Erno Schwarz

One of the administrative leaders of American soccer for several decades in mid-century, after having come to the United States as a member of the famed Hakoah Vienna club in 1926.

Schwarz was the business manager of the American Soccer League from the 1930s into the 1960s, in addition to owning the New York Americans of the ASL for some of that time, and wielded tremendous influence over the state of American soccer during those years. In particularly, he was involved in organizing dozens of games for ASL clubs and selections against touring teams and in promoting ASL interests in the U.S. Soccer Football Association. In the 1950s, he was chairman of the USSFA’s International Games Committee.

Schwarz, a midfielder and forward who was capped by Hungary twice in 1922, was among the stars of Hakoah during its first American tour in 1926, and signed with the New York Giants later that same year. He played with the New York Giants, New York Hakoah and New York Americans until 1937, and was a member of the New York Hakoah team that won the U.S. Open Cup in 1929. In 1931, he began his long involvement with the New York Americans when he became player-manager of that team.

Inducted in 1951.