1979

1979 belonged to the Green White Junior team coached by Simon Andres. The team was populated with familiar Green White names like Laxgang, Blaas, Wagner, Stadler, Andres, Dunkas, and Bischoff, and they won the league championship, the city championship, and the Schwaben tournament. Several of those players would become mainstays on the Green White first team in the years to come.

The first team wasn't quite as successful in 1979, finishing in the middle of the pack of the Major Division. Frank Speth led the team with 20 goals, and Hans Mayer added another nine. The team had a much better season indoors, coming just shy of winning of the championship.

One other Green White team, however, did not fall shy of their goal. The Green White Women's Team, led by Maria Blaas, finished their season in first place with a record of 10-2-2.



Green White Off The Field



Susie Zimmer represented the club as Miss Green White at the 15th annual Sport, Radio & Press Ball at the Bismarck Hotel Ballroom. The Conant High School senior noted in the program that "Practically all my time is spent at the soccer fields because I love the sport so much." Susie shared space in the program with that night's special guest of honor, Chicago Cubs broadcaster Jack Brickhouse, as well as the dignitaries who sent well wishes including former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, and German National Team coach Helmut Schoen. The biggest prize of the night, Junior Team of the Year, was won by Green White.

One former Green White player, Joe Filian, was meanwhile enjoying his time playing professional soccer in the NASL as a member of the New York Cosmos. Among his teammates, the legendary Franz Beckenbauer. That's Joe with the big afro in the back row, good ol' #27...




Green White Babies

*Future first team player Bunnyray Larmond was born on December 4th.


In Pop Culture

*The number song of the year was "My Sharona" by The Knack

*The Academy Award for best picture was given to "Kramer vs. Kramer"

*The top rated television show of 1979 was "60 Minutes"


Elsewhere in 1979



~Nearly twenty inches of snow fell in one weekend in Chicago; one of the biggest storms in city history.

~The Shah of Iran fled his country and was replaced by Ayatollah Khomeini. Militants seized the U.S. Embassy and held Americans hostage.

~An accident at Three Mile Island Nuclear Plant released radiation in Pennsylvania

~Margaret Thatcher became the Prime Minister of Great Britain.

~Pope John Paul II visited the United States, including Chicago. He performed mass in front of an overflow crowd of worshippers in Grant Park.






Coming next month: 1980.

As always, if you have any thing to add or correct in this month’s installment, please drop me a line at amishrick@yahoo.com. I consider this a group project, and a work in progress, so we can add and subtract until we get it all exactly correct. If you have photos you’d like to contribute, please do.

1978

1978 was the year of the old-timer at Green White. The first team had a fine season--they finished with a winning record--but the old timers (known as the Alte Herren) dominated. They were managed by Alex Gyurko (photo) and they only lost two games all year. At the time, old timers were defined generally as anyone over 30 years old, and while some were just barely over the threshold, others were not. A few of the best players (including Stefan Zimmer and Joe Laxgang) joined an all-star team of Alte Herren, and took that team back to Germany. America's Alte Herren and Germany's Alte Herren had a great time and made some lifelong friends.



Back in Chicago the Green White Juniors, led by Frank Speth (15 goals) had another good season, but they were eclipsed by the work of the Green White Juveniles managed by Martin Schneider (photo below). The Juveniles shredded their way through the league, making it all the way to the National League finals. They lost the title game to the Chicago Kickers, but considering this was their first season in the A division, it was considered a remarkable achievement.



Green White Off the Field

The executive board of Green White remained the same in 1978. In his year-end address to the board, Green White president Hans Metzinger said exactly the right words. Recording Secretary Franz Stadler captured his short and sweet speech nearly verbatim. "I'd like to thank everyone who worked hard for us this year--all the members, board members, and workers--but most importantly, I want to thank my wife Annie."

Smart man.

Miss Green White in 1978 was Linda Mehler, and she competeted for the crown of Miss Soccer at the Sepp Herberger Sport, Radio & Press Ball in November. It was a star studded event, featuring a couple of very special guests. If a fight had broken out no-one would have been surprised because the guests of honor that night were famous boxers; former heavyweight champ Max Schmeling (who was visiting from Germany), and former middleweight champ Tony Zale (who was visiting all the way from Gary, Indiana). The program book features a photo of Max Schmeling with another guest of honor that night; Chicago Sting soccer coach Willi Roy.


Green White Babies


*Born on 4/5/1978, future first team and reserve standout Robert Czop



Elsewhere in Soccer

The 1978 World Cup was held in Argentina, and the home team managed to make it to the finals against the runner up from 1974, Holland. (The Germans were knocked out early by the Austrians--probably their worst showing in World Cup history). When the final piece of confetti fell, the Argentinians were the champions for the very first time.




In Pop Culture

*The #1 song of 1978 was "Shadow Dancing" by Andy Gibb.

*The Academy Award for best picture was awarded to "The Deer Hunter"

*The top rated show on television was "Laverne and Shirley"


Elsewhere in 1978

~The Chicago Daily News, a fixture in Chicago since 1875, published it's final issue. Among the journalists who found themselves unemployed was Pulitzer Prize winning columnist Mike Royko. He moved to the Sun Times after the Daily News shut its doors.

~Velcro was put on the market for the first time.

~The comic strip Garfield debuted.

~Three Popes reigned in 1978. Pope Paul VI died in August. Pope John Paul I replaced him, but died only a few months later. He was replaced by the first Polish Pope, Pope John Paul II.




Coming next month: 1979.

As always, if you have any thing to add or correct in this month’s installment, please drop me a line at amishrick@yahoo.com. I consider this a group project, and a work in progress, so we can add and subtract until we get it all exactly correct. If you have photos you’d like to contribute, please do.

1977

Rudi Mayer returned to the team and was named as the second best player in the league at the Sepp Herberger Awards. But by 1977 it was becoming obvious that Green White's accomodations didn't quite live up to some of their competitors. While Schwaben AC had a lush grass field, cluhouse, and banquet hall in Buffalo Grove, Green White was still making do with their north side Chicago clubhouse and the field at Welles Park.

Many of the original Green White members had since moved out to the suburbs and they continued to make the trek into the city, but it was becoming more and more of a burden. But that was nothing compared to what the players had to deal with playing on that soccer field.

“When we played at Welles Park," Klaus Kilian remembers, "we were right across from a church, and the priest would come out there and complain because we were playing on Sundays, and he didn’t like us interrupting his service. ‘Could you guys keep it down!’”

The park district was having a very hard maintaining the fields, and soccer clearly wasn't a priority for them.

"We played on fields that had everything on them except green grass," Hans Metzinger Jr. remembers. "It was not uncommon for both teams to line up together, single file, and clear the field of all debris left from the previous night."

"I never forget those pregame field trash collections at Welles Park," current over-40 coach John Dunkas concurs. "But don't forget the indoor fields. I remember getting a tetanus shot after playing at the Chicago Armory because the field was shared by a stable of horses."

As the 1970s were winding down, so was Green White's time in the neighborhood. It would be another five years before they found new fields, but the rumbling had surely begun.


Green White Youth

1977 marked the beginning of Helmut Filian's youth coaching career with Green White. He was the coach of the Midget A team, a team that he probably didn't quite realize at the time had the makings of greatness.

The Junior team was led by Konrad Meschbach. His oldest son Robert was now a mainstay on the first team, but his younger son Richard was a member of the Junior team.




Green White Off The Field

The Green White Board was led by president Hans Metzinger, but he was joined by the veritable who's who of Green White history. Among the other names that year, Martin Schneider, Franz Fernbach, Franz Stadler, Horst Melcher, Fritz Becker, and Josef Schuster.

Miss Green White in 1977 was Marianne Schmidt.


Green White Babies

Future Green White player Sean Connor was born in 1977. Don't ask what his first word was.


In Pop Culture

~The number one song in the country was "Tonight's the Night" by Rod Stewart.

~"Annie Hall" won the Academy Award for best picture.

~The top rated television show in America was "Laverne & Shirley"


Elswhere in 1977

~Gary Gilmore was executed by a firing squad in Utah, marking the first execution in America since the death penalty had been reinstated.

~Roots was a cultural phenomenon after airing for the first time on ABC.

~"Star Wars" was released and becomes the highest grossing film of all-time (at that time).

~Elvis Presley died in his home in Memphis at the age of 42. Groucho Marx died three days later at the age of 86. Three members of Lynyrd Synryd died in a plane crash a few months later.

~The Saturday Night Fever soundtrack was released to coincide with the release of the movie, and it became the then biggest selling album of all time.



Coming next month: 1978.

As always, if you have any thing to add or correct in this month’s installment, please drop me a line at amishrick@yahoo.com. I consider this a group project, and a work in progress, so we can add and subtract until we get it all exactly correct. If you have photos you’d like to contribute, please do.

1976

Green White celebrated their 20th anniversary in 1976. The First Team was led by team manager Steve Zimmer, and a few mainstays that played virtually every game in 1976. Hans Marx played in 51 of the 55 (!) games that season, followed closely by goal scoring leader Peter Berger and defensive stopper Hans Metzinger Jr. (Both Berger and Marx were honored at the Sepp Herberger Awards--coming in 2nd and 4th respectively in Player of the Year balloting)

Green White played in no fewer than ten tournaments during the nation's Bicentennial year. They finished in 3rd place in the Memorial Day tournament in Minnesota, won the Real F.C. and Schwaben tournaments in July, and finished in second place to the Fichte Rams in June's Sepp Herberger tournament and August's Fichte Rams tournament.

The First Team was much younger than it had been in previous years as long-time stalwart Joe Laxgang began to wind down his playing days after reaching his 800th game milestone, John Woolfe cut his playing time a bit too, and even Rudi Mayer stepped back from Green White to concentrate on playing for the Chicago Sting. Because of all the tournaments Green White played, names like Willer, Kilian, Zimmer, and Polaretzki (who hit his 400 game milestone in 1976) occasionally graced the lineup sheet, but Green White fans were just as likely to see young pups like Meschbach, Filian, Schmalz, and Mansfield.

Green White Youth

The Junior team finished in second place in the state of Illinois, but they probably remember 1976 for something even more exciting. They went to Europe and played exhibition games in Austria and Germany. Joe Filian, Robert Meschbach, the Speth brothers, Frank Schmalz, and Richard Schneider were among the lucky players who went overseas to show Europe that American boys knew how to play a little soccer too.



Green White Off The Field

On October 16th, 1976, Green White celebrated their 20th anniversary with a big party at the Heim Der Donauschwaben (4219 N. Lincoln Avenue). Team president Hans Metzinger welcomed the attendees with a thank you for everything club members had done, and a plea for their continued use of the Green White clubhouse as the center of their social lives.

He must have been proud to crown Miss Green White that year, his own daughter, Marillac High School Senior Christine Metzinger. Christine was a figure skater (Schlitschuhlauferin).

The Green White board in 1976 featured names that had been a part of the club since the very beginning; Hans Metzinger, Martin Schneider (first VP), Franz Fernbach (second VP), Fritz Becker, Alex Jordan, Peter Berger, Horst Melcher, Toni Kirschner, Heinrich Bischoff, Franz Stadler, Eckhard Kaempfer (in abstentia), Heinrich Wittje, Joseph Schuster, Maria Blass, Maria Zimmer, and Adam Harjung.


Green White Babies

*Future Green White player and Senior Board member Jon Duddles was born in 1976.



Elsewhere in Soccer

The 1976 European Cup was held in Communist Yugolavia. The defending World Cup Champion West German team beat the host nation in the semi-finals before facing Czechoslovakia in the finals. After falling behind 2-0, the West Germans came back to tie the game. At the end of extra time the score was still tied 2-2.

The game went to penalty kicks. Both teams made their first three shots. The Czechs added a fourth. German midfielder Uli Hoeneß stepped up to take the fourth penalty kick for the West Germans, and in a moment that has not been forgotten by his countrymen, kicked it over the goal. The Czechs put in their final shot and won the European Championship.



In Pop Culture

~The number one hit of the year was "Silly Love Songs" by Wings.

~The Academy Award for 1976's Best Picture went to "Rocky"

~The #1 rated show on television was "Happy Days"


Elsewhere in 1976



~If you liked the colors red, white & blue, 1976 was a great year, because the nation celebrated it's bicentennial by painting nearly everything red, white and blue. In Washington, D.C. a huge celebration was presided over by President Ford and televised nationally. His guest that night was Queen Elizabeth. Walter Cronkite hosted a sixteen hour special on July 4th, which featured a large international fleet of tall-masted sailing ships gathering in New York City.

~Because of the bicentennial, every major sports league's All Star Game was held in Philadelphia.

~In the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal, Nadia Comaneci scored a perfect 10.

~In November Jimmy Carter was elected the 39th President of the United States.

~And in the Chicago area, television's Vinnie Barbarino (John Travolta) appeared with WLS disc jockey John Records Landecker at the Woodfield Mall in Schaumburg. Organizers expected 3000 fans. More than 30,000 screaming teenage girls flooded the mall. Travolta wowed the girls with his catch phrases: "What?" "Why?" "Where?"




Coming next month: 1977.

As always, if you have any thing to add or correct in this month’s installment, please drop me a line at amishrick@yahoo.com. I consider this a group project, and a work in progress, so we can add and subtract until we get it all exactly correct. If you have photos you’d like to contribute, please do.

1975

1975 was an eventful year for Green White. Led by manager Steve Zimmer and president Hans Metzinger, the first team had a very good season. In August the first ever Donauschaben Tournament was held in Akron Ohio. Teams of similar Danube Schwabian descent from all over the country battled it out on the soccer field. Green White was undefeated and unscored upon in those games, and were scheduled to play in the finals against Cleveland but it was cancelled because of heavy rain. At the end of the weekend tournament, after tabulating the goal differential, Green White was awarded the championship trophy. The tournament is still held annually, and Green White continues to participate.

If you were present for the First Team game on September 7th, 1975, you saw Green White past, present, and future all on the field at the same time.

Two youngsters made their First Team debut that day, according to the meticulous records kept by club archivist Andreas Laxgang. Joe Filian started at midfield and Robert Meschbach started at striker. Both of these teenagers would later go on to play professional soccer, but on this day they shared the field with the Green White greats that came before them. Long-time players John Woolfe, Joe Laxgang and Nick Willer all played that day, as did the current stars of the team, Hans Mayer, Rudi Mayer, Peter Berger, and Hardy Ritter, along with longtime Green White names like Wirs, Schuster, and Wittje. The three generations of Green White players battled to a 2-2 tie against O.H. United in Lane Tech Stadium.

1975 also marked the first season for the professional Chicago Sting. The Sting recruited Green White's captain, Rudi Mayer, to be a part of that team (bottom row, far left). The Sting would remain an important part of the soccer landscape in Chicago for next decade.



While Rudi was showing Chicago and America what soccer could be, a collection of all-star Old Timers from the German teams in Chicago went on a tour of Germany to show their former countrymen the old guys still had what it took to kick the ball around. Among the players on that all-star team were Green White's very own Steve Zimmer and Joe Laxgang.

And the Green White ladies team showed what they were made of as well. In the summer tournament at the Schwaben Center, the Green White ladies team made it all the way to the finals before losing 2-0 to the Chicago Kickers in the final game.



Green White Off The Field

Brigitte Maria Kiefer was named Miss Green White and represented the club at the annual Sepp Herberger Sport, Radio & Press Ball. Green White's Junior Team (which featured the likes of Filian, Meschbach, and the next decade's First Team starters) was awarded the Junior Team of the year award.

Green White's Rudi Mayer was awarded the Sepp Herberger trophy for Player of the Year, and First Team goaltender Hardy Ritter finished in third place for that same award.


In Pop Culture

~The #1 song of the year was "Love Will Keep Us Together" by Captain & Tennille

~The top rated show on television was "All in the Family"

~The Academy Award for Best Picture of 1975 went to "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest", but "Jaws" was the big winner at the box office.


Elsewhere in 1975

~In John Wooden's final game as coach, UCLA won their 10th NCAA championship of the past 12 years.

~Frank Robinson became the first African American manager in baseball (Cleveland Indians). Bill Veeck bought the White Sox.

~The U.S. evacuated US citizens from Saigon prior to an expected North Vietnamese takeover, and U.S. involvement in the war officially came to an end.

~Cher divorced Sonny Bono.

~Teamsters President Jimmy Hoffa disappeared in suburban Detroit.

~Lynette "Squeaky" Fromme is unsuccessful in her assassination attempt against President Ford in Sacramento.

~Patty Hearst was captured by the FBI after being kidnapped, and then participating in several bank robberies.




Coming next month: 1976. America celebrates a Bicentennial and Green White celebrates their 20th anniversary.

As always, if you have any thing to add or correct in this month’s installment, please drop me a line at amishrick@yahoo.com. I consider this a group project, and a work in progress, so we can add and subtract until we get it all exactly correct. If you have photos you’d like to contribute, please do.

1974

The 1974 season might not have been the best in league play for Green White's first team (they finished in the middle of the pack), but the summer of 1974 was packed with tournaments around the area, out of state, and even out of the country.

Once again led by the Mayer brothers (Captain Rudi scored 17, his brother Hans scored 16), Green White fared well in the Minneapolis tournament at the end of May, and then came back to Chicago and played well in the tournament at the brand new Schwaben Center in Buffalo Grove.

The first team had some fun during that tournament, letting the players try out different postions. In one game defender Konrad Kirschner (photo below) played in the goal. Coach Stefan Zimmer got back in the first team lineup during that same tournament. In another tournament Stefan Strumberger made a return appearance in goal (after a long absence from first team play) so that keeper Hardy Ritter could get some time on offense. They wrapped up their tour of the continent over Labor Day weekend, when the club made the trip up to Canada, and dominated the Canadian team from Windsor.



1974 also marked yet another milestone for club mainstay Joe Laxgang. He played in his 700th game in a Green White uniform. He must have felt at home on the field, because he was playing alongside long-time teammates Nick Willer and John Woolfe during that historic game. Green White won the game 3-2 versus the Fichte Rams on a late goal by Gary Kaiser.


Green White Youth

While the first team had fun, the Green White youth teams took care of business. In one of the best seasons in Green White youth soccer history, both the Juneniles team and the Midgets won the city and state championships. The Juveniles were led by coach Simon Andres and his star players Frank Schmaltz, Frank Speth, and a player who still plays for Green White today: John Dunkas.

The midget club (photo below) featured some of the long-time names associated with the team since it's beginning, including two sons of Coach Franz Stadler (Walter & Ricky), two Laxgangs (Marcus & Ricky, sons of Stefan and Joe), Michael Blaas (also a cousin of the Laxgang boys), Mike Schmaltz (little brother of Frank), Richard Schneider (son of club founder Martin), Toni Harjung (son of original member Adam), and Eckhard Kaempfer's son--yet another Ricky (There were six boys named Richard on this team). The Kaempfers moved to Germany in December of 1974.




Green White Off The Field



There was a changing of the guard in the executive suite of Green White in 1974. Hans Metzinger became Green White's president, a position he would hold off and on for the next thirty years.

Miss Green White in 1974 was 18-year-old Hildegard Schneider. Hilde was an honor student at Loyola University.


Green White Babies

*Future Green White player and current Green White board member Robert Stadler was born on May 9, 1974.


Other Soccer News from 1974

The Green White clubhouse was abuzz during the summer of 1974 as the World Cup was held in West Germany. The German team was led by captain Franz Beckenbauer and star striker Gerd Mueller, and they won it all, defeating Holland in the final game 2-1 to win their second World Cup Championship.




In Pop Culture

*The number one song of the year was "The Way We Were" by Barbra Streisand

*The Best Picture of the year was "Godfather II". The biggest hit at the box office was "Blazing Saddles".

*The top show on television was once again "All in the Family"


Elsewhere in 1974



*President Richard Nixon resigned his office, and Gerald Ford was sworn in as the 38th President of the United States. He remains the only president in history that was never elected vice president or president.

*In April, Hank Aaron hit his 715th home run, moving ahead of Babe Ruth as baseball's all-time home run king.

*In August, rock star Peter Wolf (The JGeils Band) married movie star Faye Dunaway in one of the big celebrity events of the year.

*In October, Muhammad Ali defeated George Foreman in the "Rumble in the Jungle" to regain his Heavyweight title.

*In November John Lennon made his final on-stage appearance. He came on during the encore of Elton John's concert at Madison Square Garden to perform with Elton.


Next month: 1975

As always, if you have any thing to add or correct in this month’s installment, please drop me a line at amishrick@yahoo.com. I consider this a group project, and a work in progress, so we can add and subtract until we get it all exactly correct. If you have photos you’d like to contribute, please do.

1973

A few Green White players reached milestones during the 1973, including Rudi Mayer (below right) who played in his 200th game with the club, and Nick Willer who made the exclusive 500-game club, but 1973 really belonged to Rudi's younger brother Hansi (below left). The former star of the Green White youth program was now showing his stuff with the First Team.

Green White played a 2-3-5 lineup which was common at that time. There were several different starting lineups, but the team that donned the Green and White most often looked like this: Hardi Ritter in the goal. Fladischer and Kirschner in the back. Joe Laxgang, Kelm, and Marks in the midfield. And the strong front five of Hansi Mayer, Team Captain Rudi Mayer, Mathes, Michajlovitsch, and Drace. (Others that contributed to the First Team in 1973, often in the starting lineup themselves were Berger, Ratschan, Lehman, Willer, Kaiser, Pressling, Wittje, Schuster, and the ever-present John Woolfe.)



Peter Mathes led the team in scoring, but when the dust settled after the 1973 season, only one player stood on the stage to accept the Player of the Year award: Hansi Mayer.

The award was presented at the annual Sport, Radio & Press ball (in the Golden Tiara Ballroom at 3231 N. Cicero in Chicago) by the German National Team coach, Helmut Schoen. Also on hand, "World Cup Willi" Schultz, the recently retired star of the 1970 German World Cup team.

The Green White first team didn't compete for the title, but they stayed in the Major Division, while the Eagles and Maroons were relegated.


Green White Youth Teams

The 70s belonged to the Green White youth program, and they were strong once again in 1973 at every single level. One group of boys featured long time players like Frank Schmidt Jr., Frank Olah, Mike Weiss, Hans Metzinger Jr., Mike Bappert, and Steve Marx.

Some of the former Midgets team had moved up an age group, and they dominated there too led by Frank Schmaltz, Frank Speth, Robert Klaus, and Mike Hrbacek (who led the team in goals).



And the Midgets finished in 1st place again. The strong team featured the boys in the photo above; Richard Schneider, Mike Blaas, Marcus Laxgang, Peter Wagner, and Robert Bless


Green White Off the Field

Martin Schneider served as President for the final time in 1973. The man who had helped organize and found the team in 1956 would turn over the reigns the following year. The club was more than 300 strong, and membership at the time cost a whopping $15.

Miss Green White made history. She was not only Miss Green White, she was also one of the players on the women's team. 18 year old Eva Stengel from Good Counsel High School announced in her speech that she planned to study nursing.

The Green White ladies club also staged a "mod dance" for which most of the men grew mustaches. Some of them never shaved them off.


1973 Green White Babies



*Jeff Feicthl (photo)

*Current Green White First Team Coach Jason (Jake) Truty


In Pop Culture

*All in the Family remained the #1 television show in the country. It kicked off the Saturday night lineup on CBS, which is still probably the strongest single night lineup in television history (M*A*S*H, Mary Tyler Moore Show, Bob Newhart Show, and the Carol Burnett show)

*The number one song of the year was "Tie a Yellow Ribbon" by Tony Orlando & Dawn. (Spoiler alert: there were a hundred yellow ribbons round the old oak tree.)


Elsewhere in 1973



~Elvis Presley did the first world-wide broadcast hosted by an entertainer. His concert from Hawaii drew more viewers than the moon landing in 1969.

~Pink Floyd released one of the biggest selling albums in history; "Dark Side of the Moon".

~All afterschool specials were pre-empted to present the Watergate hearings. Impeachment talk started after President Nixon ordered Attorney General Elliot Richardson to dismiss Watergate Special Prosecutor Archibald Cox. Richardson refused and resigned, along with Deputy Attorney General William Ruckelshaus. Solicitor General Robert Bork, third in line at the Department of Justice, then fired Cox.

~Roe vs. Wade was decided by the Supreme Court.

~The first designated hitter batted in the Major Leagues; Ron Bloomberg of the Yankees.

~Secretariat won horseracing's Triple Crown.


Coming next month: 1974.

As always, if you have any thing to add or correct in this month’s installment, please drop me a line at amishrick@yahoo.com. I consider this a group project, and a work in progress, so we can add and subtract until we get it all exactly correct. If you have photos you’d like to contribute, please do.