SASH uncovers earliest known footage of the U.S. Men’s National Team

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

September 4, 2020

SASH Uncovers Earliest Known Footage of the U.S. Men’s National Team

The Society for American Soccer History is pleased to announce it has uncovered the earliest known film footage of the United States Men’s National Team.

The footage is about 80 seconds long and shows the team in action in a 1-1 draw with the Tigrarna Fotbollkubben of Stockholm on August 15, 1916, at Stockholm Olympic Stadium. The match, the team’s first-ever, was the first of six played during its first official international tour, which took place August and September 1916 in Sweden and Norway.

The footage was discovered in the collection of the Swedish Film Institute in Stockholm and is from the Svenska Biografteaterns Veckorevy (Swedish Cinema Theater Weekly Review) newsreel series.

SASH will host a Zoom Session on Friday, September 4 at 12 pm EDT to show the footage and discuss its importance. The session can be accessed at https://zoom.us/j/96375259408

Previously, the earliest known footage of the United States Men’s National Team was from 1924. That footage, produced by British Pathé, shows the team playing in Dublin in a 3-1 loss to Ireland on June 14, 1924, before its return from the Olympic Games in Paris.

Thus far, footage of the United States Men’s National Team’s first full international, a 3-2 win over Sweden on August 20, 1916, has not been found, nor has footage from its second full international, a 1-1 draw with Norway on September 3, 1916. However, SASH has identified possible footage of Bethlehem Steel FC’s 1919 Scandinavian tour, the first overseas tour by a U.S. club team, and is currently working to confirm the contents of the footage and license it from the Swedish Film Institute.

8 Comments

  1. Pingback: SASH uncovers earliest known footage of the U.S. Men’s National Team – Society for American Soccer History – Complete Soccer Coach

  2. was the zoom meeting recorded? if yes will he be posted to youtube?

  3. Yes, the Zoom session was recorded and it will be posted on the SASH Youtube Channel.

  4. Tough time to be a goalie.

  5. Pingback: “Graham Guides” digitization project fundraiser launched – Society for American Soccer History

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