Meet a pioneer of Ohio State soccer
Meet a pioneer of Ohio State soccer
As told by Apeksh Desai
My conversation with Paul Halpern ’54 not only rekindled memories, but also illuminated a unique Ohio State journey that began on the soccer field and extended far beyond.
A Holocaust survivor, Paul immigrated to the United States with a goal of earning an engineering degree, only to take a different path that led him to pursue a journalism degree at Ohio State in the early 1950s.
During his time on campus, Paul was the goalkeeper on the original Ohio State men's club soccer team before the establishment of the varsity team, of which he would become a founding member in 1953. Those years brought about lasting camaraderie and memorable victories over teams such as Oberlin, Ohio University, Earlham College and Kenyon that would create unforgettable memories for Paul.
After graduating in 1954, Paul joined the ROTC Commission and served with honor in The United States Air Force from 1955 to 1975. However, Paul’s enthusiasm for journalism persisted, leading him to a successful, decades-long writing career after his service in the Air Force. Now, he still writes for his community magazine, The Fairways Legend. In a recent article, he recounted what it was like to be on the men’s soccer team in the ’50s.
Paul expressed to me that a “bucket list” desire of his was to revisit the familiar grounds of our campus, so we reached out to Brian Maisonneuve, Head Coach of Men's Soccer, who graciously invited Paul on a tour of the Schumaker Complex — a new the state-of-the-art facility that’s focused on the physical and psychological development of student-athletes on 33 teams at Ohio State.
During his visit, Paul shared years of wisdom with the Men's Soccer Team of 2023, his photographs from the ’50s, his original Varsity “O” sweater, and a generous gift to the Men's Soccer Program Support Fund. Read more on Paul’s visit in this article from the Ohio State Alumni Magazine.
“It’s been 73 years, and we started all of this,” said Paul during his visit.
Paul's daughter, Susan Halpern, later followed in his footsteps, graduating from Ohio State with a degree in business in 1981. Today, Paul’s Buckeye legacy continues as his grandnephew and niece, Matt Blumenthal and Anna Leyton, pursue their degrees at Ohio State.
Paul's journey stands as a testament to the unbreakable bond that unites Buckeyes across generations. As the seasons change, Paul's story reminds us that our identity as Buckeyes extends far beyond graduation — it weaves a tapestry of shared experiences and lasting connections that continue to shape lives and legacies.
Story collected by Apeksh Desai, written and edited by Will Hejduk