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.
Leagues
Playoffs, then and now
American soccer has had varied experience with playoffs over the years, some good, some bad.
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.
More than spectators
American soccer’s contribution to the American war effort of 1941-45 is not as well known as that of baseball or football, but it definitely did exist.
Old parks
Roger Allaway looks at some historic soccer grounds, some still here, others long gone.
Bethlehem and Fall River
Bethlehem Steel vs. Fall River was the first great intersectional rivalry in American soccer, and more than 100 years after its last game, it may still be the greatest.
The sad end of the original NASL Cosmos
The decline and fall of the original NASL Cosmos was not a heroic story. It really began in 1982, but its last stages, in 1984 and 1985, were the particularly grim ones.
The NASFL
During the years when the East Coast-based American Soccer League was the best in American soccer, a common theme was that a way to expand the sport in the United States would be to establish a midwestern equivalent of the ASL.
The enterprising Sam Mark
While not a dedicated champion of the game like Tom Cahill or Edgar Lewis, Sam Mark built one of the great American soccer teams, the Fall River Marksmen.
The Bicentennial Cup
The what cup? Roger Allaway explains.
The Lewis Cup
In its day, which lasted from 1925 to 1963, the Lewis Cup was one of the biggest events in American soccer.
Is this the American style?
It is often said that the United States doesn’t have a distinct national style of playing soccer.
The Cosmos’ takeoff in 1977
Roger Allaway looks at how the New York Cosmos became “The Cosmos!” in 1977.
D-Day at the Polo Grounds
Nearly every professional sports event in the United States was canceled or postponed on June 6, 1944. Roger Allaway looks at one of the few that wasn’t, a benefit soccer tournament at the Polo Grounds featuring ASL teams.
A starry night in New Jersey
Roger Allaway looks at a game that could have been a magnificent event for American soccer but instead was a rather bittersweet occasion.
The Archives Room: Hakoah left its mark on America
Roger Allaway on the legacy of the US tours by Austria’s Hakoah team in the 1920s.
The Cosmos-Whitecaps classic of 1979
Roger Allaway on the second leg of the 1979 championship semifinal between New York Cosmos and Vancouver Whitecaps, considered by many to be the best game in the history of the original NASL.
RIP, Pelé
The greatest player of in the history of the game has died at the age of 82
The “American Menace”
Roger Allaway looks back to when European club soccer felt threatened by the ASL.
Who scored the first professional goals in US soccer history?
Who scored the first goals in the earliest US professional leagues? Brian Bunk looks at the available evidence.
The record-setting Archie Stark
Billy Gonsalves is considered by many to be the best US player before the Second World War but Archie Stark remains the greatest goalscorer the US has ever produced.
Two finals
Roger Allaway looks at the parallels between the 1960 US Open Cup final and the 2022 MLS Cup final.
That second leg is a killer
Roger looks back to the 1931 ASL championship to show how second-leg games can result in surprises.
The Archives Room: What was the Soccer War?
Roger Allaway looks at the American Soccer War, the 1928-29 struggle between the U.S. Football Association and the American Soccer League over control of the sport in the US.
Bill Cox and the ISL showed the way
Roger Allaway looks at the International Soccer League, an important step that helped to pave the way toward the start of the original NASL and thus the American soccer scene of today.
Marksmen celebrate a century: The history of a storied American club
Derek Gonsalves reviews the history of the Fall River Marksmen, arguably the preeminent US club of its day, to mark the 100th anniversary of its founding.
Sailor lads, jolly tars, and rovers of the briny deep: International ship-crew soccer matches in the US, 1890-1905, part 1
Ed Farnsworth’s review of matches between US clubs and British ship crew teams between 1890 and 1905 begins with a look at matches played in New York and Northern New Jersey.
Overview: The American Soccer League, 1921-1934
Dan Creel recounts each ASL season between 1921 and 1934
The Oakland Clippers: A Personal Reflection on Pro Soccer in the 1960s
Derek Liecty recalls the NPSL-champions and original NASL side the Oakland Clippers.
Reading your own obituary: Samuel Bustard, the 1918 Spanish Flu pandemic, and the evolution of New York Metro Area soccer
Kurt Rausch’s examination of the career of Samuel Bustard — who was widely, and wrongly, reported dead during the 1918 Spanish Flu epidemic — illuminates soccer in the New York Metro Area in the 1910s and 1920s.
Rowlands stood tall, always will
A tribute to John Rowlands, an original Seattle Sounders, who passed away from the Coronavirus in April.
After the collapse: ALPF vs. ALPF in Baltimore and Fall River, 1894-96
Following the collapse of the ALPF after only 16 games over two weeks, four former ALPF sides met in seven additional matches, including a series of three games in Fall River for the “championship of America.” Former Boston and Brooklyn ALPF professionals continued in Fall River after that.
What Happened to Mark’s Stadium?
The original Mark’s Stadium was built in 1921. What happened to it?
The AAPF and the ALPF: The beginnings of professional league soccer in the United States
A look at the first professional soccer leagues in the US, the American Association of Professional Football and American League of Professional Football, with new information on the lesser known AAPF.
Harrison’s Maradona: A Recollection of Al “Funze” Jennette
Frank Santamassino’s cousin, Al Jennette, who everyone called Funze, played professional soccer in New York City in the 1940s, and he is one of the many forgotten stars in American soccer history.
A first and lasting impression
Bob Robertson was the original voice of the NASL Seattle Sounders.
Interview with Clive Toye
An interview with Clive Toye, the man who signed Pele to the Cosmos.
It ain’t over ’til it’s over
New Bedford Whalers entered the second leg of the 1931 ALS championship against New York Giants with an 8-3 deficit to overcome.
History of the Philadelphia Fury, part three: Exit the Fury
The Frank Worthington debacle Although much improved, the Fury remained an inconsistent side. Through April, the team was 2-4. However, help was on the way with the arrival of Ball and the acquisition of another goal scorer, Frank Worthington, on loan from Bolton. Worthington finished the 1978-79 season as the […]
History of Philadelphia Fury, part two: The Fury simmers
Steve Holroyd’s look at the history of the Philadelphia Fury continues.
History of the Philadelphia Fury, part one: Enter the Fury
Part one of a history of the Philadelphia Fury of the original NASL.
A simple protestation
On Ferenc Puskas’s tenure as head coach of the Vancouver Royals in the first year of the original NASL.
A stumbling start for U.S. pro soccer
Roger Allaway on the shaky beginnings of professional league soccer in the US.
Philadelphia and the other first professional soccer league in the U.S.
Formed in reaction to the National League baseball-backed American League of Professional Football, the American Association of Professional Football appears to have played its first games before, and outlived, the ALPF.
The unfortunate Steve Zungul
There was more to Steve Zungul than just his storied indoor career.
Keller, Schmid just the latest Washington legends
2015 National Soccer Hall of Fame inductees Kasey Keller and Sigi Schmid join eight other Washington state members of the Hall.
It’s time to remember the Ukrainian Nationals
Steve Holroyd on the remarkable record of the Ukrainian Nationals, which included four US Open Cup titles between 1960 and 1966.
Philadelphia German Americans win the 1936 US Open Cup
On May 3, 1936, Philadelphia German Americans became the first amateur team, and the first team from the city of Philadelphia, to win the US Open Cup.
The Cosmos’ takeoff in 1977
The Cosmos may not have always been “The Cosmos!” but by the end of the 1977 season, in which they won their second NASL title, they definitely were.
Another soccer war?
Steve Holroyd on what happened the last time two professional soccer leagues were rivals for Division I status in 1967.
On writing “The San Jose Earthquakes: A Seismic Soccer Legacy”
Gary Singh on writing his history of the San Jose Earthquakes.
Preserving and exhibiting Bay Area soccer history
Like many, I’m a transplant to the San Francisco Bay Area. I found over time that the region has a rich soccer history, much of it of relatively recent vintage and yet oddly unknown and in danger of being lost. For example, I had lived in my neighborhood near downtown […]
Be very afraid: U.S. soccer’s most dominant teams ever
Looking back over ASL I, the NASL, and MLS, which teams were the most dominant? Steve Holroyd explores.
Who’s better, who’s best: Leveling the pitch to find the best US club sides ever
Steve Holroyd performs some statistical leveling to determine the all-time top 15 US pro soccer teams.
Moving the goalposts
The ASL in the 1920s has been called the “golden age” of American soccer. Some older fans argue that the NASL was “better” than MLS. What do the numbers say.
Steve Moyers: American-born goalscorer
A look at the all-time leading American-born goalscorer in the original NASL.
Len Oliver Q&A: Playing in the pros in 1950s Philadelphia and beyond
Our series of conversations with Philadelphia-born National Soccer Hall of Famer Len Oliver continues.
Philadelphia Soccer in the 1940s and 1950s, part 5: The pro game in 1950s Philadelphia
National Soccer Hall of Famer Len Oliver’s series continues.
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