Brian D. Bunk on how teams and matches were organized in the early period of US soccer history.
Recent Posts
SASH Session, Friday, March 12 at 1pm ET: “Peters, Clovers, and Blue Chippers: the Emerald Influence on American Soccer” Updated with video
Michael Kielty, Pádraig Coyle, and Conor Curran will discuss the Irish influence on soccer in the United States.
SASH Virtual Session on Friday, February 5 at 12 pm ET: “Gentlemen of Color”: Oliver and Fred Watson, the earliest known African American soccer players in the United States Updated with video
Ed Farnsworth and Brian Bunk will present their research on Oliver and Fred Watson, two Black players born in Rhode Island who played between 1894 and 1907.
Red, White, and the Blue Ribbons: The Bavarian Soccer Club’s 1976 National Amateur Cup Championship
SASH member Robert A. Gansler has made a documentary about the Bavarian Soccer Club, five-time winners of the National Amateur Cup, and twice winners of the USASA National Open Cup.
Book Review: L’Histoire racontée par le Football, by Olivier Corbobesse
Osvaldo Croci reviews Olivier Corbobesse’s L’Histoire racontée par le Football
SASH Session Review: Soccer in the South Central and Midwestern United States
A review of December’s SASH session on the history of soccer in the South Central and Midwestern United States. Includes video from the session.
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.
SASH Virtual Session on Friday, December 4, 2020, at 2:00 PM EST: Soccer in the South Central and Midwestern United States Updated with Video
Patrick H. Salkeld, Jeff Organ, and Rachel Allison will discuss the history of soccer in the South Central and Midwestern regions of the United States. Updated with Video
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.
SASH Virtual Session, Friday, Nov. 6, 2020 at 12 pm ET: Researching Club History Updated with Video
The subject is researching and presenting club soccer history.
SASH Virtual Session Book Talk: A photographic tour of early Chicago soccer history with Gabe Logan Updated with video from the session
UPDATED WITH VIDEO FROM THE SESSION. Gabe Logan presents a photographic tour with images from his book, The Early Years of Chicago Soccer, 1887-1939
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.
We launched a gofundme!
SASH announces a gofundme campaign to help secure licensing for film footage of Bethlehem Steel FC in Scandinavia in 1919.
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.
Friday, Sept. 4 at 12 PM EDT: SASH Virtual Session on the discovery of the earliest known footage of the USMNT Updated with video of the session
Join us for a discussion of footage of the USMNT from their 1916 tour of Scandinavia. Updated with video of the discussion.
Behind the footage: The opening game of the USMNT’s 1916 Scandinavian tour
Ed Farnsworth looks at the opening match of the United States Football Association’s first international tour, which was in Stockholm against a club side, Tigrarna Fotbollkubben.
Behind the discovery of the earliest known footage of the United States Men’s National Team
Brian Bunk on the discovery by SASH of the earliest known footage of the USMNT in action, filmed during the team’s first-ever overseas tour in 1916 to Scandinavia.
SASH uncovers earliest known footage of the U.S. Men’s National Team
The footage is from the 1-1 draw at Stockholm Olympic Stadium with Stockholm Tigrarna on August 15, 1916, the first match of the first-ever overseas tour by the US Men’s National Team.
SASH Session Book Talk review: Beau Dure discusses his 2012: The Year that Saved Women’s Soccer
A review of the SASH Session with Beau Dure, who discusses his new book, 2012: The Year that Saved Women’s Soccer. Includes video.
SASH Virtual Session Book Talk: Beau Dure discusses his 2012: The Year that Saved Women’s Soccer
Join us as we host a discussion with Beau Dure on his recently published book.
SASH Session review: The Scotch Professor Network
A review of the “Scotch Professors” SASH Session on July 3. Includes video.
SASH Virtual Session on July 3: The Scotch Professors
On Friday, June 3 at 2 PM EST, SASH will be hosting a Zoom session on the influence of Scottish soccer in the development of the world’s game.
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.
SASH Symposium, Session 2
Video of SASH’s second virtual symposium now available.
SASH’s Second Virtual Symposium: “Domestic Leagues and International Stories”
SASH’s second virtual symposium will take place on Friday, June 5, 2020, at 1:00 PM EST
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.
Stars and Stripes Soccer on the Silver Screen before 1930
A look at the growing availability of pre-1930s motion picture footage of American soccer.
Rowlands stood tall, always will
A tribute to John Rowlands, an original Seattle Sounders, who passed away from the Coronavirus in April.
2020 SASH History Symposium Goes Virtual
A report on the first SASH virtual symposium. Includes video.
#docuhistory: Soccertown, USA
Join the online watch party and Twitter discussion of the award-winning documentary Soccertown, USA on Thursday, May 7, 2020, co-moderated by SASH president Tom McCabe and Matt Busch.
What did referee Dattilo really say to Colombo in Belo Horizonte?
How a regional dialect may have played a part in a famous incident during the USMNT’s historic victory over England in the 1950 World Cup.
SASH Virtual Symposium, 2020 UPDATED WITH ACCESS INFO
SASH has organized a new symposium that will take place over two sessions vis Zoom. The first session, “The East Coast’s Soccer’s Roots from the Gilded Age to the ASL,”will take place Friday, May 1. “Domestic Leagues & International Stories from the Progressive Era to Present,” will take place Friday, June 5.
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?
A Long Overdue Ode to Billy McGrath
Scottish-born Billy McGrath made his mark in Washington state. He was an exceptional player, manager and up-and-coming administrator who might have merited consideration for the National Soccer Hall of Fame – if not for one fateful decision to play just one more game.
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.
Soccer at the Inter-Allied Games of 1919: Team Canada
This is the third of three posts on the Inter-Allied Games. The first two in the series can be found here and here. I worked with Christian Hesle (@christianhesle) to identify the members of the Canadian soccer team that competed at the Inter-Allied Games in Paris in 1919. Using newspapers, […]
Philadelphia Soccer and the 1918 Spanish Flu Epidemic
A look at soccer in Philadelphia during the 1918 Spanish Flu epidemic.
April 2020 Symposium Canceled
The symposium scheduled to take place at Rutgers University Newark for April 18-19, 2020 has been canceled.
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.
Soccer at the Inter-Allied Games of 1919: The United States
Inconsistent and incomplete information regarding the players has made it difficult to identify most of the men who represented the United States at the Inter-Allied Games in 1919.
Update on April 2020 SASH Symposium
In view of the evolving coronavirus situation, an announcement will be made by March 20 as to whether the SASH symposium scheduled for April 18-19 at Rutgers University Newark will take place.
Soccer at the Inter-Allied Games of 1919: Top Stars
The first of a three-part series looking at soccer at the Inter-Allied games, an athletic tournament organized by the U.S. military and the YMCA held in Paris from June 22 – July 6, 1919.
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.
James and Joe, part 1
The first of a two-part series telling the story of two soccer-playing soldiers who served during World War I.
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?
An Indoor Session: SASH at the 2020 USC Convention
Summary of the Society for American Soccer History meeting, including videos of the various talks, at the 2020 United Soccer Coaches Convention in Baltimore, MD.
What Kind of Player was Gil Heron?
Brian Bunk on Heron’s playing style.
Gil Heron
Brian Bunk on Gil Heron, the first black professional soccer player in the United States.
Call for Papers: Society for American Soccer History Symposium, April 18-19, 2020
The next SASH symposium will be held on April 18 and 19, 2020 at Rutgers University-Newark.
Freedom to Play
In 1944 – at the height of WWII – Italian POWs arrived in Puget Sound. Their Allied captors allowed many freedoms, including formation of multiple teams in Washington state amateur soccer’s top division.
Perseverance in soccer: A useful trait
Len Oliver on how he is living proof that perseverance in soccer pays dividends.
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