It鈥檚 nearly impossible to talk about sports history without mentioning St. Louis 鈥� and that goes for soccer, too.
St. Louis鈥� first Major League Soccer team is off to a record-breaking first season, but City SC is far from the first notch in the region鈥檚 soccer timeline. Sam Moore, managing director of public history for the Missouri Historical Society, told St. Louis on the Air that St. Louis is justified to claim the title of first soccer capital in the U.S.
鈥淲hen you look at the progression [and] the growth of soccer in the United States, all roads lead back to St. Louis, Missouri,鈥� he said. 鈥淔rom the immigrant community here to the sporting community that comes out and supports major teams 鈥� this truly is America鈥檚 soccer capital.鈥�
The Missouri History Museum will open its newest exhibit, 鈥淪occer City,鈥� on Saturday. Visitors can expect to find 150 years of soccer history in St. Louis, with paraphernalia, archival photographs and personal items from St. Louis-born soccer stars 鈥� as well as first-person accounts collected by the Missouri Historical Society.
鈥淲e've had people come in, stop up at the front desk and say, 鈥楬ey, I know [a] soccer superstar who I grew up with,鈥� and we've been able to gather some great stories,鈥� Moore said.
Currently, Kansas City , but Moore suggests that the historical and recent evidence says otherwise.
鈥淸St. Louis soccer history] starts in 1875. We continue with a throughline with incredible teams all the way through the present with the run that St. Louis City has been on for the past couple of months. I don't think there's any argument, really.鈥�
St. Louis鈥� impact on soccer history, both stateside and abroad, may come as a surprise to those who grew up in the region, but that鈥檚 likely because the connection is close to home.
鈥淵ou will be hard-pressed to find a child in the St. Louis region who hasn't played soccer growing up. I think we take for granted here that that is a normal thing,鈥� Moore said. 鈥淚 didn't have an appreciation for [St. Louis鈥� soccer history] until we really started to dig into the archives. 鈥� It's been really fun to get to know that as we prepare to open this exhibit.鈥�
For more about Soccer City鈥檚 exhibit and programs listen to St. Louis on the Air on , , , , or by clicking the play button below.
Related Event
What:
When: 10 a.m. April 8
Where: Missouri History Museum (5700 Lindell Blvd., St. Louis, MO 63112)
鈥�鈥� brings you the stories of St. Louis and the people who live, work and create in our region. The show is produced by , , , and . is our production assistant. The audio engineer is . Send questions and comments about this story to talk@stlpr.org.
