Although best identified with American football, Western Pennsylvania has excelled in the sport Europeans call football and that we know as soccer.

Soccer has flourished at the high school and youth level recently, but has its roots in the coal towns populated by immigrants from Southern and Eastern Europe. Their passion and skill transformed this area into a national center for soccer by the 1930s and '40s .

The region is home to one of the oldest soccer clubs in the country. The teams of Beadling Soccer Club, founded in 1898, have won an array of championships, including the 1954 National Amateur Cup. Led that year by prolific scorer Jim Kohlmyer, Beadling joined other local teams in the national spotlight.

The Morgan Strassers, from the coal town of Morgan, near Bridgeville, won the U.S. Amateur Cup Championship in 1940. Paul Danilo scored the game-winning goal, ushering in a decade of dominance on the national stage for local teams.

Gallatin, from Washington County, came next, winning the 1942 U.S. National Open with forward Alex Pascarella heading their offensive efforts.

Castle Shannon had its turn in 1946, competing in the U.S. Amateur Cup finals.

Defenseman Peter Merovich made his mark with this team, competing from 1935-57 and becoming one of several local players inducted into the National Soccer Hall of Fame.

Harmarville was the team of the '50s, winning two national titles in 1952 and '56. Also in 1950, local soccer legend Nick DiOrio competed for the United States on the World Cup team, playing in a surprising upset over England.

Visitors to the Western Pennsylvania Sports Museum at the Heinz History Center can learn more about soccer's footprint on this region's sports history.

-- By Anne Madarasz, museum division director, Heinz History Center

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