Walter John Giesler (September 6, 1909 – July 5, 1976) was an American soccer administrator, and coach best known for coaching the

United States men's national soccer team The United States men's national soccer team (USMNT) represents the United States in men's international soccer competitions. The team is controlled by the United States Soccer Federation and is a member of FIFA and CONCACAF. The U.S. team h ...

in the

1950 FIFA World Cup The 1950 FIFA World Cup was the fourth edition of the FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international football championship for senior men's national teams and held in Brazil from 24 June to 16 July 1950. The planned 1942 and 1946 World Cups were ...

Early life and career

Born in

St. Louis, Missouri St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the bi-state metropolitan area, which e ...

, Giesler would become a towering figure on the

Midwestern The Midwestern United States, also referred to as the Midwest or the American Midwest, is one of four census regions of the United States Census Bureau (also known as "Region 2"). It occupies the northern central part of the United States. I ...

sports landscape. After playing at McBride High School, he would compete in several amateur and professional leagues, including the

Ben Millers Ben Millers was a U.S. soccer club sponsored by the Ben W. Miller Hat Company of St. Louis, Missouri. Founded in 1913, it entered the St. Louis Soccer League two years later, winning seven league titles and one National Challenge Cup before its d ...

in the St. Louis Soccer League.

U.S. Soccer

Following his playing days, he became an administrator and referee, and owned a sporting goods business in St. Louis. Giesler was the second vice-president of the United States Soccer Football Association, serving from 1945 to 1948. He was then elected president and served in that capacity from 1948 until 1949. Giesler coached the

during the 1948 Olympic Games in

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

and the

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

. Giesler was inducted into the National Soccer Hall of Fame in 1952 and the St. Louis Soccer Hall of Fame in 1971. In 1972 he was the general manager of the St. Louis Frogs of the ASL. He died in

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, largest city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the List of United States cities by population, sixth-largest city i ...

on July 5, 1976 during the induction of the United States 1950 World Cup soccer team into the U.S. Soccer Hall of Fame.

References

External links

NSHOF Bio
1910 births 1976 deaths Soccer players from St. Louis American sports businesspeople American soccer players St. Louis Soccer League players St. Louis Ben Millers players American soccer coaches National Soccer Hall of Fame members Presidents of the United States Soccer Federation United States men's national soccer team managers 20th-century American businesspeople Association football goalkeepers American Olympic coaches {{US-footy-bio-stub