Members of the National Soccer Hall of Fame surprised Tony Sanneh with big news on Thursday: the St. Paul native will be part of its 2026 induction class.
Sanneh will go into the U.S. hall alongside Chris Wondolowski, Tobin Heath and Heather O’Reilly on May 1 in Frisco, Texas.
“Honored, surprised. I put a lot of hard work into this, but I had a lot of support,” an emotional Sanneh said in a video posted on social media. “I appreciate everybody.”
Sanneh has been on the cusp of this honor. Last year, he barely missed out on induction as a veteran finalist. He and Chris Armas each received 19 votes from the 24-member voting committee, but Armas won on a tiebreaker over Sanneh and got into the hall.
This time, Sanneh is in.
Fellow St. Paulite Manny Lagos was alongside Sanneh during their youth, collegiate and pro careers. He was there again to help share the hall of fame induction with Sanneh on Thursday.
“It’s a long-time coming,” Lagos, now Minnesota United’s chief development officer, told the Pioneer Press. “From being one of the best contributors to the U.S. men’s national team and their run in 2002 to his post-soccer career in lifting up kids, it’s a well-deserved honor.”
Sanneh, 54, made 43 appearances with the U.S. men’s national team from 1997 to 2005. He missed out on the 1998 FIFA World Cup but became an indispensable player for the Americans at the 2002 World Cup in South Korea and Japan, playing every minute of all five matches.
At 6-foot-2, he earned the nickname “Big Cat.”
Sanneh was born in St. Paul, attended St. Paul Academy played for the St. Paul Blackhawks club team and then collegiately at Wisconsin-Milwaukee. He became the program’s career scoring leader as a striker — with 53 goals and 32 assists — in his four years (1990-93).
His 15-year professional career started in lower-level U.S. teams and climbed to the German Bundesliga. He played for Minnesota Thunder and that led to him being an MLS original with D.C. United during the league’s first year in 1996. With Sanneh, D.C. won consecutive MLS Cups and he remains the only player to score in back-to-back finals.
The defender/midfielder spent three years apiece with Herta Berlin and FC Nurnberg before wrapping up with four more stints with MLS clubs.
Sanneh post-playing career had a positive impact back home in St. Paul, starting the nonprofit Sanneh Foundation in the early 2000s to help children in the city.
Sanneh’s dad hails from Gambia and his mother, who was a social worker, is from Wisconsin.
“It was always about helping others,” Sanneh said in a U.S. soccer video. “For me, so many people helped me become who I became.”
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