Millard T. Lang (August 7, 1912 in

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 ...

– August 4, 2002 in Baltimore, Maryland) was a U.S. soccer forward and

lacrosse Lacrosse is a team sport played with a lacrosse stick and a lacrosse ball. It is the oldest organized sport in North America, with its origins with the indigenous people of North America as early as the 12th century. The game was extensiv ...

player who is a member of both the National Soccer Hall of Fame and the

National Lacrosse Hall of Fame The National Lacrosse Hall of Fame and Museum, is located in Sparks, Maryland at the USA Lacrosse headquarters. Prior to moving to its present location in 2016, the hall of fame and museum was located in Baltimore, Maryland, on the Homewood camp ...

Youth and college

Lang began playing soccer for a team in the Baltimore Police Athletic League when he was thirteen. Lang attended high school at

Baltimore Polytechnic Institute The Baltimore Polytechnic Institute, colloquially referred to as BPI, Poly, and The Institute, is a U.S. public high school founded in 1883. Established as an all-male manual trade / vocational school by the Baltimore City Council and the Balti ...

where he had an exceptional athletic record. He

lettered Calligraphy (from el, link=y, καλλιγραφία) is a visual art related to writing. It is the design and execution of lettering with a pen, ink brush, or other writing instrument. Contemporary calligraphic practice can be defined as "t ...

in five sports: soccer, lacrosse, basketball, football and tennis. He also ran track. He was captain of his school’s soccer team, which won two city prep championships under his leadership. After graduating from high school in 1930, he entered

Johns Hopkins University Johns Hopkins University (Johns Hopkins, Hopkins, or JHU) is a private research university in Baltimore, Maryland. Founded in 1876, Johns Hopkins is the oldest research university in the United States and in the western hemisphere. It consi ...

playing football and lacrosse. He was a four-time lacrosse All American, three times as First Team. Each of these awards was for a separate position, third defense, second attack and out home, showing Lang’s breadth of ability in that sport. From 1932 to 1934, Johns Hopkins ran to three undefeated seasons and three consecutive national championships. In 1932, the Johns Hopkins lacrosse team was selected to represent the United States at the 1932 Summer Olympics. Lacrosse was an exhibition sport at those games, and the U.S. defeated Canada in two games of the three games played.

Professional

Lang graduated from Johns Hopkins in 1934, having earned a

bachelor’s degree A bachelor's degree (from Middle Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate academic degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six y ...

in engineering. Following his graduation, he began his professional soccer career with the expansion Baltimore Canton of the American Soccer League. At the time, soccer in the United States rarely paid well enough to provide a livable income. Consequently, he worked for

Westinghouse Electric Company Westinghouse Electric Company LLC is an American nuclear power company formed in 1999 from the nuclear power division of the original Westinghouse Electric Corporation. It offers nuclear products and services to utilities internationally, includi ...

as a marketing representative. Over the years, he would work in Baltimore, Cleveland and Chicago, joining teams in those cities as his job with Westinghouse moved him. In his first season in the league, Lang led the league in scoring with fourteen goals. In 1936, Westinghouse transferred Lang to Cleveland, Ohio. When he arrived, he joined Cleveland Graphite Bronze, but moved to Chicago in 1937 where he signed with

Chicago Sparta The Sparta Athletic and Benevolent Association Football Club, better known as Chicago Sparta, is one of the longest continually established soccer clubs in the United States. Founded in 1917, it was one of the dominant teams from Chicago, Illinois, ...

of the National Soccer League of Chicago. Lang and his team mates won the 1938 NSL championship, 1938-1939 St. Louis Soccer League title and the 1939 Peel Cup. Sparta won the

1940 National Challenge Cup Year 194 ( CXCIV) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Septimius and Septimius (or, less frequently, year 947 ''Ab urbe co ...

, but Lang did not play in the championship game. That summer, he moved to

Chicago Eagles A.A.C. Eagles is an American soccer team based in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Founded in 1940, the team plays in Region II of the United States Adult Soccer Association, a network of amateur leagues at the fifth tier of the American Soccer ...

, but returned to Sparta in 1941 until he returned to Baltimore in 1942 where he rejoined the Baltimore Canton which had just renamed themselves the Baltimore Americans. He spent an unknown number of seasons with the Americans, but finished tenth in the league in scoring during the 1943-1944 season with ten goals in thirteen games. That season the Americans also won the league title.

Coach and executive

Lang coached the

Baltimore Americans The Baltimore German was an American soccer club based in Baltimore, Maryland that was a member of the American Soccer League. After their first season, the club was renamed the Baltimore Americans. The Americans won the Lewis Cup The Lewis Cup w ...

during the 1944-1945 season. He later served in numerous executive positions at both the team and league levels. He was the president of the Maryland and D.C. State Association and in 1954, became the general manager and co-owner of the Baltimore Rockets. Lang was inducted into the National Soccer Hall of Fame in 1950, the

in 1978, the Maryland Soccer Hall of Fame in 1983, and the Johns Hopkins Athletic Hall of Fame in 1995. In December 1999, Sports Illustrated ranked him 44th on a list of 50 all-time great Maryland athletes.CNNSI.com
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References

External links

National Lacrosse Hall of Fame profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lang, Millard 1912 births 2002 deaths Lacrosse players from Baltimore Soccer players from Baltimore A.A.C. Eagles players American men's soccer players American Soccer League (1933–1983) players Baltimore S.C. players St. Louis Soccer League players Chicago Sparta players Baltimore Americans players National Soccer Hall of Fame members Johns Hopkins Blue Jays football players Johns Hopkins Blue Jays men's lacrosse players Lacrosse players at the 1932 Summer Olympics Men's association football forwards Olympic lacrosse players for the United States