The Ukrainian Lions was a soccer club that was operated by the Ukrainian American Sports Club. The club was based in Chicago, Illinois. It was founded in 1949 by Ukrainians that had settled in the Chicago area after the

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. They competed professionally in the Lamar Hunt US Open Cup (National Challenge Cup) and the

National Soccer League (Chicago) The National Soccer League (Chicago), formed by the merger of the Chicago Soccer League and International Soccer Football League of Chicago in 1928, is a semi-professional U.S. soccer league which is the oldest continuously operating soccer league ...

. All their home games were played at Hansen Stadium. There were 6 players from the Ukrainian Lions that played on the US National Team

Willy Roy Willy or Willie is a masculine, male given name, often a diminutive form of William or Wilhelm, and occasionally a nickname. It may refer to: People Given name or nickname * Willie Aames (born 1960), American actor, television director, and scr ...

, Nick Krat,

Orest Banach Orest “Orri” Banach ( ua, Орест (Оррі) Банах) is a retired German-American soccer goalkeeper of Ukrainian descent who played three seasons in the North American Soccer League and earned four caps with the U.S. national team. ...

, Stefan Szefer, Fred Kovacs and Mike Noha. In 1975, 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 ...

signed Ukrainian Lions players

, Stefan Szefer,

Richard Greene Richard Marius Joseph Greene (25 August 1918 – 1 June 1985) was a noted English film and television actor. A matinée idol who appeared in more than 40 films, he was perhaps best known for the lead role in the long-running British TV series '' ...

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, Eugene Andruss and

Ian Stone Ian Stone is a British stand-up comedian, broadcaster and writer notable for appearing as a guest on shows such as the comedy panel show ''Mock the Week''. Stone was also a regular guest on BBC Radio 5's ''Fighting Talk''. His book about following ...

for their inaugural season 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 ...

. Other players that went on to play in the American Soccer League and the North American Soccer League were Nick Owcharuk in the with the

San Diego Sockers San Diego Sockers may refer to: *San Diego Sockers (1978–1996) The San Diego Sockers were a soccer and indoor soccer team based in San Diego, California. The team played in the indoor and outdoor editions of the North American Soccer League ( ...

, Leo Kulinczenko with 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 ...

and

Bill Mishalow Wadim "Bill" Mishalow is a retired American soccer goalkeeper who played in the North American Soccer League and the Major Indoor Soccer League. Mishalow attended the University of Alabama, Huntsville, playing on the men's soccer team from 19 ...

with the

Memphis Rogues The Memphis Rogues were a professional soccer team in the former North American Soccer League. They operated in the 1978, 1979, and 1980 seasons and played their home games in Memphis' Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium. They also played indoor ...

. The club stopped operations in 2004.

Honors

* National Soccer League of Chicago Champion: 4 ::1952-53, 1970–71, 1971–72, 1973–74National Soccer League (Chicago)
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Peel Cup The Peter J. Peel Challenge Cup, better known as the Peel Cup, was an open soccer competition that crowned the Illinois state champion until it was replaced by the Illinois Governor’s Cup in 1971. History Origins Peter Peel was born in 1866 in ...

: 1 ::1956 * Illinois Governors Cup:3 ::1972, 1974, 1977

Notable former players

* Mike Noha *

* Leo Kulinczenko *

* Nick Owcharuk * Nick Krat * Ian Stone (soccer) * Eugene Andruss *

* Richard Greene (soccer) * Fred Kovacs * Stefan Szefer

Former managers

*1970–1986 Anatoly Hordinskyj *1974–1981 Vadim Mishalow *1969–1970 Orest Klufas

References

External links

Футбол – Українська футбольна діаспора
* Volyanska, M.
Founders of the Ukrainian-American Sports Association "Lions" (Будівничі українсько-американського спортового товариства “Леви”)
'. Ukrainian people. * Pavlosyuk, Z.
Ukrainian-American Sports Association "Lions" are champions again! (УАСТ “Леви” – знову чемпіони!)
'. Chas I Podii. 11 June 2009 {{Authority control Soccer clubs in Chicago Defunct soccer clubs in Illinois Ukrainian association football clubs outside Ukraine Association football clubs established in 1949 Ukrainian-American culture in Chicago 1949 establishments in Illinois 2004 disestablishments in Illinois Association football clubs disestablished in 2004 Diaspora soccer clubs in the United States