Born and raised in
The Hill area of
St. Louis, Missouri, Colombo played professionally for
St. Louis Simpkins-Ford, winning
National Challenge Cup medals with them in 1948 and 1950. He was known as "Gloves" because he always wore gloves when he played, regardless of the weather. Colombo played for the U.S. team from 1948 to 1952, including the
1–0 upset victory over
England in the
1950 FIFA World Cup, in which his foul against
Blackpool forward
Stanley Mortensen in the second half gave England the chance to tie the game. The header from the resulting free kick came very close to scoring a goal, but was saved by goalkeeper
Frank Borghi at the last second. The day after U.S. victory, Colombo was offered an opportunity to play professional soccer in
Brazil, but he turned it down and returned to his St. Louis club team. He later became the coach of the
St. Louis Ambrose team. He is buried in Old Saints Peter and Paul Catholic Cemetery, in
St Louis,
Missouri. ==References==