Packer grew up in Newtown, Bucks County, Pennsylvania. He attended the George School where he played soccer, basketball and baseball.[citation needed] In 1952, the Penn State University soccer coach, Bill Jeffrey, recruited Packer. He entered Penn State on a full athletic scholarship, playing both baseball, as a center fielder and shortstop, as well as center forward on the soccer team. At the time, collegiate rules prohibited freshmen from playing intercollegiate sports. Consequently, he played on the varsity soccer team from 1953 to 1955. His junior season, he dropped baseball and concentrated on soccer for his last two seasons at Penn State. In 1954, Penn State won the national college championship and shared the 1955 title with Brockport University. Packer was named to the 1954 and 1955 first team All American team.[2][3][4] Despite playing only three seasons and twenty-four games, he scored 53 goals, a school record which stood until broken by Stuart Reid in 1995.
In December 1955, he joined the Uhrik Truckers of the American Soccer League. By that time, he had been selected for the U.S. Olympic Soccer team as it prepared for the 1956 Summer Olympics. In order to maintain his amateur, he played without pay with Truckers. The Truckers won the 1955-1956 ASL championship with Packer coming off the bench and scoring two goals in the title game. Packer graduated from Penn State in 1956 with a bachelor's degree in hotel administration. That summer, he went to the Summer Olympics, but did not play in the team's only game, a 9–1 loss to Yugoslavia.[5]
During his college years, he had attended ROTC and after graduation, he was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the Air Force. Packer separated from the Air Force in 1959. He rejoined Uhrik and would play with the team until at least 1968. He also worked in the travel industry. He has also run soccer camps for over thirty years.[6]
dick, packer, richard, packer, soccer, center, forward, member, team, 1956, summer, olympics, time, first, team, american, penn, state, played, over, seasons, american, soccer, league, personal, informationfull, namerichard, packerplace, birthnewtown, pennsylv. Richard Packer was a U S soccer center forward who was a member of the U S team at the 1956 Summer Olympics 1 He was a two time First Team All American at Penn State and played over ten seasons in the American Soccer League Dick PackerPersonal informationFull nameRichard PackerPlace of birthNewtown Pennsylvania United StatesHeight5 ft 10 in 1 78 m Position s Center ForwardYouth career1953 1955Penn StateSenior career YearsTeamApps Gls 1955 1956Uhrik Truckers1959 1968Uhrik Truckers Club domestic league appearances and goals Contents 1 Biography 2 See also 3 References 4 External linksBiography editPacker grew up in Newtown Bucks County Pennsylvania He attended the George School where he played soccer basketball and baseball citation needed In 1952 the Penn State University soccer coach Bill Jeffrey recruited Packer He entered Penn State on a full athletic scholarship playing both baseball as a center fielder and shortstop as well as center forward on the soccer team At the time collegiate rules prohibited freshmen from playing intercollegiate sports Consequently he played on the varsity soccer team from 1953 to 1955 His junior season he dropped baseball and concentrated on soccer for his last two seasons at Penn State In 1954 Penn State won the national college championship and shared the 1955 title with Brockport University Packer was named to the 1954 and 1955 first team All American team 2 3 4 Despite playing only three seasons and twenty four games he scored 53 goals a school record which stood until broken by Stuart Reid in 1995 In December 1955 he joined the Uhrik Truckers of the American Soccer League By that time he had been selected for the U S Olympic Soccer team as it prepared for the 1956 Summer Olympics In order to maintain his amateur he played without pay with Truckers The Truckers won the 1955 1956 ASL championship with Packer coming off the bench and scoring two goals in the title game Packer graduated from Penn State in 1956 with a bachelor s degree in hotel administration That summer he went to the Summer Olympics but did not play in the team s only game a 9 1 loss to Yugoslavia 5 During his college years he had attended ROTC and after graduation he was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the Air Force Packer separated from the Air Force in 1959 He rejoined Uhrik and would play with the team until at least 1968 He also worked in the travel industry He has also run soccer camps for over thirty years 6 See also editList of Pennsylvania State University OlympiansReferences edit Dick Packer Olympedia Retrieved December 2 2021 1954 All Americans 1955 All Americans Leader of the pack The Year in American Soccer 1956 Ex Olympian still carries a torch for soccerExternal links editAn unlikely Olympian Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Dick Packer amp oldid 1222254165, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
