Friday, May 11, 2007

Obit: Gino Pariani 79, Soccer Hero, From "The Hill" to the "Game Of Their Lives"

The ANNOTICO Report

 

Gino Pariani, played for the US on the 1950 team that produced one of the greatest upsets in World Cup history.

 

It is  the amazing and inspiring tale of one of the greatest underdog stories in the history of sports. Ten days before the 1950 World Cup, a ragtag team of recreational players come together for the first time to represent the U.S.A. in Brasil. In an unimaginable and shocking upset, Team U.S.A. defeats England, the best team in the world.

 

The all Amateur US team, with a core of six St Louis area players beat the vaunted powerful English team in Belo Horizonte, Brazil. 1-0

 

The English team had two members that were later knighted for their soccer exploits, and their team was so deep in talent, that the great Stanley Matthews did not even get to play that day.

The story of the 1950 squad was told in the 2005 film, "The Game of Their Lives."  It is about the family traditions and passions which shaped the lives of the players who made up this team of underdogs. Screen play was by Angelo  Pizzo.

From St. Louis, besides Pariani, were Frank Borghi, Frank "Pee-Wee" Wallace ( Born Frank Valicenti), Charlie 'Gloves' Columbo, Harry Keough.and Robert Annis.  Other  Non St Louis members, included Joe Maca, John 'Clarkie' Souza, Edward Souza, and Nicholas DiOrio .

The DVD has been available since Sept 2006, but has been renamed "Miracle Match"  http://videoeta.com/movie/71328

 

Member of Underdog U.S. Soccer Team Dies

 

By Cheryl Wittenhauer

Associated Press Writer
May 10, 2007

 

ST. LOUIS (AP) -- Gino Pariani, who played for the United States on the 1950 team that produced one of the greatest upsets in World Cup history, has died. He was 79.

He died Wednesday night after having bone cancer for two years, his family said Thursday.

Pariani, the son of Italian immigrants, grew up playing soccer in St. Louis' famed Italian neighborhood, "The Hill" and was part of the mostly amateur team that jolted the soccer world with its 1-0 defeat of powerful England in Belo Horizonte, Brazil.

A few days after he married, Pariani boarded a plane for Brazil with his St. Louis teammates. The Americans won on a header by Joe Gaetjens in the 37th minute.

The English team featured the likes of Alf Ramsey, who would go on to become England's 1966 World Cup-winning coach, and Tom Finney. Both were eventually knighted for their soccer exploits. England was so deep in talent, the great Stanley Matthews did not play that day.

Pariani had one goal in five games with the national team, scoring against Spain in the Americans' 3-1 loss in their World Cup opener. The Americans never got out of the first round of that tournament, which was won by Uruguay.

Pariani and four other players from St. Louis were part of the starting lineup. With his death, only four players from that team are still alive. The story of the 1950 squad was told in the 2005 film, "The Game of Their Lives."

Pariani, a member of the National Soccer Hall of Fame, also played on the U.S. Olympic team in 1948.

He was the inside right for the 1950 team and played a key role in the upset, maintaining ball possession for the U.S. and sending fellow St. Louis native Frank "Pee-Wee" Wallace on a breakaway in the second half, the Hall of Fame said.

"Gino was probably more appreciated by his teammates than the fans," World Cup teammate and fellow Hall of Famer Walter Bahr said. "Always reliable, always gave a good game -- you could depend upon him to do his job well."

Daughter Denise Steen said her father never boasted about those heady days, but pictures of the team throughout the house were a constant reminder.

"He loved the game, loved watching and playing," she said.

He and fellow World Cup team member Frank Borghi grew up on Daggett Street, where a sidewalk plaque marks their celebrity.

Borghi, now 82, described his lifelong friend as an "excellent soccer player and a fine human being."

"He was an excellent inside right," he said. "He loved the game."

Pariani told The Associated Press in 2003, during filming of the movie, that soccer "was a poor kid's game.

"All you needed was a ball," he said. "With baseball, you needed bats and gloves."

The World Cup team was selected from all over the United States, but the St. Louis players said their time together helped their efforts.

It wasn't until the book "The Game of Their Lives," followed by the 2005 release of the movie of the same name that Pariani and his former teammates enjoyed renewed celebrity.

"He was on a never-ending Disney World ride," Steen said.

She said her father and his teammates Borghi and Harry Keough were treated like kings during filming of the movie in St. Louis, and each had his own director's chair.

"He really enjoyed life," Steen said of her father. "He wasn't malicious. He didn't cuss. For a man to raise seven kids and never say 'damn it' was good. My mom took care of that."

He is survived by his wife Janet, seven children, 10 grandchildren and four great-grandchildren.

A wake is planned from 3 to 9 p.m. Monday at Kutis Funeral Home in Affton, followed by a funeral Mass at 10 a.m. Tuesday at Seven Holy Founders Catholic Church.

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