Al Harker
Personal information | |||
---|---|---|---|
Full name | Albert Harker | ||
Date of birth | April 11, 1910 | ||
Place of birth |
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States | ||
Date of death | April 3, 2006 | (aged 95)||
Place of death | Camp Hill, Pennsylvania, United States | ||
Position(s) |
Full Back | ||
Youth career | |||
1926–1929 | Girard College | ||
Senior career* | |||
Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
1929–1930 | Corinthians | ||
1930–1931 | Upper Darby | ||
1931–1932 | Kensington Blue Bells | ||
1932–1941 |
Philadelphia German-Americans | ||
1941– |
→ Philadelphia Americans | ||
*Club domestic league appearances and goals |
Albert Harker (April 11, 1910 – April 3, 2006) was a U.S.
Youth and college
Harker attended Girard College where he played on the men's soccer team from 1926 to 1929.
Professional
Following his graduation from Girard, he signed with Corinthians of the National Soccer League of Philadelphia. In 1930, he moved to Upper Darby and in 1931 to the Kensington Blue Bells. In 1932, he moved to the
National team
Harker was called into the for the 1934 FIFA World Cup, but did not see time in the lone U.S. game of the cup, a 7–1 loss to eventual champion Italy.[1] He was also called into the U.S. Olympic soccer team for the 1936 Summer Olympics, but declined because he was unable to take two months off work.
He was inducted into the National Soccer Hall of Fame in 1979 and the Girard College Athletic Hall of Fame in 2006.[1]
Personal
Harker died on April 8, 2006, at a nursing home in Camp Hill, Pennsylvania, eight days before his 96th birthday. He was the last surviving member of the 1934 World Cup squad.[2] Even in his later years Al would sit with his great-granddaughter and recall the days of playing with his teammates. He would recall how they would come over to the house during the summer and pick up a game of volleyball in the backyard. Al always held those fond memories of soccer close to his heart. Seventy-three years later, he still wore his National Amateur Cup ring.
References
- ^ "Al Harker - 1979 Inductee | National Soccer Hall of Fame". Al Harker - 1979 Inductee | National Soccer Hall of Fame. Retrieved December 19, 2023.
- ^ New York Times Obituary