Herbert Heilpern (1919–1999) was a European born athlete and active builder of American soccer. He was inducted into the National Soccer Hall of Fame in 1988.

Heilpern was born in Austria. After escaping Nazi occupied Europe, he played amateur soccer in New York City’s Eastern District League from 1939 to 1958 with the Bronx Jewish Soccer Club, Hakoah SC, and New World Club. His Hakoah teams won championships in 1941-42 as did his New World Club in 1948-49. He was coach of the 3rd Division Blue Star Soccer Club in the

German-American Soccer League The Cosmopolitan Soccer League is a regional soccer league consisting of semi-pro and amateur teams based in and around New York City. Established in 1923, it is one of the oldest soccer leagues in the United States and has contributed greatly ...

. Heilpern was also President of the German-American Soccer League of New York 1969-75, and was a co-founder of both the North American Soccer League in 1967 and 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 ...

in 1971. He joined the Executive Board of the German-American Junior League in 1976, and later served as President. As Soccer Coordinator for the City of New York, he developed year-round soccer facilities in the southern part of the state. He was named First Vice President of the Eastern New York Youth Soccer Association in 1985. Before emigrating from Austria in 1939, Heilpern was a goalkeeper for the Hakoah club of Vienna.National Soccer Hall of Fame, http://national.soccerhall.org/builders/herb_heilpern.htm.

References

1919 births 1999 deaths Austrian men's footballers German-American Soccer League North American Soccer League (1968–1984) executives New York Cosmos National Soccer Hall of Fame members Place of birth missing Men's association football goalkeepers Austrian emigrants to the United States {{US-footy-goalkeeper-stub