Jim Benedek
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Janos "James" Geza Benedek | ||
| Date of birth | June 9, 1941 | ||
| Place of birth | Budapest, Hungary | ||
| Date of death | March 30, 2009 (aged 67) | ||
| Place of death | Dallas, Texas, United States | ||
| Playing position | Forward / Defender | ||
| Youth career | |||
| Ithaca College | |||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1968 | Houston Stars | 19 | (3) |
| 1969 | Kansas City Spurs | 0 | (0) |
| 1970–1973 | Dallas Tornado | 45 | (0) |
| 1971 | Dallas Tornado (indoor) | 2 | (2) |
| National team | |||
| 1968 | United States | 4 | (0) |
| Teams managed | |||
| 1975–1983 | Southern Methodist University | ||
| –1998 | Hungary (assistant) | ||
| 1999 | Texas Toros | ||
| 1999 | North Texas Heat | ||
| 1999–2008 | North Lake College | ||
| 2001 | West Dallas Kings | ||
| * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. |
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Janos “Jim” Benedek (June 9, 1941 – March 30, 2009) was a Hungarian-American soccer forward who later coached at both the collegiate and national team levels. Benedek was an All American collegiate soccer player before spending six seasons in the North American Soccer League. He earned four caps with the U.S. national team in 1968 and was a member of the team that attempted to qualify for the 1968 Summer Olympics.
In 1963, Benedek immigrated to the United States. He attended Ithaca College in Ithaca, New York where he was a 1965 first team All American at outside left. In 1961, he was also a member of Chicago Schwaben as that team toured West Germany and later served in the U.S. Army.
After graduating from Ithaca, he attempted to gain a place on several European clubs in Austria, France and Germany, but ultimately returned to the U.S. and signed with the Houston Stars of the North American Soccer League (NASL) in 1968. The Houston Stars folded at the end of the 1968 season and Benedek moved to the Kansas City Spurs for the 1969 season. In 1969, the Spurs won the NASL championship. Benedek then moved to the Dallas Tornado where he played a single season, his most productive, as a defender. He was again a member of a championship team when the Tornado took the 1971 NASL title. He was also a member of the Dallas team that won the first ever NASL sanctioned indoor tournament in 1971, scoring two goals in the opening match and being named to the All-tournament squad. He left the NASL following the 1973 season to become a college soccer coach.
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