Who is Barney Kempton? Another example that soccer is not a new phenomenon in America.
Recent Posts
SASH Session at the United Soccer Coaches Convention Votes Bruce the Best
At the United Soccer Coaches convention in Philadelphia on January 16, SASH hosted a discussion ranking the US World Cup coaches.
SASH at USC 2026 in Philly: Ranking the US World Cup Coaches Updated with Video
Join us for the discussion in Meeting Room 306 at the Philadelphia Marriott Downtown on Friday, January 16 at 2:30 PM.
Team America
In the fading years of the North American Soccer League, it used several strategies to try to resuscitate itself and regain its success of a few years before. One of those moves, which didn’t work any better than the others, was Team America, who played in the NASL in the 1983 season.
SASH Session, Friday, January 9 at 12 pm ET: Alex Popovich discusses his time with the first Junior US National team in 1964 Updated with Video
Alex Popovich will discuss his time with the first JUnior US National Team. The team competed in the second CONCACAF Youth Tournament, which was staged in Guatemala City in April 1964
Memories of the first US Junior National Team: Guatemala, 1964
Alex Popovich, a member of the first ever junior US national soccer team, shares memories of the team’s participation in the CONCACAF Youth Tournament in Guatemala City, April 1964.
Payback
Payback for the USWNT’s semifinal loss to Norway in the 1995 Women’s World Cup came only 13 months later when the team’s met in the Olympic semifinals in Atlanta.
SASH Session, Friday, December 5 at 12 PM ET: Blue Chippers from the Emerald Isle Updated with video
Conor Curran will discuss Irish male and female soccer players’ experiences of US soccer scholarships in the twentieth century and how valuable these scholarships were in terms of playing, education and post-university careers.
The NASL’s first crisis
Between the first NASL season, in 1968, and the second, 12 of the 17 NASL teams folded.
Bagpipes at the Polo Grounds
Decades ago, when England and Scotland felt far more certain of their status as masters of the sport than they do today, the English FA and the Scottish FA occasionally sent non-representative touring teams abroad under their banners to entertain the fans.
SASH Session, Friday, November 7 at 12 pm ET: “Anniversaries, soccer origin stories, and the Oneida Football Club” Updated with video
Kevin Tallec Marston and Mike Cronin will explain how the surprising story of a handful of old Boston boys has become a foundational origin point for soccer in the USA.
Pan-Am surprise
The United States team’s bronze-medal performance at the 1959 Pan-American Games in Chicago stands out as an unexpected surprise.
The Cummings Report
At the conclusion of the United States team’s trip to the 1930 World Cup in Uruguay, the manager of the team, Wilfred Cummings, wrote a report to the USFA on the trip.
Decline and fall
The main cause of the NASL’s demise was its over-expansion in 1978, but pinpointing when the decline began is difficult.
SASH Session on Friday, October 3 at 12 pm ET: The 1985ers Updated with Video
Rachel Allison, Jen Cooper, and Tom McCabe will talk about the first US Women’s National Team, otherwise known as the 1985ers.
The other side of the coin
A third batch of odd facts in American soccer history
Bethlehem Steel, Newark, Brooklyn Wanderers, and Fall River Marksmen identified as teams in historical American soccer footage from the 1920s
SASH recently released four clips of unidentified teams and grounds in Philadelphia as part of its Historical Footage campaign. Dan Creel describes how he identified the teams, grounds, and matches.
SASH Session on Friday, September 5 at 12 pm ET: Commemorating St. Louis Italian American players on the 1950 World Cup team Updated with Video
St. Louis soccer historian David Lange will be joined by Ernesto Milani to discuss the creation of a mural in Cuggiono, Italy honoring the participation of players from the St. Louis neighborhood The Hill on the US team at the 1950 World Cup.
Birth of the original ASL
The founding of the original American Soccer League more than 100 years ago is one of the landmark events in American soccer history, even though the league lasted only 10 years.
The way it wasn’t
Historical inaccuracies are common in movies. Those inaccuracies are piled pretty deep in in the USMNT’s lead-up to the 1950 World Cup in The Game of Their Lives/The Miracle Match.
The peacemaking Andrew M. Brown
Brown earned the reputation of a mediator between disputing factions.
Support the SASH Historical American Soccer Footage Campaign
With the 2026 World Cup fast approaching, more eyes will be looking at soccer in the US than ever before. With your support, those eyes will also see the rich visual history of American soccer.
The NASL’s other guys
Some particularly memorable NASL games in which the Cosmos didn’t play.
SASH releases historical Fox Movietone newsreel footage of American soccer from the 1920s
The footage includes the first international played by the US Men’s National Team in the US, the first ever footage in the world of a soccer match shot with sound, the 1924 US Open Cup final, and American Soccer League and Eastern Soccer League contests.
Happy days
The U.S. men’s national team has scored a few famous upsets against major teams over the years, and also a few significant victories that are not as well remembered.
SASH releases historical German American League color home movie footage from the 1950s
The footage features German American League play at legendary New York Metro Area soccer venues Metropolitan Oval, Eintracht Oval, and Zerega Oval.
The world’s earliest soccer film with sound
The 1927 film captures an uneventful match between unremarkable ASL teams at the end of a mediocre half-season. Yet, it is a milestone in the history of soccer.
SASH releases historical American soccer newsreel footage from 1940s and 1950s
Eleven clips of international friendlies and indoor matches played in New York City between 1941 and 1960 are being released.
U.S. vs. Canada in Kearny, 1885 and 1886
The U.S. Soccer Federation doesn’t recognize the 1885 and 1886 games against Canada as having been full internationals, and with good reason.
SASH releases earliest surviving film footage of soccer played in the US
The footage, identified in the archives of Cineteca di Bologna, shows San Francisco’s Italia Virtus club playing a team from a visiting Italian navy ship and is from a 1921 film directed by legendary American filmmaker Frank Capra.
A change of uniform
When the U.S. Soccer Federation used clubs to take the field in place of the U.S. men’s national team.
Springtime in Paris
The 1924 Olympic Games in Paris were a landmark event for the U.S. national soccer team.
Before the turning point
Everyone knows about Paul Caligiuri’s gamewinner against Trinidad and Tobago in 1989. So what else did the U.S. men’s national team do that year?
National Soccer Hall of Fame honors Roger Allaway
The “fixture in the world of American soccer history for decades” was honored by the NSHOF. Allaway has stepped down after serving for 25 years as the “guardian of our Hall of Fame eligibility process.”
The busy Jimmy Mills
About a man who can be called legendary, if it is possible for a person to be legendary when their legend is known only to a small and shrinking group of people.
What killed the NASL?
How the league lost sight of the long-term goal of steady growth and was seduced by the short-term income offered by expansion fees.
Fall River on tour
In 1930, a Fall River team built around the Fall River Marksmen played some of the best teams of Czechoslovakia, Hungary and Austria in Europe.
The Cosmos’ first campus visit
A few months after the 1971 NASL season, the New York Cosmos announced that they would be moving to Hofstra Stadium on Long Island for the 1972 season.
Eligibility issues
The USMNT has been involved in eligibility controversies over the years. Here are some of the issues.
The All-American Football Club
In 1916 in the midst of the First World War, the US played its first official internationals in Sweden and Norway.
The night the U.S. women arrived
The night when the U.S. women announced to the world that this nation that was a traditional doormat in men’s soccer was going to be a power in the women’s game.
SASH Session Video: “Implementing an Historical Initiative for Your Club, League, or Community” at USC Chicago
Whether it’s a club, a college, a supporter’s group or a professional team, history is an essential element for building strong, long-term soccer communities. David Kilpatrick and Chuck Carlson lead the discussion.
Celestial visitors? Almost
The Uruguayan team that toured the United States in 1927 wasn’t really the world champion it was touted as it may have been the greatest team ever to make an American tour.
Good days for the Cosmos
The New York Cosmos had an up-and-down record over the years in friendlies against European and South American teams. Two of those home friendlies that do stand out impressively.
DSV Germania: The 1930 Deutschamerikaner Tour
Robert Gansler reviews DSV Germania’s 1930 tour of Germany, which included players from Milwaukee, Grand Rapids, Chicago, Newark, New York City, and Philadelphia.
SASH Session, Friday, Dec. 6 at 12 pm ET: Oral History Workshop Updated with Video
The Oral History Workshop will be an overview of the basics of conducting oral histories and more.
A boost for Bethlehem
It was no coincidence that the Bethlehem Steel soccer team, one of the greatest in American soccer history, was at its peak at the same time that World War I was raging in Europe.
The wrong place at the wrong time
Smoke bombs thrown onto the field? Ho-hum. Hooligans in the streets? Yawn. There are American soccer players who have seen far worse, like tear gas in the stadium.
Footnotes
Some odd facts, footnotes in American soccer history.
These Pilgrims brought soccer
A very important factor in reviving American interest in soccer at the beginning of the 20th century was the visits of an English amateur all-star team called the Pilgrims, who made American tours in 1905 and 1909.
SASH Session, Friday, Oct. 4 at 12pm ET: Gabe Logan presents, “The First National Amateur Cup and the 1924 Olympic Team Selection” Updated with Video
Gabe Logan will discuss the origins of the National Amateur Cup tournament and its connection to the 1924 US Olympic soccer team.
The overlapping Werner Fricker
Fricker’s legacy remains not just as the man who brought the World Cup to the United States for the first time, but as an important bridge between eras in American soccer.
A century ago: The untold story of the 1924 U.S. Olympic team
Michael Lewis recounts the story of the first US Olympic soccer team.
Playoffs, then and now
American soccer has had varied experience with playoffs over the years, some good, some bad.
Honoring Colin Jose
Roger Allaway pays tribute to Colin Jose, the giant of North American soccer history who has passed away at the age of 88.
Formation and First Season of the National Association Football League, Part 3: The First Season is Completed
Kurt Rausch’s three-part examination of the the first National Association Football League season concludes with a review of the season’s play.
Formation and First Season of the National Association Football League, Part 2: Build Up to the First Season
Kurt Rausch’s three-part examination of the the first National Association Football League season continues as the league organizes for its first season in an extended period of economic depression, labor unrest, and reduced immigration.
Formation and First Season of the National Association Football League, Part 1: Setting the Stage
Kurt Rausch’s three-part examination of the the first National Association Football League season begins with a look at associations and leagues in the New York Metropolitan Area that preceded the league’s formation in 1895.
Rounding the curve in ’91
The events of 1991 included some important steps in the right direction for the US national team.
SASH Session, Friday, Sep. 6 at 12pm ET: A Survey of Minnesota Soccer History Updated with video
Brian D. Bunk, Brian Quarstad, and Chris Bolsmann will be the presenters.
Join SASH Today
$20.00
