The North Dallas 40 Story

Our story begins in the year 1974 with Bud Holloway(born 03-17-1929) who was approached while playing in a tennis tournament(which he won by the way) by Jim Boswell to try his athleticism in an "over-the-hill soccer league".

"Sounds good to me, but I don't know the first thing about soccer", recalls Bud. Bud Holloway was a decathalete in his younger days and has remained in excellent physical condition to this day. " I mostly remember knocking people down on their behinds at the first Saturday morning practice over at Walker Middle School," said Bud.

With 18 on the roster, John Howes who was team captain decided on a platoon substitute rotation ( 15 min on, 15 min off) on the first ND40 team which was one of eight teams(mostly Hispanic) that first season. Jim Gray, who was part of the first ND40 team, recalls those first couple of seasons as a "forgettable experience,…we didn't play well." In fact, the club finished in last place their inaugural season.


Arnold Morales, Jim Gray & Bud

Bud with Roger Burns & Allen Jensen
(and Pabst Blue Ribbon..of course!)

Having enjoyed the competition (and occasional Mexican brawl), Bud decided to offer everyone on the team a chance for more playing time by starting a new team; one in which he would captain and, of course, play the full 90 minutes. So in 1975, the new North Dallas 40 was formed and for the next several years enjoyed gradual improvement under Bud's leadership.

As the North Texas Premier Soccer Association formed (circa 1977), ND40 entered in the Open Division III in the new five division league. Bud also served as an Open Division II commissioner that year and has held numerous posts since then. When asked about his earlier and more memorable experiences with the club Bud said, " It had to be our first tournament win which was a big surprise to everyone, including us." The Dr Pepper Texas Adult Cup for the Men's Open Division was played at Franklin field in 1980. "They even had announcers calling the play by play," commented Bud. ND40 crushed the Austin Stars 3-0.

Through out most of the 80's, players who were considered the backbone to the team's success were: Jack Ng, Allan Jensen, Bill Burton, Jim Gray("Mr. Garbage"), Mike Lease, Craig Littlefield, Frank Yuric, Steve Kissner, Roger Burns, Mike Curtis, and Ben Davis. " We were a family. All sixteen players showed up to practices and the games. That was the key to our success," Bud noted.

The club always finished 1st, 2nd or 3rd in the division standings…a perennial play off team all throughout the 80's and most of the 90's. In the fall of 1985, the club expanded and formed a Men's Open Div II team. By the early 90's, ND40 had their first foray into the Over 30 Divisions. Today, ND40 Soccer Club continues to grow, establishing an over 40A and over 40B in 2002 while over 30B and over 30C continue to make there presence felt in their respective divisions.

And while there are new faces every season, many of the original team members have remained part of this one-of-a-kind Men's Soccer Club including Bud.


North Dallas 40-
Playoff game at Moss No. 6
Spring Season, 1988 Lost 1-0

North Dallas 40-(12/4/88) at Buckingham
Won 30B Championship 2-1

North Dallas 40-Circa 1985

North Dallas 40-Circa 1998

 


e-mail: info@nd40.com



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