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 George
Brown, part of the only father-son tandem in the Hall
of Fame, has a lot to say about U.S. soccer history, the
National Soccer Hall of Fame, and playing soccer around the
world. After signing and playing with a professional team at
the age of 15, when he played in the Connecticut State Amateur
League, George played for the New York Americans, German
Hungarians, and Polish Falcons.
After his retirement, through his job with Exxon, he was able
to travel across the world, including to the Middle East,
Africa, Canada, and all over the United States. Not only did
he coach soccer in many of these countries, but he played as
well, often joining his neighbors for a rousing street soccer
session after a hard day’s work. Today, Brown serves on the
Board of the Directors at the Hall of Fame, and his wife works
in the Hall’s archives department.
You are
very active in the Hall of Fame, serving on the Board of
Directors. Can you talk about your responsibilities and
activities?
 I’m on the Board, and I serve as
the Secretary of the Board. I joined the board around 2001, and
I’m a member of the Finance committee, and I’m the chair of the
eligibility and awards committee, which is the policy committee.
I’m also the editor of the Hall of Fame newsletter, which is
name the Hall of Famer. My wife is also a volunteer, a much more
dedicated volunteer than myself, and has been working in the
archives collection for three years. She goes in almost every
day, for about 3 to 4 hours. She works very hard, and is a
regular. What we’ve found since coming here from Canada, from
Nova Scotia, in 1999 is that our involvement means I get to see
my old teammates from the 1950’s pretty regularly when they stop
by the Hall. On an annual basis, we host an exclusive reception
and cocktail party, called ‘The Liars Retreat’ (laughs). It’s a
party just for hall of famers, and once in a while we’ll invite
a special guest. It’s a great gathering and blending of
generations. One of my dearest friends is 83 and played in the
1930s. So, we cover players from the 30’s until the late 80’s
and early 90’s. I stay closely in touch with all of the famers
by telephone. It was mixed bag before, in that there was little
communication. Today, what we’ve done under Jack Huckel is that
we sat down and agreed that we needed to bridge the gap. That’s
why I’ve started the newsletter, and in only about 3 years we’ve
expanded to 1,200 people from 80 people. It keeps people
informed. But because we’ve stayed in communication, more and
more famers are coming back every year. There were 25 last year,
and there’s typically between 10 to 20. They do come back and
they’re treated royally. It’s good for them, especially the
older ones, whose names don’t resonate in the public. It gives
them a good feeling.
You
played on many teams in your day. What was your most valuable
experience as a player?
Perhaps the most valuable time I
spent was when I first started playing as an amateur, I was 13
or 14, and played with my father. He and I played together, on
the same team, for two years. I played right alongside him. He
never coached me, ever, so I learned from playing with him, from
his example. When I had my run-out with the New York Americans
and was fired, it turned out to be the best thing that ever
happened to me, because the GASL (German American Soccer League)
was the equivalent of the ASL (American Soccer League), but it
was very ethnic. They had a first team reserve team, whereby the
young players could move through the system, but I went into
their first division team. The result was a congenial family
atmosphere. It was very family oriented, as opposed to the ASL,
which was not as familial. The German-Hungarians hosted a party
at a special bar and restaurant after every game, with a great
spread of food and a lot of camaraderie. I was fortunate enough
to play alongside along other talented fellows like John Sousa,
from the 1950 Cup team that beat England. He played on the
inside to my wing. We scored a lot of goals together. There were
other famous players for that team as well, like Walter Bahr and
Joe Maca. I had the opportunity to play with top professionals.
I got bored after some number of years, and there was a young
Polish team that had came on to the scene in New Jersey, so I
decided I wanted a change. So I jumped back into the ASL and
played for the Polish Falcons. On this team was the same type of
camaraderie as in the GASL. There were some of us who were on
the national team, and two of us were on the team at the same
time, Gene Grabowski and myself.
Can you
describe those early leagues a little more?
It was a strange setup. It was
pure ethnic sandlot, similar to the early days of the NFL
(National Football League). We were actually getting paid as
much as NFL players in the early 50’s; we got 25 dollars a game.
The fields were unbelievably bad. There was one time when I was
married, going to school, and having trouble making ends meet.
The club owed me for eight games and hadn’t paid me. We went to
play in a Cup match, but I refused to go on field until I was
paid. I sat, ready to play, but without my boots on. I told them
I wouldn’t play unless they came up with the money. They went
around the crowd with a hat, and brought over a bag with about
250 dollars in it! Those were sandlot days. The teams themselves
were nowhere near the quality of today, there was no training or
practice. The individual players, yes, they were as talented as
individuals today, but teams, no. I never went to a training
session. I practiced by myself, traveled to meet the team, and
we played. The quality of equipment and fitness level was a lot
lower than it is today. But some of those players could have
played anywhere in the world at that time.
You’ve
also served as a coach for youth soccer teams. Can you talk
about the growth of youth soccer in this century and how the
youth soccer movement is impacting the soccer world as a whole?
 My active career was really quite
short. I played from age 14, around 1951, then in 1958, I played
in two separate leagues for a time, and then I went into the
army for two years. When I came out, I was to go on scholarship
to college in Connecticut, but I couldn’t play when they
attempted to claim me as a professional. Basically, I quit the
game, and never played again after 1962. But by that time I was
well on my way to finishing college, and I was the first in my
family to go to college. So, what happened was, I joined Exxon,
doing psychological research for them. I got a Master’s at
Columbia, and then I proceeded to move around the world. I was
in Libya during the revolution, and I used to play street soccer
there with Libyans. Then, back to the States, in various places
like Texas, where I helped form a soccer association, then to
Colorado, where I did the same thing. Then, back to Houston,
where I played and coached again, and then to New Jersey, where
I also got involved in their very successful program. We moved
to Saudi Arabia, where I coached, and then back to the States
and then to Egypt, where I coached kids for a year, and to
Kuwait, where I played street soccer again. Finally, we moved to
Canada, where I coached a rural, fisherman’s daughters high
school soccer team, and we won a provincial championship. I
always coached my own kids, both in the States and abroad, and
my daughter in particular was a very determined player. She
played in co-ed leagues, and ended up refereeing in New Jersey.
She’s now a teacher in Jersey. I coached and played with them,
but I didn’t interfere.
Can you
talk about the impact your father had on you as a soccer player?
When he played in Uruguay for the
first World Cup in 1930, the team was gone for three months.
They went by boat, and it was 14 days down, 14 days back. They
received 300 dollars cash and a new suit of clothes. He had a
huge scrapbook that my mother kept for him, including
memorabilia from Europe. He played for Manchester United. They
moved back up to Scotland because of the war in 1939, and put
all of their belongings in a shed with the idea they’d have it
shipped down later. They just brought the essentials, including
the medals from the first World Cup, some shorts, the team
photo, etc. It was good that she did bring those because one of
the D2 rockets hit dead center on that shed and destroyed all of
his memorabilia. We were able to salvage some of it, and I
carried it around the world. When they put the Hall up, I was
able to donate it and put it up on display.
Any final
thoughts?
I’d just like to say a bit about
the Soccer Hall of Fame. The Hall is a concept that has been in
place since 1950. As a physical entity, it has been in place
since 1979, at first in temporary locations. For a period of
10-15 years, it was housed in a storefront in Oneonta that was
3,000 square feet. They ran into financial problems. In 1997 it
was touch-and-go, and at that point a group of businessmen
stepped in and raised over 8 million dollars in 18 months and
built this brand new beautiful building in four months, from
start to finish, in 1999. It was an incredible experience. What
they’ve done now is amazing. We’re now developing a national
image. They’ve done so well. With the October inductions coming
up, for the first time ever, there will be an MLS game at the
inductions with the Metrostars playing the Fire, a hot rivalry.
And, we have three icons being inducted, the fourth woman
inducted in Michelle Akers along with Wynalda and Caligiuri.
Every year, exposure is getting broader and higher. I’m really
excited, but we still need support. It takes time to develop a
national icon, but I think we’re doing a good job.
- September 2004 -
Where
Are They Now
Jill Beauchesne of the the U.S.
National Soccer Team Player Association and the on-line journal
Round Not Oval reports her conversation with Hall of Famers in
our newest feature.
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