Pat

McBride

Pat McBride is as foundational to St. Louis soccer as anyone who ever played the game here. He came up through the city's youth programs and SLUH at a time when St. Louis was quietly producing the best soccer players in the country — largely unknown to the rest of America — and he became the player a generation pointed to as proof of what was possible. Al Trost, who won two Hermann Trophies and two NCAA championships at SLU in the years that followed, said it plainly: "I grew up watching Pat McBride...I thought, 'I could do that.'"

At Saint Louis University he was a two-time All-American and a two-time national champion, winning in 1963 and 1965. His 130 career points still rank fifth in SLU history. He left as one of the best college players the program had ever produced — which, at SLU in the 1960s, meant something considerable.

His professional career was similarly pioneering. When the National Professional Soccer League launched in 1967, McBride became the first American player to sign with what would become the NASL — a distinction that carries more weight than it might seem. The league was built almost entirely on imported talent; signing an American was not the obvious move. He stayed with the St. Louis Stars for the duration of their existence, nine seasons in all, earning three All-Star selections and captaining the U.S. Men's National Team in World Cup qualifying along the way.

After his playing days he moved into coaching and remained in St. Louis soccer for the rest of his life. He won an NJCAA national title at Meramec Community College, was named MISL Coach of the Year with the Steamers in 1979–80, took them to the MISL Finals in 1981, and later spent nearly two decades at Forest Park Community College. He touched practically every level of the game in this region — college, professional, community — across more than four decades.

He was inducted into the National Soccer Hall of Fame in 1994, the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame in 1996, and also holds membership in the St. Louis Soccer Hall of Fame, St. Louis Sports Hall of Fame, NJCAA Hall of Fame, and SLU's Billiken Hall of Fame. He died on December 11, 2024, at age 81, remembered in St. Louis soccer circles as a builder as much as a player.