Bethlehem Steel Football Club (1907–1930) was one of the most successful early American soccer clubs. Known as the Bethlehem Football Club from 1907 until 1915 when it became the Bethlehem Steel Football Club, the team was sponsored by the Bethlehem Steel corporation. Bethlehem Steel FC played their home games first at East End Field in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, in the Lehigh Valley, then later on the grounds Bethlehem Steel built on Elizabeth Ave named Bethlehem Steel Athletic Field.
Fall River F.C. was an American soccer club based in Fall River, Massachusetts. During the 1920s and early 1930s they were one of the most successful soccer clubs in the United States, winning the American Soccer League on six occasions. They also won the National Challenge Cup four times. In 1924 they won the first ASL / Challenge Cup double and were subsequently the American soccer champions three times in succession. Between 1928 and 1930 they won a further three titles in a row. In 1930 they completed a treble, winning the ASL title, the Challenge Cup and the Lewis Cup. The same year they also toured Central Europe.
New Bedford Whalers was the name of three American soccer teams based in New Bedford, Massachusetts. The first Whalers played in the Southern New England Soccer League between 1914 and 1918. The second Whalers played in the American Soccer League between 1924 and 1931 before merging into Fall River F.C. The third Whalers were then formed when Fall River merged with New York Yankees. They played in the ASL between 1931 and 1932.
New York Giants was a name used by three different New York City soccer teams. Two of these teams were associated with the New York Giants baseball franchise. The first team that used the name played in the American League of Professional Football in 1894. The second team played in the American Soccer League between 1923 and 1930 while the third team played in the same league between 1930 and 1932.
Robert Millar was a soccer player who played as a forward and the coach of the United States national team at the 1930 FIFA World Cup. During his at times tumultuous Hall of Fame career, he played with over a dozen teams in at least five U.S. leagues as well as two seasons in the Scottish Football League. He finished his career as a successful professional and national team coach.
Archibald McPherson Stark was a soccer player who became the dominant player in U.S. leagues during the 1920s and early 1930s. He spent nine seasons in the National Association Football League and another twelve in the American Soccer League. He also earned two caps, scoring five goals, as a member of the U.S. national team. He holds the U.S. single-season scoring record with 67 goals scored during the 1924–25 season which is the current World Record. He was inducted into the National Soccer Hall of Fame in 1950.
David "Davey" Brown was an American soccer forward. He spent most of his career playing for teams in New Jersey and New York, gaining his greatest fame with the New York Giants. He is a member of the National Soccer Hall of Fame.
Rudy Kuntner was an American-Austrian soccer forward who was a member of the U.S. team at the 1928 Summer Olympics. He is also known as a long time stage manager for the Metropolitan Opera and is a member of the National Soccer Hall of Fame.
Philip Slone was a U.S. soccer wing half. He spent a single season each in the short-lived Eastern Soccer League and Atlantic Coast Conference, then ten years in the American Soccer League. He was a member of the U.S. team at the 1930 FIFA World Cup and is a member of the National Soccer Hall of Fame.
The Eastern Professional Soccer League, better known as the Eastern Soccer League (ESL), was an American soccer league which existed for only a season and a half in 1928 and 1929. Born of the internecine strife between soccer organizations in the United States known as the “Soccer War”, the ESL was created by the United States Football Association (USFA) as a counter to the professional American Soccer League which was contesting USFA control of professional soccer in the country.
Ernő Schwarz or Schwarcz was a Hungarian American soccer player, coach and promoter who served as head coach of the United States men's national soccer team. He played professionally in Hungary, Czechoslovakia, Austria and the United States, earning two caps, scoring two goals, with the Hungarian national team in 1922. Schwarz founded, owned, managed and played for the New York Americans in the first and second American Soccer Leagues. He was also the ASL and International Soccer League vice president. His daughter was married to United States national team player Ben Zinn.
Charles Abraham Stoneham was the owner of the New York Giants baseball team and New York Nationals soccer team. He was at the center of numerous corruption scandals and was also the instigator of the "Soccer Wars" which destroyed the American Soccer League.
Johnny Rollo was a Scottish soccer player who typically played as an inside forward, but also as both a half back and full back. He began his career with Rangers F.C., but had his greatest success in the American Soccer League. He later coached at the amateur level.
József Eisenhoffer, also known as József Aczél, was a Hungarian footballer. He could play equally well as an inside or outside left as well as left half. Eisenhoffer played professionally in Hungary, Austria, France and the United States. He also managed Olympique de Marseille for six seasons and earned eight caps with the Hungary national team. He was a member of the 1924 Hungarian Olympic football team.
Max Grünwald was an early twentieth century Austrian football (soccer) inside forward who played professionally in Austria and the United States.
Moses “Moritz” or “Moschkatz” Häusler was an early twentieth century Austrian football inside forward who played professionally in Austria and the United States. He also earned seven caps with the Austria national football team between 1923 and 1925.
Statistics of American Soccer League in season 1928–29.
The Eastern Professional Soccer League season ran from Fall 1928 to Spring 1929 with a mid-winter break. By the end of the first half, only the New York Giants and New York Hakoah had played all eighteen games. New York Celtic had dropped out after eight games and the rest of the teams had played either fourteen or fifteen games. Bethlehem Steel led the league with twenty-eight points off a 14–1–0 record. The second half of the season began with a different lineup than the first half. Celtic, as already mentioned, had dropped out. New York Hungaria joined the league from the Southern New York Soccer Association and New Bedford Whalers joined from the American Soccer League. Whalers lasted only eight games before returning to the ASL. Newark Skeeters played nine games then also dropped out. At the end of the Spring half, Bethlehem led the league with 49 points, taking the league championship.
These are the statistics of the Fall 1929 American Soccer League.
The American Soccer League, established in 1921, was the first of four different professional soccer sports leagues in the United States to use the ASL name. It was formed by the merger of teams from the National Association Football League and the Southern New England Soccer League. For several years the ASL's popularity rivaled the popularity of the National Football League. Disputes with the United States Football Association and FIFA, as well as the onset of the Great Depression, led to the league's collapse in spring 1933.
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