SOCCER CAREER
OF
ROBERT C. CORBETT (BOB)

THIS SECTION: 1937-38 SEASON THROUGH 1941-42

LAST PAGE: 1934-35 season through 1936-37 NEXT PAGE: 1942-43 season through 1943-44
1927 season through 1932-34 1944-35 season through 1945-46 1946-47 season through 1950-51

1937-38 SEASON: ST. PATRICK'S for the first half of the season, BURKE'S the second half.

This was a troubled season for the pro league. The Shamrock team broke up, and there was a squabble for the Scottish players and Billy Gonsalves. Finally they went with the South Siders and won the cup. There seemed to be little interest in the season, only in the cup play.

Oct. 26, 1937

The season got off to a slow start. The Shamrock's Scots and Gonsalves quit and joined St. Patrick's. The Shamrock's filed a law suit.

Finally the dispute was resolved in a trade, but Gonsalves still wouldn't sign.

Bill Corbett was with Fouke Fur in the Muny. He played inside right and scored in an early benefit game.

Oct. 31, 1937 St. Pat's 2 -- Southside 1

St. Pat's couldn't use the Scots or Gonsalves. Corbett and Worden scored.

Nov. 14, 1937. Add Ed Corbett to outside left.

St. Pat's with Spider Corbett lost 3-1 to an All-Star team as a prelim to St. Matthew vs. a Chicago team.

Dec. 5, 1937. St. Pat's tied St. Matthew's 2-2.

"Bobby Corbett put the St. Pat's in the lead by blocking a kick by fullback Maurice Dalton for a score, but little Ed Kelly, a clever and promising right wing, tied it up before half. The Pat's took the lead again when Ed Corbett scored from Kickham's pass, but Dinty Moore hooked a nice shot to the corner to clinch a tie near the finish."

The struggle of the season continued as Billy Gonsalves would sign a contract with the Shamrock's. He accused St. Pat's of paying him not to. Finally Gonsalves moved to Beltmars in the Muny.

Dec. 16, 1937

McNab, Begley, Tom Erbe (all with the Shamrock's last year) were ready to sign with the South Siders if released.

Dec. 20, 1937 South Side 2 -- St. Pat's 1
Bob Corbett scored

Dec. 27, 1937 St. Matthew's 5 -- St. Pat's 1

"Bobby Corbett scored the Pat's lone goal and except for a few minutes in the second half Andy Fredrick's team was completely outplayed."

Jan. 2, 1938

Neither Corbett was in St. Pat's lineup. Pat's defeated the Burkes 2-0. Willie Welsher was at outside left for the Burkes.

Jan. 9, 1938 Bob Corbett moves to the Burkes

Much soccer realignment "With Henry Diaz, Joe Garcia and Bobby Corbett added to his roster since last Sunday, Manager Emil Cueto now has the dark horse of the soccer race in the Burke Club."

Burke's surprised St. Matthew's 2-2. The old Shamrock players were holding out until after the first cup games. Other teams did not want to pool players. Each felt it had a good chance for the cup. The Burke's looked good.

"Henry "Gemelo" Diaz, at outside left, and Bobby Corbett, inside left, were playing together for the first time this season and they will unquestionably be a more dangerous pair in their second game. The Burkes may prove too strong for the sensational Matthews..."

Jan. 17, 1938.

8 former members of the Shamrocks signed with South Siders and they beat St. Pat's (Bob Corbett was no longer with St. Pat's, but with the Burkes.)

Jan. 30,1938 CORBETT INELIGIBLE

St. Matthew's vs. Burke's cup game.

"Because he was not signed up to a contract before the cup game deadline, Bobby Corbett, who recently helped the forward line, will be ineligible for today's play. That gave Lou Mendez a chance to win a niche in the Spanish Club's hall of fame." (The Burke's, despite the Irish name, was a team heavily of Spanish-American players.)

Burke's won, 5-4 over St. Matthew's.

Feb. 6, 1938 Southside eliminated Burke's 1-0

Bob Corbett was back in the lineup, and after the game Watson and Gonsalves signed with the South Siders for the rest of the cup matches.

1938-39 SEASON: BURKE CLUB. AND THE BIRTH OF BOB'S WONDERFUL FIRST SON!!!!

Oct. 26, 1938

Bill Corbett at inside left with Ed Begley, functioned well for Fouke Fur in the Muny.

Oct. 30, 1938

"ALEC MCNAB AND CORBETT JOIN THE BURKE CLUB"
"Bobby Corbett will be at the inside right and Jimmy Kelly will be on the outside. Corbett, who has had several season's experience as a center forward finished up last season playing a brilliant inside left for the Burkes."

Andy Frederick's Lindell team was to play the Burkes at West Side Park, and beat them 2-1. Bob Corbett did not play.

Feb. 6, 1939

"Bill Corbett's goal with his head was the highlight of the German's victory over Carondelet. Corbett scored again and so did Rapplean in the second half."

Ed Corbett missed a couple of scoring opportunities, but he was the best man the Moloney's had in midfield.

1939-40 SEASON: GERMAN SPORTS CLUB

The next three seasons,

were rather poor ones for Bob, and his memory can't help explain it. Actually this first season, 1939 -- 40 is one which, as best the newspaper records show, he mainly sat out. The next year with Schumachers was a rather poor one in which he primarily rode the bench, and finally, before the full blossom of his career began, he played a rather uneventful season in 1941 -- 42 with St. James in the CYC league.

In the fall of 1939 the team to beat were the Schumachers. They had won the last two MUNY championships and simply had to win once more to retire the trophy, which went to the first team to win the championship three times. This travelling trophy will figure more in Bob's career later on. The German Sports Club was not in the MUNY league, but the left overs of the pro league and was sort of a semi-pro league playing in University City. The league opened with five teams:

  1. The German Sports Club
  2. Zeltman
  3. Burkes (with whom Bob had played the last two seasons)
  4. Frieskies
  5. Paramount.

In the second week of the season the German Sports Club's line up appeared, then they totally disappeared from the league. However, they didn't show up anywhere in the MUNY league either -- until the playoffs. Then, there they are, and they knocked Schumachers out of the playoffs, keeping them from winning the third leg on the trophy. As the newspaper report below indicates, Bob scored the winning goal against Schumachers, but I have no idea what happened in that year, or how The German Sports Club showed up in the MUNY playoffs. At any rate, the only two line ups I found for that year indicate it was a year in transition and unsteadiness!

The German Sports Club -------------Position-------The German Sport Club
Nov. 6, 1939 in the opening --------------------------in Spring, 1940 against Schumackers
of the U. City League --------------------------------in the MUNY playoffs.

"GERMANS DEFEAT SCHUMACHERS 1-0. CORBETT'S GOAL COMES LATE IN SECOND PERIOD"

"Bobby Corbett's score, a sort of Bert Patenaude classic in which he gave speed and direction to a ball shot by Ed Rapplean, found the extreme corner of the Schumacher goal, about seven minutes before the end of the game."
"The bustling tactics of Ortman and Molloy on defense and the unpredictable thrusts of rugged Bobby Corbett at center forward transformed the German team into a winning combination."

German Sport Club lineup