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Bill Looby

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Bill Looby
Personal information
Full name William Edward Looby
Date of birth (1931-11-20)November 20, 1931
Place of birth St. Louis, Missouri,U.S.
Date of death December 9, 1998(1998-12-09)(aged 67)
Place of death St. Louis, Missouri, U.S.
Height 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)
Position(s) Forward
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1949–1950 Dohle's
1950 → Lennemann's
1950 Zenthoefer Furs
1950–1952 St. Louis Raiders
1954–1970St. Louis Kutis
International career
1954–1959 United States 9 (6)
Medal record
Men'ssoccer
RepresentingtheUnited States
Pan American Games
Bronze medal – third place 1959 Chicago Team competition
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Bill Looby(November 20, 1931 – December 9, 1998) was an Americansoccerforwardwho spent his entire career in the St. Louis Leagues. He was a member of the U.S. Olympic soccer team at the1956 Summer Olympicsand earned ninecaps,scoring six goals, with theUnited States men's national soccer teambetween 1954 and 1959. He was a member of the 1959 Bronze medal Pan American Team scoring 6 goals in those games as well. Looby is a member of the Saint Louis Soccer Hall of Fame and theNational Soccer Hall of Fame.[1]

Professional

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Looby played forward both professionally and for theU.S. national team.In the fall of 1949, he played for Dohle's of the St. Louis Major League. In January 1950, the team was briefly renamed Selby's before becoming Lenneman's as the team's sponsorship changed. In April 1950, Looby signed withZenthoefer Fursin the St. Louis Municipal League. In the fall of 1950, he joined theSt. Louis Raiderswhich won the National Amateur Cup in 1952. After that victory, Tom Kutis, owner of the Kutis Funeral Home, began to sponsor the team. Looby played the next 2 seasons with the Grapette Soccer team, rejoining the team, now known asSt. Louis Kutisin 1954 where he played until 1970. In 1954, he led the Municipal League in scoring.[2]Looby played in Kutis’ six consecutive National Amateur Cup championships (1956–1961). He also scored goals in both games of the1957 National Challenge Cupchampionship over New York Hakoah. In 1958, theU.S. Soccer Football Associationused the Kutis team as the U.S. national team in two world cup qualifying games against Canada. Another memorable event for Looby as a Kutis team member took place on May 5, 1955, when Kutis defeated1. FC Nürnberg,3–2. Looby scored a goal in rhis game. The Nürnberg team in 1955 featured four players from the 1954 West German World Cup championship team. 7 years later, in 1962, Kutis defeated Nurenberg a second time by the same score of 3–2. Looby also scored a goal in this game.

National team

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In 1954 Looby became a member of the U.S. National Team. In 1956, he played for the U.S. Olympic team at the1956 Summer Olympics.[3]He also played in several games in the U.S. team's tour of the Orient leading up to the Olympic games in Australia. Looby earned nine caps with the senior national team, scoring six goals. He earned his first cap and scored his first goal for the U.S. in a 1954 World Cup qualifier againstMexico.He played his last game with the national team in 1959.[4]In 1959, Looby was a member of theU.S. Pan Americanteam which took the bronze medal. He scored six goals in that tournament.[5]Looby was also a member of the 1960 U.S. Olympic team, a finalist for the 1952 US Olympic team, and an alternate for the 1964 Olympic team.

Looby was inducted into the St. Louis Soccer Hall of Fame in 1984 and the National Soccer Hall of Fame in 2001.[6]

References

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  1. ^"Bill Looby".Olympedia.RetrievedDecember 2,2021.
  2. ^"The Year in American Soccer - 1954".Archived fromthe originalon July 26, 2015.RetrievedNovember 11,2010.
  3. ^Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen;Mallon, Bill;et al."Bill Looby".Olympics at Sports-Reference.Sports Reference LLC.Archived fromthe originalon December 4, 2016.
  4. ^USA - Details of International Matches 1885-1969ArchivedJanuary 13, 2010, at theWayback Machine
  5. ^Panamerican Games 1959 (Chicago)
  6. ^"St. Louis Soccer Hall of Fame".Archived fromthe originalon August 9, 2011.RetrievedNovember 11,2010.
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