Walter Bahr

Bahr, a native of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, began playing soccer at the age of 11 and joined the Philadelphia Nationals of the professional American Soccer League as an amateur player. He was paid a great compliment during the 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." After participating in the 1948 Summer Olympics, 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 Canadian final. He then switched to the Uhrik Truckers, another team in the Philadelphia area, and won the ASL title in 1956. He then joined Montreal Sparta in late August where he won the 1956 Quebec Cup. As professional soccer players at that time made relatively little money, Bahr also was a high school Phys. Ed. teacher during his playing years and led Frankford HS to several Public League and City Titles in his native Philadelphia. 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. He coached two of his sons early in his tenure at Penn…

Bahr's three sons, Casey, Chris and Matt, played professional soccer in the original North American Soccer League. Casey and Chris also played for the U.S. Olympic team, while Chris and Matt became placekickers 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.