Jim Leeker (born

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 ...

) is a former U.S.

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 and the current president of the St. Louis Soccer Hall of Fame. He was the 1970

North American Soccer League The North American Soccer League (NASL) was the top-level major professional soccer league in the United States and Canada that operated from 1968 to 1984. It is considered the first soccer league to be successful on a national scale in the ...

Rookie of the Year and went on to play a total of three seasons in the league. In 1965, Leeker joined

St. Louis Kutis S.C. St. Louis Kutis Soccer Club, better known as St. Louis Kutis, is an amateur American soccer club in St. Louis, Missouri. Founded in 1947 as the "St. Louis Raiders", the club was known as "Paul Schulte" during the 1948–49 season, "McMahon's" dur ...

He then went on to attend

St. Louis University Saint Louis University (SLU) is a private Jesuit research university in St. Louis, Missouri, United States. Founded in 1818 by Louis William Valentine DuBourg, it is the oldest university west of the Mississippi River and one of the oldest ...

where he played on the men's soccer team from 1966 to 1969. In 1969, Leeker and his teammates won the NCAA Men's Soccer Championship. In 1970, Leeker signed with the St. Louis Stars of the

(NASL). That year, he played in twenty-two games and scored five goals as he was named the NASL Rookie of the Year. On March 19, 1971, Leeker scored the first goal in NASL

indoor Indoor(s) may refer to: *the interior of a building *Indoor environment, in building science, traditionally includes the study of indoor thermal environment, indoor acoustic environment, indoor light environment, and indoor air quality *Built envi ...

history in the eighth minute of the opening match of the NASL's "Hoc-Soc" Tournament played at the

St. Louis Arena St. Louis Arena (known as the Checkerdome from 1977 to 1983) was an indoor arena in St. Louis, Missouri. The country's second-largest indoor entertainment venue when it opened in 1929, it was home to the St. Louis Blues and other sports franchis ...

. He continued to play for the Stars until 1972 when he left the NASL. After leaving the Stars, Leeker rejoined St. Louis Kutis where he was named the 1972 Khoury Professional Player of the Year. Leeker was inducted into the St. Louis Soccer Hall of Fame in 1998.

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NASL stats
1947 births Living people American men's soccer players Saint Louis University alumni Saint Louis Billikens men's soccer players North American Soccer League (1968–1984) players North American Soccer League (1968–1984) indoor players Soccer players from St. Louis St. Louis Stars (soccer) players St. Louis Kutis S.C. players Men's association football forwards 20th-century American sportsmen {{US-footy-forward-1940s-stub