Kyle Rote Jr.

Kyle Rote Jr. (born December 25, 1950) is a retired American soccer forward who played seven seasons in the North American Soccer League (NASL) and earned five caps with the United States men's national soccer team between 1973 and 1975. He led the NASL in scoring in 1973. He later coached the Memphis Americans of the Major Indoor Soccer League (MISL). He is a member of the National Soccer Hall of Fame.

Kyle Rote
Personal information
Full name Kyle Rote Jr.
Date of birth (1950-12-25) December 25, 1950
Place of birth Dallas, Texas, United States
Height 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)
Position(s) Forward
Youth career
1969–1972 Sewanee Tigers
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1972–1978 Dallas Tornado 121 (42)
1979 Houston Hurricane 21 (1)
National team
1973–1975 United States 5 (0)
Teams managed
1983–1984 Memphis Americans
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only

Youth

The son of Kyle Rote, an all-American college football player at Southern Methodist University who played in the National Football League for the New York Giants, Rote Jr. graduated from Highland Park High School in Dallas, Texas, in 1968.[1]

Rote played for the Black Bandits in the Dallas youth soccer league while in high school. He attended Oklahoma State University, initially intending to concentrate on American football. He played soccer to stay in shape during the offseason, but after a broken leg ended his football career, he started playing it full-time. Rote transferred to the University of the South in Sewanee, Tennessee, then one of the few universities in the South with a varsity soccer program. While at Sewanee, Rote also competed in track and field.

Professional

Rote was discovered by legendary sports businessman Lamar Hunt, who was searching for an American star to help market the newly established North American Soccer League (NASL). The Dallas Tornado selected Rote in the first round of the 1972 draft.

He spent the 1972 season on the bench before becoming a starter in 1973. That season, he became the first American ever to lead the league in scoring (and the only US-born player to do so in the NASL's 17-year history) and was named the Rookie of the Year.[2] In October 1978, the Houston Hurricane purchased Rote's contract from the Tornado for $250,000. He played the 1979 season with Houston, then announced his retirement in February 1980.[3] While in the NASL, Rote won the made-for-television Superstars competition three times in a four-year period in the 1970s.

Coach

In August 1983, Rote took over as head coach of the Memphis Americans of the Major Indoor Soccer League (MISL). At the time, he was the team's general manager.[4] When the team moved to Las Vegas, Nevada, during the 1984 off-season, Rote chose to remain in Memphis. In July 1984, the Dallas Sidekicks offered him the position of head coach, but Rote declined.[5][6]

Business and post-soccer career

As an active player, Kyle worked with Jokari, Inc, to revive the Kickari[7] which became the Kikari during 1978. Like the paddle game, the Kikari was a specialized soccer ball attached to weighted base (or stake) via an elastic string. Kyle worked with Jim Brown[8] at Jokari for tournaments and also endorsed[9] the Jokari distributed Subbuteo for the US market. Kyle authored the book Improve Your Soccer With Kikari.[10] Kyle also endorsed a sports drink, Nutrament.[11]

After his retirement, Rote became a sports agent. He currently lives in Memphis, Tennessee, and is the founder and chief executive officer of Athletic Resource Management, Inc.,[5] representing professional and post-collegiate athletes and coaches in football and basketball. Rote also works as a motivational speaker.

Rote hosted a local quiz show called News Channel 3 Knowledge Bowl for many years before WREG-TV meteorologist Jim Jaggers took over as host.

Personal

Rote is married to Mary Lynne Lykins and has four children: Will, John, Josie and Ben. In 2009, he was inducted into the Texas Sports Hall of Fame.[12] On April 10, 2009, the National Soccer Hall of Fame announced that Rote was selected for induction into the Hall of Fame.[13]

References
  1. Lake Highlands High School Archived 2011-07-13 at the Wayback Machine
  2. "The Year in American Soccer - 1972". Archived from the original on 2013-07-13. Retrieved 2010-04-17.
  3. "Rote to take rest from soccer". Boca Raton News. February 27, 1980. p. 2C.
  4. "Romero Lifts Cocmos, 3-1". The Miami Herald. August 4, 1983.
  5. Wilonsky, Robert (April 19, 2010). "About Damned Time: Kyle Rote Jr.'s Now in the National Soccer Hall of Fame". Dallas Observer. Dallas, TX. Retrieved December 14, 2012.
  6. "Willrich wants to be insured for Olympic stint". The San Diego Union. July 4, 1984.
  7. "Kickari". www.jokariinfo.net. Retrieved 2018-11-11.
  8. "Emails about Jokari/USA Inc. 1975-1980". www.jokariinfo.net. Retrieved 2018-11-11.
  9. "in the 70s, Toys of the Seventies, Jokari". www.inthe70s.com. Retrieved 2018-11-11.
  10. Jr, Kyle Rote (1979). Improve Your Soccer with Kikari. Jokari US Inc.
  11. thecelebratedmisterk (2010-05-31), Kyle Rote, Jr. Commercial for Nutrament, retrieved 2018-11-11
  12. KYLE ROTE JR. INDUCTED; As 1st male soccer player in TSHOF Archived 2011-07-08 at the Wayback Machine
  13. "Kyle Rote, Jr., Elected to National Soccer Hall of Fame as Veteran". Archived from the original on 2012-07-31. Retrieved 2012-12-15.
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