Working in Wichita’s aircraft industry during the 1960s, Herb Schnoetzinger met many other immigrants from around the world. Whatever the cultural and language barriers, they often shared a love of the world’s most popular sport — soccer (actually, “football” to most of the world).
It was through those new friends that Schnoetzinger, a native of Germany, joined the Wichita Soccer Club. But the Soccer Club played competitively, meaning older players often didn’t get to participate as much as they liked.
So in 1974, Schnoetzinger started a weekly pickup soccer game at Linwood Park in south Wichita. Fifty years later, it’s still going strong.
Javier Miermier controls the ball during the weekly soccer game at Linwood Park.
Photo by Carl Williams
“At first, the weekly kick-around was meant for players 35 or older,” Schnoetzinger said. “But, over the years, as players faded away due to age, moving away or other reasons, we opened it up to players of any age. The younger players filled spots left by the ones who no longer took part.”
The games start at 6 p.m. Thursday on a field in the southwest corner of Linwood Park. They are held each year from the start of Daylight Savings Time in the spring to
when clocks are set back in the fall.
Now 84, Schnoetzinger is the oldest player still taking part. He’s proud the game still attracts players. On a typical Thursday, 25 or more players of various ages, nationalities and ethnicities show up to play.
One Thursday regular is Farris Jibril, who moved to America from Syria. “Herb is the backbone of the Thursday evening games,” Jibril said, noting that Schnoetzinger brings hand-built soccer goals each week and organizes the group’s annual picnic. “He’s pretty close to being all the players’ father.”
Regulars at the Linwood Park soccer game and the year they started include Jacob Tef (1998), Javier Miermier (2007), Herb Schnoetzinger (1974), Dick Nott (1987), Farris Jibril (1979), Paco Mayen and Jamal Akra (2005).Photo by Carl Williams
Boeing aeronautical engineer Jacob Tef, who hails from Ethiopia, said the camaraderie and socializing after games is as important as the actual playing. “Some of us old-timers have become very close over the years. I count some of my best friends among this group,” Tef said.
Lawrence Baldus rarely misses a Thursday soccer kickaround. “I fell in love with soccer when I was teaching at the American International School in Ghana for a few years,” said Baldus. “I met Herb through my father who, like Herb, came to America from Germany as a young man. It’s fun, and I like the friendships I’ve made among the players from so many different countries and cultures.”
Schnoetzinger said it’s not unusual for former Wichitans to drop by when they’re in town, mentioning Dr. Bill Hill, a native of Australia who came to Wichita with his wife in the late 1960s for a two-year medical internship at what was then St. Francis Hospital. An accomplished player for the Wichita Soccer Club during its heyday, Hill and his wife still occasionally visit, making it a point to stop by the Linwood Park game.
Schnoetzinger said it’s hard to believe the “Thursday evening kickarounds” have been going on for half a century.
Schnoetzinger glad he took chance on U.S.
Herb Schnoetzinger was born in Germany during World War II and grew up in its aftermath. Although he was a good student, employment opportunities were still very limited by the time he reached his twenties.
“I knew I had a lot of skills — I could fix about anything mechanical — so I decided to take a chance on myself and moved to America in 1960 and joined the U.S. Army,” he said. After the Army, he settled in Wichita.
He calls America “the land of opportunity.”
“In Germany, they just asked for your credentials. In America, they said, ‘Show me what you can do.’ They hired people for their ability. I never had any problem finding a job.”
Schnoetzinger eventually worked for four major aircraft companies.
He still has very vivid memories of his childhood during the war. When American columns of tanks streamed through his town, Schnoetzinger and his friends ran out to greet them. “I still remember the GIs would throw candy to us. That was the first candy I’d ever had.”
