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 Known throughout the sports world as
'Buff' because of
his interest in showman "Buffalo" Bill Cody. Donelli joined the Morgan Strasser
club at the age of 15 leading the local Pittsburgh area league in scoring
from 1922 to 1928.
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Personal Information |
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Class of 1954 |
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Born:
July 22, 1907 - Morgan, PA |
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Died: August 9, 1994 - Ft. Lauderdale, FL |
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Position:
Center Forward |
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Int'l
Caps: 2 |
Int'l
Goals: 5 |
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He moved to
the nearby Heidelberg club for the 1928-29 season and led them to the
U.S. Amateur Cup scoring five goals in the final in a 9-0 romp over
Newark First Germans. Besides
playing soccer for Morgan and Heidelberg he played American football for
Duquesne University from 1926 to 1929, at first at center and then as a
running back. In the 1930's he
began playing for another local soccer team in Curry and it was while he
was with them that he was selected for the 1934 U.S. World Cup team. In Italy he scored four goals against
Mexico in the qualifying game and the lone U.S. goal against Italy in the
first round. One year later he
was a guest player with the New York Americans when they toured
Mexico. Back in the U.S. he
concentrated on American football and for a while coached the Pittsburgh
Steelers and then the old Cleveland Rams of the National Football League.
However, he came out of soccer retirement in 1943 to play for Morgan Strasser
in the 1944 Open Cup final against Brooklyn Hispano at the Polo Grounds.
U.S. National Team
Statistics |
