David Wangerin: American Soccer Historian (1962-2012)

• by Mike Woitalla  @MikeWoitalla, Jul 1, 2012

[OBITUARY] Author and journalist David Wangerin, whose books included "Soccer in the Football World" and "Distant Corners," which detailed the colorful history of soccer in the USA, died on June 29 at age 50.

Born in Chicago and raised in Wisconsin, Wangerin was a contributor to British monthly When Saturday Comes, which also published the first edition of “Soccer in the Football World: The Story of America’s Forgotten Game.”

“His books on the U.S. are valuable works of scholarship as well as highly entertaining reads, but more importantly he had a humanity and a total lack of cynicism that shone through in all his writing,” said Mike Ticher of When Saturday Comes.

Soccer America’s assessment of “Soccer in the Football World” upon its release in 2006 was: “David Wangerin has done a great service by providing this enlightening and entertaining account of the fascinating characters and unique circumstances that have defined U.S. soccer for nearly a century. ... A comprehensive and engaging tour through the roller-coaster history of the American game.”

Wangerin updated the book in its second edition in 2008 and in 2011 followed up with “Distant Corners: American Soccer's History of Missed Opportunities and Lost Cause.”

“Wangerin has a stoical but cheerful approach to U.S. soccer history, and clearly enjoys unearthing people, games and anecdotes long since confined to the pages of yellowing local newspapers,” wrote Ian Plenderleith in his review of “Distant Corners.”