Len Oliver

Infobox Football biography
playername= Len Oliver
fullname = Leonard P. Oliver
nickname =


dateofbirth =
cityofbirth = Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
countryofbirth = United States
dateofdeath =
cityofdeath =
countryofdeath =
height =
position = Halfback
youthyears = 1951-1954
youthclubs = Temple University
years =
1955-1957
1957
1959-
clubs = Philadelphia Nationals
Uhrik Truckers
Ludlow Lusitano
Baltimore Pompei
caps(goals) =
manageryears =
managerclubs =
pcupdate =
ntupdate =

Len Oliver (born Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) was a U.S. soccer half back who played in the American Soccer League. He is a member of the National Soccer Hall of Fame.

Youth

Born to immigrant Scottish parents, Oliver grew up in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, playing soccer with the Lighthouse Boys Club, winning the 1948 and 1949 U-19 National Championships. [ [http://www.sover.net/~spectrum/juniorcups.html U.S. Junior Cups] ] He also played for the Kensington Blue Bells. Oliver attended Northeast High School in Philadelphia. He also played for the Philadelphia Nationals of the American Soccer League in 1946-1947, scoring thirteen goals in eighteen games. [ [http://www.sover.net/~spectrum/year/1947.html The Year in American Soccer - 1947] ] He attended college at Temple University, playing on the school’s soccer team from 1951 to 1954. In 1951, Oliver was selected as a second team All American as the Temple claimed to be the national champion. This claims rests on dubious grounds as multiple schools had a legitimate claim to the title in the disorganized state of college soccer at the time. [ [http://www.sover.net/~spectrum/year/1951.html The Year in American Soccer – 1951] ] However, the confusion was reduced when in 1953, Oliver was selected as a first team All American and Temple was named the national champion. [ [http://www.sover.net/~spectrum/year/1953.html The Year in American Soccer – 1953] ] Oliver was selected for the second year in a row as first team All American in 1954, his senior season.

enior amateur/professional

After graduating from Temple, Oliver began playing as an amateur with Uhrik Truckers in the American Soccer League. The Truckers took the 1955 and 1956 ASL championships, but Oliver broke his leg during the 1955-1956 season. In 1958, he was drafted into the U.S. Army. Being stationed in Ludlow, Massachusetts, he played half a season with the Ludlow Lusitano, the local ASL team. He was then transferred to San Francisco, California where he played for the amateur San Francisco Mercury, an ethnic Russian team. Following his discharge from the Army in 1959, he signed with Baltimore Pompei. Oliver was a 1960 All Star, but Pompeii folded in 1961. Records do not reveal whether or not he continued to play for a team after that year. However, he did play for the U.S. soccer team which finished 0-4 at the Football at the 1963 Pan American Games

Coach and referee

In his later life, Oliver also became a coach and referee.

He was inducted into the National Soccer Hall of Fame in 1996 and the Philadelphia Old Timers Hall of Fame in 1998.

External links

* [http://www.soccerhall.org/RNO%20-%20WATN/LenOliver_WATN.htm National Soccer Hall of Fame]

References