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.
Northeast
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 shirt sponsor in 1887?
Fall River Rovers played in a jersey that displayed a shirt sponsor in 1887.
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.
A perfect 10
Not too many teams have played shorthanded for the full 90 minutes and not only won but collected a trophy, too.
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 Cosmos’ takeoff in 1977
Roger Allaway looks at how the New York Cosmos became “The Cosmos!” in 1977.
Got mud?
Three replays and lots of mud in the 1914 American Cup quarterfinal between Bethlehem Steel and West Hudson.
The unusual Edgar Lewis
Roger Allaway on the driving force behind the powerhouse Bethlehem Steel team of 100 years ago, a man who was an oddity in American soccer.
The Archives Room: The greatest Open Cup final?
In the 1960 US Open Cup final, Philadelphia’s Ukrainian Nationals came from behind three times over 120 minutes to win the championship with Mike Noha scoring all five of the Uke Nats goals. Roger Allaway has the story.
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.
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.
A soccer sculpture in Harrison
Tom McCabe on the recent unveiling of a statue in Harrison, New Jersey, commemorating the history of soccer in the West Hudson.
That second leg is a killer
Roger looks back to the 1931 ASL championship to show how second-leg games can result in surprises.
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 2
Ed Farnsworth’s review of matches between US clubs and British ship crew teams between 1890 and 1905 continues with a look at games played in Massachusetts and Rhode Island.
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.
The rise and fall: Fall River and Pawtucket soccer, 1883-1896
In the decade after the founding of the Fall River’s East End team, Fall River and Pawtucket rose to be perhaps the preeminent center of soccer in the United States. Then, over the course of three seasons, organized soccer in the cities collapsed. Ed Farnsworth looks at the rise and fall.
“Talented but Tainted”: Henry “Harry” Boyd in the US, 1891-92
Ed Farnsworth and Kurt Rausch look at the season Scottish-born Henry “Harry” Boyd spent in the US in 1891-92 during which he played for Chicago Thistle, Fall River Olympics, and also Fall River East End, the latter with whom he won the American Cup. Boyd’s playing career in England and Scotland included stints at Sunderland Albion, Burnley, West Bromwich Albion, Third Lanark, Woolwich Arsenal, and Newton Heath.
The origin of the National Soccer Hall of Fame
Ed Farnsworth looks at how a reunion of old teammates in Philadelphia led to the formation of the National Soccer Hall of Fame.
Gentlemen of Color: Oliver and Fred Watson, the earliest known African American soccer players in the United States
Ed Farnsworth and Brian Bunk on Oliver “Allie” Watson and Fred Watson, two brothers from Rhode Island who between them from 1894 to 1901 were the first African Americans to play in a senior soccer league, to play and score in an American Cup match, win a league championship, and play for a professional team.
Behind the footage: BSFC plays AIK and a select Swedish Provinces team in 1919
Ed Farnsworth looks at the first and third matches of Bethlehem Steel FC’s 1919 tour of Sweden and Denmark.
SASH uncovers footage of first overseas tour by a US club, Bethlehem Steel FC’s 1919 Scandinavian Tour
The footage is from two matches during the 1919 tour and is the earliest known footage of a professional US soccer team.
The life — and murder — of the first American-born president of U.S. Soccer
Elmer Schroeder was elected as the first native-born president of US Soccer in 1932. Two decades later he was murdered.
Footage from the Fall River Marksmen’s 1930 Central European tour
Derek Goncalves recounts the Marksmen’s 1930 Central European tour. Includes footage of the final match of the tour from the National Film Institute of Hungary.
Fifty Years On: Teska and Schellscheidt on the 1970 U.S. Open Cup
Heinz Teska and Manny Schellscheidt reflect on Elizabeth SC’s run through the US Open Cup in 1970. Includes a video interview.
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.
Philly’s first international club friendly
A friendly between a local cricket club and a touring English cricket club in 1901 helped spur soccer’s resurgence in Philadelphia after the depression that followed the Panic of 1893.
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 origins of soccer in Philadelphia, part 5: Local college-based football after the 1863 Laws of the Game
The series on the origins of soccer in Philadelphia continues with a look at the development of university- and college-based football in the 1870s.
The origins of soccer in Philadelphia, part 4: The first account of soccer-style football after codification?
The series on the origins of soccer in Philadelphia continues with a look at football in Philadelphia in the years immediately after the 1863 FA code.
Philadelphia Soccer and the 1918 Spanish Flu Epidemic
A look at soccer in Philadelphia during the 1918 Spanish Flu epidemic.
The origins of soccer in Philadelphia, part 3: 19th century football before codification
The series on the origins of soccer in Philadelphia continues with a look at 19th-century football before the 1863 Laws of the Game.
The origins of soccer in Philadelphia, part 2: Colonial football
A look at football in colonial and post-independence Philadelphia.
James and Joe, part 2
The story of James Currie and Joseph Cunat, two soccer-playing soldiers who served during World War I, concludes.
Including Kearny’s Leonard Raney
In the fall of 1922, Leonard H. Raney played on the first-ever varsity soccer team for Kearny High School. That New Jersey town, which would later be dubbed Soccer Town, USA, had long been a soccer hotbed. It was rare for African Americans to play soccer in the 1920s, and while African-American participation in the game still lags today, Raney was a soccer pioneer.
The origins of soccer in Philadelphia, part 1: Native American and British footballing traditions
The first installment of a ten-part series on the origins of soccer in Philadelphia.
The Barrow School Socker Foot Ball Team
A look at Black players on the “Barrow School Socker Foot Ball Team,” champions of Springfield, Massachusetts’ Junior League in 1908.
An Early Image of Black Soccer in New York City?
Does a 1915 image of a soccer match in New York’s Central Park include black players?
NYC Originals: Thanksgiving Games of the St. George’s Foot Ball Club
Thanksgiving soccer traditions in 19th century New York City.
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.
All-Scots in Bethlehem and Philadelphia, 1921
The 1921 All-Scots tour was the first by an international team backed by US Soccer.
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.
1916: Bethlehem Steel FC travels to St. Louis
Over the 1916 Christmas holiday, Bethlehem Steel FC, holders of the National Challenge Cup and the American Cup, traveled to St. Louis for two games to decide the unofficial title of champion of the United States.
Turkey Bowl
American football is a Thanksgiving tradition, but so is soccer. In fact, Thanksgiving Soccer is nearly as old as the holiday itself. A day of national thanksgiving goes back to the colonial period, but it took President Abraham Lincoln to institute it as a late-November holiday. Modern soccer, codified […]
When a goal is not a goal
An examination of the Columbia-Rutgers game played on Nov. 2, 1872 shows it was played under a form of association football rules, not American gridiron rules.
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.
1934: USA vs. Mexico and the “little truck”
Aldo “Buff” Donelli’s quartet of goals in the one-off playoff game against Mexico powered the US to a berth in the 1934 World Cup. It would 46 years before the US would defeat Mexico again.
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.
1913: Innisfails of St. Louis comes East
Our series on inter-city games involving Philadelphia area teams and St. Louis teams in the 1910s continues. When, a year after winning the American Cup, Tacony FC traveled to St. Louis in 1911, they came back from two goals down to draw 4–4 with St. Louis champion St. Leos in what newspaper reports […]
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.
The “champions of the Middle West” come to Philly, 1912
Tacony FC’s trip to St. Louis in December of 1911 to decide the “championship of America” had ended in disappointment. They would have a chance for revenge in March of 1912 when the St. Leos team of St. Louis embarked on a tour against leading East Coast teams.
1911’s “soccer championship of America”: Philadelphia’s Tacony FC in St. Louis
Part One of a series looking at inter-city games involving Philadelphia area teams and St. Louis teams in the 1910s. Soccer in the United States at the start of the 1910s was undergoing a rise in organization and popularity. That organization was largely locally based and varied in both scope […]
Yankee, Cowboy, Fenian Bastard: An American Catholic at Rangers Football Club
In 1976, Hugh O’Neill — born in Kearney, NJ into a family of Celtic supporters — became the first “admitted Catholic” to play for Rangers.
2-3-5 in the 215: Tactics in the early days of Philadelphia soccer
One formation ruled the game of soccer in Philadelphia for 60 years, the 2-3-5.
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