Fred Shields (soccer)

For other people with the same name, see Fred Shields.

Fred Shields
Personal information
Full name Fred Julius Shields[1]
Birth name Ferdinand Julius Zbikowski
Date of birth (1912-11-18)November 18, 1912
Place of birth Harrison, New Jersey, U.S.
Date of death January 28, 1985(1985-01-28) (aged 72)
Place of death Harrison, New Jersey, U.S.
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
Newark Portuguese
Independent
Prague
Kearny Scots-Americans
International career
1936 United States 1 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Fred Julius Shields (born Ferdinand Julius Zbikowski; November 18, 1912 – January 28, 1985) was a U.S. soccer player who was a member of the U.S. soccer team at the 1936 Summer Olympics.[2] He played professionally in the American Soccer League and is a member of the National Soccer Hall of Fame.

Zbikowski was born in Harrison, New Jersey, where he played soccer at Harrison High School. He then attended Panzer College. He played for the Newark Portuguese in the State League, Independent F.C. in the Northern New Jersey League, Prague Football Club and the Kearny Scots-Americans of the American Soccer League. He was a member of the U.S. soccer team at the 1936 Summer Olympics.[3] He served with the Third Army during World War II. Shields was a physical education instructor at Harrison High School for 40 years; his wife also taught at the school, and his son Ron was HHS principal for 19 years.[4] He served as a high school, college and senior amateur referee from 1946 to 1973. He was also a referee of some 1948 National Challenge Cup games. At some point, he changed his name to Fred Shields. He was inducted into the National Soccer Hall of Fame in 1968 under that name.

  1. ^ "Draft Registration Cards for New Jersey, October 16, 1940–March 31, 1947". Selective Service System: New Jersey State Headquarters. Record Group 147: Records of the Selective Service System; Box: 604 – via National Archives and Records Administration.
  2. ^ "Fred Shields". Olympedia. Retrieved September 23, 2021.
  3. ^ FIFA Player Profile
  4. ^ Staff. "Going out in style with Blue Ribbon", The Observer Online, April 23, 2014. Accessed October 30, 2017. "His dad, Fred Shields, a 1936 soccer Olympian, was a physical education instructor and his mother, Amelia Nowak, was in the business department. Fred taught 40 years at HHS; Amelia, 28 years, after spending a decade at Hillside High. They met while teaching in Harrison."