St. Louis Raiders

St. Louis Kutis Soccer Club, better known as St. Louis Kutis, is an amateur American soccer club in St. Louis, Missouri. Founded in 1947 as the St. Louis Raiders, the club was known as Paul Schulte during the 1948–49 season, McMahon's during the 1949–50 season and Zenthoefer's in the 1950–1951 season. In 1953, the team was renamed St. Louis Kutis. The club gained its greatest prominence in the 1950s when it dominated both St. Louis and national soccer competitions. In 1958, the United States Soccer Federation used Kutis, with a few guest players, as the U.S. national team in two World Cup qualifying matches.

On March 21, 1947, Gene Thumm and local businessman Nick Jost, who was inducted into the St. Louis Soccer Hall of Fame on November 11, 1976, called a meeting of soccer players and formed the Raiders club. The Raiders were established as a professional team and entered the North American Soccer Football League (NASFL). The NASFL was established in 1946 as a professional league spanning the midwest U.S. The NASFL planned a two part season for 1947. The first half would run from April to June, the second half from September to October. The league only lasted the first half and a few games of the second half as financial difficulties led to it folding. Hall of Famer Werner Nilsen coached Raiders during 1947^[1]

With the collapse of the NASFL, Raiders became an amateur club and entered the newly established St. Louis Major League. Raiders tied St. Louis Simpkins-Ford for second in the league’s standings. The team was sponsored by Paul Schulte for the 1948–49 season. Sponsorship was changed once again to McMahons for the 1949–50 season. The team regained the Raiders name briefly up to November of the 1950–51 season when Walter Zenthoefer began sponsorship of the club. In 1951, Raiders finished third in the league. Raiders dominated the 1952 St. Louis Major Soccer League season. They ran to a 15–4–2 record and took the league title with a four point lead over St. Louis Simpkins-Ford. The team also won the National Amateur Cup with a 4–3 victory over Ludlow Lusitano, but lost in the second round of the National Challenge Cup.

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