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.
Recent Posts
Power Ranking the USWNT Moms
For more than 25 years, USWNT players have demonstrated that having a baby doesn’t necessarily end a professional soccer career. Jen Cooper presents an unofficial power ranking of all USWNT players who earned a cap after having a child.
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.
SASH Session, Friday, November 4 at 12PM ET: Book Talk with Matthew Evans, author of “USA 94: The World Cup That Changed the Game” Updated with Video
Matthew Evans will discuss the impact of the US-hosted 1994 World Cup.
A soccer sculpture in Harrison
Tom McCabe on the recent unveiling of a statue in Harrison, New Jersey, commemorating the history of soccer in the West Hudson.
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.
SASH Session, Friday, Oct. 7 at 12 pm: 20th anniversary of the 2002 FIFA U-19 Women’s World Championship Updated with Video
On the eve of the 2022 U-17 Women’s World Cup, women’s soccer historian Jen Cooper will look back at the first FIFA women’s youth championship held in Canada in 2002 and the growth of FIFA women’s youth tournaments since then.
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.
SASH Session, Friday, September 16 at 12 pm ET: Great Lakes Soccer from the 1880s to the 1930s and the Emergence of the Intercity League Updated with Video
Craig Tower will discuss soccer’s development in the Great Lakes area from its beginnings in the 1880s to the formation of the Intercity League, which included teams from Chicago, Detroit, and Cleveland.
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.
SASH Session, Friday, August 26 at 12 pm ET: Celebrating the 50th Anniversary of the New York Cosmos First NASL Championship Updated with Video
New York Cosmos historian and SASH director Dr. David Kilpatrick will host a roundtable discussion with New York Cosmos alumni Randy Horton, Josef Jelinek, Werner Roth, and John O’Reilly.
The Len Oliver Archive
Quick links to essays by, and interviews with, Len Oliver.
Len Oliver, 1933-2022
National Soccer Hall of Famer and longtime SASH supporter Len Oliver has passed away at the age of 88.
Marksmen celebrate a century: The history of a storied American club
Derek Gonsalves reviews the history of the Fall River Marksmen, arguably the preeminent US club of its day, to mark the 100th anniversary of its founding.
SASH Session, July 8 at 12 pm ET: An Illustrated Guide to Anglo-American Football History Before 1850 Updated with Video
Tom Langton’s presentation will be illustrated with images from the FIFA-Langton Collection and the Langton Football Archives collection. Updated with Video
Sailor lads, jolly tars, and rovers of the briny deep: International ship-crew soccer matches in the US, 1890-1905, part 3
Ed Farnsworth’s review of matches between US clubs and British ship crew teams between 1890 and 1905 concludes with a look at games in Oregon, California, Hawaii, and Texas