In 1956 a few German-speaking immigrants founded a soccer club on the north side of Chicago. They called it S.C. Grün Weiss. This humble group of eighteen young men had no way of knowing that the club would eventually serve thousands of members, field hundreds of teams, win scores of division, city and state titles, send numerous players into the professional ranks, and enshrine more than a dozen members into the Illinois Soccer Hall of Fame. This book tells the tale of that proud 60-year journey, and features more than 170 classic photographs of the Green White family throughout the years.

The authors, Rick Kaempfer and Todd Schneider, are donating their proceeds from Grün Weiss Vor! 60 Years of Green White Soccer to the club, a not-for-profit organization currently serving the soccer community in the Mt. Prospect area.

Click HERE to oder your copy today!

The year was 1956.

Mainstream America knew about as much about soccer as they knew about that crazy new music that the naughty Southern Boy with the shaking pelvis was singing.  Dwight D. Eisenhower was about to be elected to his second term of office when eighteen young men met to form what is now called “S.C. Green-White.”

The founding members were all of a common German ancestry, but more importantly, they shared a common love:  soccer.  The founding members played the game, they coached it, and they lived it.  Green-White joined other ethnic clubs that had been around since the 1920s to promote the game.  It was a slow, painful process.

Professional soccer leagues have come and gone, but Green-White was among the first to grasp where the future of American soccer lay.  If soccer had any chance of succeeding, it had to become part of America’s childhood.  When the flood of European immigrant soccer lovers slowed to a trickle in the 60s and 70s,the sport could have died a slow death.  Instead, its popularity began to build with the youth of America.

The founders of Green-White, along with the supremely dedicated core of people that joined in the early years, passed down their love of the game to their children.  Their children helped teach soccer to their American schoolmates, who discovered how much there was to love about this strange little sport where you didn’t use your hands.

That same phenomenon was occurring with the children of other ethnic teams in every city in America.  By the 80s, youth soccer was a force to be reckoned with.  In the 90s, it surpassed baseball as the most popular youth sport.  Who would have believed that in 1956, when Mickey Mantle was crushing home runs for the New York Yankees?

In 1994, the World Cup was played in the United States of America.  In 1996, “Soccer Moms” became the most sought-after voters in the presidential election.  In this century, virtually every American child learns the rules and plays the sport.

In 1956 Green-White had one team. A men’s team.

Today there are many teams of both boys and girls proudly wearing the colors of Green-White. 

Since the early days when Green-White was part of the Society of the Danube Swabians (a German-American organization dedicated to maintaining the German language and its traditions), to today when Green-White has merged with the Mount Prospect Park District, Green-White has managed to grow along with the times.

A clubhouse full of trophies.  65+ years of memories.  40+ years of partnership with Mount Prospect Park District.

Green-White has surpassed everyone’s wildest expectations.  Green-White is an American success story that every member should be proud of.  Its legacy is in America’s youth.  And that legacy will carry on the love of soccer in this country forever.

Some Green White facts and figures...

• 10 trips to Europe (1967, 1970, 1976, 1987, 1989, 1995, 2000, 2015, 2017, 2018)
• 17 Professional Players (including 2 who played internationally, and five who played for U.S National Team)
• 18 State Champions, from U12--O40, boys, girls, men. (1967, 1971, 1972, 1974, 1975, 1979, 1981, 1982, 1983, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1995, 2006, 2010, 2013, 2018)
• 20 Illinois Soccer Hall of Famers.
• 65 NCAA  players (50 boys/15 girls), including three Hermann Award winners (the Heisman of college soccer). Universities include Indiana, Michigan State, Wisconsin, Ohio State, Miami of Ohio.