Kurt Lamm (March 10, 1919 – July 1, 1987) was a German-born American soccer player, coach, manager, and administrator.

Early and family life

Lamm was Jewish, and was born in Salmünster, Germany. He came to the United States in 1936, at the age of 17. He was married to Doris Lamm, and had three children.

Soccer career

Lamm served as a soccer player, coach, and manager in the American Soccer League for 43 years.

Player

Lamm began playing soccer as a goalkeeper, but was primarily a

fullback Fullback or Full back may refer to: Sports * A position in various kinds of football, including: ** Full-back (association football), in association football (soccer), a defender playing in a wide position ** Fullback (gridiron football), in Americ ...

forward Forward is a relative direction, the opposite of backward. Forward may also refer to: People * Forward (surname) Sports * Forward (association football) * Forward (basketball), including: ** Point forward ** Power forward (basketball) ** Sm ...

for 29 years (20 years as an amateur) with Fussball Club Schmalnau ( Rhoen) and F.C.

Borussia Fulda Borussia Fulda is a German association football club from Fulda, Hesse. The club was founded 4 July 1904 as ''FC Borussia 1904 Fulda'' and underwent a number of changes in 1923 when they were first joined by ''Radsportclub 1907 Fulda'' in July, ...

in Germany, and Prospect Unity,

New York Americans The New York Americans, colloquially known as the Amerks, were a professional ice hockey team based in New York City from 1925 to 1942. They were the third expansion team in the history of the National Hockey League (NHL) and the second to play ...

, S.C. Eintracht, and F.C. Hakoah in the United States. His Eintracht team of 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 ...

won the 1944

National Amateur Cup The National Amateur Cup, also known as the USASA Amateur Cup, is an American soccer competition open to all amateur teams affiliated with the United States Soccer Federation through United States Adult Soccer Association (USASA). In 1923, U.S ...

Championship.

Coach and manager

During his 14 years as a coach, Lamm’s

New York Hakoah New York Hakoah is an American soccer club based in New York City, which takes its name from two earlier, defunct clubs. ''Hakoah'' (roughly translated as "strength" from Hebrew) is a frequent name for sport and social Jewish clubs around the worl ...

team won three successive American Soccer League Championships, from 1955 to 1958. He was named ASL’s Manager of the Year for the 1957–58 and 1962–63 seasons.

Administrator

He served as the ASL's administrative director, vice president, and president from 1962 to 1967. He was general secretary of the

United States Soccer Federation The United States Soccer Federation (USSF), commonly referred to as U.S. Soccer, is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization and the official governing body of the sport of soccer in the United States. Headquartered in Chicago, the federation is ...

from 1971 to 1987.

Honors

Lamm was inducted into the U.S. National Soccer Federation Hall of Fame in 1979. He was inducted into the

Confederation of North, Central American and Caribbean Association Football The Confederation of North, Central America and Caribbean Association Football,, ; french: Confédération de football d'Amérique du Nord, d'Amérique centrale et des Caraïbes, . Dutch uses the English name. abbreviated as CONCACAF ( ; typese ...

Hall of Fame in 1994, and the

United States Adult Soccer Association The United States Adult Soccer Association (USASA) is a national organization for amateur soccer in the United States. It consists of 55 state organizations as well as national, regional and state leagues. The National Premier Soccer League, NISA ...

Hall of Fame in 1999. He also received the Pillar of Achievement Award from the

International Jewish Sports Hall of Fame The International Jewish Sports Hall of Fame ( he, יד לאיש הספורט היהודי, translit=Yad Le'ish HaSport HaYehudi) was opened July 7, 1981 in Netanya, Israel. It honors Jewish athletes and their accomplishments from anywhere around ...

. The USASA Men's Amateur Cup is named in his honor.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lamm, Kury 1919 births 1987 deaths American Soccer League (1933–1983) coaches American Soccer League (1933–1983) players Jewish emigrants from Nazi Germany to the United States American soccer players German footballers Jewish American sportspeople National Soccer Hall of Fame members Association football fullbacks Association football forwards Footballers from Hesse German football managers People from Main-Kinzig-Kreis Sportspeople from Darmstadt (region) 20th-century American Jews