Jim Tietjens is a retired 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 ...

goalkeeper In many team sports that involve scoring goal (sport), goals, the goalkeeper (sometimes termed goaltender, netminder, GK, goalie, or keeper) is a designated player charged with directly preventing the opposing team from scoring by blocking or i ...

who played professionally in the

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 ...

, Major Indoor Soccer League and

United Soccer League The United Soccer League (USL) is an organizer of various professional and amateur soccer leagues in the United States league system. It currently organizes its Championship, League One, and League Two for men, its Super League and W Leag ...

. Tietjens graduated from

Oakville High School Oakville High School (formerly Oakville Senior High School) is a public comprehensive high school in Oakville, Missouri that is part of the Mehlville R-9 School District. History The school was developed in the 1970s. At that time the distri ...

. He then attended St. Louis University where he played on the men's soccer team from 1978 and 1979. He was inducted into the Billikens Hall of Fame in 1995. In 1980, he turned professional with the

Fort Lauderdale Strikers Fort Lauderdale Strikers may refer to: *Fort Lauderdale Strikers (1977–1983), member of North American Soccer League from 1977 to 1983 *Fort Lauderdale Strikers (1988–1994) The Fort Lauderdale Strikers were an American soccer team establishe ...

of the

. He spent three season with the Strikers as a backup to

Jan van Beveren Jan van Beveren (; 5 March 1948 – 26 June 2011) was a Dutch footballer and coach, who played as a goalkeeper. Van Beveren was born in Amsterdam, but moved to Emmen as a teenager. After reaching the first team with amateur side VV Emmen in ...

except for two games during his rookie season when injuries put him in the nets. He suffered a knee injury requiring surgery during a February 1983 indoor tournament and remained a backup for the 1983 season. In November 1983, he signed with the Kansas City Comets of the Major Indoor Soccer League. However, he lost much of the early season with a dislocated shoulder then served as a backup for the rest of the season. In May 1984, he signed with the

Fort Lauderdale Sun Fort Lauderdale/South Florida Sun was a professional U.S. soccer team which played two seasons in the United Soccer League. Origins In November 1983, The Fort Lauderdale Strikers of the North American Soccer League, motivated in part by the lack ...

of the

. He led the league with the lowest

goals against average Goals against average (GAA), also known as average goals against (AGA), is a statistic used in field hockey, ice hockey, lacrosse, soccer, and water polo that is the mean of goals allowed per game by a goaltender or goalkeeper (depending on spo ...

. He continued to play for the Sun, now known as the South Florida Sun in 1985. He had the second lowest goals against average. When the team and the league collapsed after six games, Tietjens moved back to St. Louis where he worked for Rawling Sports. In October 1991, Tietjens was diagnosed with a heart problem. In July 1992, Tietjens was given a life saving heart transplant.Transplant helps brother, sister overcome hereditary heart problem
/ref> Jim is currently the Director of Trade Marketing Planning at Anheuser Busch in St. Louis, MO.

Yearly Awards

*USL Top Goalkeeper: 1984

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tietjens, Jim 1960 births Living people Soccer players from St. Louis American men's soccer players Fort Lauderdale Strikers (1977–1983) players Fort Lauderdale Sun players Kansas City Comets (1979–1991) players Major Indoor Soccer League (1978–1992) players North American Soccer League (1968–1984) players North American Soccer League (1968–1984) indoor players Saint Louis Billikens men's soccer players United Soccer League (1984–85) players Men's association football goalkeepers 20th-century American sportsmen