Joseph Rego-Costa (July 3, 1919, in

Fall River, Massachusetts Fall River is a city in Bristol County, Massachusetts, United States. The City of Fall River's population was 94,000 at the 2020 United States Census, making it the tenth-largest city in the state. Located along the eastern shore of Mount H ...

– April 27, 2002, in

) was a U.S. soccer right halfback who earned four

caps Caps are flat headgear. Caps or CAPS may also refer to: Science and technology Computing * CESG Assisted Products Service, provided by the U.K. Government Communications Headquarters * Composite Application Platform Suite, by Java Caps, a Ja ...

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 territori ...

and was the captain of the team at the

1948 Summer Olympics The 1948 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XIV Olympiad and also known as London 1948) were an international multi-sport event held from 29 July to 14 August 1948 in London, England, United Kingdom. Following a twelve-year hiatus ca ...

Club career

He played for the

Ponta Delgada S.C. Ponta Delgada Soccer Club, also referred to as Fall River Ponta Delgada, was a United States soccer club, based in Fall River, Massachusetts. The club was formed by members of the city’s Portuguese community and shared its name with Ponta Delg ...

which won the 1947 National Challenge Cup and

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. ...

National and Olympic teams

Based on the 1947 Cup results, the U.S. Soccer Federation selected Ponta Delgada to serve as the

at the

1947 NAFC Championship The 1947 NAFC Championship was the first association football championship for the North American Football Confederation (NAFC). The first tournament came soon after the founding of the NAFC. Cuba hosted the tournament which included the host nat ...

. In the first game, the U.S. 5-0 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 ...

and in the second, they lost 5-2 to

Cuba Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribbea ...

. The next year, he was selected as the captain of the U.S. soccer team at the

. The U.S. lost 9-0 to Italy in the first round. Rego-Costa played two more full internationals with the U.S. team following the Olympics, an 11-0 loss to

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the ...

and a 5–0 loss to

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

He was inducted into the New England Soccer Hall of Fame in 1988.

References

External links

2001 Newspaper article on Rego-Costa
United States men's international soccer players Ponta Delgada S.C. players Olympic soccer players for the United States Footballers at the 1948 Summer Olympics Sportspeople from Fall River, Massachusetts Soccer players from Massachusetts 1919 births 2002 deaths Men's association football defenders American men's soccer players American people of Portuguese descent {{US-footy-defender-stub