Zenon Snylyk

Zenon Snylyk was born in Ukraine but moved to the United States with his family when he was 16-years-old. He attended the University of Rochester, graduating with a degree in political science in 1955. That same year, Snylyk became a naturalized American citizen. While at Rochester he played soccer (football) and earned All-American honors in 1954 and 1955. Snylyk later earned a masters’ degree from the University of Chicago in 1958 and then taught political science at McGill in Montréal in 1959-60.

Snylyk started his club soccer career in the US with the Rochester Ukrainians, playing with them from 1950-55 and in 1957. In an almost 20-year career he played for multiple teams, including the Montréal Ukrainians, Chicago Levy, the Toronto Ukrainians, and the Newark Ukrainian Sitch. He competed for the US national team at the 1956 Olympics and at the 1959 and 1963 Pan American Games, winning a bronze medal in 1959. He also earned five other caps for the US from 1957-61, including in World Cup qualifiers. In business Snylyk edited The Ukrainian Weekly from 1962-80 and then became editor of the Ukrainian-language newspaper, Svoboda, retiring in June 1988. He was inducted into the University of Rochester Hall of Fame in 2005.