Charles Martin Colombo (July 20, 1920 – May 7, 1986) was an American

soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 Football player, players who almost exclusively use their feet to propel a Ball (association football), ball around a rectangular f ...

player who earned 11

cap A cap is a flat headgear, usually with a visor. Caps have crowns that fit very close to the head. They made their first appearance as early as 3200 BC. The origin of the word "cap" comes from the Old French word "chapeau" which means "head co ...

s as center-half for the

United States men's national soccer team The United States men's national soccer team (USMNT), officially recognized as USA by FIFA, represents the United States in men's international Association football, soccer. The team is governed by the United States Soccer Federation, which is ...

. He is a member of the

National Soccer Hall of Fame The National Soccer Hall of Fame is a public-private partnership among FC Dallas, the City of Frisco, Frisco Independent School District, and the U.S. Soccer Federation, and currently located in Toyota Stadium (Texas), Toyota Stadium in Frisco, T ...

. He also played for the United States at the

1948 Summer Olympics The 1948 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XIV Olympiad and officially branded as London 1948, were an international multi-sport event held from 29 July to 14 August 1948 in London, United Kingdom. Following a twelve-year hiatus cau ...

Biography

Born and raised in The Hill area of

St. Louis, Missouri St. Louis ( , sometimes referred to as St. Louis City, Saint Louis or STL) is an Independent city (United States), independent city in the U.S. state of Missouri. It lies near the confluence of the Mississippi River, Mississippi and the Miss ...

, Colombo played professionally for St. Louis Simpkins-Ford, winning

National Challenge Cup The Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup, commonly known as the U.S. Open Cup (USOC), is a knockout cup competition in men's soccer in the United States. It is the country's oldest ongoing national soccer competition. The competition was first held duri ...

medals with them in 1948 and 1950. He was known as "Gloves" because he always wore gloves when he played, regardless of the weather. Colombo played for the U.S. team from 1948 to 1952, including the 1–0 upset victory over

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

in the

1950 FIFA World Cup The 1950 FIFA World Cup was the 4th edition of the FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international Association football, football championship for senior men's national teams. It was held in Brazil from 24 June to 16 July 1950. It was the first Wo ...

, in which his foul against

Blackpool Blackpool is a seaside town in Lancashire, England. It is located on the Irish Sea coast of the Fylde peninsula, approximately north of Liverpool and west of Preston, Lancashire, Preston. It is the main settlement in the Borough of Blackpool ...

forward Stanley Mortensen in the second half gave England the chance to tie the game. The header from the resulting free kick came very close to scoring a goal, but was saved by goalkeeper

Frank Borghi Frank Borghi (April 9, 1925 – February 2, 2015) was an American soccer player who earned nine caps at goalkeeper for the national team. He played in the team's famous 1–0 victory against England in the 1950 FIFA World Cup. Athletic car ...

at the last second. The day after U.S. victory, Colombo was offered an opportunity to play professional soccer in

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

, but he turned it down and returned to his St. Louis club team. He later became the coach of the St. Louis Ambrose team. He is buried in Old Saints Peter and Paul Catholic Cemetery, in

St Louis St. Louis ( , sometimes referred to as St. Louis City, Saint Louis or STL) is an Independent city (United States), independent city in the U.S. state of Missouri. It lies near the confluence of the Mississippi River, Mississippi and the Miss ...

Missouri Missouri (''see #Etymology and pronunciation, pronunciation'') is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it border ...

References

National Soccer Hall of Fame profile
* Cirino Antonio (Tony): US Soccer Vs The World, Damon Press 1983 – 1920 births 1986 deaths United States men's international soccer players Olympic soccer players for the United States Footballers at the 1948 Summer Olympics Footballers at the 1952 Summer Olympics 1950 FIFA World Cup players National Soccer Hall of Fame members St. Louis Simpkins-Ford players Soccer players from St. Louis American men's soccer players Men's association football central defenders 20th-century American sportsmen {{US-footy-defender-1920s-stub