EP 31: Dave Lange and Ernesto Milani present "Commemorating St. Louis Italian American players on the 1950 World Cup team"

On Friday, September 5 at 12 pm ET,  Dave Lange was joined by Ernesto Milani for a SASH Session discussing the creation of a mural in Cuggiono, Italy commemorating five St. Louis players of Italian descent on the US team that competed in the 1950 World Cup in Brazil.

Lange, author of book Made in St. Louis: A History of the Game in America's First Soccer Capital and member of the SASH Board of Directors, discussed the 1950 World Cup team while Milani discussed the work to commemorate the players from The Hill.

"Sport had an important role in the acculturation to the American way of life of the children of the Italian immigrants who resided in the enclave of St. Louis known as The Hill," Milani told SASH before the session. "It kept them out of trouble and helped iron out the differences between Northern and Southern Italians. It was a complex accomplishment that was achieved by YMCA people like Joe Causino and St. Ambrose’s parish. Memorable players like Yogi Berra and Joe Garagiola emerged in baseball. However, it was soccer that involved most youths who had the chance to exit their close-knit neighborhood. In the end the end, the Italians became better Americans by playing soccer and baseball and observing the rules of the games and applying teamwork."

SASH vice president James Brown hosted the session.

Podcast produced by Brian Quarstad.

Music created by LiteSaturation and found at Pixabay.

View the video of the session at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O5XdfSfCYFk

Visit the SASH website at https://www.ussoccerhistory.org/

Join SASH at https://www.ussoccerhistory.org/store/sash-membership-one-year/