A look at football in colonial and post-independence Philadelphia.
Recent Posts
James and Joe, part 2
The story of James Currie and Joseph Cunat, two soccer-playing soldiers who served during World War I, concludes.
Including Kearny’s Leonard Raney
In the fall of 1922, Leonard H. Raney played on the first-ever varsity soccer team for Kearny High School. That New Jersey town, which would later be dubbed Soccer Town, USA, had long been a soccer hotbed. It was rare for African Americans to play soccer in the 1920s, and while African-American participation in the game still lags today, Raney was a soccer pioneer.
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.
The origins of soccer in Philadelphia, part 1: Native American and British footballing traditions
The first installment of a ten-part series on the origins of soccer in Philadelphia.
The Barrow School Socker Foot Ball Team
A look at Black players on the “Barrow School Socker Foot Ball Team,” champions of Springfield, Massachusetts’ Junior League in 1908.
An Early Image of Black Soccer in New York City?
Does a 1915 image of a soccer match in New York’s Central Park include black players?
An Indoor Session: SASH at the 2020 USC Convention
Summary of the Society for American Soccer History meeting, including videos of the various talks, at the 2020 United Soccer Coaches Convention in Baltimore, MD.
What Kind of Player was Gil Heron?
Brian Bunk on Heron’s playing style.
Gil Heron
Brian Bunk on Gil Heron, the first black professional soccer player in the United States.
Call for Papers: Society for American Soccer History Symposium, April 18-19, 2020
The next SASH symposium will be held on April 18 and 19, 2020 at Rutgers University-Newark.
Freedom to Play
In 1944 – at the height of WWII – Italian POWs arrived in Puget Sound. Their Allied captors allowed many freedoms, including formation of multiple teams in Washington state amateur soccer’s top division.
Perseverance in soccer: A useful trait
Len Oliver on how he is living proof that perseverance in soccer pays dividends.
Washington State Legends of Soccer site is bringing history back to life
A look at the website dedicated to the history of soccer in the state of Washington.
Archive of USWNT results added to SASH website
A complete listing of USWNT games is now available for reference on the SASH site.
NYC Originals: Thanksgiving Games of the St. George’s Foot Ball Club
Thanksgiving soccer traditions in 19th century New York City.
Report: American Soccer History Symposium and Annual Business Meeting, October 20-21, 2018
A report on the SASH American Soccer History Symposium and Annual Business meeting at the new National Soccer Hall of Fame in Frisco,
The AAPF and the ALPF: The beginnings of professional league soccer in the United States
A look at the first professional soccer leagues in the US, the American Association of Professional Football and American League of Professional Football, with new information on the lesser known AAPF.
An Interview with Walter Bahr, US Soccer Legend
Walter Bahr, an American soccer legend, passed away today. May he rest in peace. SASH member Dr. David Kilpatrick traveled to speak with Bahr in 2014. Here is Part 1 of that interview. DK: It is a tremendous honor to be in your company. WB: Are you American born? DK: […]
Harrison’s Maradona: A Recollection of Al “Funze” Jennette
Frank Santamassino’s cousin, Al Jennette, who everyone called Funze, played professional soccer in New York City in the 1940s, and he is one of the many forgotten stars in American soccer history.
Whitey: The One & Only
The pioneer of soccer in Seattle has passed away at the age of 87.
Gifts of Cliff McCrath
Seattle treasure–Cliff McCrath–inducted into another soccer Hall of Fame.
Washington and the Open Cup
The State of Washington’s history in the U.S. Open Cup.
Treasures around town
A look at some of the trophies from Seattle’s soccer past, beginning with the Sir Thomas Lipton Trophy, which was first contested 90 years ago.
Important new scholarly work on American Soccer History.
Chris Bolsmann reviews papers on the history of soccer recently presented at the 44th Annual Convention of the North American Society for Sports History in Atlanta.
Philadelphia Soccer in the 1940s and 1950s, part 6: In retrospect
National Soccer Hall of Famer Len Oliver’s series of remembrances of playing soccer in 1940s and 1950s Philadelphia, originally published in 1992, concludes with his thoughts on the soccer’s urban future.
A Q&A with Roger Allaway on the National Soccer Hall of Fame election process
A Q&A with National Soccer Hall of Fame historian Roger Allaway on the process involved in election to the Hall of Fame.
All-Scots in Bethlehem and Philadelphia, 1921
The 1921 All-Scots tour was the first by an international team backed by US Soccer.
Dennis Shay: Patriarch of American Goalkeepers
The lineage of exceptional American goalkeepers may begin in the 1880s with Dennis Shay.
A first and lasting impression
Bob Robertson was the original voice of the NASL Seattle Sounders.
Interview with Clive Toye
An interview with Clive Toye, the man who signed Pele to the Cosmos.
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.
History of the Philadelphia Fury, part three: Exit the Fury
The Frank Worthington debacle Although much improved, the Fury remained an inconsistent side. Through April, the team was 2-4. However, help was on the way with the arrival of Ball and the acquisition of another goal scorer, Frank Worthington, on loan from Bolton. Worthington finished the 1978-79 season as the […]
History of Philadelphia Fury, part two: The Fury simmers
Steve Holroyd’s look at the history of the Philadelphia Fury continues.
History of the Philadelphia Fury, part one: Enter the Fury
Part one of a history of the Philadelphia Fury of the original NASL.
A simple protestation
On Ferenc Puskas’s tenure as head coach of the Vancouver Royals in the first year of the original NASL.
Going green
Ferenc Puskas played international friendlies in the US for Ferencvaros and Real Madrid.
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.
A stumbling start for U.S. pro soccer
Roger Allaway on the shaky beginnings of professional league soccer in the US.
Turkey Bowl
American football is a Thanksgiving tradition, but so is soccer. In fact, Thanksgiving Soccer is nearly as old as the holiday itself. A day of national thanksgiving goes back to the colonial period, but it took President Abraham Lincoln to institute it as a late-November holiday. Modern soccer, codified […]
When a goal is not a goal
An examination of the Columbia-Rutgers game played on Nov. 2, 1872 shows it was played under a form of association football rules, not American gridiron rules.
Promotion/Relegation: Been there, done that
The Northwest Collegiate Soccer Conference used promotion/relegation for one season in the early 1990s: “[I]t was all very pragmatic. And when it no longer was necessary, it went away.”
Honeymoon in Bournemouth (and other short tails)
Frank MacDonald’s series on FC Seattle’s UK tours in the late 1980s concludes.
Philadelphia and the other first professional soccer league in the U.S.
Formed in reaction to the National League baseball-backed American League of Professional Football, the American Association of Professional Football appears to have played its first games before, and outlived, the ALPF.
Brutal tests, but better for it
Frank MacDonald’s series on FC Seattle’s UK tours in the late 1980s continues.
Player for hire: Shopping Goulet
Frank MacDonald’s series on FC Seattle’s UK tours in the late 1980s continues.
Uncle Lamar’s Vision
The new NSHOF in Frisco will have a “soft opening” in December of 2017 but there was little talk of how the Hall’s collection will be made available to researchers.
1858: A pivotal year in early American “Foot-ball”
By 1858, two forms of football were being played in the US, the kicking game and the carrying game.
Paving the way for Americans abroad
The first of a four-part series on FC Seattle’s UK tours in the late 1980s.
The unfortunate Steve Zungul
There was more to Steve Zungul than just his storied indoor career.
1934: USA vs. Mexico and the “little truck”
Aldo “Buff” Donelli’s quartet of goals in the one-off playoff game against Mexico powered the US to a berth in the 1934 World Cup. It would 46 years before the US would defeat Mexico again.
The lost tape
Televisa broadcast the US win over Mexico in 1980 — the first in 44 years — but footage of the game remains under wraps.
America and the 1863 Football Association Code
A look at the early history of football in the US, before and after the 1863 Laws of the Game.
Keller, Schmid just the latest Washington legends
2015 National Soccer Hall of Fame inductees Kasey Keller and Sigi Schmid join eight other Washington state members of the Hall.
It’s time to remember the Ukrainian Nationals
Steve Holroyd on the remarkable record of the Ukrainian Nationals, which included four US Open Cup titles between 1960 and 1966.
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.
1913: Innisfails of St. Louis comes East
Our series on inter-city games involving Philadelphia area teams and St. Louis teams in the 1910s continues. When, a year after winning the American Cup, Tacony FC traveled to St. Louis in 1911, they came back from two goals down to draw 4–4 with St. Louis champion St. Leos in what newspaper reports […]
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.
Another soccer war?
Steve Holroyd on what happened the last time two professional soccer leagues were rivals for Division I status in 1967.
The “champions of the Middle West” come to Philly, 1912
Tacony FC’s trip to St. Louis in December of 1911 to decide the “championship of America” had ended in disappointment. They would have a chance for revenge in March of 1912 when the St. Leos team of St. Louis embarked on a tour against leading East Coast teams.
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