The USA soccer team lost 2-3 to Canada in a World Cup qualification match in St. Louis on 7 July 1957. The USA was represented by local soccer club Kutis Club (now known as St. Louis Kutis SC). Kutis Club was considered the best soccer team in the USA at that time, having won the St. Louis Major Soccer League three years in a row and the National Cup and the Amateur Cup two years in a row (1956-1957). And with the US Soccer Federation incapable of recruiting, coaching, and fielding a diverse team of players they turned to Kutis Club to represent the USA.
The Canadians took a 3-0 first half lead on goals by Brian Philley, Ostap Steckiw, and BC Hall of Famer Gordon ‘Gogie’ Stewart. Philley and Gogie had a barnstorming summer of soccer in 1957, defeating Tottenham Hotspur 2-0 in June (Gogie also scored in that match) in British Columbia and team USA in St. Louis in July. Both Gogie and Philley were forwards while Ostap Steckiw played in midfield. Steckiw was a Ukrainian born Canadian immigrant and only managed one cap for Canada, this one, where he scored.
The USA mounted a comeback in the second half thanks to goals from Ruben Mendoza and Jimmy (James) Murphy.
Mendoza is a hall of fame St. Louis Soccer player who had a wonderful career playing soccer in the USA. Known for his bicycle kick, Mendoza helped Kutis Club win nearly every competition available to them. At the time though, there were very limited options for trophies in the USA. Sadly, Mendoza only got 4 caps for the USA – all of them in the 1957 qualification season – and only scored 2 goals.
Jimmy Murphy went on to be elected Sheriff of St. Louis in 1988. In 2010 he was found liable for racial bias in his department when three of his white deputies hung a noose in the courthouse in 2006 and he refused to take the noose down, saying it was “a joke”. St. Louis paid the two plaintiffs $850,000 in damages. Murphy was not found liable for retaliation and pledged to “make changes” in the department.
In 2011 Murphy fired deputy Sheriff Vernon Betts (Betts is African American) for violating a departmental order that deputy sheriffs are not allowed to run for sheriff. Betts had told Murphy he planned to run for office in 2010. Murphy knew that Betts was a popular figure in the community and wrote the order to block deputies from running for office in 2011. Murphy lifted the ban and defeated Betts in the 2012 primary. Betts went on to win the primary in 2016 and served as Sheriff of St. Louis until 2024 when he was narrowly defeated by his own deputy sheriff Alfred Montgomery. Betts had fired Montgomery in 2019, which Montgomery claims happened because he was running for sheriff.
The number one movie in the USA on 7 July 1957 was the Jules Verne classic Around the World in 80 Days! This film was directed by the late great Michael Anderson, who also directed Logan’s Run. Anderson won an academy award for Around the World in 80 Days. Anderson would later go on to become a Canadian citizen when he married Adrienne Ellis.
The number one song in the USA was (Let me be) Your Teddy Bear by Elvis Presley. The B-side was Loving You which was the title track from the eponymous film starring Elvis. Loving You would fail to unseat Around the World in 80 Days which would stay number one at the box office off and on until the Brando vehicle, Sayonara, in January 1958.
