Gabbo Gavric, one of the great pioneers of American professional soccer and a placekicker ofdistinction in the NFL, died on Saturday after a long illness.
Gavric was lured from hisnative Yugoslavia when pro soccer was launched in 1967. He won championships with the Oakland Clippers and Dallas Tornado and later played for and coached the San Jose Earthquakes. He earnedco-MVP honors of the first NASL indoor soccer championship in 1975 and later coached the Earthquakes to their best NASL season in 1976.
In 1969, Gavric was a placekicker for the San Francisco 49ers, becoming the oldest rookie in NFL history.
Tom Mertens, Soccer America’s first editor and later p.r. director of theEarthquakes, remembers Gavric.
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