National Soccer Hall of Famer Pat McBride dies
National Soccer Hall of Famer Pat McBride (1994), a former captain of the U.S. Men’s National Team who was the first American player to sign with a North American Soccer League team, has died. He was 81.
A midfielder, McBride was an All-American at St. Louis University who helped the team win NCAA titles in 1963 and 1965. He signed with the St. Louis Stars of the National Professional Soccer League in 1967 and played with the team in the NASL from 1968 to 1976.
“Mr. McBride was one of the greatest players produced in the long and rich history of St. Louis soccer,” St. Louis sportswriter Dave Lange wrote in a Facebook post. “He also was one of the sport’s leading ambassadors, well-known in the soccer community for his friendly personality and for helping countless people, often without being asked.”
Teamed with Al Trost — a 2006 Hall of Famer — in the Stars’ midfield, McBride was an All-NASL selection three times in a league dominated by foreign talent such as Pelé, Franz Beckenbauer and Giorgio Chinaglia. In 196 appearances, he scored 31 goals and assisted on 23 others.
“I grew up watching Pat McBride,” Trost said in an interview with STLCitySC.com. “He is 6 years older than me. Same age as my older brother. I saw how good Pat became and how much he enjoyed the game. I thought, ‘I could do that.’”
He made his international debut in a 2-0 loss to Haiti on April 20, 1969, and had a total of five appearances with the USMNT at a time when the team rarely played outside of World Cup qualifiers. He captained the U.S. squad in several of his appearances.
While playing for the Stars, McBride was the men’s assistant soccer coach at Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville under Hall of Famer Bob Guelker, his college coach. After retiring as a player, McBride became the men’s head soccer coach at St. Louis Community College at Meramec.
He coached the team to the National Junior College Athletic Association national title in his first year and was named NJCAA Coach of the Year.
He became head coach of the St. Louis Steamers, a Major Indoor Soccer League team, in 1979 and guided the squad to the 1981 MISL finals before losing to the New York Arrows, 6-5, on a goal by Hall of Famer Steve Zungul (2023) with 30 seconds left in regulation.
McBride also was head coach of the MISL’s Kansas City Comets from 1981 to 1984 and returned to coach the Steamers from 1985 to 1987. He was the men’s head soccer coach at Forest Park Community College from 1988 to 2007, leading the Highlanders to two NJCAA national tournament appearances.
In addition to the National Soccer Hall of Fame, McBride was a member of the Saint Louis Soccer Hall of Fame, the St. Louis Sports Hall of Fame, the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame and the NJCAA Hall of Fame.