Club Career
In 1958, Ely spent a single season in the Philadelphia United Soccer League, an amateur city league. In 1959, he signed with the Ukrainian Nationals of the American Soccer League (ASL). Over his six seasons with the Nationals, the team won four league championships and three National Challenge Cup titles. In both 1961 and 1963, Ely and his team mates took the “double” of league and cup championships. The Nationals spent one season in the Eastern Professional Soccer League in 1964-1965. However, the league folded at the end of the season.
Ely took every opportunity to play. In addition to the Nationals, he played with several teams in other leagues during the ASL off season. In 1960, he was with the New York Americans of the International Soccer League. Then in 1961 and 1962, he played with Toronto Roma of the Eastern Canada Professional Soccer League with whom he won a league championship. He returned to the Eastern Canada League in 1964 and 1965 with Toronto City. Ely’s devotion to the game reached its height in 1965. In addition to playing for the Nationals and Toronto City, he also played in the German American Soccer League.
While playing in multiple leagues in two countries, Ely also attended the University of Maryland. He graduated with a bachelor’s degree in foreign language education in 1964.
In 1965, Ely returned to Brazil where he became an English teacher and played professionally with Santos. In 1972, he returned to the U.S., settling in Philadelphia where he attended Temple University. While working on his master’s degree, Ely both played for and coached the Philadelphia Spartans for the 1972 ASL season. The Spartans folded at the end of the season and Ely moved to the Delaware Wings of the ASL. The Wings folded at the end of the 1974 season.
He continued to play in the International United German Hungarian Old Timers tournaments from 1976 to 1985.
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