Jim Benedek Next Into Walk of Fame
October 17th, 2009 . 11:55 am . By: Buzz CarrickFC Dallas has announced the next inductee into the Texans Credit Union Walk of Fame at Pizza Hut Park and it’s the late Jim Benedek, former Dallas Tornado player and SMU head coach. Benedek was the first soccer coach at SMU, was a member of the 68 Olympic team & US National Team, and played six season in the NASL. JIM BENEDEK TO BE INDUCTED TO TEXANS CREDIT UNION WALK OF FAME AT PIZZA HUT PARKFRISCO, Texas (Sat., Oct. 17, 2008) – Former Dallas Tornado player and SMU head coach, the late Jim Benedek is this year’s inductee to the Texans Credit Union Walk of Fame at Pizza Hut Park. Benedek is the first inductee to earn the honor posthumously. The induction ceremony will take place on Sat., Oct. 17 prior to FC Dallas’ final regular season home game against the Colorado Rapids (7:30 pm CT). Benedek’s son Grant Benedek will be accepting the honor on behalf of his father and will be joined by representatives from Texans Credit Union, FC Dallas, and the Hunt Sports Group at the Walk of Fame between fields 1 and 2, on the North side of Pizza Hut Park. The induction ceremony will begin at 6:20 p.m., and the honoree also will be recognized at halftime of the FCD game. Benedek, the first head coach for men’s soccer at Southern Methodist University in Dallas, led the Mustangs to four NCAA tournaments and posted a 129-31-15 record in his career. He started his own soccer career in 1965 as an All-American left midfielder at Ithaca College and later went on to become a member of the 1968 U.S. Olympic team, a Pan American team and the U.S. National team. Spending six seasons in the North American Soccer League, Benedek’s career included stints with the Houston Stars, Kansas City Spurs and Dallas Tornados. His coaching career also included coaching the women’s soccer team at North Lake College in Irving, Texas from 1999 to 2008. Previous inductees to the Texans Credit Union Walk of Fame were Neil Cohen and Bobby Moffat (2008); Kenny Cooper Sr. and Schellas Hyndman (2007); Ron Newman and Jeff Agoos (2006); and Lamar Hunt, Gordon Jago, Bill Kinder, Carla Overbeck, Kyle Rote Jr. and Tatu, along with four great moments in Texas soccer history (inaugural 2005 class). ABOUT THE TEXANS CREDIT UNION WALK OF FAME The Texans Credit Union Walk of Fame is a stretch of soccer history at Pizza Hut Park that spans approximately 1,400 linear feet and includes commemorative markers with plaques recognizing members of the soccer community and key events that have been instrumental in helping build the sport of soccer in Texas. Situated just north of the Pizza Hut Park stadium, this unique landmark is not only a tribute to those who have dedicated much of their lives to the sport of soccer, but is also a point of historical interest for all fans visiting the facility. Formal nomination applications were accepted from the general public in June. Thereafter, the Nomination Committee and then the Selection Committee reviewed and voted on all the nominees and selected this year’s inductees. ABOUT PIZZA HUT PARK Opened on August 6, 2005, Pizza Hut Park is a 145-acre multipurpose sports and entertainment facility located at the intersection of Main Street and Dallas North Tollway in Frisco, Texas, and is the home stadium for FC Dallas of Major League Soccer. The stadium, which has a permanent stage on the north end situated off the playing surface, has a capacity of 20,500 fans for sporting events and can expand to accommodate over 27,000 fans for concerts. The complex, which includes 17 tournament-grade fields used for youth and adult soccer, as well as high school sports and other events, has drawn over 1.5 million visitors each year since opening. The $105 million public-private complex is owned by the City of Frisco in partnership with the Hunt Sports Group (HSG), the Frisco Independent School District, and Collin County. In November 2006, Pizza Hut Park was recognized as the first “Green” professional sports stadium in Texas after administering a formal recycling plan. 11 Comments Comments RSS TrackBack Identifier URI Leave a comment |
What a joke????
Sad to hear of Jimmy’s passing. As a Tornado fan while growing up and following all the players, Jimmy was definitely one of the favs. Many more ex Tornados deserve induction into this esteemed hall of fame ie. Mike Renshaw, Brian Harvey, Kirk Apostolidis, Howard Mwikuta (do a little research on Howard) just to name a few. whoever posted the comment “what a joke” needs to get a life. What have you done for soccer in Dallas but write comments in a blog?
How about some consideration for high school legends like Henk Meinster at Jesuit or Richard Mungioli at Richardson Pearce. These 2 men deserve much credit for decades of ’soccer duty”.
+1 on Craigs comment.
Give Oscar another ten years in Dallas before putting him in the same catagory as the others.
The TCUWOF isn’t about the Burn/FCD as much as your impact on soccer in Texas. Oscar has a ways to go.
No, it’s about ex Dallas Tornado players…….Why don’t they just put all of them in and be done with it??
What a douche.
I’m quite sure Oscar would really be proud of some tool promoting him for the WOF.
As for “it’s about ex Dallas Tornado players” you couldn’t be more wrong:
The 2005 inaugural class included:
Gordon Jago- not a Tornado player
Carla Overbeck-not a Tornado player
Bill Kinder-not a Tornado player
Kyle Rote, Jr.
Tatu-not a Tornado player
Lamar Hunt-not a Tornado player
The 2006 class included:
Ron Newman-not a Tornado player
Jeff Agoos-not a Tornado player
The 2007 class included:
Kenny Cooper Sr.
Schellas Hyndman-not a Tornado player
The 2008 class included:
Neil Cohen
Bobby Moffatt
What you are missing is the legacy those Tornado & Sidekick players have left in Dallas- Cohen, Tatu, Moffatt all have coached youth soccer for years.
Grow up & get a clue.
Oscar’s time will come, in due time. Just like the people that got inducted have been contributing for a long while, Oscar’s time will come when he will have been retired for a decade or so.
In the meantime, whoever it is that is politicing for Oscar is showing A LOT of immaturity. Hopefully his comments don’t get in the way of Oscar getting in when Oscar’s time comes.
Screw you tater. Grow up?? Whatever you say chief. Just noting a tread that I saw the last couple years. So, I guess I should say “bite me” that seems to be on your level of name calling. And Im sure you have no idea what Oscar would want, now would you dipstick..??
Iguees I should have said Tornado/NASL players.. Think that’ kinda what I was saying.. And. you’ll find that most take me as I am , good and bad.. Regardless of what you think you think you know..
So it’s 4 Tornado/NASL players and 9 that were not. I still don’t see what you are arguing.
how about some founders? or major contributors other than players or coaches. We have nominated Clint and Jimmie Wofford each year for the last 4 years and we will continue to nominate every year as they are very deserving of this honor. Clint was pres. of NTX Soccer for 9 years and build the structure of many of the local associations as they were forming in the late 60’s and early 70’s. Jimmie was the first southern region commissioner who was one of the four founders of US Youth Soccer. They are among many people who dedicated countless hours for North Texas, like the Mungioli family, and I encourage anyone who knows these ‘old timers’ who contributed other than playing and have the history and facts to nominate them, take the time to do so. Nominations are usually due in July.