North Carolina State University Athletics
Ramos Inducted into National Soccer Hall of Fame
8/31/2005 12:00:00 AM | Men's Soccer
Aug. 31, 2005
Raleigh, N.C. - Former NC State men's soccer standout and U.S. National Team member Tab Ramos was inducted into the National Soccer Hall of Fame Monday in a ceremony at the Hall in Oneonta, N.Y. Ramos was inducted along side fellow U.S. internationals Marcelo Balboa and John Harkes. The trio of World Cup veterans, who gained entry into the Hall in their first year on the ballot, were joined by Fernando Clavijo (Veteran), Hank Steinbrecher (Builder) and five pre-NASL players during the two-day induction that culminated with a friendly match between the Colorado Rapids and D.C. United.
Each of the five inductees were honored Monday morning inside the National Soccer Hall of Fame and spoke to the overflowing crowd that came out to support the newest Hall of Famers. Balboa, Harkes and Ramos were overwhelming favorites to be enshrined as the 2005 Class, each having collected well over the 80 percent of the votes required for induction back in April, while Clavijo and Steinbrecher each received more than the 50 percent of the votes required from Hall of Famers.
Steinbrecher, the former Secretary of U.S. Soccer and current President of Touchline Consultants, kicked off the ceremony, stating that soccer has grown immensely in the USA before thanking the numerous people that helped him during his career. "Ladies and gentlemen, our time has come," he said. "If there's anyone alive on this planet today and doesn't believe that soccer is an American game is living a delusion."
Ramos was the last of the inductees to speak, touching on how he was fortunate to have people who helped him grow as a soccer player and a person, and that he never expected to be in the Hall of Fame.
"The Hall of Fame is so far beyond anything you can dream about that to say that I had a dream about this would be an outright lie," said Ramos, who appeared in three World Cups for the United States. "When you get elected into the Hall of Fame, you get elected into a group of elite people who are the top of the top of the game at the professional level. Just to be standing here is an incredible honor for me."
Ramos played for the Pack from 1984-87, earning All-American honors three years, before becoming one of the most recognizable faces of soccer around the world.
He is now serving as the President and Founder of Tab Ramos Soccer Programs, a New York Corporation doing camps, clinics and coaching in New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania. He also is the President and Founder of the New Jersey Soccer Academy, which is an elite soccer club for boys. He is President and Founder of Tab Ramos GOAL! Foundation, a non-profit organization helping inner city children with education through sports.
Visit ussoccer.com to listen to Balboa, Harkes and Ramos' induction speeches, and for information on the National Soccer Hall of Fame go to: www.soccerhall.org.
