The production of Hearst newsreels began in the 1910s to boost readership of Hearst-owned newspapers. In the 1930s, Metro Goldwyn Mayer acquired half-ownership of the newsreel and became its distributor.
In 1981, the Hearst Corporation donated its newsreel collection to the University of California, leading to the creation of the Hearst Metrotone New Collection. In cooperation with the UCLA Film & Television Archive, the Packard Humanities Institute developed a website in 2014 to make Hearst newsreel newsreels shown in theaters from 1929 to 1967 more easily accessible to the public.
The Hearst Newsreels are owned by the Regents of the University of California. The footage below may not be copied or distributed without explicit written permission from the University of California and are shared here strictly for educational purposes.
The dates preceding the descriptions below are the date of release for each newsreel, not the date of the game or events depicted. Match dates, along with venue and attendance information, are immediately above each clip.
1956 May 01 (27-272-07): ISRAELI SOCCER TEAM DEFEATS U.S. STARS: “Playing in New York City as a feature of the Salute to Israel program, the Olympic soccer team from the little Mediterranean nation defeats the American All Stars, 2 to 1.”
April 29, 1956: ASL All Stars 1-2 Israel Olympic Team (Yankee Stadium; attendance 42,555)
Source page at the Packard Humanities Institute Hearst Metrotone Newsreel Collection
1957 Apr 19 (VM-48140): STORIES FROM TAIWAN: “… Contest between Chinese and Am. Soccer team: Gen’l. Wang Shu-ming kicks off ball..Chinese team is defeated.” [No audio; soccer footage begins at 04:20]
November 3, 1956: Formosa (Taiwan) 1-6 USA
The source information for the clip above may be incorrect. After departing Los Angeles on October 21, 1956, the US Olympic soccer team played eight warmup matches before arriving in Australia on November 18. The team’s sole match at the Melbourne Olympics was a 9-1 loss to Yugoslavia on November 28, 1956.
October 25, 1956: Tokyo Area All Stars 3-5 USA (in Tokyo)
October 27, 1956: Kansei All Stars 0-6 USA (in Osaka, 15,000)
October 31, 1956: South Korea 1-0 USA (Seoul Stadium, 30,000)
November 3, 1956: Formosa (Taiwan) 1-6 USA
November 6, 1956: Hong Kong League XI 2-1 USA
November 10, 1956: Philippines 0-4 USA (in Manila)
November 12, 1956: Singapore 1-2 USA (in Singapore)
November 16, 1956: Indonesia 7-5 USA (in Djakarta)
Source page at the Packard Humanities Institute Hearst Metrotone Newsreel Collection
1957 May 22 (VM-55239): AMERICAN SOCCER TEAM VISITS KOREA: “The American All-Star Olympic team played the Korean Soccer team in a game of goodwill and friendship. Soccer team seated at a long table and talking..Same on a conducted tour of ancient palaces and gardens..Same on tour thru the Chung-duk Palace..Preparations being completed at stadium and crowds..Pre-game ceremonies–National anthems of both countries..Teams presented with flowers..W.C. Dowling kicking off ball–he and S. Rhee enjoying game..Shots of the game..Korean teams win.” [No audio]
October 31, 1956: South Korea 1-0 USA (Seoul Stadium, 30,000)
The source information for the clip above may be incorrect.
Source page at the Packard Humanities Institute Hearst Metrotone Newsreel Collection
1960 May 31 (31-282-05): SOCCER LEAGUE MAKES DEBUT IN NEW YORK: “Team from Scotland beats Bavarian contingent, 3-1, as International League opens with game at Polo Grounds. Matches will give U.S. crowds a chance to see the game as it is played by outstanding European elevens.”
Kilmarnock 3-1 Bayern Munich (International Soccer League; Polo Grounds, 10,444)
Source page at the Packard Humanities Institute Hearst Metrotone Newsreel Collection
1960 Aug 09 (31-302-05): BRAZIL WINS SOCCER TITLE: “25 thousand Polo Ground fans see a brilliant Bangu team from Brazil boot their way to the soccer championship, defeating Kilmarnock of Scotland 2 to 0. They take the coveted American Challenge Cup home.”
August 6, 1960: Bangu 2-0 Kilmarnock (International Soccer League; Polo Grounds, 25,440)
Source page at the Packard Humanities Institute Hearst Metrotone Newsreel Collection
1966 Aug 23 (38-204-03): SOCCER CLASH: “At Downing Stadium on New York’s Randall’s Island, a soccer game between Santos of Brazil and Benfica of Portugal draws an overflow crowd. The biggest attraction is the biggest name in the sport, Pele, the Brazilian hero. He earns about $200,000 a year. Today, he has a hand in all the goals scored by his team, as Santos beats Benfica 4-0.”
August 21, 1966: Santos 4-0 Benfica (US Cup of Champions; Downing Stadium, Randalls Island, 25,670)
Source page at the Packard Humanities Institute Hearst Metrotone Newsreel Collection
1966 Sep 05 (VM-56671): SOCCER: BRAZIL VS. ITALY: South American champ, Brazil, meet the European champ, Italy, at Yankee Stadium. Ext-Yankee Stadium… Int-Crowd… Brazil team out on the field… Italy team out on the field… CU-Pele (#10 on back of shirt)… CU-Same… Crowd… Start of game… CU-#7 of Brazil kicks ball to another player and he kicks to Italy goal and saves… #11 with ball and falls twice… Crowd… #11 kicks ball for score… Crowd… Italy with ball, Italy scores… Crowd… CU-Action shot… High-action shot, #10 of Brazil kicks ball to team mate, he scores pans to crowd… #10 of Brazil with ball… CU-Brazil scores… Crowd… Brazil #10 with ball… Crowd… #9 of Brazil scores… Crowd… Crowd on field… Crowd on field.” [No audio]
September 5, 1966: Santos 4-1 Inter Milan (US Cup of Champions; Yankee Stadium, 41,598)
Source page at the Packard Humanities Institute Hearst Metrotone Newsreel Collection