Nicholas "Nick" Kropfelder (February 19, 1923 - August 4, 2012) was an American

soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...

center forward Forwards (also known as attackers) are Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield positions in an association football team who play the furthest up the pitch and are therefore most responsible for scoring Goal (sport)#Association footbal ...

. He played professionally in the American Soccer League, leading the league twice in scoring. 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 1996.

Playing career

Kropfelder grew up in Baltimore where he played baseball, basketball, and soccer at

Mount Saint Joseph College Mount Saint Joseph College (commonly MSJ or Mount Saint Joe) is a Catholic college preparatory school and secondary school / high school for young men from ninth to twelfth grade sponsored by the Xaverian Brothers and founded in 1876. It is locat ...

, a secondary school, from 1938 to 1940. In soccer, he was a high scoring centerforward. From 1941 to 1942, then played for Santa Maria K of C in the Baltimore Catholic soccer league. From September to November 1941, he went on trial with

Baltimore SC Baltimore Sportif Club is a professional football club based in Saint-Marc, Haiti. They have consistently been one of the best clubs in the league. In 2006, it captured the double after winning the league and the Coupe d'Haïti. They hold a fi ...

of the American Soccer League, but returned to Santa Maria as it made a run to the semifinals of the 1942 National Amateur Cup. In the fall of 1942, he signed as an amateur with the

Baltimore Americans The Baltimore German was an American soccer club based in Baltimore, Maryland that was a member of the American Soccer League (1933-1983), American Soccer League. After their first season, the club was renamed the Baltimore Americans. The American ...

of the ASL. His younger brother Charley played for the Americans during this time as well. In 1943, Kropfelder's career was interrupted by military service during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

and he didn't return to the Americans until 1946. In addition to playing for the Americans, he also attended Loyola College where he played on the school's soccer team in 1947. Kropfelder and his teammates dominated the Mason-Dixon Conference and Kropfelder was named as an Honorable Mention (third team) All American. However, he was stripped of his collegiate eligibility based on his time as a professional with the Americans. Kropfelder led the ASL in scoring during the 1947-1948 season with 19 goals. In 1948, he moved to the

Philadelphia Nationals Philadelphia Nationals was the name of two American soccer clubs based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania that were both members of the professional American Soccer League. Passon F.C./Passon Phillies/Philadelphia Nationals Originally, and amateur clu ...

and played with them through the end of the 1952-1953 season. He led the league in scoring for a second time with seventeen goals in 1950-1951. In addition to his personal achievements, he also won the 1950 and 1951 league titles, 1951, 1952 and 1953 league cups. He was also part of two teams which lost the

National Challenge Cup The Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup, commonly known as the U.S. Open Cup (USOC), is a knockout cup competition in men's soccer in the United States of America. It is the oldest ongoing national soccer competition in that country. The 2023 U.S. O ...

championship (1949 and 1952). He finished his career with one season with the Baltimore Rockets before retiring in 1954.

Post playing career

After retiring from playing professionally, Kropfelder served as both an NCAA and amateur referee for several decades. In 1993, he was elected president of the Maryland Old Timers Soccer Association in 1993.Maryland Old Timers Soccer Association
/ref> Kropfelder was inducted into the

in 1996.

References

External links

Hall of Fame profile

Nicholas Kropfelder
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kropfelder, Nick 1923 births 2012 deaths Soccer players from Baltimore American soccer players American Soccer League (1933–1983) players Baltimore Americans players Philadelphia Nationals players Baltimore Rockets players National Soccer Hall of Fame members American soccer referees Loyola Greyhounds men's soccer players Association football forwards