Cleat, Shoe
Object number2008.142.10 a,b
Date1940-1949
Mediumleather; cotton; rubber; metal
Credit LineGift of Diane Rafle
DescriptionPair of soccer cleats. Black or brown leather. Beige shoelaces. Rubber cleats. Flat-head nails in cleats and in soles.
Dimensions4 x 3.5 x 10.75 in. (10.2 x 8.9 x 27.3 cm)Historical NotesPair of soccer shoes worn by Nicholas DiOrio in the 1940s. Nicholas DiOrio grew up in Morgan, Pennsylvania, a coal mining town near Bridgeville in southern Allegheny County. He played basketball at South Fayette High School, from where he graduated in 1939, and supposedly scored 50 points in a game. After high school he worked as a laborer at factories in Bridgeville. Later he worked for the county road maintenance department. But for 22 years, he devoted his spare time to soccer. He played for the 1939 Avella Juniors that won the national junior championship, and with a series of clubs, like Morgan Strasser, Harmarville Soccer Club, and Beadling. In the late 1940s, he played for the Pittsburgh Indians and Chicago Vikings in the short-lived North American Professional Soccer League. As member of the U.S. soccer team, he competed in the 1950 World Cup in Brazil when he was 29 years old. The U.S. team was matched against England in an early round and won in one of the biggest upsets in international soccer. He retired as a player in 1959 but continued as a player-manager, a manager, and president of the West Penn Soccer Association. Mr. DiOrio was named to the National Soccer Hall of Fame, Oneonta, New York, in 1974, and to state and regional halls of fame. He died in 2003 at the age of 82.
Previous owner
Nicholas DiOrio
(died 2003)
Related institution
Pittsburgh Indians
Related institution
South Fayette High School
Related institution
Avella Juniors
Related institution
Morgan F.C.
Related institution
Harmarville Hurricanes Soccer Club
Related institution
Beadling Soccer Club
Related institution
Chicago Vikings
Related institution
North American Professional Soccer League
Related institution
National Soccer Hall of Fame
Related institution
West Penn Soccer Association
Subjects
On View
Not on view
1940-1949
1980-1989
1925-1939
