Buff 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.
If the U.S.-Mexico game had been considered part of the World Cup finals, Donelli would have tied with Czechoslovakia’s Oldrich Nejedly for the Golden Boot with five goals. [Read more…] about May 27, 1934 – Italy 7:1 U.S., World Cup at Stadio Nazionale PNF (Att.: 25,000)
Buff Donelli also scored for the U.S. in its 1934 World Cup match, a 7-1 loss to Italy on May 27, 1934. Donelli starred for Pittsburgh area soccer teams from the 1920s through ’40s, and also coached and played for the Pittsburgh Steelers of the NFL, later coaching Boston University’s football team.
Former U.S. national team teammates Billy Gonsalves (Brooklyn Hispano) and Aldo “Buff” Donelli (Morgan) were matched in the National Challenge Cup (U.S. Open Cup) final. Gonsalves, 35, won for the eighth time in his final U.S. Open Cup final. Donelli, 36, “played a great game for the Strassers, but he was not well supported,” his teammates including his brother, Fred Donelli. (The Boston Globe). Buff Donelli also coached the Cleveland Rams of the NFL in 1944 and went on to coach Columbia and Boston University in football. [Read more…] about May 14, 1944 – Brooklyn Hispano 4:0 Morgan Strasser, U.S. Open Cup final at Polo Grounds (Att.: 12,000)
The German SC (Castle Shannon, Pa.) team included Aldo “Buff” Donelli, the U.S. national team’s star striker during the 1934 World Cup, who would go on to play and coach the Pittsburgh Steelers, also coaching Boston University and Columbia football teams. Castle Shannon fell to eventual champion Sparta Garden City in the semifinals. South Sides (St. Louis) Alex McNab played for six successive National Challenge Cup (U.S. Open Cup) champions, starting with Fall River in 1930. [Read more…] about Feb. 20, 1938 – South Sides (St. Louis) 2:4 German SC, U.S. Open Cup quarterfinals
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
The U.S. team for 1934 World Cup had a strong New England influence, including Eddie Czerkiewicz, Walter Dick, Tommy Florie, Joe Martinelli (Pawtucket Rangers); Billy Gonsalves and Werner “Scotty” Nilsen (Stix, Baer & Fuller); Tom Lynch (Brooklyn Celtics). Also listed was A. Donelli (Curry FC, Pittsburgh). [Read more…] about April 11, 1934 – U.S. Soccer Squad of 18 Selected – for World Cup