Herman William Wecke (March 10, 1927 – November 19, 2015) was a U.S. soccer defender. He earned six caps with the U.S. national team between 1954 and 1957. He was a member of the U.S. Olympic soccer team at the

1956 Summer Olympics The 1956 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XVI Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event held in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, from 22 November to 8 December 1956, with the exception of the equestrian events, whi ...

Club career

Wecke grew up in

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

, where he graduated from Cleveland High School in 1945. While in high school, he played for the Schumacher juniors. The nature of team sponsorship in St. Louis during the 1940s and 1950s make it seem as if Wecke jumped between teams during his career. He actually only played for two teams; however, sponsorship changes led to several team name changes. In 1948, he turned professional with Paul Schulte Motors which became McMahon Pontiac for the 1949-1950 St. Louis Major League season. In April 1950, he jumped to

Zenthoefer Furs Zenthoefer Furs were an amateur U.S. soccer club which played in St. Louis, Missouri during the late 1940s and early 1950s. They had played as a junior squad named Schumachers in the 1947-48 season where they fell short of national honors when they ...

which had been hit with several injuries as it prepared for a National Amateur Cup game. The team won the 1950, St. Louis Major League title. He then returned to his original team, now known as the

St. Louis Raiders St. Louis Kutis Soccer Club, better known as St. Louis Kutis, is an amateur American soccer club in St. Louis, Missouri. Founded in 1947 as the "St. Louis Raiders", the club was known as "Paul Schulte" during the 1948–49 season, "McMahon's" duri ...

, for the 1951–1952. When Tom Kutis began sponsoring the team in 1953, the team was renamed

St. Louis Kutis S.C. St. Louis Kutis Soccer Club, better known as St. Louis Kutis, is an amateur American soccer club in St. Louis, Missouri. Founded in 1947 as the "St. Louis Raiders", the club was known as "Paul Schulte" during the 1948–49 season, "McMahon's" duri ...

and Wecke remained with it until 1960. He was part of the Kutis team which won the 1957

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 ...

and five consecutive National Amateur Cups from 1956 to 1960.

National and Olympic team

Wecke was a mainstay of the U.S. national team, playing all seven U.S. games from April 3, 1954, through the end of 1957. On April 3 and 4, 1954, the U.S. defeated

Haiti Haiti (; ht, Ayiti ; French: ), officially the Republic of Haiti (); ) and formerly known as Hayti, is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles archipelago of the Caribbean Sea, east of Cuba and Jamaica, and ...

in two qualification matches for the

1954 FIFA World Cup The 1954 FIFA World Cup was the fifth edition of the FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international football tournament for senior men's national teams of the nations affiliated to FIFA. It was held in Switzerland from 16 June to 4 July. Switzerla ...

. However, by the time the U.S. played these two games, it had already been eliminated due to earlier loses to Mexico. Wecke played the only U.S. game in 1955, a 3–2 loss to Iceland. He then played in all four of the U.S. games in 1957. While the national team was idle in 1956, Wecke was not. He was part of the U.S. soccer team at the

Melbourne, Australia Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a metropol ...

. In the games, the U.S. lost to Yugoslavia in the first round of the single elimination tournament. In 1959, Wecke played on the U.S. soccer team at the

1959 Pan American games The 1959 Pan American Games were held in Chicago, Illinois, United States between August 28 and September 7, 1959. Host city selection One city initially submitted a bid to host the 1959 Pan American Games that was recognized by the Pan Ame ...

. The U.S. took the bronze medal in those games. Wecke was inducted into the St. Louis Soccer Hall of Fame on October 26, 1983.

Family

Herman was the husband of Joan Allen, married on October 6, 1951. He was the father of Richard, who played for Benedictine College, Matthew who played at Forest Park CC and Southeast Missouri State and Christopher who played at Southeast Missouri State University. He had five grandchildren and one great-grandchild. His father, Herman Wecke, was a long-time sportswriter for the St. Louis Post Dispatch and the St. Louis Cardinals official scorer in the 1926 World Series.

References

External links

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Photo of 1948-1949 Paul Schulte Motors team

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wecke, Herman 1927 births 2015 deaths American men's soccer players Men's association football defenders Footballers at the 1956 Summer Olympics Olympic soccer players for the United States Soccer players from St. Louis St. Louis Kutis S.C. players United States men's international soccer players Zenthoefer Furs players Footballers at the 1959 Pan American Games Medalists at the 1959 Pan American Games Pan American Games bronze medalists for the United States in football