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.
Tag: Bethlehem Steel FC
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.
Got mud?
Three replays and lots of mud in the 1914 American Cup quarterfinal between Bethlehem Steel and West Hudson.
Bethlehem Steel on tour
Overseas tours by American soccer teams have become, while not commonplace, at least not as unusual as they once were. The grand-daddy of them all was Bethlehem Steel’s tour of Sweden and Denmark in 1919.
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 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.
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.
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.
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.
James and Joe, part 2
The story of James Currie and Joseph Cunat, two soccer-playing soldiers who served during World War I, concludes.
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.
All-Scots in Bethlehem and Philadelphia, 1921
The 1921 All-Scots tour was the first by an international team backed by US Soccer.
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.
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.
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 […]
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.
Dick, Kerr Ladies come to Philadelphia, 1922
Women’s soccer has come a long way in the US. In 1922, it came all the way from England to Philadelphia.
Bethlehem Steel FC’s 1919 tour of Scandinavia
In 1919, Bethlehem Steel became the first US club to embark on an overseas tour.
Evolution of a kit: Bethlehem Steel FC
Between 1912 and 1930, Bethlehem Steel FC played in at least 11 different jersey designs.
Philly and the first USA international tour
On June 9, 1916, the Philadelphia Inquirer reported, “Word was received in this city yesterday that all arrangements had been completed for an All-American soccer team to tour Sweden and Norway in July. The Sweden Football Association, through its secretary, C.L. Kornerup, has cabled a guarantee of $4000 to cover […]
Philadelphia soccer in the 1940s and 1950s, part 1
Part one of a six part series in which National Soccer Hall of Famer Len Oliver recalls growing up playing soccer in 1940s and 1950s Philadelphia.
Meet the Babe Ruth of American Soccer
Steve Holroyd on Billy Gonsalves, one of the greatest players the US has ever produced.
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