The First Gilded Age
American soccer might have lost its wealthy schoolboy audience in the late 1800’s, but it had gained a new sort of company - that of the working class immigrants who flowed into the United States. These immigrants, most of whom came from Europe, brought with them a love of soccer and served as the new back bone of the game’s fanbase. Soccer could never become the nation's dominant sport without the support of American colleges, but it could keep its relevance in the select pockets of the country where there was a high enough population density to sustain amateur level activity. Soccer would survive at an amateur to semi-pro level from the mid 1880’s to 1913 with occasional spikes in popularity accompanied by attempts to form national teams and championships - most of which ended in failure. The establishment of the USSF (United States Soccer Federation) and its original championship tournaments sent soccer’s national popularity skyrocketing. The National Challenge Cup and the US Open Cup both debuted in 1914. The two tournaments were open to amateur, semi-pro, and pro level teams from all across the country and made a strong enough impact over a two year span that in 1916 the United States fielded its first National Soccer Team. The team was recognized by FIFA, the world's largest international soccer association, and kicked off against Sweden for the first time, winning 3-2. It then faced off against Norway which resulted in a 1-1 tie. Sadly, World War I put America's international soccer ventures on hold.
First U.S. Open Cup Trophy
With the founding of the ASL (American Soccer League) in 1921, American soccer had finally become big enough to be competitive with European teams on the field. The ASL was on par with the NFL in the 1920’s, with both sports seeing crowds of over 10,000 regularly.
In 1922 the Dick, Kerr Ladies from England went on tour through the United States. The Ladies played four prestigious men’s ASL teams and went 1-1-2 overall, even beating one team, the New York Field Club, 8-4.
In 1924 the ASL refused to participate in the USSL’s National Open Challenge Cup, because the Open Cup was being held in the middle of the ASL team’s season. With the ASL owning the the most successful and well known teams in the United States such as the Holyoke Falcos and the New River Whalers, the USSL’s 1924-25 Open Cup was effectively ruined by these teams declining to participate. The ASL requested that the Open Cup be moved to the end of ASL season, and when the USSL refused, the ASL’s President, Bill Cunningham, ordered that any ASL team to participate in the National Open Challenge Cup was to be fined. This resulted in the ASL being suspended by the USSL. The ASL continued to operate as a rogue organization until it died out in the early 1930. It was quickly replaced by the ESL (Elite Soccer League) which consisted of many of the same teams as the ASL. This series of infighting events were later dubbed the “Soccer Wars”.
As the Great Depression set in, soccer in America took a beating with many small clubs dying out as factories could no longer afford to field them, and attendance for big games, such as ESL matches, also plummeted. The U.S. was still able to field a respectable team for the 1934 Olympics in Italy-largely made up of regional players. The American men defeated Mexico (4-2), a game which they only had to play because they had entered the Olympics late that year. Unfortunately the U.S.’s good fortunes did not last and they lost to Italy in the first round, taking a thrashing of 1-7; with the only American goal being scored by Aldo Donelli - future Hall of Famer and best American player of the age.
Aldo Donelli in the 1934 Olympics
World War II served as yet another bump in the road for the development of American soccer, with many of the nation's players leaving home to help in the war effort. By 1946, however, soccer along with most other sports was experiencing a mini-boom in popularity. The USSL picked up business as usual and hosted the 1946 National Challenge Cup in Chicago which was subsequently won by the Chicago Vikings.
The year 1950 was a great one for American soccer with the U.S. National team defeating England (1-0) in the World Cup and the NCAA (National College Athletic Association) bringing varsity soccer back to colleges for the first time since 1880.
The 1960’s brought with it an increased craving for spectator sports by the American public. Teams were more able to play cross country than ever before and fans were more able to watch. This was thanks to the newly cheap accessibility of the television, now with good enough resolution to follow a sports game. Bill Cox, a major promoter of the time, saw the potential that soccer had to become as big a hit as baseball and football then were. He set about founding the ISL (International Soccer League). This was actually the second organization to use this name, with the first being a relative failure and dying out in the 1910’s. Bill Cox’s ISL consisted of a hodgepodge of regional ethnic teams, which although it made for some interesting matches, ultimately did not catch on in the U.S..
It seemed that almost every sport was taking off in America in the 1960’s. The NFL-AFL merger and the first Super Bowl had just taken place. Baseball was enjoying a steady rise in popularity, hockey viewership more than doubled, and the NBA was starting to take off. All of this was happening over the span of just over a decade. It seemed only logical that soccer should be the next sport to attain real growth in America's booming economy, but it did not catch on with the adult fan base that never played the sport. Interestingly, the same adults that did not want to watch soccer, wanted their children to play it. Soccer was seen as an inexpensive and safe sport for kids and on September 15, 1964, the American Youth Soccer Organization took its first steps out into the world. As adult leagues in America stayed stagnant, popular only with immigrants, youth soccer thrived. Kids were loving the game and eventually those kids would grow up.
Recommended Reading for this Post
Litterer, David. “An Overview of American Soccer History.” A Historical Overview of American Soccer History, 21 May 2010, soccerhistoryusa.org/ASHA/overview.html. https://soccerhistoryusa.org/ASHA/overview.html
This is the most complete, well researched short article on the history of American male soccer that I have found. For the first post I am focusing primarily on the first two sections, which covers events from 1619-1880. This reading does spend a lot of time on college sports, but that is a good place to start looking for the history of most globally successful sports.
My second article on this topic will discuss from 1880-1970, which will cover the next six sections of the reading. I will probably sight this text again in the future. I recommend reading as much of it as you like, it isn’t the most captivating read but it is full of alot of great general knowledge.
No comments:
Post a Comment