This should work: http://www.ajax-usa.com/ajax/kuper/the_warm_back_of_eddy_hamel.html WOW! *jaw haning open*
Dont know if he was the first Yank Abroad but it certainly is a story worth sharing. Thanks for the link. I wonder if Dave Brett knows anything more about this. Perhaps a magazine article or a book reference. He seems to be Big Soccer's resident historian.
Two Italian Americans also played in the Serie A about the same time. One of them was actually executed by the Germans during WW Two.
I got this from the Dutch boards, it was from the thread about anti Jewish chants directed at Ajax, my other team.
So true. Maybe a letter to Ajax way back when would have saved a life .. or not. But it would have been worth a shot. Too sad.
The book "Brilliant Orange",by David Winner,has a long chapter on Ajax fans being identified as,and identifying themselves as, Jewish-even though they aren't. Hamel is mentioned briefly in this chapter.
I had actually started a thread on one of them here long time ago. It was a link to an article that talked about one of them got executed by the Germans in WW II. He was serving in the Italian Army in either Greece or Yugoslavia. Anyway, I recalled both of them played in Fiorentina at one point. One of them was actually capped by Italy. I am still digging up information about them.
Found something..... four Italian-Americans actually played in Italy in the pre-WW II years. Eddy Hamel is probably the first Yank Abroad. http://www.rsssf.com/players/usa-players-in-it.html See the article about Alexi Lalas. http://www.sover.net/~spectrum/colin.html#lalas Alfonso Negro appeared to be the first American player in Italy. He was capped by Italy in the 1930's. He was born in NY. I got some information on him in Talian. i do not understand a word of it. http://www.solocalcio.com/FORZAVIOLA/Negro.htm http://www.calcio2000.com/italy/nazionale/Testine41.htm I think Armando Frigo was the player killed in WW II. The link below comes from the Soccer Hall of Fame in the US. It provided a link(but broken) to an article on "The American Player shot by Nazi". http://www.soccerhall.org/history/colins_corner_kick.htm