Steve Ralbovsky is a Yugoslav-American former

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 ...

player. He was the 1975

Hermann Trophy The Hermann Trophy is awarded annually by the Missouri Athletic Club to the United States's top men's and women's college soccer players. History In 1967, Bob Hermann, the president of the National Professional Soccer League (NPSL) and the ...

winner as the outstanding collegiate soccer player of the year. He then had an extensive professional career including time in the

North American Soccer League The North American Soccer League may refer to: *North American Soccer League (1968–1984), a former Division I league *North American Soccer League (2011–2017) The North American Soccer League (NASL) was a professional men's soccer league b ...

and the American Soccer League II and III.

High school and college

Born in Yugoslavia, Ralbovsky moved to the United States in 1970. He played soccer at

DeWitt Clinton High School , motto_translation = Without Work Nothing Is Accomplished , image = DeWitt Clinton High School front entrance IMG 7441 HLG.jpg , seal_image = File:Clinton News.JPG , seal_size = 124px , ...

in New York City. His excellent play led to his receiving the

Public School Athletic League The Public Schools Athletic League, known by the abbreviation PSAL, is an organization that promotes student athletics in the public schools of New York City. It was founded in 1903 to provide and maintain a sports program for students enrolled i ...

Iron Horse Pegasus Award in 1971–1972 for soccer. After graduating from high school, he attended

Brown University Brown University is a private research university in Providence, Rhode Island. Brown is the seventh-oldest institution of higher education in the United States, founded in 1764 as the College in the English Colony of Rhode Island and Providenc ...

, where he starred on the school's men's soccer team. He played both defender and defensive

midfielder A midfielder is an outfield position in association football. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...

. During his four seasons with the Bears (1972–1975), Brown dominated the

Ivy League The Ivy League is an American collegiate athletic conference comprising eight private research universities in the Northeastern United States. The term ''Ivy League'' is typically used beyond the sports context to refer to the eight schools ...

Harvard Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...

had been the team to beat in years past, but beginning in 1972, Brown reeled off five straight Ivy League championships. In 1973 and 1975, the team made it to the

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges an ...

Final Four, losing both times in the semi-finals. In 1973, they lost to St. Louis University and in 1975 to the

University of San Francisco The University of San Francisco (USF) is a private Jesuit university in San Francisco, California. The university's main campus is located on a setting between the Golden Gate Bridge and Golden Gate Park. The main campus is nicknamed "The Hil ...

. Ralbovsky garnered numerous individual awards during his time at Brown. He was selected as All

in 1974 and 1975. In 1975, he was named as a first team All-American, ironically enough as a forward; the NCAA Tournament Defensive MVP and the

recipient as the year's outstanding collegiate soccer player. He was inducted into the Brown University Athletic Hall of Fame.

Professional

When Ralbovsky finished his four years at Brown, both the

and the de facto second division American Soccer League (ASL) vied for his services. The

Los Angeles Skyhawks The Los Angeles Skyhawks was a professional soccer club based in Los Angeles, California, that was a member of the American Soccer League. Founded as part of the American Soccer League's expansion to the west coast in 1976, they were the first pro ...

of the ASL managed to lure him to the lower league with a higher compensation package than the NASL's

Los Angeles Aztecs The Los Angeles Aztecs was an American professional soccer team based in Los Angeles, California that existed from 1974 to 1981. The Aztecs competed in the North American Soccer League (NASL) from 1974 to 1981 as well as the 1975 NASL Indoor tour ...

offered him. Both the Skyhawks of the ASL and the Aztecs of the NASL had selected Ralbovsky with the number one pick in the leagues’ respective college drafts. Ralbovsky had an immediate impact on the Skyhawks as they ran away with the 1976 ALS championship, defeating the

New York Apollo The New York Greeks was an American soccer club based in New York City that was a member of the American Soccer League. The team began as the amateur Greek-Americans. The club played lower Premier Division of the German American Soccer League w ...

2-1 in the title game. It was in that game when, with the score tied at 1, Ralbovsky was tripped from behind in the penalty area while on a breakaway – the resulting penalty kick was converted to give the Skyhawks the title. Ralbovsky was named joint Rookie of the Year with

John Roeslein John Roeslein is a retired American soccer player who was a member of championship teams at the high school, junior college, NCAA Division I and professional levels. He played two seasons in the American Soccer League where he was the 1976 Rook ...

of the

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. While Ralbovsky's play with the Skyhawks brought him to the attention of the national team, he didn't stick around to play a second season in Los Angeles. Instead, he jumped leagues to NASL where he joined the

Chicago Sting The Chicago Sting (1974–1988) was an American professional soccer team representing Chicago. The Sting played in the North American Soccer League from 1975 to 1984 and in the Major Indoor Soccer League in the 1982–83 season and again from 1 ...

for the 1977 season. Once again he played only a single season with his team before moving again, this time to the

Colorado Caribous The Caribous of Colorado were an American soccer team that competed in the North American Soccer League (NASL) during the 1978 season. The team was based in Denver, Colorado and played their home games at Mile High Stadium. After the seaso ...

, also of the NASL, for the 1978 season. He moved yet again after only a single season, this time his last move, to the

Fort Lauderdale Strikers Fort Lauderdale Strikers may refer to: *Fort Lauderdale Strikers (1977–1983), member of North American Soccer League from 1977 to 1983 *Fort Lauderdale Strikers (1988–1994), member of American Soccer League from 1988 to 1989 and American Profes ...

, where he rejoined his former Skyhawk manager, Ron Newman. He played with the Strikers for three years, 1979–1981, as a left back. In 1979, he played only 11 games. However, in 1980 and 1981, he became an integral part of the Strikers back line, playing 28 and 22 games per season. In 1980, the Strikers made it to the NASL championship game before losing to the

New York Cosmos New York Cosmos may refer to * New York Cosmos (1970–1985), a team in the North American Soccer League (then the top-tier soccer league in the United States and Canada) * New York Cosmos (2010), a team playing since 2020 in the National Independ ...

by a score of 3-0. In 1981, the Strikers again went deep in the playoffs before losing again to the Cosmos, this time in the semifinal game. After the 1981 season, Ralbovsky returned to the American Soccer League, this time for good. In 1983, he played for the league champion

Jacksonville Tea Men The Jacksonville Tea Men were a soccer team based in Jacksonville, Florida, United States. Overall, the Tea Men played a total of four seasons in Jacksonville, first in the major league-level North American Soccer League (NASL) from 1980–1982, ...

which had jumped leagues from the NASL after the 1982 season. However, this was the last year for the American Soccer League as it folded at the end of the season and the Tea Men played in the

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

in 1984. Ralbovsky then spent several years as a construction foreman and played for and coached Sloga of the amateur Gold Coast League. In 1988, Ralbovsky played one season

in the third American Soccer League.1988 Fort Lauderdale Strikers
/ref>

National team

That year, Ralbvosky also made his debut with the U.S. national team. He earned his first

cap A cap is a flat headgear, usually with a visor. Caps have crowns that fit very close to the head. They made their first appearance as early as 3200 BC. Caps typically have a visor, or no brim at all. They are popular in casual and informal se ...

when he came on as a substitute in an October 3, 1976, scoreless tie with Mexico. He went on to play fifteen times with the national team, taking part in most of the team's games in 1977 and 1978.

References

External links

NASL stats
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ralbovsky, Steve 1953 births All-American college men's soccer players American men's soccer players American Soccer League (1933–1983) players American Soccer League (1988–89) players Men's association football defenders Men's association football midfielders Brown Bears men's soccer players Chicago Sting (NASL) players Caribous of Colorado players DeWitt Clinton High School alumni Fort Lauderdale Strikers (1988–1994) players Fort Lauderdale Strikers (1977–1983) players Hermann Trophy men's winners Jacksonville Tea Men players Living people Los Angeles Skyhawks players North American Soccer League (1968–1984) indoor players North American Soccer League (1968–1984) players Tulsa Roughnecks (1978–1984) players United Soccer League (1984–85) players United States men's international soccer players Yugoslav emigrants to the United States Sportspeople from the Bronx Soccer players from New York City