Denny Vaninger

Last updated
Denny Vaninger
Dvaninger.jpg
Personal information
Full name Dennis Vaninger
Date of birth (1952-03-14) March 14, 1952 (age 72)
Place of birth St. Louis, Missouri, United States
Position(s) Forward
Youth career
1970–1972 St. Louis Florisant
Senior career*
YearsTeamApps(Gls)
1971–1972 St. Louis Kutis
1972 Serbian White Eagles
1973–1977 St. Louis Stars 71 (22)
1974 St. Louis Stars (indoor) 1 (4)
1978–1979 Fort Lauderdale Strikers 20 (3)
1979 New Jersey Americans
1980 Miami Americans
1980–1982 St. Louis Steamers (indoor)
International career
1974–1975 United States 3 (1)
Managerial career
1989–1990 St. Louis Storm (assistant)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Dennis "Denny" Vaninger is a former U.S. soccer forward who spent seven seasons in the North American Soccer League and at least two seasons in Major Indoor Soccer League. He earned three caps, scoring one goal, with the U.S. national team. He also won the 1971 U.S. Amateur Cup with St. Louis Kutis. He continues to coach youth soccer in his hometown of St. Louis, Missouri.

Contents

Player

Early career

Vaninger grew up in St. Louis, Missouri and attended St. Mary's High School where he played on the boys' soccer team. The team won the 1970 Missouri State high school championship. That season, Vaninger scored twenty-three goals. After graduating from high school, Vaninger attended St. Louis Florisant Valley Community College from 1970 to 1972. He played two seasons on the school's soccer team, earning junior college All-American honors both seasons. Florisant Valley won the national junior college championship in both 1970 and 1971. In addition to playing with Florisant Valley, Vaninger was also a member of St. Louis Kutis. In 1971, Kutis won the U.S. National Amateur Cup. Vaninger assisted on the third of Kutis' four goals in their 4–1 win over Cleveland, Ohio club Inter-Italian. Archived 2007-09-28 at the Wayback Machine In 1972, he also played abroad in the National Soccer League with the Serbian White Eagles. [1] [2]

Professional

In 1973, Vaninger signed with the St. Louis Stars of the North American Soccer League (NASL). In an 11–4 indoor dismantling at the hands of the visiting Red Army team on February 13, 1974, he accounted for all four Stars' goals. [3] Vaninger spent five seasons with the Stars until they folded at the end of the 1977 season. He then moved to the Fort Lauderdale Strikers for the 1978 and 1979 seasons. However, in 1979, he played only one game and left the NASL to sign for the New Jersey Americans. [4] In 1980, he joined the Miami Americans of the American Soccer League where he played for one season. In 1980, Vaninger signed with the expansion St. Louis Steamers of Major Indoor Soccer League (MISL). He played two seasons with the Steamers until 1982. Some sources state that he continued to play professionally until 1983. Vaninger is tied for the MISL record with 3 powerplay goals in one game.

National team

Vaninger earned three caps with the U.S. national team in 1974 and 1975. His first game came September 5, 1974, when he scored the lone U.S. goal in a 3–1 loss to Mexico. His last game came in a March 26, 1975 loss to Poland in Poland. [5]

Coach

In 1989, the expansion St. Louis Storm of MISL hired Vaninger as an assistant coach. [6] In 1990, he became the Director of Youth Development. Vaninger was the director of the Busch soccer club before being replaced by Steve Pecher in 1999 when he left to become the Director of Coaching and Education for the Missouri Youth Soccer Association. [7]

In 2002, Vaninger was inducted in the St. Louis Soccer Players Hall of Fame. [8]

In 2020, Vaninger was inducted in the St. Louis Sports Hall of Fame. [9]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">St. Louis Stars (soccer)</span> Defunct American soccer club

The St. Louis Stars were a soccer team based in St. Louis, Missouri that played in the original North American Soccer League from 1968 to 1977. The Stars were known for playing mostly American players, many from the St. Louis area, in contrast to other NASL teams' reliance on foreign players. The team moved to Anaheim in 1978 and became the California Surf.

Patrick "Pat" McBride is an American retired soccer midfielder and indoor soccer coach. He earned five caps with the U.S. national team and is a member of the National Soccer Hall of Fame.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Al Trost</span> American soccer player and coach

Alan Trost is an American former professional soccer player who played as a midfielder. He played collegiate soccer at Saint Louis University where he won the 1969 and 1970 Hermann Trophy as the player of the year. His professional career includes years in both the North American Soccer League (NASL) and Major Indoor Soccer League (MISL). He also was a member of the 1972 U.S. Olympic soccer team. He went on to earn 14 caps with the U.S. national team, scoring one goal. He coached professionally with the St. Louis Steamers of MISL and continues to coach youth soccer. He is a member of the National Soccer Hall of Fame.

Dan Counce is a retired American soccer player and current professional soccer executive. He played six seasons in the North American Soccer League and six more in the Major Indoor Soccer League. He also earned five caps with the United States national team between 1974 and 1976.

Gregory Villa is an American former soccer forward who played professionally in the North American Soccer League and Major Indoor Soccer League. He earned eighteen caps, scoring five goals, with the United States men's national soccer team between 1977 and 1980.

Steve Pecher is an American former soccer defender who is currently the Missouri Girls Director of St Louis Scott Gallagher.

Gregory Makowski is a retired U.S. soccer defender. He was a three-time first team collegiate All American and was a member of the 1980 U.S. Olympic soccer team which was prevented from competing in the Moscow Olympics due to President Carter's boycott of the games. He also earned fourteen caps with the U.S. national team. Between 1978 and 1988, he played with multiple teams in the North American Soccer League and Major Indoor Soccer League.

Gene Geimer is a former U.S. soccer forward who spent seven seasons in the North American Soccer League and at least one season in Major Indoor Soccer League. Before entering the professional ranks, Geimer won a National Amateur Cup with St. Louis Kutis in 1971. He also earned six caps, scoring two goals, with the United States in 1972 and 1973.

Don Droege is a former U.S. soccer defender who played seven seasons in the North American Soccer League and three seasons in the Major Indoor Soccer League. He also earned eight caps with the U.S. national team between 1977 and 1979.

Joey Fink is a retired American soccer forward who spent six seasons in the North American Soccer League, two in the American Soccer League and seven in Major Indoor Soccer League. He also earned six caps with the U.S. national team between 1973 and 1975.

Arthur "Art" or "Buzz" Demling is a former U.S. soccer defender who played in the North American Soccer League and the Major Indoor Soccer League. He was a member of the U.S. soccer team at the 1972 Summer Olympics. He also earned four caps with the U.S. national team between 1973 and 1975.

John Stremlau is a retired U.S. soccer player who played five seasons in the North American Soccer League and at least six in the Major Indoor Soccer League.

Robert V. Kehoe was an American soccer player who played as a defender. He earned four caps as captain of the U.S. national team in 1965. He later coached the U.S. national team in 1972. He was also the first U.S. born coach in the North American Soccer League. He was inducted into the National Soccer Hall of Fame in 1989.

Jim Leeker 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.

Joe "Joey" Clarke is a former U.S. soccer defender who currently coaches collegiate soccer at Washington University in St. Louis. Clarke spent six seasons in the North American Soccer League and one in the Major Indoor Soccer League. He has coached men's collegiate soccer since 1981.

Sam Bick is a former American soccer midfielder. He spent nine seasons in the North American Soccer League and seven seasons in the Major Indoor Soccer League. He also earned two caps with the United States men's national soccer team in 1976.

Tom Galati is a former U.S. soccer defensive midfielder who five seasons in the North American Soccer League. He also earned one cap with the U.S. national team.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dragan Popović</span> Yugoslav association football player/coach

Dragan "Don" Popovic is a retired professional soccer midfielder and coach in the United States. He played professionally in Yugoslavia, Canada and the North American Soccer League. He later coached in both the North American Soccer League and Major Indoor Soccer League.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Slobo Ilijevski</span> Yugoslav and Macedonian footballer (1949–2008)

Slobodan "Slobo" Ilijevski was a Yugoslav and Macedonian football (soccer) goalkeeper who played in the North American Soccer League and Major Indoor Soccer League.

Soccer in St. Louis, which dates from 1882, includes pro, college, select and prep soccer teams in St. Louis, Missouri, collectively forming one of the nation's richest municipal soccer heritages.

References

  1. ↑ "Throw-Ins". Democrat and Chronicle . April 24, 1977. p. 66.
  2. ↑ "Lancers shut out by Stars". Democrat and Chronicle . April 25, 1977. p. 27.
  3. ↑ Mueller, Gary (February 15, 1974). "Gritty Winter Impressive For Outclassed Stars". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. p. 30. Retrieved August 6, 2016.
  4. ↑ "St. Petersburg Times - Google News Archive Search".
  5. ↑ USA - Details of International Matches 1970-1979 Archived February 5, 2010, at the Wayback Machine
  6. ↑ Ilijevski 'Comes Home' - Ex-Steamers Goalie Signs With Storm St. Louis Post-Dispatch - Wednesday, August 9, 1989
  7. ↑ VANINGER LEAVES BUSCH FOR STATE JOB St. Louis Post-Dispatch - Monday, April 19, 1999
  8. ↑ "St. Louis Soccer Hall of Fame". Archived from the original on 2011-09-27. Retrieved 2010-01-03.
  9. ↑ Moore, Tim. "Denny Vaninger". St Louis Sports Hall of Fame. Retrieved 2023-07-31.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.