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Bahr, last living member of team that upset England, dies

When Walter Bahr walked off the field in Brazil after the famous United States victory over England at the 1950 World Cup, he didn’t expect to become a soccer celebrity.

Known for many years as the father of two NFL placekickers, Bahr regained prominence in his own right when the Americans returned to soccer’s showcase in 1990 after a 40-year-absence.

The last living player from that 1950 team, Bahr died Monday in Boalsburg, Pennsylvania, according to granddaughter Lindsey D. Bahr, a film writer for The Associated Press. His death was caused by complications that resulted from a broken hip.

“I say the older I get, the more famous I become,” Bahr told the AP in 2010. “I wasn’t famous for 50 years.”

A team of soccer unknowns, the U.S. won 1-0 over an England side that included Alf Ramsey and Tom Finney, who earned knighthoods.

“Walter Bahr was one of the greatest people to ever be part of soccer in the United States,” former U.S. Soccer Federation President Sunil Gulati said. “Not only was he a pioneer and a fantastic ambassador for our game over many years, he was a true gentleman.”

Bahr and his teammates were portrayed in the 2005 movie “The Game of Their Lives.”

Quick with a story, a laugh and a smile, Bahr started all three U.S. matches at the 1950 World Cup. A defender who scored one goal in 19 international appearances, made his international debut in a World Cup qualifier against Cuba in 1949, joining a national team that had lost its seven previous international matches by a combined 45-2. The Americans tied Cuba 1-1 in his debut, lost to Mexico, then beat Cuba as Bahr scored and earned a trip to the 1950 tournament in Brazil.

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