With FIFA World Cup matches set to be played on American soil June 11-July 19, it is the perfect time to revisit the United States Men’s Team return to World Cup play 36 years ago. After a 40-year hiatus, Springfield native Ted Eck helped make U.S. soccer history.
Eck grew up as the youngest member of Springfield’s first true soccer family. He honed his skills alongside his brother, Matt, in the YMCA Youth Soccer Program and sharpened them further by training with Sangamon State University players, where older brother Joe served as coach. That early immersion paid dividends. Eck went on to earn All-American honors at Western Illinois University and embarked on a 13-year professional career.
After being selected as one of 32 players to participate in the 1988 Senior Bowl in Santa Ana, California, Eck set his sights on Europe. U.S. Soccer organized a college All-Star tour abroad, and when it ended, Eck stayed. He landed in England, played Sunday soccer, caught the eye of a local team, and soon found himself earning a paycheck at Buxton Football Club in the East Midlands. He wasted no time making an impression, scoring 10 goals in his first 10 games. Despite that success, the long, dark English winter wore on him and he returned home after several months, missing friends and family.
Back in the states, Eck was acquired by the Kansas City Comets of the Major Indoor Soccer League – at the time, the country’s premier professional soccer competition. He arrived mid-season with almost no player budget allocated for him. The Comets offered a host family, a beat-up car and $800 a month. Eck, ever the pragmatist, was thrilled. “I was in hog heaven,” he recalls. “In ’88, I was getting 800 bucks and playing soccer.”
After a strong first indoor season, a summer stint in Ottawa saw Eck lead the Canadian league in scoring. That performance brought him squarely onto the radar of U.S. National Team coach Bob Gansler, who invited him into camp. Eck performed well in exhibition matches and found himself on the fringe of the 1990 World Cup roster – the United States’ first appearance in the tournament in the modern era.
He just missed the final cut, and the reasons were complicated. During that era, no binding agreement existed between FIFA and professional clubs requiring player release for international duty. Eck, loyal to the organization paying his wages, declined several national team call-ups at his club’s request. It cost him.
Ted Eck skips past a final East German player before banging home a U.S. goal in Milwaukee on July 28, 1990. Photos courtesy of Pete Cavanag
“Looking back, maybe I should have gone and just left my pro team,” he said. “But I was very dedicated, and it was hard to be torn between the national team and the club.”
Coach Gansler, in explaining his decision, cited Eck’s unavailability as a significant factor. Eck’s brother Joe, the Prairie Stars coach, later spoke with Gansler at a national coaches’ meeting and was told directly: Ted would have been selected and seen playing time in the 1990 World Cup had he been released to attend camps.
Eck was gracious in disappointment. He watched the 1990 World Cup with a mix of pride and regret, glad to have contributed in a small way to the buildup even if his name wasn’t on the final roster.
“It was the first time we’d made it in the modern era,” he said. “I was grateful to be at least some part of it.”
The subsequent years brought a new national team regime – Serbian coach Bora Milutinović – and with it, better fortunes for Eck. Milutinović called him into several camps, and Eck flourished under his demanding, detail-oriented style. He played in the 1992 Gold Cup, earned quality minutes and a title against top international competition. Eck credits Milutinović with helping him mature significantly as a player.
“He was a fun guy,” Eck recalls. “He’d jump in and play with us on the field, play soccer tennis after training. He had an excellent touch on the ball well into his late forties.”
The club-versus-country tension resurfaced during preparations for the 1994 World Cup, this time with the St. Louis Storm. When a teammate departed for a U.S. camp without asking permission and faced no consequences, Eck followed the rules, asked for clearance, and was denied – the coach not wanting two players gone at once. Ted was left wondering why he’d gotten the short end of the stick.
Looking back, he doesn’t mince words: “I would have just gone. I needed to be more of an ass and just go. ‘Sorry guys, it’s the National Team calling.’”
Today, FIFA mandates the release of players for international duty on designated calendar dates – a rule that exists, in part, because of situations exactly like Eck’s.
Throughout the early 1990s, as indoor soccer began to fade and outdoor leagues gained investment, Eck adapted. He joined the Colorado Foxes of the A-League, captured championships and positioned himself for the launch of Major League Soccer. At the inaugural MLS Draft in 1996, his Foxes coach assumed a gentlemen’s agreement among clubs would keep Eck available into the second round. It didn’t hold. Eck was taken third overall by FC Dallas – and he embraced it without looking back. He spent the final six years of his career with Dallas, competing alongside international stars and learning a new position, defensive midfielder, in the twilight of his playing days.
By the time he retired, Eck had played in more than 500 professional matches across more than 30 countries. USA Today recognized him as one of the hardest workers in MLS. He represented the U.S. National Team during what is widely considered the golden age of American international soccer.
The Griffin High School graduate credits Springfield with giving him the foundation for all of it.
“It was a great place to grow up,” he told the State Journal-Register in a March 2024 interview. “That’s where I learned the value of real hard work and doing the best with what you had. If you wanted anything in our house, you knew you had to earn it.”
As for the World Cup, Eck’s immediate pick is the U.S. After a moment of reflection, he adds, “Actually, France will win; if not, Argentina.”
Eck and his wife now live in Salt Lake City with their three children.
Peter C. Cavanagh serves on the Illinois Appellate Court (4th District). He is president of the Springfield Men’s Soccer League and a IHSA and NISOA certified referee. He is in the process of writing a book on the evolution of soccer played in the Springfield area.
This article appears in June 11-17, 2026.
