abe signed with the Baltimore Spirit. In 1995, he played his last season of professional soccer with the Albany Alleycats of the

USISL United Soccer League (USL), formerly known as United Soccer Leagues, is a soccer league in the United States and Canada. It organizes several men's and women's leagues, both professional and amateur. Men's leagues currently organized are the ...

. In 2001 Abe was named to the Harrisburg Heat All Decade team (1991–2001).

Post-soccer career

Since retiring from professional soccer, Abe has been working for the Pennsylvania State Education Association and he coaches youth soccer in

Central Pennsylvania South Central Pennsylvania is a region of the U.S. state of Pennsylvania that includes the fourteen counties of Adams, Cumberland, Dauphin, Franklin, Huntingdon, Juniata, Lancaster, Lebanon, Mifflin, Perry, Snyder, and York. Portions of wes ...

. Abe has his USSF National "B" License and he also completed the three-week "B" level International Coaching Course of the German Football Association (DFB) (2013)

Personal life

Abe currently lives in Enola, Pennsylvania. He was inducted into the Maryland Soccer Association Hall of Fame in 2000.Maryland Soccer Hall of Fame

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Abe, John Year of birth missing (living people) Living people Emigrants from West Germany to the United States Albany Alleycats players Soccer players from Baltimore American Professional Soccer League players American Soccer League (1988–89) players Baltimore Spirit players Harrisburg Heat players Hershey Impact players Maryland Bays players National Professional Soccer League (1984–2001) players USISL players Men's association football forwards American men's soccer players