Photo by ISIphotos.com
Cobi Jones, Eddie Pope and Jason Kreis highlight a strong group of first-timers among the nominees on the 2011 U.S. Soccer Hall of Fame ballot, which was released Thursday afternoon.
Jones, the United States' all-time leader in caps with 164, played in three World Cups and was one of the most recognizable and distinguished players of his era. Pope was a rock in central defense for both D.C. United and the national team and also appeared in three World Cups. Kreis, now the head coach for Real Salt Lake, was one of the most feared goal-scorers of his playing days, becoming the first in Major League Soccer to notch 100 goals.
In order to be eligible for election, a player must be retired from playing for 3-10 years and either made at least 20 international appearances for the United States or played in an American first-division league for at least five years and been named to an all-star team or all-league team at least once. Being named on 66.7 percent of the ballots is what it takes to gain entry into the hall, which is still without a physical location after the building in Oneonta, N.Y., shut its doors last year.
Here's the entire list of nominees, including those on the player ballot, veteran ballot and builder ballot:
U.S. SOCCER HALL OF FAME 2011 NOMINEES
Player Ballot
- Chris Armas
- Mike Burns
- Mauricio Cienfuegos
- Raul Diaz Arce
- Marco Etcheverry
- Robin Fraser
- Chris Henderson
- Cobi Jones
- Jason Kreis
- Roy Lassiter
- Carlos Llamosa
- Shannon MacMillan
- Joe-Max Moore
- Victor Nogueira
- Peter Nowak
- John O'Brien
- Cindy Parlow
- Eddie Pope
- Tiffany Roberts
- Danielle Slaton
- Earnie Stewart
- Steve Trittschuh
- Carlos Valderrama
- Tisha Venturini-Hoch
- Peter Vermes
Veteran ballot
- Desmond Armstrong
- George Best
- Julio Cantillo
- Teofilo Cubillas
- John Doyle
- Linda Hamilton
- Bill McPherson
- Shep Messing
- Bruce Murray
- Glen Myernick
Builder ballot
- Chuck Blazer
- Bob Contiguglia
- Tony DiCicco
- Bob Gansler
- Francisco Marcos
- Fritz Marth
- Sigi Schmid
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