Soccer Player. The son of Italian immigrants, he grew up in St. Louis' famed Italian neighborhood, "The Hill," already playing top-level soccer at 15. He was the youngest player to be in the starting eleven for the United States at the 1950 FIFA World Cup and was one of five starters from St. Louis. That team defeated England in the World Cup in what many consider the biggest upset ever in soccer, 1 to 0 in Belo Horizonte, Brazil. He scored against Spain in their 3 to 1 loss in their World Cup opener. He was also a part of the 1948 United States Olympic team. In total, he had five national team "caps" for the United States with one goal. He was forced to move his scheduled wedding up a day so that he could travel to Brazil with the US team to play in the World Cup. He also won the US Open Cup twice with St. Louis Simpkins-Ford in 1948 and 1950 and continued to play until 1963. He was inducted into the US Soccer Hall of Fame in 1976. He was played by Louis Mandylor in the 2005 movie, "The Game of Their Lives," about the 1950 game with England. Pariani told The Associated Press then that soccer "was a poor kid's game. All you needed was a ball. With baseball, you needed bats and gloves." He and his teammates were treated like kings during the movie filming in St. Louis, and he had his own director's chair. He died after fighting bone cancer for two years.
Soccer Player. The son of Italian immigrants, he grew up in St. Louis' famed Italian neighborhood, "The Hill," already playing top-level soccer at 15. He was the youngest player to be in the starting eleven for the United States at the 1950 FIFA World Cup and was one of five starters from St. Louis. That team defeated England in the World Cup in what many consider the biggest upset ever in soccer, 1 to 0 in Belo Horizonte, Brazil. He scored against Spain in their 3 to 1 loss in their World Cup opener. He was also a part of the 1948 United States Olympic team. In total, he had five national team "caps" for the United States with one goal. He was forced to move his scheduled wedding up a day so that he could travel to Brazil with the US team to play in the World Cup. He also won the US Open Cup twice with St. Louis Simpkins-Ford in 1948 and 1950 and continued to play until 1963. He was inducted into the US Soccer Hall of Fame in 1976. He was played by Louis Mandylor in the 2005 movie, "The Game of Their Lives," about the 1950 game with England. Pariani told The Associated Press then that soccer "was a poor kid's game. All you needed was a ball. With baseball, you needed bats and gloves." He and his teammates were treated like kings during the movie filming in St. Louis, and he had his own director's chair. He died after fighting bone cancer for two years.
Bio by: Kenneth Gilbert
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