Paul Child owns an incredibly decorated playing career, one almost unmatched by anyone to have played professionally in Pittsburgh.
But Child’s induction into the Riverhounds SC Hall of Fame as a builder recognizes the massive influence the England native has had through the club’s history without kicking a ball himself, as the former coach, youth director and broadcaster takes his place in the Hall’s Class of 2024.
Child’s playing career brought him to the United States and the old North American Soccer League as a 19-year-old, when Aston Villa loaned him to the Atlanta Chiefs in 1972. The next 10 years would include stops in Memphis, a return to Atlanta and being called up briefly to the U.S. National Team, but he is most known for his six-year run with the San Jose Earthquakes, a club celebrating its 50th anniversary that recently named Child one of their 50 greatest players.
After scoring 102 NASL goals — fifth-most in history — Child came to Pittsburgh to join the indoor Pittsburgh Spirit for the 1981-82 season. He played five years and starred for the Spirit with 140 goals, and though he left to play two more seasons after the Spirit folded in 1986, he had found a home in Pittsburgh.
Child moved into coaching, spending time with Beadling SC and with the short-lived indoor Pittsburgh Stingers, where he coached current Hounds boss Bob Lilley. But in 1998, he was pitched a new coaching opportunity.
“I had a real good job, and I was working, but Dave Kasper, who was the general manager at the time, contacted me and said, ‘Paul, we’re putting this Riverhounds organization, an outdoor soccer team, and we want you to be part of it,’” Child recalled. “I said tell me about it, because I’d been out of (coaching) for two or three years, and he set it up for me. John Kowalski’s going to be coach, and we want you there as assistant coach and youth development director. I said I’ll be over there in a minute, because I always knew this game could happen in Pittsburgh.”
The biggest reason Child had faith in what the Riverhounds could become was the fans in Pittsburgh. He had seen the Spirit draw 8,000 fans per game to the old Civic Arena in 1983-84 — outdrawing the NHL’s Penguins in their final pre-Mario Lemieux season — and knew those fans still inhabited the city.
“It was a great idea, and I knew it could really work here. They were such good fans for the indoor game, and I knew they were out there for the outdoor game once we got into it,” Child said.
“What a fantastic memory that is, coming to the first game, and the place being absolutely jam-packed. The atmosphere was absolutely fantastic. I knew that these players, if you’re going to play for a crowd, this is what you want. The stadium packed, no matter how big it is, the atmosphere will bring the best out of you, and you’ll know if you’re a player if you want to go there and play.”
Child was on the Hounds coaching staff for a pair of stints, under Kowalski with the original staff and returning under Gene Klein in 2006.
The pairing of Child and Klein, a 2022 Hounds Hall of Fame inductee, was a natural one, with the two having worked together as coaches and being good friends away from the field. For that reason, it made perfect sense for the two to bring their rapport to the broadcast booth when Hounds games began to be broadcast regularly from Highmark Stadium, first on YouTube, and later as part of the USL Championship’s national streaming and broadcast deals.
That gave Child a front-row seat for many of the Hounds’ top moments over a seven-year stretch, including the club’s friendly against FA Cup holders Wigan Athletic and the Miracle on the Mon, which might not have been the same without Child’s excited “Woo-hoo!” and “Oh my!” punctuating the goal celebration.
Child’s status as one of the faces of Pittsburgh soccer has continued in various coaching roles and other gigs, including sideline reporting at major international matches to come to the Steel City. And his induction to the Riverhounds Hall of Fame is just the latest honor for a man who, in 2003, went into the National Soccer Hall of Fame, and 10 years later was named to the San Jose Sports Hall of Fame.
But this honor is a special one for the man who first arrived in Pittsburgh 40 years ago, and since then, has seen the sport he loves expand in the town he now calls home.
“In my mind, I knew it could grow that way. I’m going into the Hall of Fame here as a builder, and now I realize what a builder is,” Child said. “I think you see the potential, and you go out and do clinics, promote the game, have players go out to schools…
“I always thought this could happen, and I see it now, and it’s going to get bigger. Now we’re competing with the (Penguins) and the Pirates and the Steelers, and I never thought that was possible because of the size of those organizations. But now I can see, five more years down the line, 10 more years, look how the game is still growing. And when I came here from England at 19 or 20, that’s what I came here to do — grow the game with the American public.”
