A Time for Champions
Encyclopedia
A Time for Champions is a 2009
documentary film
produced
by Bud Greenspan's Cappy Productions and St. Louis PBS
affiliate KETC
. It chronicles the St. Louis University soccer dynasty of the 1960s and 1970s. It includes interviews with 1950 US World Cup team members Frank Borghi
, Harry Keough
, and Walter Bahr
, as well as St. Louis natives Yogi Berra
and Bob Costas
.
, was broadcast nationally on many PBS member stations. The broadcast coincided with the 60th anniversary of the United States’ spectacular FIFA World Cup
win over England
on June 29, 1950, considered one of the greatest upsets in sports history.
Throughout the 20th century the United States remained an underdog in World Cup soccer. The losing streak ended in 1950 when a U.S. team featuring five St. Louisans on the 11- player roster beat England’s powerhouse team 1-0 in a spectacular, surprise victory in Belo Horizonte, Brazil. That win signaled St. Louis’ rise as a soccer hotbed, a view reinforced nine years later when soccer became an intercollegiate sport. Between 1959 and 1973, St. Louis University’s soccer team, comprised almost exclusively of St. Louis players, won 10 of 15 NCAA Division I soccer championships.
A Time for Champions tells soccer’s St. Louis story through archival photos, footage of games and players, and interviews with baseball legend Yogi Berra, sportscaster Bob Costas, U.S. Soccer Federation CEO Dan Flynn, Michigan State
coach Joe Baum, former Indiana University Bloomington
coach Jerry Yeagley, former Catholic Youth League leader 90-year-old Monsignor Lewis Meyer, and 1950 World Cup team members Frank Borghi, Harry Keough and Walter Bahr.
2009 in film
The year 2009 saw the release of many films. Seven made the top 50 list of highest-grossing films, and the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced that as of this year, their Best Picture category would consist of ten nominees, rather than five .- Highest-grossing films :Please note...
documentary film
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
produced
Film producer
A film producer oversees and delivers a film project to all relevant parties while preserving the integrity, voice and vision of the film. They will also often take on some financial risk by using their own money, especially during the pre-production period, before a film is fully financed.The...
by Bud Greenspan's Cappy Productions and St. Louis PBS
Public Broadcasting Service
The Public Broadcasting Service is an American non-profit public broadcasting television network with 354 member TV stations in the United States which hold collective ownership. Its headquarters is in Arlington, Virginia....
affiliate KETC
KETC
KETC is the Public Broadcasting Service member Public television station in St. Louis, Missouri. Owned by St. Louis Regional Public Media, the call letters KETC represent the St. Louis Educational Television Comission, the former name of the organization responsible for bringing public television...
. It chronicles the St. Louis University soccer dynasty of the 1960s and 1970s. It includes interviews with 1950 US World Cup team members Frank Borghi
Frank Borghi
Frank Borghi is a former American soccer player who earned nine caps at goalkeeper for the United States national team and played in the U.S. team's 1-0 victory over the hugely favored English in the 1950 FIFA World Cup.-Athletic career:Borghi started his sports career as a professional baseball...
, Harry Keough
Harry Keough
Harry Joseph Keough is a former American soccer defender who played on the United States national team in their 1–0 upset of England at the 1950 FIFA World Cup. He spent most of his club career in his native St. Louis, winning a national junior championship, two U.S. Open Cup and seven National...
, and Walter Bahr
Walter Bahr
Walter Alfred Bahr is a retired American soccer player, considered one of the greatest ever in his country. He was the long-time captain of the U.S. national team and played in the 1950 FIFA World Cup when the U.S...
, as well as St. Louis natives Yogi Berra
Yogi Berra
Lawrence Peter "Yogi" Berra is a former American Major League Baseball catcher, outfielder, and manager. He played almost his entire 19-year baseball career for the New York Yankees...
and Bob Costas
Bob Costas
Robert Quinlan "Bob" Costas is an American sportscaster, on the air for the NBC network since the early 1980s.-Early life:...
.
The Film
The film, distributed by American Public TelevisionAmerican Public Television
American Public Television is the largest syndicator of programming for public television stations in the United States.-History:...
, was broadcast nationally on many PBS member stations. The broadcast coincided with the 60th anniversary of the United States’ spectacular FIFA World Cup
FIFA World Cup
The FIFA World Cup, often simply the World Cup, is an international association football competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the members of Fédération Internationale de Football Association , the sport's global governing body...
win over England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
on June 29, 1950, considered one of the greatest upsets in sports history.
Throughout the 20th century the United States remained an underdog in World Cup soccer. The losing streak ended in 1950 when a U.S. team featuring five St. Louisans on the 11- player roster beat England’s powerhouse team 1-0 in a spectacular, surprise victory in Belo Horizonte, Brazil. That win signaled St. Louis’ rise as a soccer hotbed, a view reinforced nine years later when soccer became an intercollegiate sport. Between 1959 and 1973, St. Louis University’s soccer team, comprised almost exclusively of St. Louis players, won 10 of 15 NCAA Division I soccer championships.
A Time for Champions tells soccer’s St. Louis story through archival photos, footage of games and players, and interviews with baseball legend Yogi Berra, sportscaster Bob Costas, U.S. Soccer Federation CEO Dan Flynn, Michigan State
Michigan State University
Michigan State University is a public research university in East Lansing, Michigan, USA. Founded in 1855, it was the pioneer land-grant institution and served as a model for future land-grant colleges in the United States under the 1862 Morrill Act.MSU pioneered the studies of packaging,...
coach Joe Baum, former Indiana University Bloomington
Indiana University Bloomington
Indiana University Bloomington is a public research university located in Bloomington, Indiana, in the United States. IU Bloomington is the flagship campus of the Indiana University system. Being the flagship campus, IU Bloomington is often referred to simply as IU or Indiana...
coach Jerry Yeagley, former Catholic Youth League leader 90-year-old Monsignor Lewis Meyer, and 1950 World Cup team members Frank Borghi, Harry Keough and Walter Bahr.