Category Archives: Washington State Legends of Soccer

A Long Overdue Ode to Billy McGrath

I’d like to introduce you to someone exceptional, also someone gone too soon. You’re going to meet a man who, in retrospect, might have been Washington’s first to be enshrined in the National Soccer Hall of Fame. Instead, his tale is a tragic one, where an individual’s flaw unfortunately proved fatal: He loved the game too much.

I doubt you know of William Patrick “Billy” McGrath. For that matter, most of our state’s newfound fans of soccer have no clue about Barney Kempton or Vic Weston or Eddie Craggs. All are hall of famers, Greater Seattle’s Mr. Soccer of their day; great players or coaches who, over several decades, were always finding new ways to put this game on proper or firmer footing so that it might survive, grow and become what it was destined to be, what it is today.

William Patrick “Billy” McCrath, ca. 1924

If there’s a Rushmore for Washington’s first 75 years as a footy community, those three – Kempton, Weston and Craggs – would have their faces chiseled into the mountainside. And the fourth position might well have been McGrath. If only, if only.

I first got to know Billy McGrath while scouring the local newspaper archives, discovering and curating content for what I hope to be a lasting and living testament to everyone who has ever contributed to our golden standing in the football world. I’d been asked by a Museum of History and Industry (MOHAI) representative to examine some archival photographs that lacked captions or context. One photo in particular was puzzling and also inviting. It was a wide-angle shot of a game where spectators are surrounding the field seemingly at the edge of a forest, abutting a stand of trees.

Why Play on Easter?

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#KnowYourHistory Just got Easier

In American soccer, it ain’t easy to know your history. So many fits and starts; it’s been a sport interrupted, and often the second act forgets the first.

The WA Legends landing page, designed by Palador.

Locally, unless it’s St. Louis or the swath of pitches stretching from Philadelphia north and east to Boston, soccer’s past is likely buried in an attic, far from public consumption.

That goes for the great soccer state of Washington, as well. We could begin chipping away at our own Rushmore with hall of fame players like Akers, Higgins and Keller, yet most are unaware that five prior inductees were among those who poured the foundation of what was to come.

Nowadays, of course, the multitude of fans supporting Sounders FC are world-class and, consequently, have grabbed the world’s attention and made Washington impossible to ignore. Still, the footing for this fan base, this pipeline of top-class footballers and our undying love for the game has been left unexplored. Until now.

Washington State Legends of Soccer is bringing this history back to life. There’s enough to fill a few hundred pages in a book, but time marches on and more and more history is being made. So, instead WA Legends is telling tales through a legacy platform designed by Seattle’s DCGone. There, visitors from across the globe can dive headlong into a pool of knowledge about Washington, whose roots in the game extend back some 130 years, practically to our territorial days.

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Now Online: The Life of Brian (Schmetzer)

While it was a standing-room, one-night-only affair, you now can absorb all the stories and banter from Brian Schmetzer: This Is Your Life, and do so from a comfortable chair.

In 15 seasons together, Zach Scott (left) and Brian Schmetzer created no shortage of stories. (WA Legends/Corky Trewin photo)

Washington State Legends of Soccer has produced their video of the event, held Feb. 28 at The Market Arms. It’s available, commercial free, in four segments, on the Legends YouTube channel.

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Know Your Schmetzer

Although we know a lot about Brian Schmetzer, come Feb. 28 it’s certain we will know a lot more.

That evening Washington State Legends of Soccer is presenting Brian Schmetzer: This Is Your Life at The Market Arms in Ballard, and the lineup of guests promises to reveal a few more ingredients to the  Schmetz special sauce.

Of course, we are fully aware of his opening act as Sounders FC head coach. You know, when in mid-summer Schmetzer somehow righted a listing ship and steadily steered it through stormy waters, finally bringing home the bounty of an MLS Cup. We are also cognizant that Brian was born and raised in Lake City. It’s what happened along the way in connecting those two events that Tuesday night’s audience will absorb.

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An Invitation to The Life of Brian

It’s pretty obvious why producers created the original This Is Your Life program. Someone attending a wake or memorial wondered why all the good tales are told a tad too late for the honoree.

Hmm, posed the producer. ‘Why not share stories when he’s a man in full, closer to halftime than full-time?’

That’s why the Washington State legends of Soccer believe Feb. 28 is precisely the right time to present, Brian Schmetzer: This Is Your Life.

Courtesy Schmetzer family

There, on the eve of his first full season in charge of Sounders FC – and as MLS Cup holder – Schmetzer’s past will be brought forward to the present by a bunch of friends, family, teammates, coaches and peers. All of this will prompt some undoubtedly juicy accounts. And you’re invited to listen in.

Courtesy Schmetzer family

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