Joseph S. Carenza Sr. (November 9, 1924 – October 17, 1981) was a U.S.

soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 Football player, players who almost exclusively use their feet to propel a Ball (association football), ball around a rectangular f ...

midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in t ...

who played for numerous St. Louis teams in the 1940s and 1950s. He went on to coach the

Washington University Bears The Washington University Bears are the athletic teams of Washington University in St. Louis, located in St. Louis, Missouri, United States. Washington University is currently a member of the National Collegiate Athletic Association at the NCAA Di ...

men's soccer team from 1959 to 1964. He is a member of the

National Soccer Hall of Fame The National Soccer Hall of Fame is a public-private partnership among FC Dallas, the City of Frisco, Frisco Independent School District, and the U.S. Soccer Federation, and currently located in Toyota Stadium (Texas), Toyota Stadium in Frisco, T ...

Player

Carenza was born and raised in

St. Louis, Missouri St. Louis ( , sometimes referred to as St. Louis City, Saint Louis or STL) is an Independent city (United States), independent city in the U.S. state of Missouri. It lies near the confluence of the Mississippi River, Mississippi and the Miss ...

. He served in the Navy during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. After the war, he joined the amateur team St. Margaret's Senior in the St. Louis Catholic Youth Council (CYC). In the late 1940s, he joined the Steamfitters of St. Louis Major League, before moving to Patterson and then St. Louis Simpkins-Ford. In 1951, he played for Zenthoefer Furs, who won the St. Louis Major League by ten points over Simpkins. In 1954, he became a player-coach for St. Louis Kutis. During his time with Kutis, the team won the 1956 and 1957 National Amateur Cup and 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. It is the country's oldest ongoing national soccer competition. The competition was first held duri ...

. In 1958, he moved to back to Simpkins.

Coach

In 1959,

Washington University in St. Louis Washington University in St. Louis (WashU) is a private research university in St. Louis, Missouri, United States. Founded in 1853 by a group of civic leaders and named for George Washington, the university spans 355 acres across its Danforth ...

hired Carenza to establish a men's soccer team. Carenza was the head coach of the team through the 1964 season, amassing a 31-17-6 (.630) record. Carenza died in St. Louis on October 17, 1981. In 1982, Carenza was inducted into the

. In 1996, he was inducted into the Washington University Sports Hall of Fame.

Family

He married Mary Ella Newsome after returning from World War II. Their four children include Joseph Carenza Jr., John Carenza, Christopher Carenza, and Mary Lisa Carenza Keenan. Joe Carenza Jr. also coached the men's soccer team at Washington University, and joined his father in their Hall of Fame in 2004. John Carenza became an Olympic soccer player. Both John and his brother

Chris Carenza Christopher James "Chris" or "CJ" Carenza is a retired American soccer defender who played professionally in the North American Soccer League. College Carenza, son of Hall of Famer Joe Carenza, Sr. and brother of John Carenza, graduated from ...

played professionally in the

North American Soccer League The North American Soccer League (NASL) was the top-level major professional soccer league in the United States and Canada that operated from 1968 to 1984. It is considered the first soccer league to be successful on a national scale in the ...

References

External links

Washington University team history

1981 deaths American men's soccer players Soccer players from St. Louis St. Louis Simpkins-Ford players St. Louis Kutis S.C. players Zenthoefer Furs players American soccer coaches National Soccer Hall of Fame members Men's association football midfielders Washington University Bears men's soccer coaches Men's association football player-managers St. Louis Kutis S.C. coaches United States Navy personnel of World War II 1924 births 20th-century American sportsmen {{US-footy-midfielder-1920s-stub