The SASH Executive Board invites you to join September’s SASH Session on Friday, September 16 at 12 pm ET.
Craig Tower will be the presenter and his subject will be soccer in the Great Lakes region, 1880s-1930.
While the Great Lakes is now seen as a cradle of traditionally “American” sports — gridiron football, baseball, and basketball — the history of intercity soccer and efforts to form a Midwest intercity league go back to the 19th century. The roots of the sport predate the modern rules of association football, and the game was played throughout the region, well beyond St. Louis and Chicago which have long been recognized for their soccer communities. From urban centers like Cincinnati to relatively obscure locales like East Liverpool, Ohio and Muncie, Indiana, soccer found a home in the Great Lakes States of the Midwest.
After years of efforts to launch competitive intercity play, in 1929, a six-team USFA-sanctioned professional league was formed in three U.S. cities with long-standing multi-tiered amateur and semi-pro leagues and soccer histories, each dating back to at least 1890. The cities in the league were the economic powerhouses of Chicago, Detroit, and Cleveland – the 2nd, 4th, and 6th largest cities in the nation by population. The teams were competitive, challenging Eastern professional sides for the US Open Cup; stealing stars from the ASL, Europe, Canada, and each other; going toe-to-toe with teams from Europe and Latin America; and placing players on the 1930 US National team which reached the semifinals of the World Cup. The league and the teams innovated, playing a mixed schedule with both a regular season and a tournament structure, experimenting with indoor games and under lights, and expanded existing soccer networks in the Midwest, Middle Europe, Canada, and Latin America.
We look forward to seeing you on Friday!
The Society For American Soccer History is inviting you to a scheduled Zoom meeting.
Topic: SASH Session: Great Lakes Soccer, 1880s-1930
Time: Sep 16, 2022 12:00 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada)
Join Zoom Meeting
https://us06web.zoom.us/j/87852132073?pwd=WnpXbkZRYktnTWVoNDM3YXNYL1BnUT09
Meeting ID: 878 5213 2073
Passcode: 753641
One tap mobile
+13126266799,,87852132073#,,,,*753641# US (Chicago)
+16465588656,,87852132073#,,,,*753641# US (New York)
Dial by your location
+1 312 626 6799 US (Chicago)
+1 646 558 8656 US (New York)
+1 646 931 3860 US
+1 301 715 8592 US (Washington DC)
+1 309 205 3325 US
+1 346 248 7799 US (Houston)
+1 386 347 5053 US
+1 564 217 2000 US
+1 669 444 9171 US
+1 719 359 4580 US
+1 720 707 2699 US (Denver)
+1 253 215 8782 US (Tacoma)
Meeting ID: 878 5213 2073
Passcode: 753641
Find your local number: https://us06web.zoom.us/u/kcMvNDnfQ