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History of Canadian Soccer
by Colin Jose
CANADA - NATIONAL |
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Canada
Provinces |
Hockey Connection Lorne Gump Worsley All-Star It seems to have been a well-kept secret down the years that the Gump played soccer as well as hockey. It was not mentioned in his bio at the Hockey Hall of Fame, and many of the sports writers who wrote about him never knew until it was pointed out to them on his death. His hockey career is well known, but what was not known was that during his time in Saskatoon, where he played in goal for the Quakers, he also played soccer for Saskatoon Legion during the summer. During this time, he was selected to play for the Saskatoon All-Stars against the touring Tottenham Hotspurs from England, not in goal, but at centre forward. The Spurs overwhelmed Saskatoon, winning 181. The following year, 1953, he was in Montreal, where he played centre half for Montreal Hakoah. The team, with Worsley as its captain, reached the national Challenge Cup final, but lost in three games to Westminster Royals. Worsley, however, scored from a penalty kick in the final game. His hockey career in the NHL took him to New York Rangers, Montreal Canadiens and Minnesota North Stars. He was born in Montreal May 14, 1929, and was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1980. He died January 26, 2007, in Montreal. Vsevelod Bobrov Olympic Soccer and Hockey Bobrov was not a Canadian, but he helped make Canadian hockey history when he coached the Soviet Union at the famous 1972 Ice Hockey Summit Series. This series, which shook Canadian hockey to its roots, changed Canadian hockey forever, and saw the Soviets win the first two games against the best the NHL could offer, but ended in Moscow with Canada winning in the final minute of the final game. He was born December 1, 1922, in Morshansk, and served in the Soviet Army during World War Two. He not only excelled at hockey, but also at soccer and bandy. In 1945, while playing soccer for Moscow Spartak, he was invited to be a guest player on the never-to-be-forgotten Moscow Dynamo tour of Great Britain. His play on this tour against such famous teams as Arsenal, Chelsea and Rangers attracted a great deal of attention, and he scored six goals. Despite being regarded as one of the Soviet Unions greatest ever soccer players, he only played three times for the national team, all during the 1952 Summer Olympics in Finland when he scored five goals, including a hat-trick against Yugoslavia. In the hockey world, he began playing for CDKA in Moscow a year after this soccer start, and his hockey career lasted until 1957. His team won the Soviet championship seven times, and he scored 254 goals in only 130 games. He became one of the few athletes to play in both the Summer and Winter Olympics when he played in the 1956 Winter games and won a gold medal for hockey. He also helped the Soviet Union win the World Hockey Championship in 1954 and 1956. Overall, he scored 89 goals in 59 games for his country. On retiring from playing, he coached both soccer and hockey, and when he was taken ill, was coaching the Kairat team in the then Soviet Republic of Kazakhstan in the soccer league in the Soviet Union. He died in Moscow on July 1, 1979. Jim Corsi Dual International Born in Montreal, Quebec, in 1954 of Italian parents, Jim grew up playing both soccer and hockey. In 1973, he was a member of the Canadian national team squad that played a number of games in Europe and appeared for Canada against Malta. However, in hockey he was a goaltender, and because of his Italian background, was able to play for Italy in international competition as well as in the National Hockey League for Quebec Nordiques (19771979) and Edmonton Oilers (197980) and later in Italy for Cortina and Varese. In total, he played 147 times for Italy including the 1982, 1983 and 1992 World Championships. Peter Zezel Youth International Peter played twice for the national youth team in the CONCACAF Youth Tournament held in Guatemala in 1982, appearing against the United States and Costa Rica. During that summer, he also played for the Toronto Blizzard second team as it toured Southern Ontario, playing games against local teams. However, Peter had already chosen hockey over soccer and had been selected by the Philadelphia Flyers in round 2 of the 1983 National Hockey League draft. However, he remained in the Ontario Hockey League with the Toronto Marlboros for the 198384 season before joining the Flyers in 198485. He was traded from Philadelphia to the St. Louis Blues in 1988, then to the Washington Capitals, Toronto Maple Leafs, Kalamazoo Wings (IHL), Dallas Stars, back to St. Louis, then on to the New Jersey Devils, Albany River Rats (AHL), Vancouver Canucks and finally the Cambridge Hornets of the OHA senior. He was born in Toronto, April 22, 1965.
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