Drucker, Leo

Drucker, a center halfback for Hakoah-Vienna in the 1920s, was a member of the Hakoah team that toured the United States in 1926. During the ten-game tour, Hakoah played in front of 200,000 fans, including a record crowd of 46,000 at the Polo Grounds in New York City (this was the U.S. attendance record for a soccer game until 1977). Drucker later emigrated to the U.S. and played in the American Soccer League.

Birth and Death Dates:
unknown

Career Highlights:
Considered a clever halfback, Drucker remained in the U.S. following the 1926 Vienna-Hakoah tour and signed to play with the Brooklyn Wanderers (owned by Nathan Agar) of the American Soccer League, the top U.S. league. He remained with the club for three years and played 86 games for the Wanderers in that span. Drucker then moved to the newly formed New York Hakoahs in 1929.

In the middle of the 1928-29 season, a "soccer war" broke out in the U.S. when the ASL banned all its teams from playing in the U.S. Open Cup during the season. Three of the teams ignored the ban and were suspended by the league. The teams then formed their own league, called themselves the Eastern Soccer League, and invited the former members of Hakoah-Vienna to join them under the name of the New York Hakoah. Drucker was one of the players on that team, which ended up winning the U.S. Open Cup, considered the national championship, in 1929.

By October 1929, the "soccer war" was over and the ASL and ESL merged. Drucker and his New York Hakoah teammates merged with the ASL team, the Brooklyn Hakoah, and were renamed the Hakoah All-Stars. Drucker appeared in 46 games over the next two seasons, which saw Hakoah finish in third place in both 1929 and 1930. He ended his career with Hakoah in 1931, although he appeared in only four games that season. Drucker played in 132 ASL games during his career.

Origin:
unknown

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