(left to right, Mike Duffy, Adam Kaempf, Stefan Laxgang, and Rudi Mayer)
Mr. Laxgang was actually my first ever soccer coach. He was the trainer of my Green White midget team back in the late 60s and early 70s, but he was also the star of the Green White team that debuted sixty years ago...
We had a good showing of people there to support our guys. Rudi Mayer (center of the picture below, the other guy in the green jacket) was probably the greatest player to ever wear the Green White uniform. When I was a kid, in the days before professional soccer existed in this country, Rudi was the guy I idolized...
I was thrilled to play a small part in his induction. When I wrote the book "Gruen Weiss Vor", I researched who was in the Hall of Fame and who wasn't. I couldn't believe Rudi wasn't in there, so I tracked down the paperwork and officially nominated him as a representative of the club. Rudi not only played for Green White for nearly 30 years, he was part of a national championship team at Michigan State University, played for the US Olympic Team in 1972, and played professionally for the Chicago Sting in their early years (1975-1976).
Super proud of the guy. Totally deserving of the honor.
