A memorial service will be held for former Cosmos coach Gordon Bradley at George Mason University Stadium in Fairfax, Va. at 1 p.m. on Friday, May 9. Bradley, who was an important member of the early days of the Massapequa Soccer Club (Long Island Junior Soccer League), passed away Tuesday after a lengthy battle with Alzheimer’s Disease. He was 74.
The service will be open to the public.
Bradley, who directed the Cosmos to the 1972 North American Soccer League championship, also coached the Washington Diplomats and George Mason.
"George Mason was a special place for Gordon and, our family is truly thankful that Mason is hosting the celebration of his life,” Gordon’s son, Paul Bradley," said. "The 16 years he spent there were some of the happiest years of his life not only because he enjoyed coaching soccer, but because he loved working with students and teaching the game of life."
Donations be made to the Gordon Bradley Scholarship Endowment in association with George Mason. Call 703 993-3215 to contribute.
REMEMBERING A CLASS ACT:
When the news came out that former Cosmos coach Gordon Bradley -- also one of the pioneers of the Massapequa Soccer Club -- was battling Alzheimer’s Disease Monday, the reaction was both stunning and numbing.
"Sad news indeed," former Cosmos president Clive Toye said.
"Gordon is a wonderful human being," said Dieter Emmerling, who played against Bradley some four decades ago. "I am very sorry to hear about this. He was a cheerful guy."
"I am gutted that a strong man such as Gordon is forced to deal with this disease," said Ken Heller, a former N.Y. Hota player, who as a teenager, watched Bradley lead the club to the U.S. Open Cup title in 1971 (before the club merged with the Bavarians).
"It was very disturbing," said local soccer store owner Gene Bodenstein, who had known about Bradley’s condition for a while.
When a friend or loved one gets Alzheimer’s, it is devastating. When it affects someone as beloved as Bradley, someone who has comported himself with dignity and class even in the worst of times, it can be even more difficult.
Bradley, 74, is in a facility that specializes with Alzheimer’s in Manassas, Va.
While Bradley will go down in history as the only man to coach Pele, Franz Beckenbauer (both with the Cosmos) and Johan Cruyff (Washington Diplomats), few soccer fans realize he has had an impact on the game at several levels beyond the professional game.
He made some important inroads with the Massapequa Soccer Club of the Long Island Junior Soccer League at the beginning of the youth soccer boom in the ancient days of the mid 1970s.
He played amateur soccer in the metropolitan area and wound up performing for and coaching Hota.
And eventually he taught the game to an even younger, new generation at George Mason University in Virginia from 1985-2000.
So, it shouldn’t be surprising that Bradley has earned places in three Halls of Fame -- the Eastern New York Soccer Hall of Fame, George Mason Hall of Fame and National Soccer Hall of Fame.
"Gordon did more for soccer than all his successors combined, in any league," said Toye, who hired Bradley as the first Cosmos coach.
Former Hota president Dieter Emmerling remembered when the Englishman flew in from Canada to play for the New York Ukrainians to play in the German-American Soccer League (now the Cosmopolitan Soccer League).
Emmerling was a left wing for Blue Star while Bradley tried to stop him as the right fullback.
"He was a tough son of a gun because I was short. He had an advantage," Emmerling said.
Bradley eventually joined Hota as a player and coach, years prior to Emmerling’s tenure with the club.
Heller, a former referee, had a bird’s eye view of Bradley and Hota, especially during the club’s path to the U.S. Open Cup crown in 1971. Heller was a youth player at Hota.
"After they won the cup, it was displayed in the Schaller & Weber German Deli across the street from the Plattdeutsche Restaurant for weeks," Heller wrote in an e-mail to Bradley. "I used to stare at it when I went over to Sportfair next door (the one-time sporting goods store)"
Heller wrote that he would ride his bicycle five miles down Hempstead Turnpike to Hofstra University in Hempstead, L.I. in the early 70’s to watch Randy Horton, Richard Blackmore, Jorge Siega and Roby Young play for the Cosmos.
"Those were great days. Real football, great atmosphere on a pitch that was more concrete than AstroTurf," he wrote.
Bradley settled in New York and made a home for his family in Massapequa. Not surprisingly, he made sure the beautiful game would be available to children.
"My sons came home from school one day," Bodenstein said. "They were a classmate of each of Gordon’s sons. ’They’re starting a soccer club and we’d like to play.’ "
The soccer bug infected the entire Bodenstein family as they started the Massapequa Soccer and Sport Shop in Massapequa Park.
"I guess it was because of Gordon the family got interested in soccer," Bodenstein said.
As a player, coach or a just plain human being, Bradley has been a gentleman. Bodenstein watched Bradley perform at center back with the Cosmos. In one game, he fell to the ground and did not get up immediately.
"He seemed to be down for a lengthy period of time," Bodenstein said. "I asked his wife Vera after the game, ’Was Gordon trying to get a little rest period?’ Vera said: ’Oh, no. Gordon wasn’t doing that. That’s not sportsmsmanlike."
Paul Bradley, Gordon’s son, has received so many e-mails that he had to respond via bulk mail.
"Gordon is a truly special man and the outpouring of love, thoughts and prayers that are coming in to the family makes doing this in a timely manner next to impossible right now," Paul wrote.
Paul also wrote that his father would be able to would able to receive visitors, but only on a limited basis.
"Thank you so much for the kind words, love, thoughts and prayers," he wrote. "I have relayed each and every one of them to both Gordon and Vera and to say they are truly appreciated and help keep us going through these incredibly trying times would be an understatement. Thank you."
To correspond with Gordon, you can e-mail Paul at paul@marqueerealestate.com.
