On Wednesday night, when the Cosmos host the San Francisco Deltas in Brooklyn, a strong connection with an organization with strong historical ties to the club will be revived as we celebrate Special Olympics New York Night.

Two teams of Special Olympics New York athletes will compete on the MCU Park pitch during halftime. Special Olympics New York provides training and competition to athletes with intellectual and developmental disabilities in more than twenty sports. Soccer is offered as a fall sport.

The connection between the Cosmos and Special Olympics goes back to when Stanley Startzell, a member of the 1972 NASL Championship team, reached out to his former club five years after he had left, looking for a job. The first player drafted out of college by the Cosmos and the first Ivy Leaguer to play in the NASL, the University of Pennsylvania alum had served a dual role helping in the front office during his season with New York. He left seeking more playing time with his hometown Philadelphia Atoms, winning a second NASL title in as many seasons.

After a knee injury put an early end to his playing career, he traveled the world and came back home in need of employment. As Startzell explains: “I called the Cosmos office that April [1977] and they said the season had just started, they didn’t have anything. But a day or two later they called me back and said Eunice [Kennedy] Shriver is looking for someone to start a soccer program for Special Olympics, and to start training and programs for all their other sports, too.”

Starzell would spend five years as Director of Coaching and Training for all sports at Special Olympics, naturally emphasizing soccer programming. Having helped him land the role, the Cosmos never spared a chance to show support.

“They were phenomenal,” recalls Starzell, “Extremely supportive. Any time I called Pelé (or called Professor Mazzei) and asked him to do an appearance, he did it.”

So the Cosmos are excited to revive a connection begun forty years ago by celebrating Special Olympics New York Night at Coney Island. For more information on Special Olympics New York, visit http://specialolympics-ny.org.