Don Droege

Last updated
Don Droege
Personal information
Full name Donald T. Droege
Date of birth (1955-01-21) January 21, 1955 (age 69)
Place of birth St. Louis, Missouri, United States
Position(s) Defender
College career
YearsTeamApps(Gls)
1973–1976 St. Louis University
Senior career*
YearsTeamApps(Gls)
1977–1978 Rochester Lancers 45 (1)
1979–1980 Washington Diplomats 49 (2)
1980–1981 Chicago Horizon (indoor) 32 (2)
1981 Atlanta Chiefs 31 (2)
1982 Tulsa Roughnecks 18 (2)
1982 Tampa Bay Rowdies 7 (1)
1982–1983 Chicago Sting (indoor) 10 (0)
1983 Chicago Sting 24 (2)
1983–1985 St. Louis Steamers (indoor) 65 (5)
International career
1977–1979 United States 8 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

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.

Contents

Youth and college

Droege grew up in St. Louis, Missouri and attended Christian Brothers College High School where he was the soccer team's 1971 and 1972 defensive MVP. He was also co-captain of the 1972 team. [1] In addition to playing soccer, he was also a baseball letterman his senior year. After graduating from high school, Droege attended St. Louis University, playing on the men's soccer team from 1973 to 1976.

NASL

In 1977, Droege signed with the Rochester Lancers of the North American Soccer League (NASL). In December 1978, the Lancers traded Droege to the Washington Diplomats. [2] The Diplomats folded at the end of the 1980 season and Droege was selected by the New England Tea Men in the dispersal draft. However, the Tea Men sold his contract to the Atlanta Chiefs for the 1981 season. However, by that time the NASL's decline was accelerating and the Chiefs folded at the end of the season. Droege moved again, this time to the Tulsa Roughnecks. However, after eighteen games, the Roughnecks traded Droege to the Tampa Bay Rowdies in exchange for Njego Pesa and Terry Moore. [3] He saw time in seven games for the Rowdies in 1982. In 1983, Droege finished his NASL career with the Chicago Sting.

MISL

In 1980, Droege signed with the Chicago Horizon of Major Indoor Soccer League (MISL). The Horizon lasted only one season before folding. Droege did not return to the MISL until he left the NASL in 1983. That fall, Droege returned to Saint Louis to sign with the St. Louis Steamers. He spent two seasons with the Steamers before retiring from playing professionally in 1985.

National team

Droege's first game with the national team came in a 3–1 loss to Guatemala on September 18, 1977. Nine days later, he came on as a substitute in a 3–0 loss to Mexico. From that point on, he played the rest of the U.S. games in 1977. He played in only one of the three U.S. games in 1978, then earned his last cap on May 2, 1979, in a 6–0 loss to France. [4]

Droege was inducted into St. Louis Soccer Hall of Fame in 2005. [5]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">North American Soccer League</span> Defunct major soccer league in the United States and Canada

The North American Soccer League (NASL) was the top-level major professional soccer league in the United States and Canada that operated from 1968 to 1984. It is considered the first soccer league to be successful on a national scale in the United States. The league final was called the Soccer Bowl from 1975 to 1983 and the Soccer Bowl Series in its final year, 1984. The league was headed by Commissioner Phil Woosnam from 1969 to 1983. The NASL laid the foundations for soccer in the United States that helped lead to the country hosting the 1994 FIFA World Cup and setting up Major League Soccer (MLS) in 1996.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fort Lauderdale Strikers (1977–1983)</span> American soccer team (1977–1983)

The Fort Lauderdale Strikers were a professional soccer team based in the Miami metropolitan area. They competed in the North American Soccer League (NASL) from 1977 to 1983. They played their home matches at Lockhart Stadium.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tulsa Roughnecks (1978–1984)</span> Defunct American soccer club

The Tulsa Roughnecks (1978–1984) were a North American Soccer League (NASL) team from Tulsa, Oklahoma. It played its home games at Skelly Stadium on the campus of the University of Tulsa. The team, previously Team Hawaii, moved to Tulsa after the 1977 season. In 1983, Alex Skotarek became general manager and led one of the lowest-budgeted teams in the NASL to a championship, defeating Toronto, 2–0, at Soccer Bowl '83.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">New York Arrows</span> Football club

The New York Arrows were an indoor soccer team that played in the original Major Indoor Soccer League (MISL) from 1978 to 1984. They won the first four MISL championships.

Perry Van der Beck is an American former soccer player, former coach and technical director, and the former Vice President of Competition and Operations for the United Soccer League.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">David D'Errico</span> American soccer player (born 1952)

David D'Errico is an American soccer player who played as a defender. He spent eight years in the North American Soccer League (NASL), five in Major Indoor Soccer League (MISL) and one in the United Soccer League (USL). He won three MISL championships with the NY Arrows and earned 21 caps with the United States national team between 1974 and 1977, also captaining the team.

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.

Njego Pesa is a former American soccer forward who played in the North American Soccer League and Major Indoor Soccer League. He earned seven caps with the U.S. national team.

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.

James Pollihan is a former U.S. soccer player who was an outstanding collegiate forward with Quincy University but moved to defense as a professional. He earned fifteen caps with the U.S. national team between 1976 and 1979.

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

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.

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.

Jose “Poli” Garcia is an American former soccer player. He spent at least four seasons in the American Soccer League, three in the North American Soccer League and four in the Major Indoor Soccer League. He was the 1979 American Soccer League MVP and earned two caps with the United States in 1975.

Bruce Rudroff was a U.S. soccer defender. Rudroff played three seasons in the North American Soccer League and four in the Major Indoor Soccer League. He also earned two caps with the U.S. national team.

The 1978 North American Soccer League season was the 66th season of FIFA-sanctioned soccer, the 11th with a national first-division league, in the United States and Canada.

Paul Turin is a retired U.S. soccer goalkeeper who played professionally in the Major Indoor Soccer League and North American Soccer League.

Kevin Handlan is a retired American soccer defender who played professionally in the North American Soccer League and Major Indoor Soccer League. He currently works for the McInnis Group.

The 1979 NASL Budweiser Indoor Soccer Invitational was a four-team indoor soccer tournament held at the Bayfront Center in St. Petersburg, Florida on the final weekend of January 1979.

The 1978 Tampa Bay Rowdies indoor season was the fourth indoor season of the club's existence.

The 1979 Tampa Bay Rowdies indoor season was the fifth indoor season of the club's existence.

References

  1. ↑ Christian Brothers College High School Archived October 10, 2007, at the Wayback Machine
  2. ↑ "Dips Land Rights To Defenseman" Washington Post, The (DC) Friday, December 29, 1978
  3. ↑ "CUBILLAS REJOINS RESHUFFLED STRIKERS FOR ROUGHNECKS" Miami Herald Sunday, July 4, 1982
  4. ↑ USA – Details of International Matches 1970–1979 Archived February 5, 2010, at the Wayback Machine
  5. ↑ "St. Louis Soccer Hall of Fame". Archived from the original on 2018-06-13. Retrieved 2009-12-02.
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.