Two-hundred and seven: That’s the number of players who have just one solitary cap with the U.S. men’s national team. Only once did they play in a senior team game. Some of the 207 you have heard of, like former USMNT coach Bruce Arena (1973 vs. Israel), and some you haven’t, like Jimmy Ford (1916 vs. Sweden).
Amazingly, two of these one-cappers got their appearance in a World Cup: Walter Dick, in a 7-1 loss to hosts Italy in 1934, while Adam Wolanin played in the 3-1 loss to Spain at Brazil 1950.
There are oddities, too. Otto Decker scored a brace in a 6-3 loss to England in 1953 and never saw the field again for the Americans. Meanwhile, Gordon Burness originally played for Canada and scored in a 6-1 loss to the U.S. in 1926, before switching to the U.S. and playing his lone game against — wait for it — Canada!
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The stories of these 207 men in the one-cap club reach far and wide, and ESPN had the opportunity to visit with several of them. They all offered different perspectives on the experience, but they all agreed on one thing: playing at the highest level for their country was the honor of a lifetime. Their lives have each taken twists and turns since wearing the U.S. shirt, but even though it only happened once, these moments in the history books is forever theirs.
Eddie Robinson, defender: Jan. 19, 2008 vs. Sweden
A four-time MLS Cup winner with San Jose and Houston, Eddie Robinson brought a hard edge to those championship teams, but his propensity to flirt with the red card always seemed to damage his national team hopes. “What I heard from both Bruce and Bob [Bradley] was basically, ‘I can’t trust you to not get sent off.’ I understood that. That was just how I was wired,” said Robinson.
Robinson got called…
Source : espn
