After serving as a U.S. Navy Submarine frogman and sonar technician, David Socha worked in his family business, Frank’s Tavern — and became the USA’s most accomplished referee of the 1980s.
Born in Springfield, Massachusetts, in 1938 to Polish-American parents, Socha began reffing in the late 1960s, seven years after an injury ended his playing career. He started reffing NASL games in the late 1970s. His fluency in Spanish likely contributed to FIFA assigning him youth international games in Latin America.
Twelve years after Germany-born Californian Henry Landauer became the first American to ref a World Cup game, Socha was selected for the 1982 World Cup and took charge of the Scotland-New Zealand game.
That was more than three decades before soccer refereeing became a full-time occupation option for Americans.
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