Special thanks to Mick Hoban for writing these memorials.
Heavenly Father, we ask for your mercy and grace for our team mates as they pass from this life into eternity. Please bring them into your loving arms and grant them peace and rest. We also pray for those who are left behind, that they would find comfort and hope in your presence and the promise of eternal life. In Jesus Name, Amen ….Prayer by Jim Allen

Leon Simson (1946-2024)
Leon took a circuitous route to Portland, OR. Born of Lithuanian parents in Germany his family spent a few months in New York after traveling on a decommissioned transport ship from Germany. The family moved to Vermont and Connecticut to work on chicken farms before converting one such farm into a shoelace factory.
Leon became an ‘All-State’ soccer goalkeeper and went on to graduate from Oberlin College where he majored in Political Science. His wife Gerry wrote about her husband, “Starting school as a child who knew no English, Leon mastered the language and also figured out how to get along in a place where being an intelligent Jewish immigrant was sometimes a social liability.”
A highly successful business lawyer, he exhibited many characteristics that reflected his challenging early years — empathy for those less fortunate, generosity of spirit and the sharing of resources, commitment to the community — as evidenced by the thousands of hours he spent as a volunteer soccer coach and the ability to remain calm while searching for solutions at law or in coaching. I spent innumerable hours chatting with Leon about his girls’ soccer team. A more dedicated volunteer coach, you could not find.
Being a lawyer, and a very successful one at that, Leon was ‘subjected’ to numerous legal questions from his teammates. He responded as he did on all matters, calmly and professionally — while sharing his knowledge with his teammates. Leon was the voice of reason when conflict arose inside the team and during matches. His teammates would listen to him because, for Leon, being calm and collected was his natural state.
As a player, Leon succeeded in getting the most out of his physical and technical soccer skills. Though somewhat restricted by a lack of pace, something I could relate to during my professional career, he more than compensated for this with his outstanding tactical understanding of the game and an ‘educated’ left foot.
He and I, both, enjoyed a dry sense of humor and delighted in self-deprecating comments regarding our various soccer experiences.

John Alkire (1947-2023)
Yet another native Portlander. A graduate of Grant High School and Portland State University. In addition to being a middle school principal in Portland Public Schools and Gresham he was an artist, surfer, downhill skier, golfer, car enthusiast, world traveler and home remodeler. As you might suspect, therefore, he was a good athlete.
John usually played left-back for the Acrop. His left-footedness, was relatively rare in amateur soccer and so he provided some balance for the predominately right-footed team. John, was a highly strung soccer player. I figured that this was probably due to his newness to the sport and the fact that he was so accomplished in many of his other endeavors including his chosen career of teaching.
We experienced John’s constant stream of chatter during a game. He’d be criticizing himself, questioning the officials and ‘encouraging’ teammates with his ‘play by play’ commentary. He used his athleticism to compensate for any lack of technique. He was a natural defender as his athleticism and willingness to pressure opponents are essential components of defensive play.
Listening to his fellow teammate and teacher, Doug Walters, we marveled how this nervous teammate was, in real life, a calm, thoughtful, highly respected and admired teacher and principal.
As I said at John’s Celebration of Life, John had a great sense of humor and an endearing smile. I respected him for persisting with soccer after adopting it later in life when it’s much more difficult to pick-up and play with proficiency — something he succeeded in doing.

Richard Robert ‘Rick’ Earl (1948-2019
Another native Portlander, Rick attended Marshall High School and graduated from the University of Portland, where he played NCAA varsity basketball for the Pilots.
He ran his own successful business — Rick Earl Construction.
Along with his beloved wife, Margaret, he was immensely proud of his three daughters whom he coached in soccer and basketball. I had many conversations with Rick about coaching where we compared coaching soccer and basketball. Seeing Rick as a parent of three daughters showed just how much he loved his family and how hard he worked to use sports to provide his daughters with the life lessons they would need as adults.
Being a natural athlete Rick picked up soccer later in his amateur sports career. He clearly understood soccer’s tactics and often would compare patterns of play in soccer with those he’d experienced in basketball. Rick was more than happy to respond to teammates who overstepped their bounds criticizing others while failing to perform themselves. Rick wouldn’t stand for hypocrisy.
Rick, like many other coaches who played for the Acrop, made sure that his teammates respected their coach. He pointed out that while they may disagree with their coach, it was important for them to maintain respect for their coach as leader.
Alongside, his lifelong friend, Arnie Momb, Rick executed a ‘thou shall not pass’ mentality using their athleticism, size, strength, and combativeness, to thwart the opposition’s forward progress.

Mike ‘Doc’ Gehlen (1944-2020)
Born in Portland, OR he attended high school at Serra Catholic High School in Salem, OR. He attended the University of San Francisco where he studied pre-med and Art and received his Doctor of Dental Medicine degree in 1969 from the Oregon Health Sciences University. He was the first established dentist in Tualatin, OR where he practiced dentistry for 50 years.
Mike, or ‘Doc’ as we called him was a fierce competitor. A defender by position and mentality. His easy-going, cheerful nature was underpinned by a competitive spirit while playing soccer. He was a reliable and friendly teammate. He tended to let others do the talking during team discussions at half-time of games. When he spoke it was always with a reasoned approach.
We all enjoyed a laugh or two with Doc. One time he had us in stitches describing how he pulled a muscle while soaping himself down in the shower. Such was the life of soccer players in their 50s and 60s.

Szabolcs ‘Sabi’ Sudy (1950-2016)
Sabi was born in Romania. His family were members of the minority Hungarian community in Romania. He became a lawyer and accomplished soccer player. After struggling with an oppressive political environment he and his wife, Julia, left for Germany in 1984, leaving their young son, Sabi, in the safe care of his grandparents. In 1986 Sabi, Sr., Julia and Sabi, Jr., left for the United States.
As they had done in Germany they took to working in many, menial, jobs to survive.
Note: My own personal experience and that of Sabi Sudy, Leon Simson and Dominic Yambasu, involved having to work at menial jobs to support our families when coming to the US. In conversations with these teammates I could see how our empathy for the plight of refugees and those less fortunate was grounded in our own, initial experiences in the US.
I was introduced to Sabi by the Oregon Youth Soccer Association State Coach ,and former Timbers teammate of mine, Jimmy Conway. Many newcomers to Oregon looked for work in soccer via Jimmy. I was able to recommended and engage Sabi as a youth soccer coach while I was Head Coach at Lake Oswego Soccer Youth Soccer Club.
Sabi and Julia worked extraordinarily hard cleaning and managing apartments while Sabi learned English and qualified as a teacher and coach.
As a player Sabi was technically superior to most of his teammates but he, like me, enjoyed the camaraderie. Sabi played mostly as our ‘last defender;’ (formerly the position known as ‘sweeper’) as he ‘read’ the game exceptionally well, distributed the ball with great aplomb, confidence and quality and was a formidable opponent for teams in Portland.
One of the many cultural traits we learned from our friends from Romania is they loved to negotiate, argue and question every decision made by a teammate, official or coach. As we used to say ‘’They could start an argument in a phone booth”. It has to be said, and that was the case with Sabi, they were very supportive members of our team.Sabi bore the traits of all successful footballers – he was willing to battle it out with opponents and officials. He knew how to take care of himself on the pitch.
Sabi and Julia’s story was the epitome of the ‘American Dream’. After having achieved success in Romania they chose to find a better environment to raise their son and that led them to Oregon. Once here, they were willing to work at any job, and aspired to gain the necessary skills (English as a second language) and certifications to provide them with a more comfortable life than the politically fraught one they left behind in Romania.
Once again, I’d point out how these examples of re-created lives served as great examples to every American player — of how their lives, growing up in the US were full of everyday ingredients they took for granted (freedom of speech, rule of law, employment opportunities, right to vote etc.,) which when contrasted with the lives of their immigrant teammates reminded them of the privileges we take for granted in the US.

Rick Groulx (1948-2017)
Rick was born in Accra, Ghana, and later lived in Nigeria before moving to the US. He served in the US Navy and Marine Corps. He completed a tour of duty, as a hospital medical corpsman, in the “Battle of Hue City” as part of the “Tet Offensive” during the war in Vietnam.
After moving to Oregon and marrying Jean Black in 1978, Rick worked in hospital operating rooms before dedicating his career to soccer as a player and coach.
Rick was an accomplished soccer coach who held a United States Soccer Federation National ‘A’ license and NSCAA Advanced Diploma – the highest levels of coaching licenses in the US at that time. He worked extremely hard to keep his licenses current and was a keen student of the game for his entire soccer career.
He used his coaching experience and skills to coach youth club, high school, college, and adult teams.Rick, mostly, played as a right full-back for the Acrop. He had good technique thanks to his countless hours of coaching individual technique to young players. He was a very good tactician and an excellent teacher of soccer in the classroom.
Reliable, consistent, supportive, and analytical — Rick was the ultimate teammate. On more than one occasion he’d use the Marines’s motto of ‘Semper Fi’ to remind me and his teammates of the importance of supporting your teammates.
He formed a camp/clinic/coaching business venture with another Acrop alumnus, Dominic Yambasu. Their ‘School of Champions’ business was greatly respected in the soccer community. Rick and Dom possessed wonderful coaching and teaching skills that sprung from their encouraging and supportive natures. Like many of his Acrop teammates, Rick was always available, when needed, for voluntary work that enhanced the reputation of our team and sport.