View source for Walter Bahr

{{Short description|American soccer player}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=February 2023}}
{{Use American English|date=April 2017}}
{{Infobox football biography
| image = Walter Bahr Joe Biden at Lincoln Financial Field for Philadelphia Union match (cropped).jpg
| caption = Bahr (left) with then-Vice President [[Joe Biden]] at [[Philadelphia Union]]'s inaugural match
| name     = Walter Bahr
| fullname = Walter Alfred Bahr
| birth_date = {{birth date|1927|4|1}}
| birth_place = [[Philadelphia]], [[Pennsylvania]], U.S.
| death_date = {{death date and age|2018|06|18|1927|4|1}}
| death_place = [[Boalsburg, Pennsylvania]], U.S.
| height = {{height|ft=5|in=11}}
| position =  [[Midfielder (football)|Midfielder]]
| youthyears1 =
| youthclubs1 =
| years1 =
| years2 = 1953
|  clubs1 =   [[Philadelphia Nationals]]
| clubs2 =  → Montréal Hakoah
| clubs3 =  [[Uhrik Truckers]]
| clubs4 =  → [[Montreal Concordia|Montréal Sparta]]
| clubs5 = [[Brookhattan]]
| clubs6 = [[Philadelphia United German-Hungarians]]
| caps1 =
| goals1 =
| nationalyears1 =   1948–1957
| nationalteam1 =   [[United States men's national soccer team|United States]]
| nationalcaps1 =    19
| nationalgoals1 =   1
| manageryears1 =  1969–1970
| manageryears2 =  1970–1973
| manageryears3 =  1974–1988
| managerclubs1 =  [[Philadelphia Spartans]]
| managerclubs2 =  [[Temple University|Temple Owls]]
| managerclubs3 =  [[Penn State University|Penn State Nittany Lions]]
}}

'''Walter Alfred Bahr''' (April 1, 1927 – June 18, 2018) was an American professional [[soccer]] player, considered one of the greatest ever in the United States.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |title=Walter Bahr - 1976 Inductee {{!}} National Soccer Hall of Fame |url=http://www.nationalsoccerhof.com/players/walter-bahr.html |access-date=2023-12-19 |website=Walter Bahr - 1976 Inductee {{!}} National Soccer Hall of Fame |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Best American Soccer Players of All Time (Men and Women) |url=https://soccermavericks.com/best-american-soccer-players-of-all-time |website=Soccer Mavericks |date=December 21, 2023 |access-date=27 December 2023}}</ref> He was the long-time captain of the [[United States men's national soccer team|U.S. men's national team]] and played in the [[1950 FIFA World Cup]] when the U.S. [[United States v England (1950 FIFA World Cup)|defeated England 1–0]]. Bahr's three sons [[Casey Bahr|Casey]], [[Chris Bahr|Chris]], and [[Matt Bahr|Matt]], all played professional soccer in the defunct [[North American Soccer League (1968–84)|North American Soccer League]]. Casey and Chris also played for the U.S. Olympic team, and Chris and Matt later became [[placekicker]]s in the [[National Football League]], each earning two Super Bowl rings.

==Playing career==
Bahr, a native of [[Philadelphia, Pennsylvania|Philadelphia]], [[Pennsylvania]], began playing soccer at the age of 11 and joined the [[Philadelphia Nationals]] of the professional [[American Soccer League (1933–1983)|American Soccer League]] as an amateur player. He was paid a great compliment during the [[Scotland national football team|Scottish national team]] tour of the U.S. in 1949 by former Scottish international [[Tommy Muirhead]], who wrote in the ''[[Glasgow Daily Mail]]'', "Bahr is good enough to play for any First Division team in the United Kingdom."{{citation needed|date=February 2021}}

After participating in the [[1948 Summer Olympics]],<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.olympedia.org/athletes/27692 |title=Walter Bahr |work=Olympedia |access-date=October 22, 2021}}</ref> Bahr turned professional and helped his club win ASL titles in 1950, 1951, 1953, and 1955. In the summer of 1953, he helped Montréal Hakoah FC reach the [[The Challenge Trophy|Canadian final]].<ref name="Draw with Hakoah">{{cite web|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=SYMtAAAAIBAJ&sjid=d5kFAAAAIBAJ&pg=3963%2C2709073|title=Draw with Hakoah|website=Google|author1=Norm Gillespie|date=August 19, 1953|access-date=August 18, 2018}}</ref> He then switched to the Uhrik Truckers, another team in the Philadelphia area, and won the ASL title in 1956. He then joined [[Montreal Concordia|Montreal Sparta]] in late August where he won the 1956 Quebec Cup.<ref name="Favor Sparta">{{cite web|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=CYMtAAAAIBAJ&sjid=c5kFAAAAIBAJ&pg=6892%2C5390915|title=Favor Sparta|website=Google|author1=Montreal Gazette|date=August 31, 1956|access-date=February 6, 2019}}</ref>

As professional soccer players at that time made relatively little money, Bahr also was a high school teacher during his playing years. He coached the Philadelphia Spartans of the American Soccer League from 1969 to 1970. He moved to the college ranks to coach Temple University from 1970 to 1973. He then coached Penn State to 12 NCAA tournament appearances from 1974 to 1988, including taking the Nittany Lions to the 1979 semifinals, when he was named College Coach of the Year.<ref name="death"/> He coached two of his sons early in his tenure at Penn State.

'''<big>Pennsylvania State University Coaching Legacy</big>'''

'''100 Years, 4 Generations of Penn State Coaching History'''

Bahr is linked to Coach [[William Jeffrey (American soccer)|Bill Jeffrey]], the head coach of [[Pennsylvania State University|Penn State University]]'s men's soccer program in the early 1920s, who later became the men's national team head coach in the [[FIFA World Cup|World Cup]]. Coach Jeffrey died in 1966 and his coaching lineage worked through four generations at Penn State University. By 1970, the captain of Jeffrey's 1950 U.S. team, Walter Bahr became the coach at Penn State from 1974 to 1988. His assistant, [[Barry Gorman]], would later succeed him as head coach, keeping the Penn State job through the 2009 season. In 2021, the connection to Jeffrey continues with Coach Gorman's youth player, [[Fraser Kershaw]], who took the head coaching job at [[Penn State Altoona]]. The coaching connection reached four separate generations of [[Soccer in the United States|soccer]], reaching a 100-year continual coaching succession.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Bill Jeffrey, Altoona, and the history of American soccer |url=https://ussoccerplayers.com/2021/12/bill-jeffrey-altoona-and-the-history-of-american-soccer.html |access-date=March 19, 2022|website=US Soccer Players |language=en-US}}</ref>

==National team==
Bahr was selected to the [[United States men's national soccer team]] in 1949 and appeared in 19 games, with one goal. In the [[1950 FIFA World Cup]], the U.S. [[United States v England (1950 FIFA World Cup)|upset the English team]] 1–0, with the goal scored by [[Joe Gaetjens]] off a pass by Bahr. The entire team was inducted into the [[National Soccer Hall of Fame]] in 1976.<ref name=":0" /><ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/10/sports/soccer/10soccer.html?hpw | first=Jere | last=Longman | title=How a 'Band of No-Hopers' Forged U.S. Soccer's Finest Day | work=[[The New York Times]] | date=December 10, 2009}}</ref> Bahr was featured in the 2009 soccer documentary ''[[A Time for Champions]]'' discussing the U.S. upset victory over England in the [[1950 World Cup]]. Bahr was portrayed by [[Wes Bentley]] in the 2005 movie ''[[The Game of Their Lives (2005 film)|The Game of Their Lives]]'', which has been distributed in DVD under the title "Miracle Match."

==Personal life==

Bahr's three sons, [[Casey Bahr|Casey]], [[Chris Bahr|Chris]] and [[Matt Bahr|Matt]], played professional soccer in the original [[North American Soccer League (1968–84)|North American Soccer League]]. Casey and Chris also played for the U.S. Olympic team, while Chris and Matt became [[placekicker]]s for the NFL and won [[Super Bowl]] titles. The last living member of the 1950 U.S. World Cup team, Bahr died on June 18, 2018, in [[Boalsburg, Pennsylvania]], from complications related to a broken hip.<ref name="death">{{cite news |date=June 18, 2018 |title=Bahr, last living member of team that upset England, is dead |url=http://www.tampabay.com/bahr-last-living-member-of-team-that-upset-england-is-dead-ap_sportsaee217e0cbf94870b831189aa4621e80 |work=[[Tampa Bay Times]] |access-date=June 18, 2018 |archive-date=June 18, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180618203940/http://www.tampabay.com/bahr-last-living-member-of-team-that-upset-england-is-dead-ap_sportsaee217e0cbf94870b831189aa4621e80 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

==See also==
*[[List of Pennsylvania State University Olympians]]
*[https://www.nationalsoccerhof.com/players/walter-bahr.html National Soccer Hall of Fame profile]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{Commons category}}
*Lopez, Tobias, [http://www.ussoccerplayers.com/exclusives/469509.html Walter Bahr remembers], February 22, 2004
* Cirino, Antonio (Tony) US Soccer Vs The World, Damon Press 1983 – {{ISBN|0-910641-00-5}}

{{National Soccer Hall of Fame members}}
{{United States football squad 1948 Summer Olympics}}
{{United States Squad 1950 World Cup}}
{{Temple Owls men's soccer coach navbox}}
{{Penn State Nittany Lions men's soccer coach navbox}}
{{NSCAA Coach of the Year}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bahr, Walter}}
[[Category:1927 births]]
[[Category:2018 deaths]]
[[Category:National Soccer Hall of Fame members]]
[[Category:Olympic soccer players for the United States]]
[[Category:Footballers at the 1948 Summer Olympics]]
[[Category:1950 FIFA World Cup players]]
[[Category:United States men's international soccer players]]
[[Category:Lighthouse Boys Club players]]
[[Category:American Soccer League (1933–1983) players]]
[[Category:Philadelphia Nationals players]]
[[Category:Uhrik Truckers players]]
[[Category:American soccer coaches]]
[[Category:American men's soccer players]]
[[Category:American Soccer League (1933–1983) coaches]]
[[Category:Philadelphia Spartans coaches]]
[[Category:Penn State Nittany Lions men's soccer coaches]]
[[Category:Temple Owls men's soccer coaches]]
[[Category:Soccer players from Philadelphia]]
[[Category:Men's association football defenders]]
[[Category:20th-century American sportsmen]]