1. Adelino William Gonsalves was an American soccer player, sometimes described as the "Babe Ruth of American Soccer".
22 Facts About Billy Gonsalves
1. 2.
Billy Gonsalves spent over 25 years playing in various American professional leagues and was a member of the US squad at the FIFA World Cup in 1930 and 1934.
3.
Billy Gonsalves is a member of the National Soccer Hall of Fame.
4.
An excellent athlete, Billy Gonsalves boxed and played both baseball and soccer as a boy.
5.
When he was fourteen, Billy Gonsalves began playing for Pioneer, a local amateur team.
6.
Billy Gonsalves then went on to play for Charlton Mill and Liberal.
7.
Nineteen years old at the time, Billy Gonsalves joined a team which had taken second in the ASL the previous season and was stocked with talented international players.
8.
Billy Gonsalves went on to find the net six times in his next twenty games.
9.
Billy Gonsalves spent one more season with the 'Wonder Workers' before moving to the Fall River FC of his hometown in 1929.
10.
In 1933 Alex McNab, a former teammate who was coaching Stix, Baer and Fuller FC of the St Louis Soccer League contacted Billy Gonsalves and offered him a contract.
11.
That year, Billy Gonsalves added another National Cup title to his resume, this time with his new team.
12.
In 1935, Billy Gonsalves moved, this time to the St Louis Shamrocks.
13.
In October 1937, Billy Gonsalves quit the Shamrocks and signed with St Patrick's.
14.
In February 1938, Billy Gonsalves was back in the SLSL with South Side Radio.
15.
Billy Gonsalves finished the season with the South Siders before moving to Chicago Manhattan Beer.
16.
Billy Gonsalves spent only one season with the Scots before moving to Brooklyn Hispano.
17.
Uncharacteristically for him, Billy Gonsalves spent the next five seasons with Brooklyn.
18.
In 1947, Billy Gonsalves left Hispano to play for the Newark Germans of the lower division German American Soccer League.
19.
In 1948, the team became known simply as Newark FC Billy Gonsalves remained with the team until his retirement from playing professionally in 1952.
20.
Billy Gonsalves played six times for the United States, including the first two FIFA World Cups in 1930 and 1934.
21.
Billy Gonsalves scored one goal for the US national team.
22.
Billy Gonsalves was part of the inaugural induction class into the United States National Soccer Hall of Fame in 1950.