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6. The Golden Era, 1921-1933
The 1920's was widely considered the first Golden Era in American
Soccer. With the founding of the American Soccer League in 1921, there
was finally a league with enough prestige to compete effectively for
European players, and even perform on a par with the early National
Football League. During the 1920-1921 season, the Southern new England
Football League and the National Association Football League were
suffering financial difficulties. Although both leagues had powerhouse
teams such as Bethlehem Steel, New York F.C., J&P Coates and Fall
River, both leagues were split among haves and have-nots, and the
richer teams felt they were subsidizing the poorer ones to their detriment.
They solved this dilemma by pulling the plugs on both leagues, with
the richer clubs joining together to form the nucleus of a new league,
the ASL. They intended this to be the first truly top class professional
league in the US.
The ASL rapidly established itself on the strength of influential
backers and committed administrators. Such companies as Bethlehem
Steel, Robins Shipyards, and J&P Coates were large manufacturing
concerns with the financial clout to establish the league on a competitive
level and bid successfully for the best players. In its inaugural
season, the ASL featured Archie Stark with New York F.C., and Bobby
Geudart, continuing a US history of successful native-born goalkeepers.
Pete Renzulli joined Todd Shipyards, and Findlay Kerr began a long
ASL career with Philadelphia F.C. Brooklyn Wanderers and Paterson
Silk Sox joined the next year, expanding an already strong lineup,
along with the Fall River Marksmen, founded by Sam Mark who built
his stadium just across the state line in Rhode Island to avoid the
Massachusetts Blue Laws which would have banned Sunday games. The
Marksmen would go on to become the most dominant team in US Soccer
history, winning championships three consecutive years (1924-1926),
and again in 1930 and 1931 The Marksmen also won the Lewis Cup in
1930 as well as the US Open Cup in 1924 and 1930. This gives the Marksmen
the distinction of having been the first US team to win the first
DOUBLES in US history (top league championship and top cup in 1924
and 1930). Sam Mark signed major players from England and Scotland,
by offering better salaries than the often stingy European clubs.
His signings included hall of famer Harold Brittan, from Bethlehem
Steel, fullback Tommy Martin and winger Tec White from Motherwell,
and fullback Charlie McGill from Third Limark.
Bethlehem Steel followed suit, signing up fullback Jimmy Young of
Dundee United, center half Tommy McFarlane, forward Daniel McNiven
from Patrick Thistle, among others. McNiven immediately paid off,
leading the league in goals for 1922-23, with 28. Meanwhile a new
club, the Brooklyn Wanderers was owned and managed by hall of famer
Nathan Agar, who also scored 7 goals as a wing forward. He would later
be instrumental in attracting foreign teams to tour the USA playing
ASL teams under their sponsorship.
In the fall of 1922, a unique event in US soccer history occurred
as the Dick, Kerr Ladies, the famous English women's team, toured
the United States, playing against four ASL clubs. They eventually
went 1-1-2 on the tour, their one victory against New York Field Club,
8-4.
During the mid 1920's, the crowds for games were large, with 10,000
a not uncommon attendance figure. This was on a par with the NFL for
much of the 1920's. In 1925, the league expanded, adding the Boston
Wonder Workers, and New Bedford Whalers, both of whom would earn distinction
in the league. The Wonder Workers made an immediate impact by signing
Glasgow veteran and Scottish international Tommy Muirhead from Ibrox
to serve as player-manager. Then, using Muirhead as a contact, they
stunned the world by signing Scottish international Alex McNab from
Morton. McNab was signed for $25 a week to play and work at the Wonder
Works factory. . Boston also caused some controversy by signing Johnny
Ballantyne from Patrick Thistle, even though he had already signed
with thistle. They also snatched Mickey Hamill, who had already been
signed by Fall River from Manchester City, even though he had already
played two pre-season exhibitions with the Marksmen. The result of
this was an unprecedented amount of talent within the league. The
1924-25 season also saw Archie Stark set a world record for most goals
scored in a season for a 1st division club, 67 in 42 games, a figure
that stands to this day. This can be partially explained by the fact
that soccer in the 1920's was a much more open, offense-oriented game
than today, played often with a formation of five forwards, three
halfbacks and two fullbacks. Archie also scored an unprecedented five
goals in an International for the US National Team in their 11/28/1925
victory over Canada.
By the mid 1920's, the ASL had reached such a level of prominence
that major foreign teams were enticed to perform major tours of the
US playing against top ASL and other clubs. Sparta Prague and Vienna
Hakoah, an all-Jewish side both toured the US in 1926, to record breaking
crowds. Hakoah's first three games drew 25,000, 30,000 and 36,000
spectators respectively, culminating in the famous May 1 1926 match
at the polo grounds in front of 46,000 spectators, a crowd record
that stood until 1977 when three consecutive records were set by the
Pele-led New York Cosmos. Pete Renzulli, then playing for the New
York Giants remembered Hakoah controlling the ball for 87 minutes,
but the ASL all-stars counterattacked on three opportunities, scoring
each time to win 3-0.
In 1926, the success of the league led the ASL to help establish
the first International Soccer League, which began play at the end
of the 1926 ASL season, with three ASL and five top Canadian clubs.
The one season of the ISL showed clearly the superiority of the US
clubs, and was an interesting experiment, but looked upon by most
of the participants as an off-season excursion, and it was not continued.
In 1927, the ASL shifted the focus slightly towards American players,
with Davie Brown scoring 52 goals for the New York Giants, setting
a record goal scoring feat for American-born players which stands
to this day. The ASL experimented with rules changes, allowing substitutions
for the first time. Also, goal judges similar to those in hockey were
used. They also instituted a "penalty box", with offending
players required to serve their time by remaining behind their teams'
goal line. These changes were abandoned after this season. Touring
teams included Uruguay's Olympic team, who suffered their first defeat
in three years at the hands of the Newark Skeeters. Meanwhile, Indiana
Flooring was purchased by New York (Baseball) Giants owner Horace
Stoneham. Since there was already a New York Giants in the ASL, he
renamed his team the Nationals.
In 1927-28, the league adopted a split season. Philadelphia who
had been recently bought struggled and was dropped from the season.
In order to balance the unbalanced schedule the league abruptly dropped
Hartford, another struggling team. This didn't set well with some
of the owners but was indicative of the structural and administrative
problems the league was now experiencing. The season finished with
a unique playoff situation complicated by the close finish of the
top teams. Boston finished atop the 1st half standings with Bethlehem
Steel and New Bedford Whalers tied for second. This required a special
playoff game, won by the Whalers. At the conclusion of the 2nd half,
New Bedford was in 1st place, followed by Fall River. Consequently,
Boston, New Bedford (which had qualified in both halves), and Fall
River were assured of playoff spots, while one spot remained open.
This was settled by the third and fourth place teams from the 2nd
half (Bethlehem Steel and New York Nationals) playing for this spot.
Bethlehem won that game. The league then proceeded to the semifinals.
These series were won by Boston defeating Bethlehem 3-1 and 4-0, and
New Bedford playing Fall River to 3-1 and 0-4 scores (winning 5-3
aggregate). This set up a final between Bethlehem and New Bedford.
But another problem developed: In its second game, Bethlehem with
its goalkeeper injured, borrowed Brooklyn Wanderer's goalkeeper Steve
Smith without league authorization, and the league overturned the
result, awarding the game to Boston. This resulted in a championship
between Boston and New Bedford, the 1st and 2nd half winners, won
by Boston. This season had lasted nearly nine months! Admission prices
in New York City and Brooklyn were $1.10 for the cheapest seats, and
$0.75 in Boston.
The following season saw the "Soccer War". Although soccer
was enjoying unprecedented popularity, a bitter dispute arose between
the league, the USFA and a number of the powerful ASL clubs. The ASL
clubs had long objected to the playing of National open Challenge
Cup games during the regular season because it disrupted the regular
season, and in 1924-25 had refused to allow its teams to enter the
competition. This led to the ASL being suspended. Now in 1928, the
ASL announced that it wanted the Open Cup competition, moved to the
end of the ASL season, or its teams exempted until the season was
over. The USFA refused, and the ASL ordered its teams not to participate.
However, some ASL clubs wanted to participate, and Bethlehem Steel,
Newark Skeeters and New York Giants defied the league and participated
anyway. Bill Cunningham, ASL President instituted fines and suspensions
on these clubs, who appealed to the USFA who ordered the league to
reverse its actions. the league refused and was suspended by the USFA.
The ASL continued to operate as an outlaw league, and the USFA worked
with the three teams to form another league, the Eastern Soccer League,
from the three ASL clubs and other clubs from the Southern New York
State Association. This in turn led to a dispute between the SNYSA
and the USFA, leading the SNYSA to team up with the ASL against the
ESL and USFA. During all of this, the New Bedford Whalers jumped mid
season to the ESL. The following season, no resolution was in sight,
and both leagues took to the field with new Bedford jumping back to
the ASL, disappointed in the quality of ESL play. The ASL and USFA,
seeing the battle as a costly one that would leave no victor, reached
an exhausted compromise - the ASL abandoned their partially competed
fall 1929 season, and merged it strongest teams with the better ESL
teams to form the Atlantic Coast League which took to the field in
November 1929. This face-saving season was successful, but the league
was never to enjoy the financial stability or prestige it had previously
enjoyed, and the stock market crash of 1929 followed by the depression
wreaked havoc on the manufacturing companies that formed the financial
backbone of the league and soon many clubs were failing, with Bethlehem
Steel folding in 1930 and Fall River Marksmen in the winter of 1931.
In 1930, the US participated in the first World Cup in Uruguay,
and Atlantic Coast league teams dominated the roster. By now the roster
included such hall of famers as Bert Patenaude and Billy Gonsalves
who performed well both in the World Cup and throughout the 1930's.
The demise of Fall River Marksmen was the culmination of one of
the more bizarre franchise transactions in the annals of American
Sports. Sam Mark, suffering declining revenues, took a gamble and
moved his club south to New York City, merging it with the New York
Soccer Club on February 16, 1931, renaming the club the New York Yankees.
At the same time, he made Mark's Stadium in Tiverton RI available
to other clubs. A group of investors, led by Harold Brittan, bought
the Providence Gold Bugs and moved them to Mark's Stadium, as Fall
River F.C. Meanwhile, in the middle of the spring 1931 season, the
New Bedford Whalers succumbed to financial losses, and merged the
team with Fall River. The Yankees meanwhile, were only partially successful.
Because they had started the Open Cop competition while still at Fall
River, they had to complete the competition under that name, even
though they were playing in the ASL as the Yankees at the same time!
In the offseason, the new Fall River club failed, and Sam Mark, having
failed in New York, moved the Yankees to New Bedford, obtaining the
rights to the Fall River players along the way. As a result, his new
club (also known as the New Bedford Whalers) was a combination of
the old New York, Fall River and New Bedford teams. They won the 1931
fall season, but lost the playoffs, although they won the National
Challenge open Cup.
The league struggled on through the spring 1933 season with substantial
team turnover and reorganizations, before finally being reorganized
out of existence in the summer. What had begun as an exuberant league
a decade earlier, ended among the ashes of a fruitless turf war, the
ravages of the depression, and the decline of the company-oriented
soccer team.
Other historic segments:
- Origins,
1609-1862
- The
College Era, and Rules Consolidation, 1862-1875
- The
Working-Class and Immigrant Eras, 1875-1894
- The
Doldrums, 1895-1913
- The
First Dynasties, 1913-1921
- The
Golden Era, 1921-1933
- The
Ethnic Period, 1933-1960
- The
Birth of the American Soccer Renaissance The 1960's
- Outdoor
soccer reaches a low: 1985
- The
Hope for a World Cup Mid 1980's
- A
Change in Fortunes, 1988
- The
Rebirth of Outdoor Soccer, 1988-1994
- The
Indoor Soccer Wars, 1990-1992
- The
Road to the World Cup 1989-1994
- The
World Cup comes to America 1994
- From
World Cup to Major League Soccer 1995-1996
- The
Here and Now, 1996-present
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