Billy Gonsalves pushed for Buff Donelli to be included in the U.S. national team, and Donelli scored every goal for the U.S. in a 4-2 victory over Mexico in a playoff match in Rome May 24, 1934. Three days later, Italy took a 3-0 halftime lead before Donelli’s 57th-minute conversion.
It seemed strange that FIFA would require two CONCACAF teams to travel to Italy to contest a play-in match, especially since a Trans-Atlantic voyage involved several weeks. If the U.S.-Mexico game had been considered part of the World Cup, Donelli would have tied with Czechoslovakia’s Oldrich Nejedly for the Golden Boot with five goals. [Read more…] about May 27, 1934 – Aldo (Buff) Donelli scores only goal for U.S. in World Cup opener