Season | 1931 |
---|---|
Champions | New York Giants |
Top goalscorer | Bob McIntyre (38) |
← 1930 1932 → |
Statistics of American Soccer League in season 1931.
At the start of this season the American Soccer League was in decline, suffering from the effects of the Great Depression. Clubs had begun to fold, merge and disappear. The eventual champions, New Bedford Whalers, had been formed by Sam Mark following the merger of Fall River F.C. and New York Yankees. Long time ASL members Brooklyn Wanderers folded before the season. However New York Americans, later to become a perennial contender in the second ASL, made their debut.
The season began on February 29, 1931. The first half ended on May 31, 1931. The second half began September 19, 1931, and the season concluded on December 27, 1931. The season saw strong performances by New Bedford Whalers, New York Giants and a resurgent Pawtucket Rangers. Hakoah All-Stars improved markedly to take fourth place. Although the Whalers won this season, they lost the playoff series for the overall 1931 champion, being defeated by Spring 1931 champions New York Giants in a play-off. Whalers took the first game at home 8-3 before the Giants came back to win 6-0, taking the series on a 9-8 aggregate score.
Place | Team | GP | W | D | L | GF | GA | PTS | PCT |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | New York Giants | 17 | 10 | 2 | 5 | 42 | 28 | 22 | .647 |
2 | Brooklyn Wanderers | 16 | 9 | 2 | 5 | 32 | 27 | 20 | .625 |
3 | New York Yankees | 17 | 9 | 3 | 5 | 40 | 27 | 21 | .619 |
4 | Pawtucket Rangers | 18 | 9 | 3 | 6 | 47 | 33 | 21 | .583 |
5 | Fall River [Note 1] | 16 | 8 | 2 | 6 | 28 | 25 | 18 | .558 |
6 | Hakoah All-Stars | 17 | 5 | 2 | 10 | 25 | 41 | 12 | .353 |
7 | Newark Americans | 13 | 4 | 1 | 8 | 18 | 29 | 9 | .346 |
8 | New Bedford Whalers [Note 2] | 11 | 3 | 2 | 6 | 18 | 22 | 9 | .346 |
9 | Boston Bears [Note 3] | 7 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 10 | 30 | 2 | .143 |
Place | Team | GP | W | D | L | GF | GA | PTS | PCT |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | New Bedford Whalers [Note 1] | 21 | 14 | 2 | 5 | 60 | 32 | 30 | .714 |
2 | New York Giants | 20 | 11 | 4 | 5 | 54 | 38 | 26 | .650 |
3 | Pawtucket Rangers | 20 | 13 | 0 | 7 | 58 | 42 | 26 | .650 |
4 | Hakoah All-Stars | 21 | 11 | 4 | 6 | 44 | 34 | 26 | .615 |
5 | Boston Bears [Note 2] | 19 | 4 | 3 | 12 | 34 | 50 | 11 | .289 |
6 | New York Americans [Note 3] | 20 | 3 | 3 | 14 | 32 | 69 | 9 | .225 |
7 | Newark Americans | 11 | 1 | 2 | 8 | 16 | 39 | 4 | .183 |
Team 1 | Aggregate | Team 2 | First leg | Second leg | Attendance |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
New York Giants | 9–8 | New Bedford Whalers | 3–8 | 6–0 | January 1 • Battery Park • ??? January 3 • Polo Grounds • 4,000 |
New Bedford Whalers | 8–3 | New York Giants |
---|---|---|
Billy Gonsalves 8', Werner Nilsen , 50' Tommy Florie , , Hugh Lafferty o.g.' | Report | , 53' Bert Patenaude 83' Frank Tollan |
New York Giants | 6–0 | New Bedford Whalers |
---|---|---|
Shamus O'Brien 20', 53' Bert Patenaude 23', 80' Bart McGhee 30' Jimmy Gallagher 67' | Report |
New York Giants won, 9–8, on aggregate.
Adelino William Gonsalves was an American soccer player, sometimes described as the "Babe Ruth of American Soccer". He spent over 25 years playing in various American professional leagues and was a member of the U.S. squad at the FIFA World Cup in 1930 and 1934. He is a member of the National Soccer Hall of Fame.
Fall River Football Club, also referred to as Fall River Field Club, was the name used by two United States soccer clubs, based in Fall River, Massachusetts. Both played in the American Soccer League during the early 1930s. The name is often used incorrectly to refer to Fall River Marksmen, another soccer team. Although both these teams shared some common history with the Marksmen, they were separate clubs.
Fall River Marksmen was an American soccer club based in Fall River, Massachusetts. They originally played as Fall River United before becoming known as the Marksmen after their owner, Sam Mark. 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.
The Brooklyn Wanderers was a U.S. soccer team which was a founding member of the National Association Football League in the late nineteenth century. Later versions joined the original American Soccer League and the reorganized American Soccer League.
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.
Thomas Florie was an American soccer forward. He played in both the first and second American Soccer Leagues, winning two National Challenge Cup titles. Florie was also a member of the United States men's national soccer team at the 1930 and 1934 FIFA World Cup. He was inducted into the U.S. National Soccer Hall of Fame in 1986.
Werner "Scotty" Nilsen is a former Norwegian American soccer forward. He is one of the highest scoring players in U.S. soccer history, scoring 131 goals in 239 games with the Boston Soccer Club. He won five consecutive National Challenge Cups during his career, and four doubles. He also earned two caps with the United States in 1934, one at the 1934 FIFA World Cup. He is a member of the National Soccer Hall of Fame.
Walter Dick was a U.S. soccer forward who was a member of the U.S. national team at the 1934 FIFA World Cup. He is a member of the U.S. National Soccer Hall of Fame.
New York Yankees were a New York soccer team that played briefly in the American Soccer League. They were formed following the merger of Fall River Marksmen and New York Soccer Club. Although the Yankees survived only a short time, they beat Celtic in a prestige friendly and effectively won the 1931 National Challenge Cup. However, due to complications over the merger their moment of glory was credited to the Fall River Marksmen.
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.
William McPherson was a Scottish-American soccer wing half. He began his career in Scotland before moving to the American Soccer League. He also spent time in the St. Louis Soccer League, winning a total of five league titles and seven National Challenge Cups during his career.
Andy Stevens was an English-Canadian soccer center forward who began and ended his career in Canada but also spent six seasons in the American Soccer League. He was a two time league leading scorer with the ASL and was a member of the Canada Soccer Hall of Fame's 2006 Team of Distinction, the 1933 Toronto Scottish. In 2017, as part of the "Legends Class" he was elected to the Hall of Fame as an individual player.
John Anthony Reder was a Polish-American sportsman who, during the 1930s, played soccer with the Fall River Marksmen and the New Bedford Whalers and baseball for the Boston Red Sox. In soccer, he played as a goalkeeper and won three American Soccer League titles and two National Challenge Cup titles. In baseball, he played as a first baseman for the Boston Red Sox, and was voted Most Valuable Player of the New York–Penn League while playing for the Williamsport Grays. Together with Moe Drabowsky, Nap Kloza and Henry Peploski, Reder is one of only four Major League Baseball players to be born in Poland.
Sam Mark is a former United States soccer club owner. During the 1920s and early 1930s he was the owner of Fall River Marksmen, one of the era's most successful teams. Mark's continued to own the team after it relocated and became the New York Yankees and then New Bedford Whalers. He also briefly owned Boston Wonder Workers. He had played guard for the Massachusetts American Legion basketball team.
James White, also known as Jimmy White or Tec White, is a Scottish former footballer who spent most of his career playing for Fall River Marksmen in the American Soccer League. He was born in Airdrie, North Lanarkshire, Scotland.
The 1931 National Challenge Cup was the annual open cup held by the United States Football Association now known as the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup.
Statistics of American Soccer League in season 1928–29.
Statistics of American Soccer League in season 1930.
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.