Sosa shoots, he scores at Fenway

Interesting photo of Ruben Hector Sosa on the cover of the Sunday Globe sports section. Sosa appears to be shooting on goal while playing for the Boston Beacons at Fenway Park in a 1968 North American Soccer League game. Utilizing Colin Jose's NASL history book, I figured it was probably a June 21, 1968 game in which the Chicago Mustangs took a 6-5 win. Sosa scored one of the Beacon goals against Chicago goalkeeper Gerd Langer.

As it turns out, the Globe photo appeared about a year after Sosa died. According to the Clarin website, Sosa's death on Dec. 10, 2008 was related to diabetes.

Sosa must have been among the most accomplished athletes to call Fenway Park his home field, regardless of sport. The Beacons shared Fenway with the Red Sox in 1968, including an exhibition against Santos (with Pele'), won, 7-1, by the Brazilians. Professional soccer was being introduced to the area, and Beacons-Santos game on July 9, 1968 drew a crowd of 18,431, setting a benchmark for soccer attendance. Before that game, there was no evidence soccer could draw major crowds in the Boston area. Four years later, promoters brought Benfica and Sporting to Foxboro Stadium for two games which averaged about 30,000 spectators. Then, the NASL returned with the Minutemen and Tea Men, both teams occasionally attracting significant numbers.

Each of these soccer projects -- not just the Beacons, Minutemen, Tea Men, but also exhibition matches -- was hamstrung by what the Brits call "ground sharing." Soccer promoters and teams had no control over stadia, so they were always an afterthought behind the primary tenant. The Beacons set up their schedule around Red Sox road trips. When the Red Sox were away, the Beacons would play several home games in succession. The Beacons had backing from respected sporting figures, such as the Celtics' Red Auerbach, but not enough people who were involved understood soccer, so it was difficult for the sport to succeed, especially with unfavorable playing dates.

Anyway, Sosa was 32 years old and near the end of his career when he came to Boston. He scored seven goals in 17 games for the Beacons, who finished in last place in their division.

Sosa had been a major figure with Racing Club in Avellaneda, winning the Argentinean championship in 1958 and '61. Sosa led the team in scoring three times, a significant accomplishment with a team nicknamed La Academia for its stylish play and "maquina"-like forward line. In those days, teams attacked with five players -- Racing's front line was composed of Ruben Belen, Oreste Corbatta, Pedro Mansilla, Juan Jose Pizzuti and Sosa.

Sosa also scored 11 goals in 18 appearances for Argentina's national team, winning the 1959 Copa America. Sosa played for Argentina in the 1962 World Cup in Chile, starting in a 3-1 loss to England in Rancagua. His career nearly ended after he sustained broken tibia and perone bones, an injury which few athletes recovered from in that era.

Sosa's nickname was "El Marques," because his movements and stature suggested royalty. He played on the left, as "a No. 10," a highly-respected role anywhere, but especially in Argentina. Sosa scored 82 times in 151 games for Racing, then went to Nacional in Uruguay. Sosa was in the Nacional lineup for the first two games of the 1967 Copa Libertadores final -- against Racing -- but not in the team for the deciding third game, won by Racing. The '67 Racing Club team, coached by Pizzuti, had a 39-game unbeaten streak and won the Intercontinental Cup in a three-game series against Celtic, becoming the first Argentinian club to win what was considered the world championship for clubs.

Sosa moved to the U.S. for one season, then returned to Argentina for a final year. According to the Clarin story, Sosa was an "amigo de la cultura tanguera" and spent much of his time at the tango club El Tabano.