WALTER PERICCIUOLI

Born May 15, 1917 in Galatin, PA.

Son of an immigrant coal miner. His family moved to Paterson, NJ when Walter was 10 years old.

In Paterson, he began his soccer career. He attended and played soccer at Paterson Eastside H.S. He also played youth ball for the Paterson Dovers.

At age 17, he turned professional playing for the Kearney Scots Americans in the old American Soccer League, the only professional soccer League in the U.S. at the time.

His career at Kearney lasted 11 years during which time the team won many League championships and regional competitions, to include a record five straight League championships.

He made League All Star numerous years. He’s best known as Wally Peters or Walt Perry, the name the Scots used to call him.

He left the Scots in 1945 and returned to the Paterson Dovers where he finished his playing career and later became the team’s coach/manager. While coaching the Dovers, they became one of the top Amateur sides in the East Coast while reaching the National Amateur Cup semi-finals several times and at one stretch setting a national record of 52 straight unbeaten league matches.

In 1966 he coached the Paterson Roma S.C. to an American Soccer League championship and to the semifinal of the National Open Cup.

From 1968 to 1970, he coached the Hoboken Germans in the old German American S.L. Between 1972 and 1975 he was part owner of the NJ Brewers of the American Soccer League while he also coached them between 1974 and 1975, During the peak of his coaching career, he was also called upon to coach the NJ All Star and Olympic Select teams.

In addition to his coaching duties, Walter was active in soccer as a State Administrator. He held many posts while serving the New Jersey State Soccer Association from 1955 to the early 1980’s.

In 1956 Walter was elected to the National Hall of Fame.