Cowboy Calcio, Beckham and Alexi Lalas - LEGEND

What makes a player a LEGEND ? Many make it onto a trading card, some are memorable and a few, if lucky, are immortalized. For a country that had not appeared in the World Cup in 40 years (1930 to 1990) any spark could result in being an instant hero.

The American who achieved that status was ALEXI LALAS when he scored the goal (above) against England in the 1993 US CUP at Boston. It seemed it was the first time Americans were playing without fear of the legendary soccer nations like Brazil, Germany and Italy.

Lalas was not just an average clean-cut American athlete. He honed his playing skills playing pick-up games in Michigan, then onto the Ivy League at Rutgers University. He played guitar in a rock band and even sang the national anthem at the 1st MLS CUP. He was instantly recognized for his trademark long shaggy red hair and goatie.

He was an Olympian footballer at the 1992 Barcelona Games. His international profile as a "never say die defender" and the goal against England made him one of the  high-profile players on the 1994 U.S. World Cup Team. After the 1994 Tournament he was signed as the first native born American in Italy's Serie A.

The "American Cowboy" as he was known, almost single-handedly saved the Padova from relegation by scoring two goals in the final three games of the season including ones against powerful AC Milan AND Inter Milan.

When Major League soccer finally formed a professional circuit in 1996, Lalas returned home to play for New England, New York, Kansas City and Los Angeles.

After 7 seasons in MLS, Lalas accepted a position in the front office at the New York club. Although no great achievements were noted here, he moved on to become the Los Angeles Galaxy's new General Manager. There, he hired former Dutch great Ruud Gullit and was part of the team that brought in David Beckham. 

Both those decsions had converse effects on the club, the league and the game in America. Regardless, Alexi Lalas has put his own stamp of uniqueness on the game. He has earned the apearance on a 2011 FUTERA LEGEND card.

Made in the U.S.A. ... football

It may be hard to believe, but their is some envy over soccer cards made in the U.S.A. - To clearly understand, one needs to see the number of Manchester United fan sites around the world.

Manchester United has always had some of the most famous and flashy players. going back to its 100 year history - Billy Meredith was the top man in the 1920's.

During the 1960's - George Best was known as the 5th Beatle. He was in every way - the best.

Recently, David Beckham captured the attention of fans and now he's playing in America.

His place was taken briefly by Cristiano Ronaldo - who came on tour to the USA this past summer - after his trade to Real Madrid.

Any time you get these star at Manchester United - thier cards are in demand and collectors go ballistic. (if you doubt it, try to buy a Beckham memorabilia card on ebay).

The lastest Man U. hotshot is Wayne Rooney. He is on a tear this season for club and country scoring 7 goals in 5 games. Thing is, he has a card produced by American makers - Sports Ilustrated for Kids. It makes great trade bait.

Ironically, I have covered the huge mistake Topps made by not producing regular soccer cards in the 1970's. But that does not mean they were not thinking about it.

Submitted for your approval are the following 1977 Topps England soccer cards -

England, who have traditionally played in white jersey since, oh, 1872 only began wearing red change kits in 1966. They did make a drastic part from those choices on a tour of the USA in 1976. They played in YELLOW kits.

The interesting thing here is that the above cards of England stars Gerry Francis and Kevin Keegan were shot at RFK Stadium (current home of DC United) in a game against TEAM AMERICA. You can tell the Washington, DC stadium by its seating and background.

The most telling item on the card is the trademark NASL soccer ball at the player's feet.

Now there are over a dozen American players performing in the top league in the world - Premier League - in England. Those cards are now making their way here after most of them appeared in Major League Soccer sets.

For the price of a phone call ...

Phone booths ? Pay phones ? Pretty much things of the past. A pack of cards for a quarter ? Last century prices ... but wait "mon ami" ! I actually did get that and more. My weekly garage sale run yielded a stack of sports cards.

About half of these were a series of SPORTS ILLUSTRADED For KIDS. The great mix of pro and amateur athletes in these issues always makes them interesting. The lot contained several lady jocks, some Olympians (always looking for them), some basketball, baseball and some hockey. Here is what I got:

Amanda Blumentherst - golfer / Duke University

Lorena Ochoa - golfer / Mexico

Usain Bolt - 100 Meter Gold medal world record holder

Kyle busch - NASCAR

Rafael Nadal - Champion tennis player

Lauren Jackson - Seattle Storm / WNBA

Luke Harangody - Notre Dame basketball

Chris Bosh - Toronto Raptors

David West - New Orleans Hornets

Allen Iversen - Denver Nuggets

Scott Kazmir - Tampa Bay Rays

Edinson Volquez - Cincinnati Reds

Josh Hamilton - Texas Rangers

Ryan Braun - Milwaukee Brewers

Mariano Rivera - NY Yankees

Grady Sizemore - Cleveland Indians

Scott Dixon - Indy driver

Natalie Coughlin - Olympic swmmer / USA

Angela Tincher - Virginia Tech / softball

Wu Minxia - Olympic swmmmer / China

Hannah Nielsen - lacrosse / Northwestern

Daniel Alfredson - Ottawa Senators

Martin Brodeur - New Jersey Devils

Ilya Kovalchuk - Atlanta Thrashers

Not bad - the NHL all-time goalie, the fastest man alive and some college chicks ! I was only disappointed not to find any soccer cards.

Plus I got 8 cards from the Upper Deck Vintage set: Batista (Orioles), Rodriguez (Rangers), Beltran (Royals), Alomar (Mets), Perez (Dodgers), Nen (Giants), McCovey (Giants) and Banks (Cubs).

Two cards from Fleer Tradition: Sandberg (Rays), Phelps (Blue Jays) and one card from Upper Deck Pitch-Hit-Run - Torii Hunter (Twins).

Seven more cards from 2003 Donruss - Burks (Indians), Dunn (Reds), Chiavacci (Expos), Lee (Phillies), Durham (A's), Hidalgo (Astros), Vaughn (Mets). Plus two 2003 Topps - Narron (Rangers) and Wilson (Blue Jays).

In addition, there was one Press Pass racing card, one Mountain Dew skate boarder and a sheet of 1996 Pro Stamp NFL players stickers that included Hall of Famer Troy Aikman. The sheet had a full checklist on the back and a chance to practice with Emmitt Smith of the Dallas Cowboys.

Of the 46 cards, all are up for grabs except the Usain Bolt and the hockey cards.

I'll be putting together some team stuff for my new fellow bloggers.