Medal
Object number2008.142.6 a-c
Manufacturer
L.G. Balfour Company
Date1947-1948
OriginAttleboro, MA
MediumSterling silver; paint/ink; paper
Credit LineGift of Diane Rafle
DescriptionSilver medal. Carved image of eagle; at bottom, seal with blue background on top with silver stars and red and white vertical stripes on bottom. In center: image of soccer ball; around image, text with blue background. Loop on medal's top for hanging purposes. Engraved on back is award and recipient information. Box comprised of blue box top and beige box bottom. Dimensions(a) Height: 1.375 ; Width: 1(b) H/W: 1.75 ; Depth: .5
(c) H/W: 1.625; D: .5
Inscriptions(a)
Front has text "WESTERN PENNSYLVANIA FOOTBALL ASSOCIATION".
Engraved on back: "PGH INDIANS / RUNNERS-UP 1947-48".
Marks(a)
Text engraved at bottom "STERLING / BALFOUR".
(b)
Printed in gold on outside top, "L.G. BALFOUR CO. / ATTLEBORO, MASS."
Historical NotesMedal from the Western PA Football Association, to which Nicholas DiOrio belonged. 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
Western Pennsylvania Football Association
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
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L.G. Balfour Company
