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.
Author: Roger Allaway
Guides to American soccer’s past
Roger Allaway looks at the importance of the Spalding Guides and Graham Guides to American soccer historians.
Memorable for the wrong reason
Roger Allaway looks at how crowd trouble marred the meeting between Pelé’s Santos and Eusebio’s Benfica at Randall’s Island in New York in August, 1966.
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.
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: 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 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.
Liverpool chows down
Touring foreign soccer teams have come to the United States for a lot of different reasons over the years, most of them tied in one way or another to money. In 1946, Liverpool came to the United States for lunch.
The forgotten Thomas W. Cahill
A man who dominated the sport in the United States 100 years ago is nearly unknown today.
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.
Stix by any other name…
Roger Allaway looks at what’s behind the name of some of the most storied teams in US soccer history.
The “American Menace”
Roger Allaway looks back to when European club soccer felt threatened by the ASL.
Nigeria’s American dramatics
Roger Allaway looks at why the men’s soccer tournament at the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta deserves to be a lot better remembered than it is.
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.
Teenage stars are an old story
Roger Allaway looks back at the long tradition of teenage players breaking into U.S. league and national team ranks.
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.
A warning that England missed
In the first installment of The Archives Room, Roger Allaway looks at the 1950 World Cup. Everyone knows about the 1-0 US win over England in Brazil. But four days before that game, the US held a 1-0 lead against Spain for 62 minutes before losing 3-1.
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.
A stumbling start for U.S. pro soccer
Roger Allaway on the shaky beginnings of professional league soccer in the US.
The unfortunate Steve Zungul
There was more to Steve Zungul than just his storied indoor career.
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 night the U.S. women arrived
Roger Allaway on the USWNT’s 7-0 win over Taiwan in the 1991 Women’s World Cup.
The forgotten Thomas W. Cahill
Roger Allaway on Thomas Chaill, one of the major figures in the early years of American soccer.
The battle of ’99
Roger Allaway looks back at the pivotal quarterfinal match between the US and Germany in the 1999 Women’s World Cup.
The historical Sam T.N. Foulds
Roger Allaway on SASH founder Sam T.N. Foulds.
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