A Northern California soccer official who was heavily involved in San Francisco’s Peninsula Soccer League and in the development of youth soccer in the San Francisco Bay area.
Abronzino was born in Italy in 1920 and emigrated to Connecticut as a teenager. He played for and coached several teams in the Hartford area before moving to California in the 1950s. In 1957, he helped to organize the four-team Peninsula League and served as its secretary-treasurer for more than 10 years beginning in 1961. In 1959, he organized the Sons of Italy team in San Jose.
During his years of involvement with soccer in northern California, he also served in a number of other positions, including as a member of the Referees Committee of the California Soccer Football Association and as secretary of the California section of the National Amateur Cup competition. Abronzino was a referee throughout his years in soccer, and continued to referee games into the 1990s.
At Watson Park in San Jose, Calif., a soccer faciity is named the Umberto Abronzino Soccer Bowl in his honor.
Inducted in 1971.
