Jim Leeker (born St. Louis, Missouri) is a former U.S. soccer player and the current president of the St. Louis Soccer Hall of Fame. He was the 1970 North American Soccer League Rookie of the Year and went on to play a total of three seasons in the league.
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | April 10, 1947 | ||
| Place of birth | St. Louis, Missouri, United States | ||
| Position(s) | Forward | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 1966–1969 | St. Louis University | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1965–1969 | St. Louis Kutis S.C. | ||
| 1970–1972 | St. Louis Stars | 46 | (8) |
| 1971 | St. Louis Stars (indoor) | 2 | (1) |
| 1972– | St. Louis Kutis S.C. | ||
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
In 1965, Leeker joined St. Louis Kutis S.C. He then went on to attend St. Louis University where he played on the men's soccer team from 1966 to 1969. In 1969, Leeker and his teammates won the NCAA Men's Soccer Championship. In 1970, Leeker signed with the St. Louis Stars of the North American Soccer League (NASL). That year, he played in twenty-two games and scored five goals as he was named the NASL Rookie of the Year.[1] On March 19, 1971, Leeker scored the first goal in NASL indoor history in the eighth minute of the opening match of the NASL's "Hoc-Soc" Tournament played at the St. Louis Arena.[2] He continued to play for the Stars until 1972 when he left the NASL. After leaving the Stars, Leeker rejoined St. Louis Kutis where he was named the 1972 Khoury Professional Player of the Year.
Leeker was inducted into the St. Louis Soccer Hall of Fame in 1998.[3]
References
edit- ^ "The Year in American Soccer - 1970". Archived from the original on March 3, 2009. Retrieved September 23, 2007.
- ^ Flachsbart, Harold (March 20, 1971). "Fans Get A Kick Out Of Hoc-Soc". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. p. 6. Retrieved August 8, 2016.
- ^ "St. Louis Soccer HOF: Hall of Fame Members (A-M)". Archived from the original on July 8, 2012. Retrieved September 23, 2007.
External links
edit
  | This biographical article related to an American soccer forward is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |