John Jaap

A forward who was a mainstay of the Bethlehem Steel team in the 1920s.

Jaap, who was born in Scotland and grew up near Pittsburgh, played for several outstanding Pittsburgh-area semipro teams between 1912 and 1920, including Jennette, Vestaburg, Arden and Castle Shannon. At the start of the original American Soccer League in 1921, he moved to eastern Pennsylvania to join the great Bethlehem Steel team. He won American Soccer League championships with Bethlehem in 1922 and 1927, and a U.S. Open Cup in 1926, when he scored one of Bethlehem’s goals in the final against Ben Millers of St. Louis. During much of his time at Bethlehem, his main job was to draw defenders away from Archie Stark and create openings for Bethlehem’s biggest star.

Inducted in 1953