In Loving Memory to Our Legends
We have had a number of deaths of members in 2022 and 2023. The following is a list and many are Hall of Fame members.
Please remember them and their families in your prayers.
JIM POLLIHAN: Jim Pollihan, the ex-Baltimore Blast player and assistant coach and first coach of the Harrisburg Heat passed away on February 12, 2023 at age sixty-eight. He will always be the answer to a trivia question which is “Who scored the very first indoor soccer goal in the United States?” The answer is Jim Pollihan while playing for the New York Arrows on December 22, 1978 against the Cincinnati Kids in the inaugural indoor soccer game. Jim grew up in St. Louis, Missouri and was an outstanding forward and All-American at Quincy College. In 1976, he was drafted by the Rochester Lancers of the North American Professional Soccer League and switched to left back. Jim played for the Lancers for five years against the likes of Pele and the New York Cosmos and other international stars. He was also selected to play for the United Stated Men’s National Team in 1976 and earned fifteen caps in international play. In 1978, professional indoor soccer made its debut and many outdoor players started to play both mainly to earn extra money. Jim played in 1978-79 for the New York Arrows and was on the first indoor championship team. The next year, he moved to the Houston Summit who became the Baltimore Blast and Jim ended up playing six indoor seasons.
By the early eighties, indoor was becoming bigger than the outdoor game and many outdoor stars flocked to the indoor game. Jim went into coaching in 1986 with the Blast and in 1991, he became the first coach of the Harrisburg Heat of the newly formed National Professional Soccer League. Although, he never won a title, the Heat were always a tough opponent and always had a winning record. Jim was voted NPSL coach of the year for 1991 – 1992. In 1999, Jim became the general manager of the Heat and finally left soccer in 2003 to take a job with the State of Pennsylvania but remained active in soccer as a youth coach, referee and players in Old Timers leagues. He is a member of numerous halls of fame and has received countless awards and recognitions throughout his long soccer career. May he rest in peace!
LEE EMORY HOOD: Lee passed away on February 18, 2023. He was a loyal member of the Maryland Old Timers Soccer Association which is now the Maryland Soccer Legends and was the 2010 recipient of the Dr. John A. Schmid Service to Soccer Award. For fifty years, Lee served as a dedicated and tireless worker for the Maryland Soccer community. After his playing days, Lee got into coaching in the Little Flower CYO Leagues and was very successful winning six State Championships, six CYO Championships, a Baltimore City Championship and amassed a 305 – 52 record. Lee also assisted Bernie Reif with the U19 Tom’s Produce team which lost the national Junior Cup final to St. Louis in penalty kicks. In his final year of coaching in 1975, he took the U14 Tom’s Produce team from a losing record to a State Championship over Dundalk winning in overtime. In 1965, Lee was asked by the State Soccer Association to
develop the State Youth Cup program which he did getting sponsors for the trophies for the various age groups. He also accepted the position of Junior Commissioner and was responsible for developing the State and National competitions for the U19 age group. Probably the crowning achievement for Lee was developing soccer programs for girls, From the inaugural U14 competitions the girls programs expanded to all age groups.
The U14 Girl’s State Cup is named after Lee in his memory. Prior to his retirement, Lee worked many years for the Anne Arundel County Department of Recreation and Parks. May he rest in peace!
I would like to right a wrong in the next memorial. Ray (Truss) Truszkowski passed away on April 13, 2022 and I guess with all the planning for the Hall of Fame for 2022 and the golf tournament, his death went unnoticed. I would like to correct that right now.
RAY “TRUSS” TRUZKOWSKI: Ray passed away on April 13th of last year. He was one of the most loyal and hardworking board members of the Maryland Old Timers now Maryland Soccer Legends being with the organization from 1960 to his time of death. Ray played in the amateur leagues of Baltimore in the 1930’s, 40’s and 50’s starting in the St, Elizabeth’s programs and continuing with the Elmo All Stars, Santa Maria, Kelly Buick, Surf Soccer Club and Parkville. Ray played as a forward, both inside and outside, in his early days before transferring to fullback. He was a member of the great Parkville Team in 1952/53 who won the Baltimore Unlimited League in addition to the Rowland and Stewart Cups. After hanging his cleats up in 1960, Ray became very involved in youth and amateur soccer. He assisted in the Sacred Heart of Mary soccer programs in Dundalk and in 1972, he became one of the founding fathers of the Canton Little League Soccer Program. In addition, Ray became the Director of Tournaments for the recreation program in Canton. Under his leadership, Ray organized many tournaments involving not only local teams but teams from out of state and even England. He also arranged for visiting players to stay with local families; thereby involving more people in the soccer experience. Besides his work in soccer, Ray was an overall great athlete; especially in men’s fastpitch softball. He was inducted into the Dundalk Sports Hall of Fame in 1993 and the Maryland Softball Hall of Fame in 1994. To top it off, Ray became a member of the Maryland Soccer Hall of Fame in 1995.
The Maryland Soccer Legends apologizes to the Truzkowski Family for the oversight.
May he rest in peace.
If you know of any members I have missed, please email me their names.
Fran McGrath – mcgrath494@aol.com