tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-61866347034623955292024-03-17T20:02:42.181-07:00A Moment of BrillianceAn American Soccer History BlogSkihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13488748094836677592noreply@blogger.comBlogger22125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6186634703462395529.post-67048364134888308592016-02-12T09:04:00.002-08:002016-02-16T09:38:24.928-08:00Dennis Shay: Patriarch of American Goalkeepers<div class="MsoNormal">
Note: Due to the use of term association football during the late 19th century and the subsequent rise of the term soccer to refer to the same game thereafter, I use the terms football and soccer interchangeably within this article. </div>
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Additionally, this is not a definitive biography of Dennis Shay. As more and more sources from the late 19th century are digitized and available online, a greater overall understanding of his career, and that of his peers, will certainly emerge. </div>
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<b>America's First Famous Goalkeeper</b></div>
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The lineage of American goalkeepers is a storied one. From
Olaff to Borghi, Keller to Howard, the list of prolific American goalkeepers
who have made their mark on the history of the game is a lengthy one. The
goalkeeper position is truly the only position that America produces
consistently that draws unquestionable respect and recognition internationally.
<o:p></o:p></div>
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As the U.S. Men’s National Team attempt to qualify for the
2018 World Cup, fans continue to speculate who will succeed Tim Howard and
become the next great American goalkeeper. While fans debate and a number of
keepers vie for the chance to become the next great American between the posts,
it is worth looking back at a forgotten goalkeeper who may be considered the
patriarch of America’s distinguished goalkeeping lineage, Dennis “Denny”<span style="color: red;"> </span>Shay.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>Beginnings</b><o:p></o:p></div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-X5MPsikdfm0/Vr3__HZTDEI/AAAAAAAAAgY/0re2w4XwXco/s1600/Shay%2B-%2BNatl%2BPolice%2BGazetter%2B11-10-1894.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-X5MPsikdfm0/Vr3__HZTDEI/AAAAAAAAAgY/0re2w4XwXco/s320/Shay%2B-%2BNatl%2BPolice%2BGazetter%2B11-10-1894.jpg" width="274" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Source: <i>The National Police Gazette</i>, 11-10-1894</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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Much like his noteworthy but overlooked footballing career,
nearly all information relating to Dennis Shay’s early life is lost to history
and forgotten. Even the date of his birth is not truly known, though the 1940
U.S. Census denotes Shay’s birth year as “around 1870.” Whether in 1869 or
1870, Dennis Shay was born in Hancock, Michigan to John Henry Shay and Mary Sullivan,
Irish immigrants who would soon settle the family in Bristol County, Massachusetts.
The family left the Upper Peninsula likely looking for greater economic fortune
in the booming textile industry in towns like Fall River and New Bedford. The
move eventually proved fortuitous for Dennis, as it was the family’s relocation
to Massachusetts that exposed him to the game at a young age and provided him
with an avenue to play the game at its highest level in the country. <o:p></o:p></div>
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During the 1880s, when Denny was developing an affinity and
knack for the game, the game grew in popularity throughout the Northeast. Mill
towns throughout Massachusetts, burgeoning with British, Irish, and Scottish
immigrants, spearheaded the growth in the game’s popularity. Citizens of these
mill towns formed clubs at an incredible rate during the 1880s, Fall River alone
housed over twelve clubs in 1886. To govern the growing multitude of clubs and
leagues popping up across the Northeast, a group of British expatriates founded
the American Football Association in 1884 and established the American Cup, the
first national soccer championship in the United States, the following year. It
was within this atmosphere that Shay found himself exposed to the game.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Shay likely began playing the game with other children on
the streets of Bristol County. By his teenage years, Shay’s talents proved
worthy enough for a spot on the Oak Grove Rangers. The Rangers, described in
1894 by <i>The Brooklyn Daily Eagle</i> as
“a sort of kindergarten club for the association clubs”, competed in a junior
league, or second class league, a level below the Bristol County Football
Association, which housed Fall River clubs, the East Ends, Rovers, and
Olympics, among others clubs from towns throughout Bristol County,
Massachusetts. Statistics for the junior league are near nonexistent, however, Shay’s
ability in goal must have been apparent to all of the senior league clubs because
by the time he turned eighteen he was playing with arguably the best team in
the county, the Fall River Rovers.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>The Rise of the
Rovers<o:p></o:p></b></div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-m67fI2oXRuo/Vr4ABiXkvhI/AAAAAAAAAgY/dZJZTsxVMrs/s1600/Rover%2BRefuse%2Bto%2BLose.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="97" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-m67fI2oXRuo/Vr4ABiXkvhI/AAAAAAAAAgY/dZJZTsxVMrs/s400/Rover%2BRefuse%2Bto%2BLose.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Source: <i>The Boston Globe</i>, 4-21-1889</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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Shay’s career cannot be discussed without mention of the
Rovers. Without the Fall River club, Shay may never have achieved on-field
success and become the first great American goalkeeper. By the time Shay suited
up for the club in late 1887, or early 1888, the Rovers were American Cup
Champions and considered one of the best teams in the country. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Isaac Buckley, Thomas Buckley, Thomas Burke, and James Marsh
founded the Rovers in February 1884. The men named the club the Chance Street
Rovers after English club Blackburn Rovers with the intention of defeating Fall
River’s best club, the East Ends. It did not take long for the newly formed
Rovers to overcome the East Ends and rise to prominence within the city, as the
club finished the 1884-85 season, their first in the Fall River Football
Association, as one of the best in Fall River. Prior to the start of the
1885-86 season, The Fall River Football Association became the Bristol County
Football Association (BCFA). The name of the league meant little to the rising
juggernaut Rovers as the club became a force regionally, earning enough money
to build their own ground by the fall of 1887.<o:p></o:p></div>
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When the Rovers opened their ground on September 5, 1887,
they were known as the Fall River Rovers, no doubt due to the club’s rising
status regionally – Chance Street likely not carrying as much weight in towns
across the region. Although the club was becoming one of the best in the area,
winning the Bristol County Cup in 1885 and 1886, the club had yet to attain the
status of the elite by capturing the American Cup. The 3-time American Cup
champion, Clark Our New Thread (ONT) team was the true measuring stick of
greatness during this time and all league titles paled in comparison to the
nascent “national” American Cup title.<o:p></o:p></div>
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The Rovers were intent on becoming one of the country’s elite
clubs, but first the club had to ready their home ground for the 1887-1888
campaign. Had it not been for the help of the club’s players the Rovers opening
day game may not have happened on their new field. <i>The Fall River Herald News </i>summed up the club’s ground construction situation
perfectly, “It was a big job to get the field in condition for the opening and
despite the fact that many players worked many weeks in their spare time on the
grounds, they were on the job from 5 a.m. until close to game time on opening
day.”<o:p></o:p></div>
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Despite the troubles in readying the club’s grounds for the
opening game of the season, the Rovers truly became one of the country’s premier
clubs during the 1887-88 campaign. The club continued to show well in BCFA play,
but the club, eying a bigger prize, opted to enter the American Cup - 1888
being the first year that New England teams entered the tournament - with the
intention of becoming the best club in the country.<o:p></o:p></div>
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In the first round of the tournament, the Rovers met their cross-town
nemesis, the East Ends. The Rovers, nearing the apex of their strength as a
club, dispatched their rivals easily by a score of 3-1. The Rovers repeated the
feat in the second round, soundly defeating the Pawtucket Free Wanderers 3-0.
Despite throwing Jack Mullen, a new goalkeeper, between the posts, the Fall
River club continued its dominance in the semifinals. The Rovers trounced the
visiting Kearny Rangers 6-1 in front of several thousand of their home fans.
The victory left supporters of the Rovers, “confident that it [the Rovers] will
win the championship and the cup. Consequently, there is great rejoicing among
local football enthusiasts.”<o:p></o:p></div>
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Riding a string of blowout victories in the tournament, the
Rovers entered the American Cup Final against Newark Almas with Mullen still in
goal. The game took place on the grounds of Clark ONT in New Jersey on April
14, 1888. Taking place in NJ, the game appeared to be a home game for Almas,
but, to the Rovers, the venue was irrelevant. The outcome of the game mirrored
the results of the tournament’s previous rounds and ended with a Rovers 5-1
blowout victory over Almas. <o:p></o:p></div>
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With the help of the telegraph, news of the victory spread
quickly. The citizens of Fall River were ecstatic with the result. Some people called
the day the Rovers won the title “the greatest day in the annals of football in
Fall River.” Praise for the Rovers victory did not end there as the city hung
two banners, one stating “Welcome home, champions of America.” In addition to the
banners and a planned procession through the town, the city also held a dinner
and concert in honor of the American Cup champions. <i>The Fall River Daily Herald </i>summed up the city’s excitement for the
occasion best, “They have crowned themselves with glory in winning the
championship of America, and well deserve the reception and illumination.” The
club had attained the status of the elite. The signing of Shay signaled the
club was intent on maintaining their class distinction for many years to come.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>Shay Joins the Rovers,
Becomes Champion</b><o:p></o:p></div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-8_LtBnx_A4o/Vr4H1PZU4UI/AAAAAAAAAgo/Ts3_Pvd-mZc/s1600/Untitled.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="97" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-8_LtBnx_A4o/Vr4H1PZU4UI/AAAAAAAAAgo/Ts3_Pvd-mZc/s400/Untitled.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Source: <i>The Fall River Daily Herald</i>, 4-16-1888</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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It was during this period, following the quick ascension of
the Rovers as the country’s best, that Shay became a fixture at the club. At
just eighteen years old, Shay entered the first team of the Rovers. The young
Oak Grove product did not immediately supplant Mullen in goal, but Shay did
find first team minutes almost immediately after joining the club when he
played center forward for the Rovers in an exhibition game against Boston
Rovers just a few weeks before the Fall River club won the title. Ultimately, Shay’s
days at forward did not last; he was starting between the posts by the start of
the fall of 1888. Once firmly entrenched in the starting eleven, Shay did not
look back. He became a permanent fixture between the posts for the Rovers for
the next three years and cemented his reputation as one of, if not the best,
goalkeeper in the nation by the time he left the club. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Though still holding the BCFA league in high esteem, the
Rovers, with Shay in goal, entered the 1888-89 season intent on repeating as
national champions. In addition to Shay, the club brought in two players from
Almas, Bernard “Barney” Fagan – Scottish Cup winner with Hibernian F.C. in
1886-87 - and Frank Cornell, to bolster the already strong side. The club, as
it had for the past few years, continued to show well in the local league, but
truly shined on the national stage with this influx of talent, easily
maintaining their status as the country’s premier club. <o:p></o:p></div>
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With Shay between the posts and the twenty-one-year-old
veteran Fagan assuming the role of club captain, the Fall River Rovers made
easy work of their opponents in the first two rounds of the 1888-89 edition of
the American Cup. The club faced off against the Rhode Island champion
Pawtucket Free Wanderers in the tournament’s third round. The match proved to
be quite the affair.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Shay and the Rovers journeyed to Pawtucket for the match.
Throngs of people attempted to attend the highly anticipated matchup. According
to <i>The Fall River Daily Herald</i>, “so dense was
the gathering that tickets could not be supplied to those who wished to gain
admittance before the game began, and the result was that the cheering of those
inside the grounds so inspired those outside that they broke in the large
double gate and went rushing into the ground without paying an entrance fee.” The
Rovers routinely drew in fans by the thousands throughout this period no matter
the competition. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Despite being defending champions, the Rovers were seen as
the underdog due to the Rovers player’s stature, Shay stood only 5’ 8 1/2'’. In
spite of their lot as underdogs, the Fall River club quickly proved they were
the superior team. Just minutes after kickoff the Rovers proved their mettle
with one reporter remarking, “it would need no experienced eye to see that they
[Rovers] were the superior team…. what they lacked in weight, they made up with
in science.” <o:p></o:p></div>
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Using their superior tactics, the Rovers narrowly defeated the
Rhode Island champions, 2-1, though the game was never in much doubt. The
Rovers scored the first goal of the game just minutes after the opening whistle
and the Fall River club never looked like losing, heading into halftime up 2-0.
The Wanderers were able to score in the second period, but it was for naught as
they conceded their first game at home to the defending champion Rovers.<o:p></o:p></div>
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The rest of the American Cup tournament went smoothly for
the Rovers. Their opponents in the semi-final, the 3-time American Cup
champions, Clark ONT, were embarrassed by the Rovers in front of 3,000 fans in
Fall River, 7-0. The result showed the superiority of the Rovers and gave the
fans and media every reason to believe that the Fall River club would repeat as
champions. In order to win the title, the Rover’s opponents, Newark
Caledonians, had to “play the strongest game of their lives.” <o:p></o:p></div>
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The Caledonians did not play the game of their lives. In
fact, the Final, once again held on the Clark ONT grounds in New Jersey, proved
to be another easy game for the best club in the country, the Rovers. On April
13, 1889, the Rovers easily won the 1888-89 American Cup Final 4-0. The result
was another clean sheet for Shay and a second American Cup title for the
Rovers. Over the course of the Rovers five games in the tournament, Shay only
conceded one goal, and the club held a goal differential of 24 to 1. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-kO8sabFPBlU/Vr4Ph3mYqTI/AAAAAAAAAhI/cT8osOgHPSg/s1600/1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="60" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-kO8sabFPBlU/Vr4Ph3mYqTI/AAAAAAAAAhI/cT8osOgHPSg/s400/1.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Source: <i>The Fall River Daily Herald</i>, 4-15-1889</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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Fall River once again feted the national champions,
welcoming the team home with fireworks and a brass band. The Rovers were repeat
champions and unquestionably the best team in the country.</div>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
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Following their victory in the 1888-89 American Cup, the
Fall River Rovers, with Shay between the posts, continued to prove that they
were America’s elite, taking on clubs from across New England and the East
Coast. The club continued to be a huge draw as well, with over 2,500 fans
showing up to the Rover’s home ground to see the champions take on a New Jersey
All-Star team a little over a week after the American Cup Final. The Rovers
distinguished play proved to be must see to everyone, including women, as <i>The Fall River Daily Herald </i>noted, “the female
admirers of the exhilarating game formed a good part of the large crowd of
spectators, and were the most enthusiastic at that.”<o:p></o:p></div>
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Shortly after the American Cup victory, the Rovers were
rumored to be making plans to sail to England to take on Aston Villa, Preston
North End, and other English clubs. The England tour never quite got off the
ground, but the Rovers were unquestionably the best team in the country and
their young goalkeeper, Dennis Shay, was quickly cementing his place as the
first great American goalkeeper.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>Shay in Britain<o:p></o:p></b></div>
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Shay continued to man the goal, with cameos as an outfield
player, for the Rovers until the summer of 1891. By that time, Shay had
established himself as one of the best, if not the best goalkeeper in the
country, and his ability caught the eye of individuals associated with a
planned Canadian soccer tour of the British Isles. Initially, the tour was
intended to mimic an 1888 tour and be made up entirely of Canadian players from
the Western Football Association, but complications arose with the tour’s plans
and the tour’s management invited Shay and several other American players to
participate in the tour. <o:p></o:p></div>
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The tour ran from August 1891 to January 1892. The joint
Canadian-American team competed in 58 </div>
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games in just 135 days. Shay appeared in
goal for 47 of those 58 games, playing in games against some of the best teams
in England in Burnley and Preston North End.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Although the tour is not looked at as a success historically
– the Canadian-American team lost 30 of the 58 games - the tour was a positive
experience for many of the players, including Shay. In fact, Shay’s ability in
goal throughout the tour elicited praise from English newspapers despite the
Canadian-American’s collective on-field performances. Shay’s play even saw him
carried off the field after one match and merited the American goalkeeper
several offers from English clubs. Shay, who said “he could have held his own
against the goalies of Great Britain,” ultimately turned down the offers, and
the chance to become the first non-British player to play in England’s Football
League, – that honor belongs to his Canadian teammate Walter Bowman – and returned
to Fall River. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Once back in the United States, Shay suited up for a team in
Pawtucket, Rhode Island before returning to the Rovers in 1893, the same year
that he married his wife, Catherine Neary<i>.</i>
By that time, with the numerous championship medals he had earned and the
British tour under his belt, Shay was widely considered the best in America at
the goalkeeper position. When it came to soccer, newspapers across the
Northeast, then the nexus of the American soccer world, were espousing praise
of Shay’s exploits and proclaiming the young goalkeeper the best in the country
at his position. Soon Shay would be one of the game’s greatest professionals,
even if only for a very brief time.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>Shay, the
Professional<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/--O9AK7Qc9bc/Vr4NVOFWOcI/AAAAAAAAAg8/oiKgGUu6VEc/s1600/Untitled1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="242" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/--O9AK7Qc9bc/Vr4NVOFWOcI/AAAAAAAAAg8/oiKgGUu6VEc/s320/Untitled1.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Source: <i>The Brooklyn Eagle</i>, 10-15-1894</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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Soccer, like nearly all sports in America, was still an amateur
affair in the early 1890s. Baseball provided America with the only professional
sport in the country and dominated the summer months, but it wouldn’t be the
only sport played professionally for long after the growing popularity of
soccer, played during the winter months, caught the eye of baseball’s most
entrepreneurial owners. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Several baseball magnates saw the game as the perfect sport
to fill their stadiums during baseball’s offseason. The way the baseball owners
intended to do this was to make soccer a professional sport under their
auspices, which is exactly what six National League owners did during the
summer of 1894 when they created America’s first professional soccer league,
<a href="http://amofb.blogspot.com/2014/01/the-first-professional-soccer-league-in.html">The American League of Professional Football (ALPF).</a><o:p></o:p></div>
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As early as February 1894, the owners of the Baltimore,
Boston, Brooklyn, New York, Philadelphia, and Washington, D.C. baseball club’s began
entertaining the idea of a creating a professional soccer league. By the
summer, plans for the ALPF were starting to fall into place, and the owners
formally created the league on August 14, 1894. <o:p></o:p></div>
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The league was doomed from the onset, as the owners failed
to set a concrete schedule and sought to include their baseball players and
managers in the teams. Ultimately, the scheme was little more than an attempt
by the owners to maintain a stranglehold on the professional sports landscape
and little effort was made to ensure the success of the professional league. In
a mere six weeks, the ALPF ceased to exist, but that small window afforded many
people in cities across the East Coast the chance to read about and see the
greatest goalkeeper in the country.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Shay was highly respected by the time the National League
owners created the ALPF. The former Fall River Rovers goalkeeper was referred
to as the “best goal tender in the country” in more than one publication prior
to the cessation of the league. Shay’s ability and knowledge of the game were
so highly respected that the owner of the Brooklyn Bridegrooms Baseball Club,
Charles Byrne, made Shay the player/manager of the Brooklyn Football Club -
Shay was the only American with a background in the sport to be made manager
of any of the ALPF clubs.<o:p></o:p></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-aZo1v5cAZjg/UtlDj5i9JoI/AAAAAAAAAJM/1YEnZK97wv4/s1600/shea.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-aZo1v5cAZjg/UtlDj5i9JoI/AAAAAAAAAJM/1YEnZK97wv4/s320/shea.jpg" width="260" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Source: <i>The Brooklyn Eagle, </i>10-7-1894</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Once signed by Byrne, Shay set about signing the best
players from Fall River, including several men from the Rovers, namely Bernard
Fagan. The Brooklyn side became a de facto Fall River team playing in the ALPF
– several other players from the Spindle City latched on to the Boston club as
well. Shay’s signings, coupled with his play in goal, earned the Brooklyn club
the most wins in the doomed league with five. The club experienced a single
loss, the league opener to Boston, during the six weeks that the ALPF existed.
That loss gave the Baltimore team, a side made up of a number of British
professionals who were a perfect 4-0 in ALPF play, reason enough to declare
themselves champions of the ALPF. Shay and his men did not take kindly to
Baltimore’s claims, and the Brooklyn club challenged the Charm City eleven to a
six-game series to decide the true champions of the league and country. With
Shay in goal, the Brooklyn men proved their superiority before the series
dissolved as brusquely as the ALPF. It proved to be the swansong for Shay’s
goalkeeping career.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>Retirement from
Football<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Following the demise of the ALPF, Shay abruptly retired from
playing soccer at the age of twenty-four. Although the reasons for his
retirement are unknown, his place as the first great American goalkeeper is
certainly up for debate. The former Fall River Rovers man had accumulated a
litany of awards and trophies by the time he signed with Brooklyn of the ALPF.
According to <i>The Brooklyn Eagle</i>, who
proclaimed Shay the best goalkeeper in the country, Shay had won eleven medals
by the time he joined Brooklyn. That is an impressive haul for a man who played
the game at its highest level for only six years. The fact that he was
entrusted to run a professional club at such a young age undoubtedly shows that
Shay was a well-respected figure within the game. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
After his retirement, Shay became involved in the liquor
business, a career he would be involved in for the rest of his life. By 1896,
Shay operated a saloon in Fall River with his brother, Timothy, called Shay
Brothers. The bar remained in operation
for a number of years, though it not clear how long Dennis was involved in the
venture. That same year, Shay’s exploits as a goalkeeper made the news again,
though it was not on the soccer field, rather Shay had taken up roller polo
(roller hockey) and was minding the net for an amateur side in Fall River. He
was said to be “showing up strongly.” Though retired from soccer, Shay, already
the best soccer goalie in America, obviously still had the itch to compete. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Eventually, Shay settled with his wife in New Bedford,
Massachusetts. He appears to never have played a prominent role on the soccer
field ever again, though he continued to be involved in sports. In 1906, he and
two other men purchased the New Bedford Whalers Baseball Club of the minor league
New England League. Shay’s involvement with the baseball club lasted just two
years. From that point on, Shay does not appear to have figured prominently
within sports in any aspect and spent the remainder of his life in New Bedford.
He died in 1950. His exploits during his brief soccer career were so great that
they were worthy of a mention in his obituary in <i>The New York Times.<o:p></o:p></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Fall River would continue to produce soccer players and
clubs of renowned quality throughout the early half of the 20<sup>th</sup>
century. Many of the feats accomplished by the Rovers and Marksmen came to
overshadow those of Shay and the original Fall River Rovers, but that does not
mean that the first prominent American goalkeeper feats, and those of his club
teams, are insignificant. The truth is quite the opposite.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Even without any statistics, Shay’s feats as a goalkeeper
were remarkable for the era he played in. After playing just six years at the
highest level, Shay had accrued enough medals and plaudits to be considered by
many at the time to be the greatest goalkeeper in the country. Regardless of
the feats of other goalkeepers of the period, Shay’s fame alone, undoubtedly
bolstered by his performances in Britain, cements him as the first great
American goalkeeper and the patriarch of the celebrated American goalkeeping lineage.
In a period dominated by baseball, Shay was able to garner enough attention
outside of Fall River to be considered the best in the nation, and the fact
that he did it in six years gives further credence to his ability in goal. The
mention of his feats at the time of his death, over sixty years after Shay made
headlines playing the game, only goes to prove that Shay, though forgotten by
modern soccer fans, was indeed the first truly exception American goalkeeper.<o:p></o:p></div>
<span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
The next time you see Tim Howard play, or reminisce on the
career of Kasey Keller, remember that Dennis Shay was the first significant
goalkeeper in American soccer history and the first goalkeeper to test himself
in the nation of the game’s birth.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Sources:</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
In writing this article, I relied on a<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 18.4px;"> number of primary and secondary sources and help from others. I could not have written this article without the help of <a href="https://twitter.com/SoccerHistoryUS">Brian Bunk</a>, the creator of the <a href="http://soccerhistoryusa.org/">Soccer History USA Podcast</a>, who was very generous with his time and aiding in tracking down several period newspaper articles. Ed Farnsworth, Chris Goodwin, and the reference librarians at The Fall River Public Library were also a huge help in giving their time and sharing source material. With the help of those stated above, I consulted the following sources: </span><em style="font-family: 'times new roman', serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 18.4px;">The Baltimore Sun, The Brooklyn Eagle</em><em style="font-family: 'times new roman', serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 18.4px;">, The Fall River Daily Herald, The Fall River Herald News,</em><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 18.4px;"><i> The Washington Post, </i><a href="http://www.canadiansoccerhistory.com/Canadiantoursabroad/Gt%20Britain%201891.html" target="_blank">Colin Jose's article covering the 1891 Canadian-American tour of the UK</a>, </span><a href="http://www.phillysoccerpage.net/2010/03/31/the-philadelphia-phillies-and-early-philadelphia-soccer-history-part-1/" style="font-family: 'times new roman', serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 18.4px;" target="_blank"><span style="color: #992211;">Ed Farnsworth's post concerning Philadelphia's ALPF History</span></a><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 18.4px;">, </span><a href="http://homepages.sover.net/~spectrum/alpf.html" style="font-family: 'times new roman', serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 18.4px;" target="_blank"><span style="color: #992211;">Steve Holroyd's History of the ALPF</span></a><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 18.4px;">, </span><a href="http://www.baseballreference.com/" style="font-family: 'times new roman', serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 18.4px;" target="_blank"><span style="color: #992211;">www.baseballreference.com</span></a><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 18.4px;">, <a href="http://homepages.sover.net/~spectrum/">the American Soccer History Archives</a>, and several other secondary sources.</span></div>
Skihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13488748094836677592noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6186634703462395529.post-13195047153442005492015-10-22T08:33:00.001-07:002015-10-22T08:33:53.683-07:00The U.S. Open Cup and Washington D.C.'s Golden Age<div class="MsoNormal">
In 1985, the U.S. National Team (USMNT) failed to qualify
for yet another World Cup, extending the country’s absence from the tournament to
twenty-six years, while the shuttering of the North American Soccer League (NASL)
left the country without a singular professional division one outdoor league.
For American soccer, the mid-1980s may well have been considered the sport’s
Dark Ages. When the sport did make headlines, the doomsday coverage wrote off
the sport and its future in America. Though soccer may have seemed on the
precipice of oblivion nationally, it continued to thrive within local leagues,
as it had for decades, in cities throughout the U.S. It ultimately became the
era that would produce some of the greatest American players in recent history
and a period that saw Washington, D.C. usher in a “golden era” of soccer in the city and surrounding area, which culminated in the city’s first U.S. Open Cup championship
courtesy of the area's most successful team, Club España.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>Soccer in Washington,
D.C</b>.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Ar8XfxFYG0o/Vijpp17w8HI/AAAAAAAAAeU/JmgvJ5sXJ-U/s1600/Snapchat--5393294592473612435.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="360" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Ar8XfxFYG0o/Vijpp17w8HI/AAAAAAAAAeU/JmgvJ5sXJ-U/s640/Snapchat--5393294592473612435.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">D.C. United in CONCACAF Champions League action against Montego Bay United, August 25, 2015<br />Source: Author's collection</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br />
Soccer has been played in the nation’s capital since the
late 1800s, with the city even becoming one of the first in the country to
house a professional team when a representative club participated in the
ill-fated <a href="http://amofb.blogspot.com/2014/01/the-first-professional-soccer-league-in.html">American League of Professional Football in 1894</a>. Even at that point of the sport’s history in the U.S., Washington
existed on the periphery of American soccer, where it would remain throughout
the first half of the 20<sup>th</sup> century. That is not to say that the city
did not have viable leagues or that soccer did not enjoy periods of significant
appeal, just that the sport never garnered the attention that it did in the
industrial Northeast and that the city’s club never could measure up to
competition from the likes of Fall River, New York, or even Baltimore in Open
Cup competition.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
It wasn’t until after World War II that the sport gained a
significant footing in Washington. During and following the war, the city’s
population boomed due to a wave of immigration from across the country that <i>The Washington Post</i> believed may “have
brought enough new interest to Washington to make a general organization of the
sport worthwhile.” The city fielded local leagues for decades prior, but it was
this post-war boom, coupled with soccer’s and professional sports’ growth
nationally, that gave soccer true vitality in Washington. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
With this thrust in participation and popularity, Washington
finally became a player on the national stage as The British Lions of
Washington’s National Soccer League (NSL) became a dominant club locally
throughout the 1950s and 60s while making extended runs in the U.S. Amateur
Open Cup on several occasions. The British Lions’ success reached its pinnacle
in 1969 when they captured the city’s first truly national soccer trophy by
defeating Kutis of St. Louis 4-1 for the U.S. Amateur Cup. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br />
In addition to the Lions, Washington became home to two
professional clubs in 1967 during the nascent boom of professional sports:
Britannica, a local NSL rival who joined the American Soccer League (ASL) and the
Washington Whips, who were represented by the players of Aberdeen of Scotland
in the United Soccer Association. (Rather than employ players available in
America, the United Soccer Association imported entire clubs to represent
various American cities for its first season.) By 1970, Britannica became the
Darts, won an ASL title, joined the NASL, and were the </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
sole professional club
in Washington.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
From that point on, soccer within Washington would
experience a series of highs and lows, as several clubs came and went during
the NASL’s lifetime, while the local leagues flourished and Howard University
captured two NCAA National Championships. Professional soccer was a
near-mainstay in Washington throughout the 1970s and 1980s, one that drew
decent attendances, but never fully captured the city’s attention. The city’s
apathy was a malaise that not even the magic of a Johan Cruyff led Diplomats team,
or the ill-fated <a href="http://amofb.blogspot.com/2014/06/world-cup-hopeful-team-america-and-case.html">Team America</a> concept could cure. By the 1984 NASL season,
Washington was without a professional team, and professional soccer in the
United States was on life-support. Though the loss of professional soccer and the
collapse of the NASL left Washington without a nationally visible soccer representative,
the vacuum was filled by local clubs who would usher in the most prosperous era
in the city’s soccer history. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>Dawn of the “Golden
Era”<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Following the demise of the NASL, professionals who were not
playing in the Major Indoor Soccer League were suddenly out of a job and found
themselves looking for a place to play. This meant that city leagues throughout
the country became a viable, and sometimes the only, place to play. In the case
of Washington, the arrival of former professionals only strengthened the already
strong local leagues including the NSL, a league that President, Luis Del
Aguila, claimed was “one of the best in the country,” in 1985. Aguila’s assertion
may not have been far off. The Washington area was home to several strong
leagues including the NSL, the Northern Virginia Soccer League (NVSL), and the
Capital Soccer League. While each offered a different style of play,
professionals and former national team players could be found plying their trade
on local fields every weekend. The NVSL even boasted to have several World Cup veterans
playing within the forty teams playing in its four divisions.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Dominant in the NSL were Club España, a club founded by
Spanish immigrants sometime in the late 1970s, who were not shy about signing
the best talent available in order to win the league and compete on the
national level. The club, reigning league champions since 1980, quickly took
advantage of the influx of former professionals and top college players
tricking into the NSL by signing players with NASL experience like Daryl Gee
and Ian Bain, while also signing talented young players from the 1985 NCAA College
Cup runner-up American University (AU) in <i>Soccer
America’s </i>Player of the Year, Michael Brady and defensive stalwart, Keith
Trehy. In leagues already burgeoning with local and international players of
some acclaim, the area became a hotbed of talent ready to compete for national
recognition with the new wave of players entering the leagues.<br />
<br />
España were not the only local team heavy on quality talent, as
their local rivals, the Fairfax Spartans, featured USMNT players John Kerr Jr.,
Bruce Murray, and John Stohlmeyer, and they were coached by former New York Cosmos
and Washington Diplomat midfielder, John Kerr Sr. These two teams were stocked
with talent and dominated the NSL and NVSL respectively. Inevitably they had to compete each other to achieve success on the national stage. <o:p></o:p><br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-LAkhyLId3sY/Vij5nIten-I/AAAAAAAAAek/ZT3d-1mhw-w/s1600/Post_picture_8-22-1985.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="342" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-LAkhyLId3sY/Vij5nIten-I/AAAAAAAAAek/ZT3d-1mhw-w/s640/Post_picture_8-22-1985.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Club España in 1985<br />Source: <i>The Washington Post</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Club España were the first to achieve notoriety and success
nationally by going on a reported 33-game unbeaten streak to capture the U.S.
Amateur Open Cup in 1985 – the Fairfax Spartans made it to the Open Cup
Semi-Finals before being ousted. The final victory during the 33-game run was a
2-1 victory in St. Louis over the Mitre Eagles of Seattle, Washington. In
addition to the players mentioned above, excluding Gee, the club featured American
University’s Richie Burke and future-USMNT forward Philip Gyau. The title win
was the beginning of a very short-lived, but highly productive “golden era” for
the area. It was the first truly national championship won by a club from
Washington since Howard University’s College Cup triumph in 1974, and the first
US Open Amateur Cup Championship for a club from Washington since 1969. The
victory even garnered the attention of D.C.’s government, with Mayor Marion
Barry lauding the achievement by naming a day in honor of the club. Following
the win, the Washington area was prime for an extended run of national titles
and a place in soccer history alongside some of the greater city dynasties of
the past century like Los Angeles, home of Maccabi.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The U.S. Amateur Open Cup title returned to the Washington area
the next year, 1986, but it would be Kerr Jr. and the Fairfax Spartans who
brought the trophy to the nation’s capital after defeating St. Louis Busch 3-0
for the title. It would prove to be a productive year locally as the area’s
womens teams were just as successful, with the Fairfax Wildfire winning the
Women’s Amateur Cup completing a men’s and women’s national double. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
In back-to-back years, Washington clubs had captured
hardware and proven that the area was indeed a soccer stronghold experiencing the
most success nationally in its history. In 1987, Club España continued the
area’s run among the country’s elite and brought a trophy that had eluded clubs
from Washington for over a half century, the U.S. Open Cup. Not only did España
win the first Open Cup in the city’s long history, they did it in historic
fashion too.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>U.S. Open Cup
Champions and Beyond<o:p></o:p></b><br />
<b><br /></b>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-MA-qBV9HJHE/Vij7Ca5WkVI/AAAAAAAAAew/AEBCX7XX-q4/s1600/Post_picture_4-12-1986.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="273" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-MA-qBV9HJHE/Vij7Ca5WkVI/AAAAAAAAAew/AEBCX7XX-q4/s640/Post_picture_4-12-1986.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Source: <i>The Washington Post</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Club España entered 1987 with a roster that was largely
unchanged since the club’s 1985 U.S. Amateur Open Cup victory. The Fairfax
Spartans were no different, and the two club’s successes undoubtedly fueled one
another to reach another level. For a couple of years, some of Washington’s
media took notice, namely <i>The Washington
Post</i>, who began giving the rivalry more coverage, announced crucial matches
between the two foes and promoted the professional quality of the clubs. Both
Club España and the Fairfax Spartans’ achievements had filled the soccer void
in Washington, and their continued success on the national stage proved hard to
ignore as both received more coverage than they had ever before.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The two club's achievements earned both a spot in the newly formed
American Soccer League, the third league to adopt the ASL moniker, which included
only East Coast teams and began exhibition play during the summer of 1987. Both
teams adopted new club names, with España becoming the Washington Diplomats and
the Fairfax Spartans changing their name to the Washington Stars. Despite the
looming changes, España were still in the hunt for the U.S. Open Cup at the
time of the league’s creation. The club continued to compete for the Open Cup
as Club España while also taking the field in other games as the Diplomats,
though it was no secret that the future ASL entity was almost entirely made up
of players from the soon to be defunct Club España.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Prior to the official announcement of the ASL’s creation,
España advanced to the Finals of the U.S. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Open Cup tournament by winning a home
and away series against New York Greek-American. After defeating New York on
their home ground the week prior, España welcomed the four-time Open Cup
champions to Washington on May 17, 1987. The game ended in a 2-2 draw, which
saw España advance in the tournament due to their previous win. The game was
more notable for the fighting amongst the teams and the presence of police,
than the final score line, which led España’s Ian Bain to say, “Basically this
is an ethnic thing. It’s Spain against Greece and blood tends to run a little
warm.” <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
In addition to España’s progression in the tournament, the
women of Fairfax Wildfire secured victory in their game that day as well,
sending them to the National Championships for the second consecutive season.
Both club’s wins kept the city in contention for another men’s and women’s
national double.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Following España’s advancement to the final four of the Open
Cup tournament, the club began to invest heavily in the development of the
Diplomats and the new ASL. The club began to be referred to not as solely as
the Diplomats in the local press beginning with the club’s first games in the
Ambassador Cup, a four team tournament held at Robert F. Kennedy Stadium from
June 5-7, 1987, featuring the Diplomats, the Cosmopolitan Eagles (NJ), the
Honduran National Team, and the Under-20 U.S. National Team. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The club registered a 3-1 win in their opening match against
the Under-20 U.S. National Team. They followed the win up with a 1-1 draw against
Honduran National team that left the Honduran coach with nothing but praise for
Diplomats (España) declaring, “this team is better than most that played in the
North American Soccer League.” <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
With the exhibition behind them, the club’s focus returned
to the Open Cup and the semifinal matchup against the Mean Green of Richardson
on June 20 at St. Louis Park in Fenton, Missouri. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
By this time, <i>The
Washington Post</i> were chronicling the club’s trip towards the Open Cup
Final, taking note of what players would be eligible for the important cup-tie,
while making a point to emphasize that España and the Diplomats were
essentially the same team. Notably, several players who were officially part of
the Diplomats including Michael Brady and Joe Gyau were not able to play in the
Open Cup as they were not registered with the USSF as members of España.
Nevertheless, it was an issue that Ian Bain wasn’t bothered with stating, “Club
España has depended on 14 players so far this year, and we’ll go with the
people who have gotten us this far in St. Louis.” <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br />
His statement proved true on the field as España rolled past
the Mean Green 3-0 with Fernando Iturbe providing the game’s opening goal,
which was bolstered by Ritchie Burke’s two goals to send the Washington club to
the Open Cup Final. It was the first time in the history of the tournament that
a club from Washington advanced to the tournament’s championship game, and only
an old foe, Seattle’s Mitre FC, who advanced to the Final with a 5-4 victory
over Busch SC, stood between España and the Open Cup trophy. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The Final took place the following day, June 21, 1987 and
proved to be a struggle for both sides who were unable to find the back of the
net in 120 minutes of play. Mitre’s John Klein remembers Seattle having the
edge in front of a crowd ranging from 1000-2000 spectators saying, “We pretty
much dominated, but were unable to score.” With both teams failing to score the
game went to a penalty shoot-out, the first Final in the history of the U.S.
Open Cup to be decided in that manner - the tournament used a two-game playoff
to decide the winner until 1968 when it changed to a single game final.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
España won the shootout dramatically 3-2. (Fairfax Wildfire failed to repeat as champions, therefore denying the city another men's and women's double.) Marcos
Casas-Codero, Paul Emordi, and Daniel Betancor were the penalty scorers for
España. Not only did the win secure the first Open Cup for the city of
Washington, it also secured España a spot in the 1988 CONCACAF Champions Cup –
Mitre Eagles also earned a spot in the tournament due to their progression to
the Open Cup Final – another first for the city. (Interestingly enough, the
club was allowed to enter the tournament as the Diplomats. They lost a two-game
play in series to Mexico’s Atlético Morelia 4-2.)<o:p></o:p><br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-mOQscGDLnq4/Vij72uZ2mwI/AAAAAAAAAe4/2mcp7_z0upg/s1600/Post_picture_4-18-1988.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-mOQscGDLnq4/Vij72uZ2mwI/AAAAAAAAAe4/2mcp7_z0upg/s400/Post_picture_4-18-1988.jpg" width="296" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Source: <i>The Washington Post</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Following the Open Cup victory, Club España ceased to exist
as the club became the ASL’s Washington Diplomats permanently. Fairfax Spartans
were also a defunct club by the fall of 1987 as the newly-minted Washington
Stars and the Diplomats took some of the area’s best talent into the new
professional league beginning play the following spring. Both clubs past
accomplishments earned them significant articles in <i>The Washington Post</i> promoting the quality talent laden rosters of
both teams, but any mention to the former club names only came in reference to
the past history of the players. The amateur clubs were extinct and the “golden
age” was coming to an end, but not before the city obtained another title when
the Washington Diplomats seized the inaugural ASL championship in 1988.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br />
The Diplomats and Stars continued to play professional soccer through the 1990 American Professional Soccer League season. At the end of the campaign, the Diplomats folded, while the Stars ceased to exist after merging with Baltimore's Maryland Bays. Washington would not have a club with another national soccer championship until 1996 when Iberia SC, a club coached by Silvino Gonzalo, who was also involved with España and the Diplomats, won the U.S. Amateur Open Cup, and D.C. United won the inaugural Major League Soccer Cup. Sine then the city has had a number of clubs bring hardware back to the area, but it was the "golden age" of the mid-1980s, with Club España at the forefront, that cemented Washington's status as an elite soccer city.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe width="320" height="266" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/yfyfTs4TOMw/0.jpg" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/yfyfTs4TOMw?feature=player_embedded" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe></div>
<br />
The above video features Silvino Gonzalo referencing his role in guiding several clubs to Open Cup titles.<br />
<br />
Notes: <span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 18.4px;">As always, I relied on a number of sources, both primary and secondary, in writing this article. I perused many newspapers with </span><i style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 18.4px;">The Washington Post </i><span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 18.4px;">being chief among them. I also consulted</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 18.4px;"> </span><i style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 18.4px;">The New York Times</i><span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 18.4px;">. In addition to the above sources, I consulted <a href="http://www.theolympian.com/sports/soccer/mls/sounders-fc/article25266457.html"><i>The Olympian's</i> article on Seattle's 2010 bid to win the Open Cup</a>, <a href="http://www.funwhileitlasted.net/soccer/aslapsl-galleries-1988-1995/">http://www.funwhileitlasted.net</a>, <a href="http://thecup.us/us-open-cup-history/history/">http://thecup.us</a>, and, of course, <a href="http://homepages.sover.net/~spectrum/">the American Soccer History Archives</a>. Also, a huge thanks is due to Kevin Mercer for his help with the article. Follow him on <a href="https://twitter.com/KevinIsHistory">Twitter</a>.</span></div>
Skihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13488748094836677592noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6186634703462395529.post-72543773553463153442014-12-22T09:00:00.003-08:002014-12-25T15:28:44.670-08:00Going Green<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Pk3ZKW9Kb8w/VJhA-3JeAWI/AAAAAAAAAaE/gZQ5q2W6RoI/s1600/Rudas-Ferenc_0019.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Pk3ZKW9Kb8w/VJhA-3JeAWI/AAAAAAAAAaE/gZQ5q2W6RoI/s1600/Rudas-Ferenc_0019.jpg" height="409" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Puskas (top, third from left) lining up with Ferencvaros during Mexican tour 1947<br />
Source: <a href="http://www.tempofradi.hu/a-fradi-mexikoban-iii-puskas-mesterharmasa">tempofradi.hu</a>=</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">In July 1959, Ferenc Puskas and reigning four-time European
Cup champions Real Madrid stopped in New York City to showcase their version
of the world’s game in a pair of exhibition games at the tail end of their
South American tour. The sojourn marked the second time that Los Blancos
visited America to demonstrate the finer points of the game. It was the club’s first
since an exhibition match against <a href="http://amofb.blogspot.com/2014/05/nat-agar-galicia-fc-and-royal-visit.html">Galicia FC in 1927</a>.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The games were far from competitive with Madrid winning both
stateside games handily. As irrelevant as the games were, the affair’s
significance lie in the fact that it was Puskas’ second appearance before the
New York City football faithful, and his first stint in America since a largely
forgotten and unlikely appearance as a member of Ferencvarosi TC (Ferencvaros)
twelve years earlier. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Before the Hungarian Revolution and his subsequent defection,
Puskas had been renowned throughout Europe as “The Galloping Major.” He</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> was a national idol within Hungary and the personification of Hungarian
football with both his club, Honved, and the national team. He undoubtedly always gave his best for the nation, even when it meant displaying the best that Hungarian football had to offer by donning
the colors of rival club Ferencvaros in New York City and throughout the club’s
Mexican tour of 1947.</span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Mexican
Vacation<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></b></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-66Mbcbd5iVI/VJg9JBWoe1I/AAAAAAAAAZk/2JueJE1UW0I/s1600/csapatkep_1947_mexiko-repulo_0619-0011.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-66Mbcbd5iVI/VJg9JBWoe1I/AAAAAAAAAZk/2JueJE1UW0I/s1600/csapatkep_1947_mexiko-repulo_0619-0011.jpg" height="427" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px;">Ferencvaros during their tour of Mexico. Puskas kneeling far left.<br />
Source: <a href="http://www.tempofradi.hu/a-fradi-mexikoban-i-a-ferencvaros-elindult-mexikoba">tempofradi.hu</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Prior to World War II, Hungary was one of the most
competitive footballing nations on the European continent, having shown well during the
1934 World Cup and finishing as runners-up in the 1938 rendition. The central
European nation also housed two of the most formidable clubs in Europe at the
time in Ferencvaros and MTK Budapest. The country’s superb footballing tradition
continued following the cessation of war through to the 1960s. Its entrance
into the Warsaw Pact in 1949 ushered in window of army-backed Honved dominance
that lasted until the Hungarian Revolution ending the dominance of Ferencvaros.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">This interval coincided with the rise of one of the world’s
greatest footballers in Puskas, who made his national team debut in 1945 and
quickly became a known quantity within world football. It was during this
period - before the Communist takeover of Hungary - that the country’s most
decorated club, Ferencvaros, embarked on an expedition to Mexico for a small
payday and a series of games against some of the best Mexican clubs and the
Mexican national team. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">In an effort to exhibit the best of Hungarian football,
Ferencvaros enlisted the services of Puskas and Ferenc Szusza to compliment the
club’s lineup that featured a who’s who of Hungarian talent including: Gyula
Lazar, Gyorgi Sarosi - the lauded star of the 1938 World Cup, Gyorgi Sarosi, and
Geza Henni - future U.S. Men’s National Team and Houston Stars coach. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">After a one-off game in Brno, Czech Republic, Puskas, and
his seasonal teammates flew across the Atlantic stopping in New York City en
route to Mexico. In just twelve hours inside the city, the visiting Hungarians marveled
at the foreign sights. They noted their journals, “We have seen the streets of millionaires.” (Note: both Gyula
Csikos and Dr. Lakat Karoly kept diaries during the tour, but due to difficulty
in translating the text from Hungarian it is difficult to discern who’s diary
it is from.) They vowed to come back after their Mexican jaunt, where, on July
16, they were warmly received in Mexico City by a significant gathering of
Hungarian émigrés who greeted the club with a banner reading “Welcome Fradi,”alongside
a band and mass of journalists. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-0O8QO93f_48/VJg-oVNoYZI/AAAAAAAAAZw/8dRleDBPjsc/s1600/Rudas-Ferenc_0040.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-0O8QO93f_48/VJg-oVNoYZI/AAAAAAAAAZw/8dRleDBPjsc/s1600/Rudas-Ferenc_0040.jpg" height="640" width="624" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ferencvaros sightseeing while on tour. Note Puskas kneeling with cowboy hat.<br />
Source: <a href="http://www.tempofradi.hu/a-fradi-mexikoban-i-a-ferencvaros-elindult-mexikoba">tempofradi.hu</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">For the next few weeks, in addition to the eight games on
their schedule, Puskas and Ferencvaros traipsed around Mexico taking in all the
country had to offer, from cuisine to culture, all the while visiting with
doting Mexican dignitaries and Hungarian expatriates. Within those weeks, while followed sparingly by the American media, the Hungarian club compiled a record
of three wins, two draws, and three losses, with both Puskas and Szusza
contributing to the cause. The group concluded their stint in Mexico with a
heartbreaking 4-3 loss to the Mexican National team on August 17. The loss came
just two weeks after Ferencvaros drew El Tri 3-3. Both guest players notched a
goal in the loss. Their collective best was yet to come and soon to be on
display in the United States. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">New
York, New York</span></b><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">With the bulk of the tour behind them, and, in truth, all but
over, the whole of Ferencvaros was in New York City for one last payday on August 20. The team congregated at the George Washington Hotel in Manhattan
before heading out to the Hungarian Garden Restaurant for lunch. There the city’s
Hungarian population enveloped the players with praise and song singing of the
beauty of their homeland. In attendance, to the delight of the team, were two
of their country’s celebrated sportsmen: Antal Kocsis, 1926 Olympic flyweight
gold medalist, and Lazlo Sternberg, captain of the 1934 Hungarian World Cup
Team. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Once the team were in New York, American media were sure to praise the visitors as well. Most of the the attention focused on Gyorgi Sarosi. “Hailed as the all-time
greatest inside left by the London Daily Mirror,” proclaimed <i>The Leader Observer</i> – a position he
would not even play in New York<i>. </i>Coverage
of Puskas, aside from projected lineups, was nonexistent. He had yet to build
his legend and dazzle audiences across Europe, and for the purposes of his New
York visit, the press treated him as just another member of the squad.
That would change tremendously upon his return visit with Real Madrid.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">After an entire day of feting and sightseeing, the men woke
up the next morning to repeat the actions of the previous day as they went shopping
for anything that they could trade for profit back home prior to their game with the
New York Hungarians of the National Soccer League.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">That night, in the presence of the Hungarian consul, with
Puskas lined up in his customary inside left position, Ferencvaros took the
field in front of over 3,000 fans in their sole appearance in the United States.
Across the field stood a familiar face in Lazlo Sternberg who lined up at
fullback for the New York Hugarians.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The game kicked off under the lights of Dexter Park at half
past eight o’clock. Though impressed with the lighting, the dimensions of the
field greatly confounded the visitors due to its primary configuration for
baseball.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-IdzRPQamyiI/VJhD1A7qPNI/AAAAAAAAAaQ/hgkTw7X792k/s1600/dexter%2Bpark%2Bfrom%2Boutfield.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-IdzRPQamyiI/VJhD1A7qPNI/AAAAAAAAAaQ/hgkTw7X792k/s1600/dexter%2Bpark%2Bfrom%2Boutfield.jpg" height="378" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Dexter Park view from outfield during a baseball game.<br />
Source:<a href="http://www.covehurst.net/ddyte/brooklyn/dexter.html">http://www.covehurst.net/ddyte/brooklyn/dexter.html</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">That confusion, coupled with fatigued legs due to jet lag, allowed the hosts to pounce on Ferencvaros early as either inside right Adamcyk,
or center forward Bela Gyurtsak (the sources differ) put the New York club up
1-0 with just nine minutes gone. The goal and its goal scorer mattered not, as
just minutes later the famed Sarosi leveled the match at 1-1.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Jozsef Meszaros put the visitors up for good later in the
first half. The game entered halftime 2-1 in favor of Ferencvaros. The hosts
held firm in the first few opening minutes of the second half, but soon fell
victim to the blistering attack of the visiting Hungarians who absolutely put
on a clinic in the second half winning the game 12-1. Puskas was unable to find
the score sheet and ultimately yielded the field to a substitute. It did not matter however, as the future Honved and Real Madrid mainstay found ways to contribute to the club's victory in his first visit to the United States. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Following the 12-1 drubbing of the New York Hungarians,
Ferencvaros flew back to Hungary to take part in the Hungarian domestic league,
where both Puskas and Szusza returned to their respective clubs in Honved and
Upjest. All but the most ardent Ferencvaros supporters inevitably forgot the
tour. For American soccer fans, it remains a long forgotten game played at a
ground that no longer exists, although the Hungarian club would further aid in
the development of the game within American when it made its returned to the
United States in 1965 and take part in the last rendition of the <a href="http://amofb.blogspot.com/search?updated-min=2013-01-01T00:00:00-08:00&updated-max=2014-01-01T00:00:00-08:00&max-results=1">International Soccer League</a>.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-vqDcE8fl1ZU/VJhEYGBH2jI/AAAAAAAAAaY/o0CRA_ljSwg/s1600/Puskas%2BMadrid%2Bcrossover.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-vqDcE8fl1ZU/VJhEYGBH2jI/AAAAAAAAAaY/o0CRA_ljSwg/s1600/Puskas%2BMadrid%2Bcrossover.jpg" height="544" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Puskas perhaps using his right foot with Madrid<br />
Source: <a href="http://www.realmadrid.com/en/about-real-madrid/history/football-legends/ferenc-puskas-biro">http://www.realmadrid.com</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Puskas’ return with Real Madrid in 1959 proved to be a more
notable and lively affair for the “world’s most famous Hungarian.” Instead of
playing a bit part on a team that wasn’t his own while in New York, Puskas was
a key contributor in Real’s two game stroll in 1959 scoring two goals in a 6-2
victory against Austrian side Graz AK and a hat-trick against a Graz and New
York Hungaria amalgamation. That tour, too, remains a footnote to the larger
history in Puskas’ career that came to define a generation of Hungarian
football and cement a legacy as one of the greatest ever. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Notes:</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">In writing this article, I, as always, relied on multiple sources and Google translate. My primary sources consisted of <i>The Brooklyn Eagle, The Leader Observer, The Long Island Star Journal, The New York Times</i>, and the journals of </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 18.3999996185303px;">Gyula Csikos and Dr. Lakat Karoly made available by the the wonderful people at www.tempofradi.hu. A big thank you Laszlo Lakatos and Karoly Horvath for their work on the website and help in guiding me toward these journals. Google translate does not do the work justice and left much to be desired in terms of literal translation, which ultimately led to a lack of accurate quotes that are usable. Nonetheless, Google translate gets the story across and allowed me to fill in holes in the American coverage of the tour. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 18.3999996185303px;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 18.3999996185303px;">In addition to the sources mentioned, I consulted numerous other sources including: David Goldblatt's <i>The Ball is Round A Global History of Soccer</i>, the RSSSF Archive, and <a href="http://homepages.sover.net/~spectrum/">the American Soccer History Archives.</a></span></div>
Skihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13488748094836677592noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6186634703462395529.post-86116671355000307762014-11-07T07:34:00.002-08:002014-11-07T07:34:57.453-08:00Do You Believe in Taylor KempThis article originally appeared on <a href="http://8by8mag.com/do-you-believe-in-taylor-kemp/" target="_blank">www.8by8mag.com</a><br />
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When in August D.C. United head coach Ben Olsen intoned to the media, “We believe in Taylor Kemp,” the remark seemed to reflect Olsen’s aspirations for the 2nd year fullback more than they did present reality. Kemp had backed into United’s starting lineup after Christian Fernandez—a homesick La Liga veteran—left the club, and Chris Korb picked up an injury.</div>
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Left with no alternative but Kemp, Olsen’s comments followed the twenty-four-year old’s first start of the season where a last minute defensive lapse gifted the Houston Dynamo victory. Despite the error, Olsen stuck with the young left back. With United’s playoff ambitions at stake, Olsen had no choice but to believe.</div>
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“I kept telling myself a chance will come and it eventually did,” Kemp recently told <i style="box-sizing: border-box;">Eight By Eight</i>. “You never want to see a guy go, but it is professional sports, and you’re there because you want to play. When [Christian] left, I was happy. I wanted to fight for a place in the team.”</div>
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Kemp did just that, slotting into the backline seamlessly during United’s brutal run of games late in the summer. In his second start, Kemp notched two assists against Colorado and continued to show well down the stretch, propelling United into the playoffs.</div>
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And now, with United’s season on life support after a 2-0 loss to the New York Red Bulls in the first round of the Eastern Conference Semifinals, Olsen will need Kemp to defy expectations once again to <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/football/2014/sep/16/dc-united-mls-re-entry-draft-veterans" style="-webkit-transition: color 0.2s linear; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(0, 168, 201) !important; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; transition: color 0.2s linear; vertical-align: baseline;">continue their turnaround season</a>.</div>
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Growing up in the Denver suburb Highland Ranch, Kemp was always one of the best players on his team, but a switch from left midfield to left back during his junior year of high school shaped his future career.</div>
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“It was a big, eye opening experience,” said Kemp. The position change prompted youth national call-ups, All-American accolades, and looks from college scouts, including Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) powerhouse Maryland, which he joined in 2009.</div>
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“I fell in love with the ACC style of soccer” recalled Kemp, who credits Maryland coach Sasho Cirovski for his growth. “I wanted to win championships in college and go on to the pros, and they gave me a great chance to do those things.”</div>
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Kemp became a four-year starter at Maryland, capturing two ACC championships. His performances earned him several training stints with DC United and the club drafted him in the first round of the 2013 MLS SuperDraft.</div>
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While Kemp was familiar with United, his initial transition to the professional football was not as he expected. Kemp yo-yoed between the Richmond Kickers, D.C.’s lower league affiliate, and United during his rookie season.</div>
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“It was hard going back and forth,” Kemp said. “You feel like you don’t really have a place. I knew I was good enough to be in MLS and to play for DC and that my time would come. I just wanted to stay.”</div>
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The beginning of his second season with United would initially mirror his first, but when opportunities provided Kemp with playing time, he proved that he deserved a starting spot.</div>
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The apex of Kemp’s development came on October 12 in Houston where his path to sustained first team minutes had gotten off to a rocky start just two months prior. He returned a different player, scoring his first career MLS goal en route to a 3-1 United victory—their first ever against the Dynamo in Texas.</div>
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“That kind exorcised some demons that I had there,” said Kemp.</div>
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Skihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13488748094836677592noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6186634703462395529.post-22849461600171604622014-09-21T10:53:00.002-07:002014-11-07T07:36:18.960-08:00MLS Next: A Signal of Future Club Autonomy?<div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 27px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 27px; vertical-align: baseline;">
This article originally appeared on <a href="http://8by8mag.com/who-cares-what-the-new-mls-logo-looks-like-focus-on-its-meaning/">http://8by8mag.com</a><br />
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If you haven’t heard by now, Major League Soccer has a new identity. And, like almost anything involving MLS, it hasn’t come without controversy.</div>
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After an early morning announcement, fans flooded Twitter with their opinions on the league’s new logo, which is a basic crest that utilizes “adaptive colorways” for each league club. Some praised the bold—and certainly different— design as a departure from MLS’s current identity. Others bemoaned its minimalist lines and accused its designers of lacking panache and creativity. There is truth to both sides of the argument, but what is most important about MLS’s new branding is that it ushers in a new era for the league, an era where clubs are paramount and not subordinate to the league office.</div>
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<a href="http://8by8mag.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/MLS_crest_breakdown.png" style="-webkit-transition: color 0.2s linear; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(0, 168, 201) !important; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; transition: color 0.2s linear; vertical-align: baseline;"><img alt="MLS_crest_breakdown" class="alignright wp-image-9158 size-medium" src="http://8by8mag.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/MLS_crest_breakdown-300x231.png" height="231" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; float: right; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; height: auto; margin: 0px 0px 15px 15px; max-width: 100%; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; width: auto;" width="300" /></a>Allowing each club to have its own version of the MLS logo grants, at least symbolically, autonomy. This is what MLS needs: more focus on individual clubs and not reports about the constant machinations of the league office. No more “blind draws” to determine where the next Jermaine Jones plays. No more refusals to grant a player a six month contract (see the bungled attempt to sign Sacha Kljestan prior to the transfer deadline). Players and clubs should have the ultimate say in roster decisions, and this new logo signifies that MLS is ready to take the spotlight off of itself and cede more control to its member clubs, which is what fans have been clamoring for.</div>
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The old logo (that many are now clinging to) is dated and clunky. Personally, I hated the foot, which conveyed an archaic 90s aura reflective of MLS 1.0 and the league’s problematic early years. The new crest is an embodiment of what the league has been saying for the past few years and outlines the goals of the <a href="http://www.mlssoccer.com/next" style="-webkit-transition: color 0.2s linear; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(0, 168, 201) !important; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; transition: color 0.2s linear; vertical-align: baseline;">#MLSNEXT</a> campaign: new teams, new markets, new media partnerships, new stadiums, and new stars. This is not the MLS of old.</div>
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Yes, the crest is a bit bland in and of itself, and yes, the large area of white deemed “second half” leaves a lot to be desired. The void could have easily been filled with a soccer ball, which, to me, is probably the biggest omission from the new logo. But overall, it’s fine as long as the league doesn’t screw it up. MLS CMO Howard Handler appeared to suggest (skip to 15:12 in the video below) during the unveiling that the space could be utilized for advertising space, which would inevitably (and understandably) elicit scorn from fans, myself included.</div>
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<span style="font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit;">Regardless of the empty space and its eventual use, what makes the logo unique and wholly MLS is the variance of club colors and the club personality that the league has imbued into the logo with the distinct color schemes. By tweaking the logo’s color scheme to adhere to each club’s colors, MLS is loosening its autocratic hold on its clubs. The secession of power might seem miniscule, but it is a the first step toward MLS becoming the league that many fans want: a league where clubs have the freedom to construct their squads as they see fit without the interference of a front office. Looking back, this new logo and MLS Next campaign may be the first step in a league that ditches single entity and becomes a global mainstay.</span><br />
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Skihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13488748094836677592noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6186634703462395529.post-16032208697703978612014-09-07T05:20:00.000-07:002014-09-07T05:21:22.919-07:00Beyond "I Believe": Football Infects America's Heartland<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img alt="Detroit_City_FC_Supporters_at_Cass_Tech" src="http://8by8mag.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/Detroit_City_FC_Supporters_at_Cass_Tech-1024x1024.jpg" height="640" style="background-color: transparent; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="640" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Northern Guard Supporters celebrate a goal at their home ground Cass Technical High School in downtown Detroit.</td></tr>
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This story originally appeared on <a href="http://8by8mag.com/beyond-i-believe-football-infects-americas-heartland/" style="background-color: transparent;" target="_blank">http://8by8mag.com</a></div>
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They poured out of Harry’s Bar by the hundreds and filled the street, singing in full voice, waving flags, and holding scarves aloft. As the chanting and drumming got louder, several within the group threw smoke bombs onto the pavement and produced flares. Smoke enveloped the throng of bodies, but the singing continued unabated.</div>
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Marching toward the stadium, they yelled, “No one likes us…we don’t care!” Necks craned out of windows and over balconies to salute the group as they neared the stadium entrance. Once inside, the swarm greeted the visiting team outside of their locker room: “Can you hear Cleveland sing? We don’t hear a fucking thing!”</div>
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No, this isn’t Portland, Seattle, or any other football hotbed in the United States.</div>
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This is Detroit, Michigan, home of Detroit City FC (DCFC) and the Northern Guard Supporters (NGS), who follow their club in the National Premier Soccer League (NPSL), the fourth tier of the U.S. Soccer pyramid. “I do this because of forty years of pent up soccer love,” NGS member Gene Butcher told <em style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Eight by Eight.</em> “We are loud, and we never shut up. Ever!”</div>
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The city that was once the undisputed world capital of the automotive industry is now helping to show the world that America is indeed a footballing nation. In just two years, the Motor City club and its supporters group have made a name for themselves within American soccer circles for their unabashed, tireless, and rapid support. “You are actually a part of something special,” said Butcher.“We do not care….[that] we are in the fourth tier. We love the club.”</div>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, serif; line-height: 27px;">As the mainstream media debates whether football has finally made it in America, NGS, along with groups around the country, are illustrating that American support for football is more diffuse than many thought.</span></div>
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As if continuing their childhood routine of watching Saturday morning cartoons, many fans across the country wake up at the crack of dawn each weekend to find a bar showing their favorite foreign teams. They then eagerly don the colors of their local clubs and head down to the stadium to support domestic clubs from Major League Soccer to local amateur sides.</div>
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Just as NGS is raising the bar for fanaticism in the Midwest, the Chattahooligans are helping define football culture in another unlikely place: Chattanooga, Tennessee, deep in the heart of SEC country.</div>
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Compared to the NGS, the Chattahooligans support is rated PG. You won’t find any flares or smoke bombs, but you will find the same unwavering support for the game, their club Chattanooga FC, their community, and a twenty foot tall effigy of their goalkeeper in their section.</div>
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“We continually set the atmosphere so the fans have fun and the players perform, but Chattanooga is a southern city so we have to be family friendly to be acceptable,” explained Galen Riley, a member of the Chattahooligans.</div>
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The club, competing in the NPSL like DCFC, has ranked near the top of the league’s attendance table since their founding in 2009. Chattanooga drew a league record 8,878 fans to their playoff semifinal victory over the Sacramento Gold on July 26<sup style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-size: 10px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px;">th</sup>. The Chattahooligans are a huge part of the club’s success at drawing in fans.</div>
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Meanwhile, the club has been instrumental in giving football fans a platform to express their support. “Prior to CFC there wasn’t any professional team here, nor is there a major university. Chattanooga was hungry for something to call their own, and CFC filled that need,” explained CFC General Manger Sean McDaniel “Word on what we’re doing is trickling out nationally; this is only fostering growth in other communities. We want to share that knowledge to grow the game sustainably at all levels.”</div>
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This is not to say that all supporters find lower division football compelling. Some fans do not even find MLS worth their time, let alone a 4th division NPSL side.</div>
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That has largely been what the both the NGS and the Chattahooligans have experienced when dealing with fans who prefer European leagues and their local American Outlaws chapters. For instance, the American Outlaws chapter of Chattanooga rarely attends NPSL league games. “I have only ever seen one or two at CFC matches,” said Riley, “And they weren’t even in the Chattahooligan’s section.”</div>
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Regardless of the differences in taste between the fans, it is apparent that the supporter’s culture within the United States isn’t entirely product of the USMNT success at this year’s World Cup. The supporters have been here. It is only the spotlight that is now cast upon them that has changed and become more amplified.</div>
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“The group existed before the club even had a roster,” explained NGS supporter Butcher. “Being a part of the Northern Guard and supporting DCFC provides all of us with a group of friends, a sense of family and community that I doubt exists elsewhere.”</div>
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I'd like to thank the folks at Chattanooga FC and the Chattahooligans for their time. Thank you to Galen Riley, Tim Kelly, and Sean McDaniel. I'd also like to thank Gene Butcher and the Northern Guard Supporters for their input. As always, a tip of the cap to the great people at 8by8 for allowing me to contribute to their website.</div>
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Skihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13488748094836677592noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6186634703462395529.post-31137192050925863192014-08-24T17:54:00.001-07:002014-08-24T17:54:52.980-07:00Aegean Hawks Documentary Teaser<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="270" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/4swwMB-D03E" width="480"></iframe><br />
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This post is a bit different than what you are used to reading. I usually ask you to read a long history of a club, person, or event in US soccer history. Today, I ask that you take the time to appreciate the game at all levels. From amateur to the top flight, the game has a way of capturing our attention.<br />
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Above is a teaser/trailer of a documentary that my friend Justin Feltman and I have been working on for the last few months. After covering a 2015 Lamar Hunt US Open Cup game in April of this year, Justin and I decided to take a closer look at the amateur game in Washington DC, and latched onto Aegean Hawks FC.<br />
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The people involved with the club allowed us to follow them around during their short run at qualifying for the 2015 US Open Cup and their subsequent championship Washington Premier League Spring Season.<br />
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In the coming months, we will be looking to release a short documentary on the history of the club and their ambitions for the future. Until then, please check out the teaser/trailer and give us your opinion.Skihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13488748094836677592noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6186634703462395529.post-2160190028160856802014-07-31T05:33:00.001-07:002014-08-27T05:08:55.350-07:00Liverpool's 1946 American Odyssey<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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This story originally appeared on <a href="http://8by8mag.com/fat-and-football-on-liverpools-1946-u-s-tour/" target="_blank">8by8mag.com</a></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Source: <a href="http://lfctour2012.liverpoolfc.com/news/how-usa-helped-us-win-the-league" target="_blank">LiverpoolFC.com</a></td></tr>
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In 1946, Liverpool F.C. came to the United States for “American malts and ice creams” and a few games of football, too, in the club’s first European preseason tour of the United States.</div>
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The expedition was the brainchild of Liverpool chairman William H. “Bill” McConnell. As the proprietor of a catering business, McConnell visited the United States for the British Ministry of Food in 1945 and noticed that America’s food industry emerged from World War II unscathed. To take advantage of the American food bounty and to get a leg up on their underfed English competition, McConnell proposed that Liverpool tour the United States in the summer of 1946 prior to the start of the first full season since the beginning of World War II.</div>
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America’s dietary prosperity stood in stark contrast to England’s austere food rationing program. Following the war, goods such as coffee and processed meat were increasingly scarce, as the British government had to not only feed their own citizens but also feed people within British occupied zones abroad. England was even forced to ration bread in 1946, which it had not done at all during World War II.</div>
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After a nearly week at sea aboard the RMS Queen Mary, twenty-two members of Liverpool docked in New York on May 10, 1946. Moments after arrival, Liverpool manager George Kay stood on the dock, surrounded by delegates of the American Soccer League (ASL) and gleefully checked off the names of each Liverpool player as they came down the gangplank. Photographers gathered at the waterfront while Kay pandered to the throng, brandishing the 1923 FA Cup Medal that he won as a member of West Ham United.</div>
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Liverpool’s ten game jaunt garnered significant attention from the American and English press. A number of newspapers, including <em style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">The Brooklyn Eagle</em>, <em style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">The New York Times,</em> and <em style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">The Liverpool Echo</em> documented every detail of Liverpool’s American summer vacation. Kay also kept the fans back in Liverpool informed about the Reds’ exploits by sending letters to <em style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">The Echo</em>via airmail throughout the tour.</div>
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The media’s plaudits proved well placed as Liverpool won their first game 3-1 over a team of ASL players at Triborough Stadium on Randall’s Island. The match drew around 20,000 spectators, nearly 5,000 more the Brooklyn Dodgers drew at Ebbets Field the same day. Dodger’s owner Branch Rickey took note. He would be instrumental in hosting Liverpool in the first game between two international clubs on American soil in 1948.</div>
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After three consecutive wins over American clubs, Kay gushed, “The terrific hospitality we are receiving is the only thing likely to beat us,” in <em style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">The Echo. </em>“You can get all of the dishes everybody could possibly desire…naturally we’re taking advantage.”</div>
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But while Liverpool’s players were stuffing their waistlines, the Reds were being sized up by the New England All-Stars, one of the best American elevens. The All-Stars featured many players from the 1947 U.S. Open Cup Champions Ponta Delgada, a club in Fall River, Massachusetts, an early hotbed of American football.</div>
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The game, postponed a day due to heavy rain, kicked off under floodlights in front of a sold out crowd of 7,000. Initially, the New Englanders were overwhelmed but held firm against the visiting English. The locals then settled into the match, pressing the Reds, and Joe Chapiga, a New England striker, rifled a shot against the upright midway through the first half in proper Minuteman fashion.</div>
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The Reds eventually found their footing in the 44<sup style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-size: 10px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px;">th</sup> minute, according to the <em style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Boston Globe,</em> as Jack Balmer “outwitted the New England defense, and with a dynamite drive, opened the scoring.” In the second half, the Reds came out blitzing the New England defense, and Liverpool star Robert Priday put the visitors up 3-0 in a matter of minutes.</div>
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Undeterred and out to prove that they could compete, the New England All-Star eleven pressed the Liverpool defense, and Chapiga proved his worth, scoring what <em style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">The Globe</em> called, “an electrifying goal” past Liverpool’s keeper Cyril Sidlow.</div>
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The All-Stars constantly attacked the Reds thereafter, having a potential second goal called back due to a handball. Ed Souza, a member of the 1950 United States team that would defeat England in the World Cup, sent the crowd into a frenzy after scoring a legitimate second goal late in the match.</div>
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But the Reds weathered the Yankee onslaught and left Massachusetts with a 3-2 victory. After the game, Kay mentioned his dissatisfaction with the prolonged celebrations of the New England men following their goals, relying on tired American stereotypes: “Joe and Ed flung their arms around each other, waited in the center circle, and it needed only a banjo to make it a real hill-billy show. The other players of their side gave individual step dances in their joy.” Just as football tours have a long history, so too does English condescension towards the American interpretation of the game.</div>
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Despite Kay’s irritation, the Reds compiled a perfect 10-0 record on their American tour and amassed a goal differential of plus sixty while enjoying copious helpings of American cuisine. The tour was so successful in its initial aim that each player gained an average of seven pounds during the six-week long journey. Returning to England, the American preseason endeavor helped Liverpool persevere through one of the longest campaigns in league history and capture their fifth league crown in June 1947.</div>
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As Liverpool participate in this year’s Guinness International Champions Cup, it is important to recognize the role that the Reds tour in 1946 had in shaping modern football tours of the United States. Although Liverpool didn’t intend to start a trend in 1946, the tour’s financial success encouraged promoters on both sides of the Atlantic to continually schedule tours throughout the second half of the twentieth century, highlighting the growing football culture in the United States and allowing fans to see their their favorite clubs and players in person. These forays can be seen as world football’s take on an all-star game: the best players taking center stage for the fan’s entertainment.</div>
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So as you enjoy the abundance of football available this summer in the United States, remember to watch the matches like Liverpool did: with a full stomach.</div>
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Don't forget to check out the fine work over at <a href="http://www.8by8mag.com/">www.8by8mag.com</a> Also, check out the subscriptions available for their print magazine.</div>
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A very special thanks to <a href="https://twitter.com/TheSpiritOf1892" target="_blank">@TheSpiritof1892</a> and <a href="https://twitter.com/SteHortonLpool" target="_blank">@SteHortonLpool</a> for their assistance in finding English sources for this article. Also, thank you for editors at 8by8 for accepting this piece, and working with me on fine tuning it. In writing this article, I perused a number of sources. As always, I am indebted to the <a href="http://homepages.sover.net/~spectrum/" target="_blank">American Soccer History Archives</a> for their abundance of available information. I used several newspapers as my primary source material specifically, <i>The Brooklyn Eagle, The New York Times, and The Liverpool Echo. </i></div>
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If there is any interest in further details surrounding Liverpool's groundbreaking tour, let me know and I will work on writing another article. </div>
Skihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13488748094836677592noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6186634703462395529.post-63366710133138993612014-06-14T08:06:00.003-07:002014-09-15T11:40:04.456-07:00World Cup Hopeful Team America and the Case for RFK: Part Two<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">You can read the first part of this article <a href="http://amofb.blogspot.com/2014/06/world-cup-hopeful-team-america-and-case.html" target="_blank">HERE</a>. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">A
Faulty Foundation</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">As the players prepared for their preseason tour,
Team America’s brass hurriedly constructed a marketing plan with a publicly
stated budget of $300,000 to $400,000. The team’s front office recognized that
not only were they were selling Washington, D.C. area fans their third team in
four years, but they were also attempting to sell an “all-American” team to an
apathetic and uninitiated audience. Therefore, the club’s leaders relied on the
team’s status as the USMNT, its alleged national appeal, and individual player
personalities to draw people to RFK Stadium. In addition to its ambitious
marketing plan, Team America’s front office was able to secure the patronage of
R.J. Reynolds as its primary sponsor. The tobacco company bestowed a publicly specified
sum of $2.5 million on Team America, while Budweiser chipped in around $200,000
to $250,000 to the USSF backed effort. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-DHVoMgWPP9U/U5xcwnUEBDI/AAAAAAAAAUE/2l0grSj59p0/s1600/TA+Winston+AD.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-DHVoMgWPP9U/U5xcwnUEBDI/AAAAAAAAAUE/2l0grSj59p0/s1600/TA+Winston+AD.jpg" height="320" width="229" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Source: <i>The Washington Post</i></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">With its significant marketing budget and corporate
sponsors in the fold, the marketing team of Team America committed to the
timeless NASL practices of participating in international friendlies, heavily
promoting their home games against the New York Cosmos, and coupling one of the
club’s games with an after game concert. The club secured the services of the
Beach Boys for their June 12 </span></span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="line-height: 18.399999618530273px;">match up</span></span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"> against the Ft. Lauderdale Strikers, which
garnered national attention during the preseason after James Watt, the acting
Secretary of the Interior, banned the Beach Boys, and “rock music,” from the
city’s Fourth of July celebration on the National Mall. The ban, issued after
Team America scheduled their concert, left many people outraged including Vice
President George H.W. Bush, who backed the band stating, “They’re my friends
and I like their music.” The ban proved a boon for Team America as it generated
considerable nationwide interest in the event, but in the end, it underscored
the club’s biggest problem; the investors and front office’s focus on the
financial profitability of the project and its role in saving the NASL, and not
in securing the team the best “American” talent. The problem would plague Team
America throughout the season.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">As much positive press as Team America were able to
generate prior to their Caribbean and South American tour, Panagoulias only had
thirteen players at his disposal headed into the international expedition. Most
of the players on the Team America roster were what many would quantify as a
typical American player: athletic and strong, but lacking in technical ability
and on-field ingenuity. The lone capable forward on the roster, Tony
Crescitelli, was anything but lethal having failed to score in twenty games
with the San Jose Earthquakes during the 1982 season. Panagoulias knew he would
need players with greater offensive prowess in order for the team to compete in
the long term.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The USMNT manager once again attempted to court
Ricky Davis and a slew of other prominent American players, including Mark
Peterson and Jeff Stock of the Seattle Sounders, only for America’s most
talented players to spurn him again. Peterson was arguably the best American
forward at the time and could have added a considerable threat to Team
America’s already anemic attack. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Several players including US International Boris
Bandov did join Team America for the tour, but the refusal of the country’s top
players to accept a national team call-up baffled and infuriated Panagoulias. Stock’s
and Peterson’s eschewal particularly enraged Panagoulias leading to the Greece
native to lash out declaring,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">“I am furious about the Seattle team and their
players. They told me Peterson and Stock did not want to come because they
wanted to play in games against some colleges next week. This is absolutely
ridiculous. We’re talking about the national team here. What the heck is going
on in this country?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">In spite of the steady lack of interest and support,
Panagoulias and Team America carried on with the talent already on the roster.
The makeup of the team left Panagoulias little choice but to play defensively,
which in theory was in direct opposition to Team America’s goal of spurring
interest in America soccer and the NASL. Up to that point in its history, the
NASL instituted a number of distinctive rules to make soccer more appealing to
the American fan; i.e. a greater emphasis on offense and goals. From the penalty-shootout
to the thirty-five yard line offside rule, the NASL had always promoted an
offensive, high scoring game. Now Team America stood as the antithesis to what
the league had always promoted. The best offensive American players continued
rejections forced Team America, the anointed savior of the NASL, into adopting
a defensive approach heading into the 1983 NASL campaign. The style would prove
to be initially effective but wildly unpopular, and contribute to the club’s
downfall.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">International
and League Surprise<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-p49KfSKaohM/U5xeGJr94CI/AAAAAAAAAVA/O5FaZv_cyuY/s1600/Team+America+83+Road+Team.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-p49KfSKaohM/U5xeGJr94CI/AAAAAAAAAVA/O5FaZv_cyuY/s1600/Team+America+83+Road+Team.jpg" height="255" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A fully stocked Team America outside the entrance of RFK Stadium<br />
Source: <a href="http://www.nasljerseys.com/Rosters/TeamAmerica_Rosters.htm" target="_blank">http://www.nasljerseys.com/images</a></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Still reeling from their collective slight,
Panagoulias and Team America started their preseason tour in the Haitian
capital with a 1-0 victory over a Port-au-Prince select team on April 6, 1983.
Two days later, Team America competed in their first, and only, FIFA sanctioned
international fixture against the Haitian National Team defeating the island
nation 2-0 with the two goals coming from Jeff Durgan and Chico Borja. Team
America followed up their set of Haitian victories with a pair of losses to
greater competition from Colombian clubs Coruna Cristal and Deportivo Cali. In
their two games in South America, the USMNT conceded five goals and scored via
a lone penalty emphasizing the team’s weakness at forward. Overall,
Panagoulias’ men fared well having scored four goals while only conceding five,
but the team’s lack of a playmaker and goal scorer would prove lethal for the
team by seasons end. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Following Team America’s overseas sojourn, the team
returned to Washington a week before their NASL debut with just twelve players under
contract. With barely enough players to take the field, the team cancelled
their final preseason game against the University of Virginia in order to prevent
losing players to injury. It did not help that the club’s facilities were of
little help in promoting the player’s health.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The USMNT’s accommodations at the unofficial
national stadium, RFK, were perhaps fitting for the maligned team with the
sparse roster. According to <i>The
Washington Post</i>, the team’s place within the Washington sports world was more
appropriate for “Team Podunk,” and not the USMNT as the team’s locker room was
comprised of outdated furnishings in the bowels on the stadium. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-1IijD8ZUaso/U5xeE1volOI/AAAAAAAAAUs/s36jJib_6yg/s1600/Team+America+83+Home+Jeff+Durgan.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-1IijD8ZUaso/U5xeE1volOI/AAAAAAAAAUs/s36jJib_6yg/s1600/Team+America+83+Home+Jeff+Durgan.jpg" height="320" width="244" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Source: <a href="http://www.nasljerseys.com/images/TeamAmerica/Team%20America%2083%20Home%20Jeff%20Durgan.jpg" target="_blank">http://www.nasljerseys.com</a></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Despite the consistent negativity surrounding the
club, the players who had signed with Team America, led by Captain America Jeff
Durgan, were bullish about the upcoming season and the importance of Team
America to the survival of the game in the United States. All that was needed
were a few more players to fill out the roster. The league soon stepped in and
fulfilled that need loaning Boris Bandov, the US active leader in caps at the
time, and Alan Green to the national team on a game-by-game basis just one day
before the season opener. (Both would later sign permanently.) The continual derision
led Jeff Durgan to lament the amount of support the team received up to that
point. The USMNT captain elicited help from all American players who wanted to
continue playing the game professionally in America stating, <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">“If you’re American and want to play professional
soccer in this country, then you should be playing for Team America, because if
it doesn’t make it, the league might not make it.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Durgan’s sobering
statement once again emphasized not only the haste in which Team America was
created, but the lack of cohesion amongst the different entities involved: the
NASL owners, the MISL owners, the USSF, and individual American players. In
addition to the ongoing issues surrounding the team, many people, principally
the NASL Players Association, openly questioned the amount of naturalized
citizens on the roster bemoaning the true intentions of the so called “Team
America.” Under these tumultuous circumstances, Panagoulias led Team America
into their first domestic campaign praising the team stating, “Right now we
look like the 300 Spartans against the Persians, but I have faith in these
boys.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-kGaoo51i8dI/U5xh8zSZNlI/AAAAAAAAAVU/Hat6xOP2ljc/s1600/Ad+referencing+USMNT.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-kGaoo51i8dI/U5xh8zSZNlI/AAAAAAAAAVU/Hat6xOP2ljc/s1600/Ad+referencing+USMNT.jpg" height="320" width="223" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Washington Post </i> Ad for Team America's game against the Toronto Blizzard on June 7<br />
Note the ad's reference of Team America as the USMNT<br />
Source: <i>The Washington Post</i></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Team America opened the 1983 NASL campaign with
shootout victory over the Seattle Sounders. (The league did not permit draws
and every game had a definitive victor and loser with penalty shootouts
deciding stalemates after extra time.) The victory may have come as a surprise
to some, but the way the national team won the game was what many people expected,
as Team America did not force Seattle goalkeeper into a save until late in the
second period of overtime. Despite the win, coverage of Team America the
following day centered on the team’s offensive futility, but Panagoulias would
have none of it. The former Olympiakos manager extolled the beauty of a
defensive style of play while questioning American’s obsession with offensive
and tactically unsound soccer.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Following their victory against Seattle, the team
faced a both a daunting schedule during the month of May and the scorn of the
MISL who refused to release players to the USMNT. The MISL’s insolence prompted
Howard Samuels to declare, “The MISL is holding Team America hostage.” After
notching a 1-0 win in their home opener at RFK Stadium against the Tulsa
Roughnecks on May 8, the team crisscrossed the Western Hemisphere competing in
six games in twelve days from May 15 to May 27. The team’s schedule included
two international friendlies, one against English side Watford in Kingston,
Jamaica, and the other against the Soviet champions, from Belarus, Dynamo Minsk
in St. Louis, Missouri. The two friendlies once again served as an arena for
Samuel’s and the proponents of Team America to prove their intentions to
construct and field a competent and competitive national side, though the
project’s detractors would continue to vehemently voice their displeasure
regardless of Team America’s satisfactory domestic and international
performances.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Svl93ztlV1E/U5xcwxcFfiI/AAAAAAAAAUU/y4CKyql7Uk0/s1600/TA+and+Reagan.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Svl93ztlV1E/U5xcwxcFfiI/AAAAAAAAAUU/y4CKyql7Uk0/s1600/TA+and+Reagan.jpg" height="247" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Team America with President Reagan</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Overall, Panagoulias’ men finished the month of May
with a respectable overall league record of three wins and three losses, but
the team continued to struggle offensively. In these matches, Team America
competed amid player snubs, the MISL’s refusal to cooperate with the NASL and USSF,
an apathetic fan base, and mounting public scrutiny. Players, pundits, and fans
alike were not buying into the Team America scheme, lending future doubt on the
sustainability of the entire concept. LA Times columnist Grahame L. Jones
denounced Team America as sham asserting, “It was idea doomed to failure from
the beginning.” Jones lamenting the amount of naturalized Americans on the
roster added, “It [having naturalized American’s on the roster] somehow goes
against the very purpose of the concept,” prior to the USMNT’s game against the
San Diego Sockers. Jones would not be the last member of the media to lambast
Team America, but by the time of his article, even Panagoulias, long the
champion of the national team cause, publicly began to doubt the viability of
the project humbly stating, “We’re trying to have a strong national team, and I
don’t know if were succeeding,”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Nevertheless, Team America continued to develop as a
team, signing several more players, including MISL midfielder Tony Bellinger,
who defied the MISL’s ban on lending players to Team America due to a clause in
his contract with the indoor league allowing him to play outdoors. Bellinger, seeing
the progress that Team America had made since its inception, was the first of several
Americans who joined the team after first refusing a call up, though he may
have been tempted to sign due to Team America’s lucrative incentive plan that
gave players a profit-sharing agreement with the team’s owners. The plan, which
later became public knowledge, offered players a stake in the team in addition
to bonuses for appearances and man-of-the-match (MOTM) awards, which, at
seasons end would net the player with the most MOTM awards an extra $10,000.
The incentive plan was a last ditch effort by Robert Lifton and Samuels to lure
America’s top players to the squad. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-3SrAu1TeJF4/U5xcwjuh2bI/AAAAAAAAAUQ/VVu4hLZSDA8/s1600/Beach+Boys+At+RFK.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-3SrAu1TeJF4/U5xcwjuh2bI/AAAAAAAAAUQ/VVu4hLZSDA8/s1600/Beach+Boys+At+RFK.jpg" height="211" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Beach Boys playing at RFK following Team America's victory over the Strikers<br />
Photo Credit: AP Photos<br />
Photographer: Ira Schwarz</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The team’s inability to score goals and defensive
tactics understandably failed to resonate with Washington’s fans as the team
were barely drawing 11,000 people to RFK at that point, though the team’s
coupling of the Beach Boys concert with their game against the Strikers did
coax 50,000 fans to the stadium. The team’s defensive mentality, combined with
the amount of naturalized American’s on the roster, led <i>Washington Post </i>columnist Ken Denlinger to call the team “Unamerican,”
while adding, “More goals would certainly attract more fans,” despite Panagoulias
temporarily guiding the team to first place in the NASL’s Southern Division in
early June. Team America’s goalkeeper, the naturalized Englishman Paul Hammond
referring to Team America’s lack of offensive prowess, said it best, “If you
look at things logically, there has to be a breakdown sooner or later.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Inevitable
Decline<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Despite rattling off four consecutive of wins to
start the month of June, including a 2-1 shootout victory over the New York
Cosmos on June 17, Team America’s lack of offensive prowess fed the growing negative
sentiments concerning the “un-American” tactics on display at RFK. Ken Denlinger,
a season long antagonist, again pointed out just how ineffective Team America’s
offensive was by highlighting their inability to score in the second half of
games leading the columnist to label the club “Team Tranquilizer.” Denlinger also
continued his nativist diatribe as the season wore on referring to the club as
“Team Immigration.” It was amid this constant criticism and continued offensive
feebleness that Team America’s lack of a creative goal scorer proved to be the
team’s Achilles heal with the USMNT dropping four of their next five games getting
outscored 10-3 in the process. The losing streak brought the team’s record to eight
wins and seven losses halfway through the season. The second half of the season
would prove just as tough for Panagoulias and the USMNT even after long awaited
reinforcements arrived.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">As Team
America continued to lose, interest in the team, already tenuous, began to wane
considerably alongside any resemblance of positive press regardless of how much
Panagoulias wanted to exaggerate interest in the team. The Team America venture
reached critical mass near the end of July after the team dropped its eighth game
in a row bringing their record to eight wins and twelve losses leaving them in
last place in the Southern Division. Attendances at RFK were dwindling rapidly
with every loss. The team drew Team America drew a paltry 5,281 fans to the
stadium against the Montreal Manic on July 31. The losing streak and lack of
fans led owner Lifton to threaten to withdraw Team America from the league
stating, <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">“The attendance is a product of the team’s playing,
and the team’s playing is the product of the fact that the NASL did not do what
it said it was going to do, which was give us the best American players, and
the MISL did not do what they said they were going to do, which was fill in
with more players.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">During the prolonged losing streak, perhaps because
of Lifton’s outburst, Samuels ordered the NASL owners send American players on
loan to Team America to turn the USMNT season around, and effectually save the
league. Panagoulias, after speaking with Lifton and Samuels, agreed to allow
players to join the team on loan as long as he could choose the players. He still
coveted Seattle’s Mark Peterson but the forward’s eventual permanent move could
not save the floundering project. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-F1HDgZlPyto/U5xhIy9SYmI/AAAAAAAAAVM/wCHdspzsRLY/s1600/Team+America+83+Home+Back+Alan+Green,+Sting_small.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-F1HDgZlPyto/U5xhIy9SYmI/AAAAAAAAAVM/wCHdspzsRLY/s1600/Team+America+83+Home+Back+Alan+Green,+Sting_small.jpg" height="320" width="219" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mark Peterson competing for a header against the Chicago Sting<br />
Source: <a href="http://www.nasljerseys.com/images/TeamAmerica/Team%20America%2083%20Home%20Back%20Alan%20Green,%20Sting.jpg" target="_blank">http://www.nasljerseys.com</a><br />
Photo Credit: Chicago Tribune</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">In the end, Team America dropped fourteen of their
last sixteen games finishing the season with the league’s worst record with ten
wins and twenty losses. The lone bright spot of Team America’s slide was the
team’s 1-1 draw against Italian giant Juventus, a club that fielded seven
players from Italy’s 1982 World Cup winning squad. Lifton’s threats to withdraw
his support from the venture grew as the season wound to a close culminating in
a series of demands from Team America’s owner including Panagoulias' right to
choose the players he wanted for the team. The businessman, claiming losses of
over one million dollars, found little sympathy for the league’s other owners
who were losing far more money supporting their clubs. By seasons end, both the
Montreal Manic and the Seattle Sounders would cease to exist after each club’s
owners could no longer afford to keep the teams afloat.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Team America’s players also balked at Lifton’s plan
refusing to return to the clubs they played for prior to joining the USMNT
fearing that they would find themselves unemployed due to their commitment to
the moribund project. Despite the player’s demands to stay in Washington and
the Team America’s ongoing negotiations with the USSF and NASL, Team America’s
Lifton released Team America’s players to their parent clubs after Lifton, the
USSF, and the NASL could not come to an agreement surrounding the future of the
team. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Even as Lifton and the supporters of Team America
still clung to the minute chance of fielding a team in 1984, the concept, and
the league, was crumbling. RFK Stadium official’s confiscation of Team
America’s equipment and closure of the team’s locker room in early October signaled
the end of the of the shortsighted project after Lifton refused to pay the
stadium’s rental fees. Ultimately, Team America was a failure. Samuels’ proposal,
hampered throughout its existence, did not achieve any of its stated goals during
its short existence in the NASL. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-KdcBGhEAPds/U5xeE6R0dmI/AAAAAAAAAUk/-thvY8kD7aM/s1600/KICK1983-Team-America.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-KdcBGhEAPds/U5xeE6R0dmI/AAAAAAAAAUk/-thvY8kD7aM/s1600/KICK1983-Team-America.png" height="320" width="250" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A Captial Idea?<br />
Source: <a href="http://www.funwhileitlasted.net/2013/12/22/1983-team-america/" target="_blank">http://www.funwhileitlasted.net</a></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Though Team America did not exist in the NASL after the
1983 season, Panagoulias continued to manage the USMNT through the qualifying
matches for the 1986 World Cup providing a sense of hope that Team America,
despite its NASL’s shortcomings, would achieve its ultimate goal of qualifying
for the world’s most prestigious sports tournament. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">As always, I relied
on a number of sources, both primary and secondary, in writing this article. I perused many newspapers with <i>The Washington Post </i>being chief among them. I also consulted <i>The Chicago Tribune</i> and <i>The New York Times</i>. In addition to these dailies, I gleaned information from several online sources including; <a href="http://www.nasljerseys.com/" target="_blank">http://www.nasljerseys.com</a>, <a href="http://www.funwhileitlasted.net/" target="_blank">http://www.funwhileitlasted.net/</a>, among others. As always, I would be lost if it weren't for the <a href="http://homepages.sover.net/~spectrum/" target="_blank">American Soccer History Archives</a>.<a href="https://www.blogger.com/"></a></span>Skihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13488748094836677592noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6186634703462395529.post-79292642719452173812014-06-08T19:21:00.004-07:002014-09-15T11:40:30.304-07:00World Cup Hopeful Team America and the Case for RFK: Part One<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;">A number of journalists
and writers have penned articles about Team America and the team's place within
American soccer history. With this
article, I intend to shine more light on the problems that plagued Team America
from its inception, but I also attempt to highlight the positives of the doomed
team's existence and its greater place within the history of American soccer,
and America's unofficial national stadium, Robert F. Kennedy Stadium.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;">Note: For the purposes
of this article, and brevity, one can assume that Team America and United States Men's
National Team carry the same connotation throughout the article. I use the two
terms interchangeably. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Having participated in every World Cup since 1990,
merely qualifying for the tournament is no longer a novelty for the United
States. Every four years, American’s expect the US Men’s National Team (USMNT)
to not only qualify for the world’s greatest sporting event, but also believe
the team can make a deep run in the tournament as they did in 2002.
Expectations for the US, prior to the World Cup draw in December 2013, were
arguably the highest they have ever been in American soccer history. This, of
course, was not always the case, as the US experienced a forty-year period of
futility between their legendary victory over England in 1950 to their three-and-out
appearance in Italy.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">That is not to say that there was not a genuine
effort by the USMNT to qualify for the World Cup in the intervening years. Prior
to participating in the 1990 World Cup, the US would always fall short of
qualification, which was often the result of negligence from the sport’s
governing body in America, the United States Soccer Federation (USSF). The
governing body often left national team managers with little resources and just
days to assemble a competent squad prior to international fixtures. That is
assuming that the USSF were even able to convince North American Soccer League
(NASL) clubs to release their players for international duty in the first place.
Attitudes began to change in the early 1980s. The NASL was hemorrhaging money
year after year, and the brass within the USSF began to realize the importance
of the World Cup and the revenue it could generate. The sudden interest crystalized
during the winter of 1982-3 culminating in the formation of Team America, and
led to the first legitimate use of Robert F. Kennedy (RFK) Stadium as the USMNT
home ground making it the unofficial national stadium.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-XSebPZVLq6Y/U5URgU6VGGI/AAAAAAAAATE/tBJMHXYu7Tg/s1600/Team+America+Logo+sportslogos.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-XSebPZVLq6Y/U5URgU6VGGI/AAAAAAAAATE/tBJMHXYu7Tg/s1600/Team+America+Logo+sportslogos.gif" height="274" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.sportslogos.net/logos/view/kn4kqvkd5gvtuk5bkbcua80em/Team_America/1983/Primary_Logo" target="_blank">http://www.sportslogos.net</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Team
America; A Questionable Concept <o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Team America was the brainchild of NASL President
and CEO Howard Samuels. He presented the concept of the USMNT competing
as a franchise (Team America) in the floundering NASL at the league’s annual
meeting in late October 1982. The impetus behind the plan was three-fold: to ramp up the Americanization of
the game and develop a national team that could qualify for the 1986 World Cup,
to develop a national team that could potentially compete in the 1984 Olympics
in Los Angeles, and, most importantly, to generate interest and revenue for the
NASL. The idea even had the support of the USSF, which given the history of
relations between the two entities was a victory in itself. In the end, the
league owners voted 10-1 in favor of the idea during the league’s annual
meeting with only the Tulsa Roughnecks voting against the endeavor (The New York
Cosmos abstained from voting). The Oklahoma based club may have not known what
was to come, but by casting a dissenting vote, became the first in a long line
of detractors to the Team America concept. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">From its earliest manifestations, the suggestion of
Team America proved a questionable effort. Though USSF president Gene Edwards backed
Howards’ idea, and the Major Indoor Soccer League (MISL) and semi-professional
American Soccer League (ASL) tentatively agreed to contribute to the development of
the USMNT, the proposal reeked of desperation. Up to that point, the NASL, who
would benefit most from the creation of Team America, had shed twelve teams in
four years leaving the league with just eleven remaining clubs going into the
1983 season. The inclusion of Team America would bring the total to twelve. Nevertheless, with the
approval of the NASL’s owners in October 1982 Howards committed to the
formation of Team America even if he doubted the viability of fielding a team
in 1983. Samuels, shortly after gaining the league’s approval for the formation
of Team America stated, “I don’t know if we can pull it (Team America) off this
year given the time factor, but it’s almost certain it will go in 1984.”
Samuel’s tactful statement on the feasibility of fielding a team in 1983 proved
an act of smoke and mirrors, as the nascent idea of Team America haphazardly
came to fruition throughout the ensuing months following the league’s annual
meeting. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Initially, Samuels proposed that Team America could
compete in two cities: America’s soccer Mecca, St. Louis, or the Nation’s
capital, Washington, D.C. By December, Samuels ruled out St. Louis as a host
city after the NASL was unable to convince Anheuser-Busch to fund the team. The
brewery balked at the notion that Team America would be able to compete in 1983
as did many others within American soccer circles. Inevitably, Washington, D.C.
became the home of Team America as Samuels and the NASL hastily pressed forward
with the intent to have Team America take the field for the 1983 further highlighting
the exasperation of the league’s owners to turn the league around. By early
December, Samuels and the NASL owners tentatively agreed that the existing
clubs would loan American players to the National Team (Team America) with the
USSF and outside investors and sponsors covering the club’s expenses. An
official agreement from the various bodies would not be in place until the
following month.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-kfYKXOvsMEY/U5UR8iVibEI/AAAAAAAAATM/zsaTTJfVpzA/s1600/Ricky+Davis+79.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-kfYKXOvsMEY/U5UR8iVibEI/AAAAAAAAATM/zsaTTJfVpzA/s1600/Ricky+Davis+79.jpg" height="320" width="315" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">New York Cosmos midfielder Ricky Davis in 1979<br />
<a href="http://www.nasljerseys.com/Players/D/Davis.Ricky.htm" target="_blank">http://www.nasljerseys.com</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Even before an owner/investor stepped forward to
fund the growing idea of Team America or a provisional roster existed, some of
America’s players openly questioned the formation Team America, chief among
them New York Cosmos forward Ricky Davis. At the time of Team America’s hurried
organization, Davis was undeniably the best, and most creative, American player
in the NASL. In an op-ed to the <i>New York
Times</i> on December 12, 1982, Davis railed against the Team America concept
stating, “For the good of the United States national team’s qualifying effort
for World Cup ‘86, I question the Team America project." Davis further decried
Team America’s attempt to cull American players from existing NASL clubs who
would benefit from more playing time at their respective clubs. Davis was not
alone in his sentiments towards Samuels' Team America venture. Many more people
within American soccer questioned the viability and practicality of Team America. Undeterred, Samuels was sure to offer
Davis and other detractors a rebuttal a week later stating, “I see Team America
as crucial to the growth of soccer in this country.” By then a rift between
those in favor and against the proposal had widened. Perhaps most telling about
Davis’ article was his insistence that Team America consist of America’s best
players because if it was not, “its whole purpose is defeated at square one.”
His thoughts proved prophetic by season’s end. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Team
America = USMNT<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Just months after Samuels proposed the concept of
Team America, the NASL, the NASL Players Association, the MISL Players
Association, and the USSF finalized the details surrounding the team in January
1983. Under the agreement between the governing entities, Team America, in
addition to being financed by “team owner” Robert Lifton, would receive
financial support from the USSF and outside sponsors. Team America would be
entitled to, at most, three American players from each existing NASL franchise
and would pay the player’s parent club $50,000 in addition to paying the player’s
salary and relocation fee. Though the agreement made it compulsory for NASL
clubs to release their players to Team America, the players had the right to
refuse Team America’s loan request, which, in essence, was tantamount to
refusing a national team call-up. The finalized agreement also alluded to the
intent of the USSF to schedule a number of international games for Team America
after the upcoming NASL season. In addition to the official creation of Team
America, the NASL and USSF announced the schedule for the team’s upcoming
training camp, and most importantly dictated that the USSF had the
right to name the team’s coach making Team America the USMNT incarnate. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-wR1Adw5zADg/U5USPR0iMzI/AAAAAAAAATU/BjWpYH1cZXw/s1600/Cosmos+82+Home+Jeff+Durgan+4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-wR1Adw5zADg/U5USPR0iMzI/AAAAAAAAATU/BjWpYH1cZXw/s1600/Cosmos+82+Home+Jeff+Durgan+4.jpg" height="320" width="167" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cosmos defender Jeff Durgan. The future Captain America?<br />
<a href="http://www.nasljerseys.com/Players/D/Durgan.Jeff.htm" target="_blank">http://www.nasljerseys.com</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Following the final details surrounding the
formation of Team America, the team moved closer towards completion after
Lifton signed an eight-year lease with RFK Stadium with the intent to house a
NASL club in Washington, D.C. after the 1986 World Cup making RFK the unofficial national stadium in the process. Preparations for Team
America’s roster were also moving closer to finalization after the team invited
thirty-nine players to Tampa, Florida for a preseason training camp. The thirty-nine invitees were to compete for twenty final roster spots. The
only issue surrounding the national team camp was that the USSF had not
appointed a national team coach for the team prior to announcing the camp’s invitees.
The lack of a head coach left many players miffed. After
receiving an invitation to the preliminary training camp, Cosmos defender Jeff
Durgan offered the most damning opinion of the ongoing concept and the USSF’s
involvement stating, <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">“They want us all to come to the training camp on
February 1<sup>st</sup>, and sign our careers away to this thing without a
coach. If they get a coach with character, who is strong, who will implant his
own ideas, and won’t be a puppet of the USSF, that will weigh heavily on
everyone’s decision.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"><span style="line-height: 115%;">Of course, Durgan was not alone in his opinion, as
Ricky Davis, and many others, had already </span><span style="line-height: 18.399999618530273px;">criticized</span><span style="line-height: 115%;"> the idea in the months leading up to Team America’s official commencement. Despite
the uncertainty and stigma surrounding Team America, several players were
willing to sacrifice their careers to fulfill the goals of Team America. Durgan
would eventually become the loudest voice in the campaign to promote the USMNT
and Team America. Perhaps in an effort to appease those questioning their
intentions and the viability of the entire concept, the USSF named Alkis
Panagoulias USMNT, and Team America, head coach on January 28, 1983, just days
before the national team camp was scheduled to begin.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Panagoulias, a naturalized American citizen, had his
detractors, but was more than up for the task of managing Team America. As former manager of the Greece National Team
and of Greek powerhouse Olympiakos, Panagoulias came into the fold with more
than enough experience to guide the United States to the 1986 World Cup. The
native of Greece also had considerable experience playing and coaching the
sport in the United States having captured three US Open Cup titles as coach of
the New York Greek-Americans from 1967 to 1969. Panagoulias wanted to coach a team
built upon the tenets of Team America as far back as 1967, believing it was
only a matter of time before the US were able to compete on the international
stage. The ultimate question surrounding Team America following Panagoulias’
appointment was if he would be able to cobble up a competent all-American
roster to compete in the NASL’s 1983 season as not everyone was willing to
support the impulsively manufactured national team.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-l5RB_zvyALk/U5US5ZdJmUI/AAAAAAAAATc/RSoWvjYuaPc/s1600/Alkis+Panagoulias+1993.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-l5RB_zvyALk/U5US5ZdJmUI/AAAAAAAAATc/RSoWvjYuaPc/s1600/Alkis+Panagoulias+1993.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Panagoulias in 1993 as coach of the Greece National Team<br />
Photographer: Ben Radford<br />
Source: Getty Images</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Panagoulias’ first task upon taking the reins of
Team America was to assess the American talent at his disposal during the team’s
training camp in Tampa. On paper, Panagoulias’ job of selecting a national team
of twenty players seemed simple, but petty politics, player’s attitudes towards
Team America, and the timing of the camp all provided Panagoulias with a near
insurmountable task. Originally scheduled to start February 1, the team pushed the
start of camp back a week due to the ongoing negotiations concerning player’s
contracts and their parent club’s compensation further highlighting the
desperation and haste surrounding the
implementation of Samuels’ proposal. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">With a multitude of problems plaguing Team America,
some of the biggest problems Panagoulias faced heading into the camp were the
outright refusal of players to respond to what amounted to a national team
call-up, and clubs competing in the MISL, like the Chicago Sting, declining to
release their players to Team America. The USSF ultimately fined the MISL for
their clubs refusal to cooperate with the governing body drawing the ire of the
club’s owners in the process who threatened to withdraw from the federation.
The rift between the MISL, NASL, and the make-up of Team America would only
widen throughout the team’s existence. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Of the thirty-nine players invited into the camp,
only twenty-two opted to attend, a sign of the problems ahead for Panagoulias
and the national team. Nevertheless, Team America pushed forward in developing
a competent roster with Panagoulias refusing to beg for players stating, “I
will go with what we have here.” The camp, though plagued by significant player
snubs and absences, provided the developing Team America with significant games
against the Tampa Bay Rowdies, the University
of Central Florida, and the University of Tampa. Able to judge the talent
available due to these games, Panagoulias named a sixteen-man roster following
its conclusion. Ricky Davis was the most notable inclusion on the roster, but the Cosmos
midfielder ultimately refused to sign with Team America after weighing a list
of pros and cons of the experiment and its effect on his career. Following his refusal to play
for Team America, Davis stated he would compete for the national team in international
competitions if called upon showing the lack of recognition Team America
garnered as the USMNT among some of those involved in American soccer. Other
player snubs, and MISL holdouts left Panagoulias with a roster of thirteen players following the camp.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-iVYdDlLBGgU/U5UTDQrWhwI/AAAAAAAAATk/Mc6Ukv16LLo/s1600/Perry+Van+Der+Beck+Kick+Issue.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-iVYdDlLBGgU/U5UTDQrWhwI/AAAAAAAAATk/Mc6Ukv16LLo/s1600/Perry+Van+Der+Beck+Kick+Issue.jpg" height="320" width="245" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Perry Van Der Beck as a member of the Tampa Bay Rowdies</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">The camp was a precursor of what was to come for
Team America, as the team, led by former Cosmos players Jeff
Durgan, and Tony Crescitelli, and US International Perry Van Der Beck, would
experience considerable growing pains before the start of the 1983 NASL season.
Following the team’s invitee training camp, Team America committed to an
international tour in April consisting of a series of matches against Haitian and </span></span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="line-height: 18.399999618530273px;">Colombian</span></span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"> opponents, including the Haitian National Team. The match against
Haiti, a FIFA sanctioned international friendly, all but dispelled any
resistance to the fact that Team America was the acting USMNT. Prior to embarking
on their international tour, the newly announced team members convened in Washington to continue preseason preparations
for the 1983 NASL campaign. In order to develop cohesion prior to their international tour, the members of Team America
participated in a series of contests against local colleges, amateur teams, and
a side consisting of performers of the Ringling Brothers circus.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">Stay tuned for the second part of this article to
find out just how Team America </span></span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="line-height: 18.399999618530273px;">fared</span></span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"> in their only NASL season and what contributed
to their demise. Don't forget to read <a href="http://amofb.blogspot.com/2014/06/world-cup-hopeful-team-america-and-case_14.html" target="_blank">Part Two</a>.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">In writing this article, I relied on a multitude of
sources. As always, I consulted a number of period newspapers for primary
source material. I used the following newspapers in constructing this article: <i>The Los Angeles Times, The New York Times, </i>and
<i>The Washington Post</i>. In addition to
these dailies, I also consulted numerous websites and articles including: <a href="http://www.ussoccerplayers.com/team-america-1983" target="_blank">Ian Plenderleith's piece on Team America</a>, <a href="http://www.ussoccerplayers.com/2013/04/team-america-the-nasl-and-the-us-national-team.html" target="_blank">Tom Dunmore's look at the team</a>, <a href="http://www.nasljerseys.com/Rosters/TeamAmerica_Rosters.htm" target="_blank">http://www.nasljerseys.com</a>, <i>Sports Illustrated</i>, and, as always, the <a href="http://homepages.sover.net/~spectrum/" target="_blank">American Soccer History Archives</a>.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
Skihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13488748094836677592noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6186634703462395529.post-41395782101668810112014-05-11T17:18:00.001-07:002016-02-09T15:47:43.973-08:00Nat Agar, Galicia FC, and a Royal Visit<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-s0tkPC5G_gI/U2_-WjRKX0I/AAAAAAAAAQ4/uYeaEHlgLfc/s1600/Real+Crest+1927.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-s0tkPC5G_gI/U2_-WjRKX0I/AAAAAAAAAQ4/uYeaEHlgLfc/s1600/Real+Crest+1927.gif" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Real Madrid Crest 1920s<br />
Source: <a href="http://www.leyendablanca.galeon.com/" target="_blank">http://www.leyendablanca.galeon.com/</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Note: Since I only refer to American football in the introductory paragraph, I use the terms football and soccer interchangeably thereafter to refer to the beautiful game.<br />
<br />
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Over the course of the last fifteen years, Real Madrid has been one of the best clubs in the world, and, undoubtedly, an American favorite. They feature one of the worlds
most skilled and feared players in the world in Cristiano Ronaldo, and are set
to meet Atletico Madrid in the Champions League Final in a matter of weeks. In
the United States, it is not uncommon to find a Bale or Ronaldo jersey at a local
field any day of the week, stressing American's admiration of both players and
Los Blancos. Following the World Cup, Real will make their sixteenth appearance
in the United States in the second edition of the Guinness International
Champions Cup satiating many American's hunger to witness their favorite club.
Real’s feat of selling out 100,000-plus seat Michigan Stadium – home of the
University of Michigan Football team – against Manchester United during this year's Guinness International Champions Cup attests to their popularity.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">What many American fans fail to realize is that Real
Madrid first visited the United States long before they were an attraction
within Spain, let alone the Galacticos that have dominated world football. In
an effort to “promote Spanish football” in North and South America, the Castilian club first visited the United
States during the “golden age” of American Soccer in September 1927. Despite
interest from around the country to host the Spaniards, Real only featured in
one game in the United States. Originally scheduled to meet the American Soccer
League’s Brooklyn Wanderers, Real eventually sparred with an unlikely
challenger in fellow Spanish compatriots Galicia FC (GFC), a New York City
amateur club with lofty ambitions. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Nat
Agar: Purveyor of International Competition<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">In 1927, soccer was at the peak of its popularity in
the United States despite growing tensions between the United States Football
Association (USFA) and the American Soccer League (ASL). Though the nucleus of
the game was still the Northeast, the game flourished in city leagues throughout
the country, with the cities of Chicago and St. Louis at the fore. Highlighting the popularity of the game, the city of New York had a copious amount of clubs
at various levels from amateur sides to professional clubs, including three in
the ASL: the New York Giants, Indiana Flooring, and the Brooklyn Wanderers.
Within its legion of clubs, New York was home to many ethnic clubs that
competed in the city’s International Soccer League (ISL), chief among them the Spanish club
Galicia FC (GFC). <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">In addition to the growing amount of clubs and
leagues within the country, the United States was also a budding destination
for foreign clubs during their offseason. In 1927 four
clubs in addition to Real – Hakoah Vienna (Czechoslovakia), Maccabi Tel Aviv (Palestine),
Nacional (Uruguay), and Worchestershire (England) - visited America in 1927 playing
in games from New York to Chicago. Though most of the visiting clubs tended to
play ASL clubs or city all-star teams, a few amateur clubs, like GFC, also made
it on the visitors schedules. Galicia’s meeting with Real Madrid came down to
the decision of one man, </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Nathan “Nat” Agar, owner of the Brooklyn Wanderers of the ASL.</span></div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-cAKyfKluDOs/U2__HkRdb8I/AAAAAAAAARA/VPHE3MMeDNk/s1600/Nat+Agar+Photo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-cAKyfKluDOs/U2__HkRdb8I/AAAAAAAAARA/VPHE3MMeDNk/s1600/Nat+Agar+Photo.jpg" width="205" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Source: <i>The Brooklyn Eagle</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Nat Agar was quite a force with American soccer
circles in 1927. In addition to owning the Wanderers, he was an official in the
New York State Football Association, and the President of the New York's International Soccer League. <i>The</i> <i>Brooklyn Eagle</i> liked to refer to Agar as
one of the games magnates. After all, Agar helped catapult the sport into national consciousness when he brought Hakoah Vienna of Czechoslovakia to the United States for a
series of games in 1926 – they drew 46,000 fans to their fourth game of their tour setting a
record for soccer attendance in the US that would not be broken for fifty years when Pele joined the New York Cosmos. In addition to convincing Hakoah to return in
1927, Agar was instrumental in bringing over Club Nacional of Uruguay, Maccabi
FC of Tel Aviv, Palestine, and Real Madrid, spending a hefty sum in the
process. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Of the teams Agar brought to the United States in
1927, Real Madrid’s visit was the least exciting from a public relations perspective,
which was understandable due to Real’s relative anonymity outside of Spain at
the time – the creation of La Liga, Spain’s professional league, was still two
years away. The media extensively covered each club’s visit, save for Real’s,
but the visiting Uruguayans really stood out amongst the visitors for two
reasons First, the press erroneously referred to Nacional as the Uruguayan
Olympic team throughout their visit because Nacional consisted of many members of
Uruguay’s 1924 gold medal winning Olympic team. The erroneous reports bolstered
Nacional’s profile considerably throughout their stay making them the club that set the standard for the visiting clubs that followed. Second, among Nacional’s Olympians was
defensive midfielder Jose Leandro Andrade the first black footballer to play in
the Olympics. By competing against ASL clubs, Andrade became one of the first
black soccer players to compete at the professional level in the United States.
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-NmtAYAHubN0/U3ABUlkcz7I/AAAAAAAAARM/zAkoFk5SRL4/s1600/The-Uruguay-Football-Team-at-The-Paris-Olympic-Games-1924-Posters.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-NmtAYAHubN0/U3ABUlkcz7I/AAAAAAAAARM/zAkoFk5SRL4/s1600/The-Uruguay-Football-Team-at-The-Paris-Olympic-Games-1924-Posters.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">1924 Uruguayan Football Team<br />
Andrade is sixth from the left, top row</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Between April 30 and May 30, Andrade and Nacional
eventually played thirteen games in the US with three games taking place at
Ebbet’s Field in New York against Agar’s Wanderers. The three games against the
Wanderers drew over 35,000 fans collectively, which may have spurred Agar’s
interest in staging games between touring clubs and Brooklyn clubs to attract
more fans, and ultimately ensure further profits stemming from his investment. After all, Agar
was the man bringing the foreign clubs to the US, and in the end, GFC
benefitted from Agar’s position as ISL President and from his inclusion of non-ASL
clubs on touring calendars.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Galicia
FC’s Rise<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Concrete origins of Galicia FC are hard to come by. Galicians
founded Galicia Sporting Club (GSC) in 1922 or 1923, and fielded a soccer team upon
the club’s formation. Given the popularity of the game within America’s ethnic
communities, GFC formed the backbone of the club almost immediately
after GSC’s inception. The club lost in the final of the first edition of the Everlast Cup - a
soccer tournament limited to Spanish teams within New York City - in 1923, which proved to be the nadir of the clubs fortunes, as GFC
soon became a powerhouse within New York City’s amateur leagues. They won the
Everlast Cup the following year, entered the US Open Cup tournament, and
captured the Southern New York State Football Association Cup in the spring of
1926. Adding to the list of the club’s growing accomplishments, GFC also went undefeated
within New York City’s (ISL) during the 1925-26 season. </span></div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-EpbKgCVegoo/U3ADjZnH7OI/AAAAAAAAARY/0C6xHRCpK7k/s1600/SParta+Praha-1922-full.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="201" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-EpbKgCVegoo/U3ADjZnH7OI/AAAAAAAAARY/0C6xHRCpK7k/s1600/SParta+Praha-1922-full.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">AC Sparta Praha 1922<br />
Perner at center, top row<br />
Source: <a href="http://www.sparta.cz/cs/klub/historie/ac-sparta-praha.shtml#a4" target="_blank">http://www.sparta.cz/cs/klub/historie/ac-sparta-praha.shtml#a4</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Needless to say, the
club earned the right to face more challenging competition by the fall of
1926. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">GFC finally gained an opportunity to compete against
better competition on November 1, 1926 when they met reigning Czechoslovakian
champions AC Sparta Praha at David’s Stadium Field in Newark, NJ. The game was the
last of a two-month long, sixteen game tour for the Bohemian club that produced
many fights and the suspension of club captain Antonin Perner by the USFA.
Whether Sparta’s loss of their captain or the length or their tour affected
them cannot be known, but Galicia FC was able to earn a 1-1 draw against the
Czechoslovak champions. Sparta’s tally was due to a Galicia FC own goal.
The positive result heavily contributed to the Spanish club’s future fixtures
and eventually helped net the club a meeting with Real Madrid. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">With their sudden ascent from newly formed Spanish
club to their draw with AC Sparta Praha, Galicia FC became a known quantity
amongst New York’s soccer leagues and a viable opponent for Nat Agar’s Brooklyn
Wanderers. Just weeks after the Galicians drew Sparta, Agar pitted the
Wanderers against GFC on December 5, 1926. Soon after, Agar started sending the
Wanderers second team to play against GFC. Agar even suited up
against GFC in a July 1927 exhibition contest. By the time, Agar faced GFC, the
Spaniards had already cemented their place within New York’s soccer circles,
and proved their ambition after the Galicia Sporting Club announced they would
host a dinner to honor Club Nacional. GFC’s success on the field and their growing
ambition – GSC reserved chartered a French steamship for a GFC tour of Spain
during the summer of 1928 with a $10000 (roughly $135,800 today) deposit in
August of 1927 - must have endeared the club to Agar as the club soon found
itself competing against the Wanderers on an active basis, and squaring off
against the likes of Maccabi FC and Real Madrid.</span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Spanish
Royalty Meet Their Countrymen<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-0s4gC3wbMP8/U3AEbudRiWI/AAAAAAAAARg/WlPreGK5ExQ/s1600/Bernabeau.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-0s4gC3wbMP8/U3AEbudRiWI/AAAAAAAAARg/WlPreGK5ExQ/s1600/Bernabeau.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A young Bernabeu<br />
Source: <a href="http://www.realmadrid.com/en/about-real-madrid/history/football-legends/santiago-bernabeu-de-yeste" target="_blank">Real Madrid</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Led by club President Luis de Urquijo and their
recently retired striker Santiago Bernabeu, Real Madrid embarked on an
extensive tour of the Americas during the summer of 1927. (Though it is unclear whether Santiago made the trip, he certainly supported expanding Real's influence.) At the time, Real was transitioning from an amateur to a professional club – again the
formation of the professional Spanish league, La Liga, was a couple of years
away. The common stated goal of the tour was to promote Spanish soccer within the
Americas, but aficionados within the United States, led by Spanish expatriates
undoubtedly, were well aware of Spanish clubs at least two years prior to their
New York visit. In fact, people within the USFA were interested in bringing
over a professional Spanish club as early as January 1926. The problem was that
at the time there were not any professional clubs within Spain and the Spanish Football
Association were apprehensive in sending over any clubs. Real Madrid’s visit,
though incredibly brief, undoubtedly satisfied some people within American
soccer’s desire to compete against a premier Spanish team.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Prior to arriving in New York in late September
1927, Real Madrid played several games against clubs from Buenos Aires, Havana,
Lima, and Mexico City. Sources differ on the amount of games played by Real
prior to their arrival in New York, but all sources agree that they won the bulk of their games during the tour. In addition to a game
in New York, the press reported that Real would meet with multiple clubs throughout the US as far west as Chicago. ASL clubs in New York and Boston sought games
with the Spaniards, but in the end, Real scheduled two games in the US upon their
departure from Mexico on September 17; Nat Agar’s Brooklyn Wanderers and
ISL champion Galicia FC – who were unquestionably included on Real’s schedule
due to Nat Agar. The reasons for Real’s lack of games within the US was not
documented, but the USFA’s and Spanish Football Association’s inability to
agree on the sanctioning of competitions against the United States professional clubs and Spain's amateur clubs may have played a
role in Real’s two scheduled fixtures in New York. Prior to leaving Mexico, the
Castilian club requested the USFA’s permission to compete against several other
clubs including Chicago’s AC Sparta, and the ASL’s Indiana Flooring, in addition
to the Brooklyn Wanderers. Eventually Real's two scheduled fixtures in New York dwindled to one as the club left Mexico. Real was scheduled to meet Agar's Wanderers, but that too would soon change.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Due to his influence within New York, Nat Agar was in charge of Real
Madrid’s US visit. Up until that point, he sponsored and scheduled every foreign
club’s visit to that point, and his stature within the American soccer scene
undoubtedly contributed in his ability to schedule his Wanderers against Real in
late September. Though the reasons for the constant changes in Real’s US
schedule are not entirely clear, it is apparent that Agar was determined to bring
the Spanish club to New York. In a surprisingly gallant gesture, Agar conceded
the Wanderers meeting with Real Madrid to the growing Spanish club GFC while
Real were in route to New York. The Galicia Sporting Club met the gesture with much appreciation and
an honorary dinner held at the Hotel Pennsylvania in honor of their visiting royal
guests. Interest in the game was high even though Real remained a relative
unknown quantity just days before the matchup. The only available indication of Real’s
talent appeared in <i>The New York Times</i>
just days before the game against GFC when the newspaper noted that Real had
eight internationals competing with the club. Unbeknownst to Americans at the
time, the Castilians brought several players from different Spanish club for
their American tour and one would score a goal during their stop in New York City. Despite the anonymity of the club and the constant uncertainty
surrounding their visit, the matchup between Real and GFC proved to be a
popular affair as a crowd of up to
10,000 fans was expected at Hawthorn Field for the all-Spanish fixture. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-z6tF-6pCvg8/U3AEzwX6NsI/AAAAAAAAARo/C-8wm_mK3B0/s1600/Perico-Escobal-Quesada-Martinez-Madrid_EDIIMA20121102_0243_14.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-z6tF-6pCvg8/U3AEzwX6NsI/AAAAAAAAARo/C-8wm_mK3B0/s1600/Perico-Escobal-Quesada-Martinez-Madrid_EDIIMA20121102_0243_14.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Patricio Escobal<br />
Mr. Escobal featured for Los Blancos throughout the 1920s. He was jailed following the Spanish Civil War due to his loyalty to the Spanish crown. He eventually emigrated to the United States and wrote <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Death-row-Spain-Patricio-Escobal/dp/B0007E466I" target="_blank">his memoirs</a> about his time in a Spanish prison.</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">After weeks of speculation, Real Madrid finally
debuted on American soil meeting Galicia FC on September 24 in Brooklyn, New
York. In front of just around 5000 fans, including the Spanish Consul of New
York, Spanish international Patricio Escobal and future Real legend Jose Maria
Pena paced Madrid against the amateur GFC eleven. Perhaps exhausted due to the
length and uncertainty of their tour, Madrid found themselves on the receiving
end of GFC’s attack early in the first half. Galicia’s constant pressure
resulted in a goal in the fourteenth minute by inside-right Vega. GFC’s form
held true for the remainder of the first half, but the visiting Castilians finally
found their form and equalized seventeen minutes after the start of the second
half on a goal from guest player Travieso of Atletico Bilbao. The game finished
a 1-1 draw as GFC once again held their own against superior competition. The
star of the game, according to the New York newspapers, was Madrid winger Felix
Perez Marcos whose skill on the ball “frequently caused the crowd to burst
forth into enthusiastic applause.” In the end the game was a small affair
compared to the other foreign teams that invaded America in 1927 and was soon swallowed up by the action taking place within the ASL in New York's newspapers.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">In the end, Real’s short visit allowed little time
for the club to make a lasting impression on the American public as Real sailed
for Spain the day after their encounter with GFC. Madrid did not to return to the United States
for another thirty-two years. Despite Real’s mediocre first US visit, the
American tour proved to be the first stroke of genius by Santiago Bernabeu who
would propel the club to unparalleled success after the Spanish Civil War as
President of the club until his death in 1978. In his lifetime, Bernabeu would
witness Real go from a small amateur team to European powerhouse. A club that
can claim millions of American fans today. Meanwhile, Nat Agar would continue to be a
significant fixture in American soccer for another year until he disappeared
from the game following his suspension by the USFA in 1928 during the country’s
“Soccer War.” Following their meeting with Real Madrid, GFC continued to grow. The Galician club’s ambition knew no bounds
following their royal encounter. By the end of 1927, Galicia Sporting Club
spent well over $100,000 (over $1.3 Million today) on a building at 109-111
East Fifteenth Street in Manhattan to serve as a clubhouse for the burgeoning
Galician organization. GFC would continue to compete in New York’s amateur
leagues for another twenty years before combining with Brookhattan FC to
compete in the second edition of the ASL. </span><o:p></o:p><br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">This article has also been featured on: <a href="http://inbedwithmaradona.com/journal/2014/7/14/new-york" target="_blank">http://inbedwithmaradona.com</a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">In writing this article, I relied on a bevy of sources and the wonders of Google translate. My primary sources consisted of </span><i style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">The Boston Globe, The Brooklyn Eagle, The Chicago Defender, The New York Amsterdam News, The New York Times, </i><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">and </span><i style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">The Washington Post</i><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">. In addition to newspapers, I consulted numerous secondary sources including: </span><a href="http://www.howlermagazine.com/reign-spain/" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; line-height: 115%;" target="_blank">Howler Magazine</a><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><i style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">, <a href="http://www.leyendablanca.galeon.com/" target="_blank">the incredible Real Madrid archival website http://www.leyendablanca.galeon.com/</a>, <a href="http://www.bigsoccer.com/soccer/roger-allaway/2013/09/23/the-invisible-nat-agar/" target="_blank">Roger Allaway's profile on Nat Agar</a>, Sports Illustrated</i><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">, </span></span><a href="http://sites.duke.edu/wcwp/research-projects/politics-and-sport-in-latin-america/uruguay/" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;" target="_blank">Duke University's profile of Jose Leandro Andrade</a><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">, </span></span><a href="http://www.realmadrid.com/en/about-real-madrid/history/football" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;" target="_blank">Real Madrid's online coverage of the club's history</a><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">, and, as always, </span></span><a href="http://homepages.sover.net/~spectrum/" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;" target="_blank">the American Soccer History Archives</a><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">. Also, thank you to </span></span><a href="https://twitter.com/SoccerHistoryUS" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;" target="_blank">Brian Bunk</a><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"> for helping correct some of the </span></span><span style="line-height: 18.399999618530273px;">discrepancies within the article. </span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"> </span></span></span></div>
Skihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13488748094836677592noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6186634703462395529.post-38872651897122830112014-04-23T08:58:00.002-07:002014-05-09T13:25:13.134-07:00Kristine Lilly, the Washington Warthogs, and Olympic Gold<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; line-height: 115%;">On August 1, 1996, the United States Women’s National
Team (USWNT) defeated China 2-1 and captured the first women’s soccer gold
medal in Olympic history, avenging their disappointing third place finish at
the 1995 Women’s World Cup. At the time of the women’s victory in Atlanta, the USWNT
was the apex of women’s professional soccer in the U.S. as playing for a club
professionally was not always a viable option. Due to the lack of professional opportunities
globally, many of the U.S. Women’s National Team players did not play for a
professional club prior to the 1995 Women’s World Cup and 1996 Olympic Games. Instead,
players trained and found games with amateur clubs, college teams, or in the
case of Kristine Lilly, with a men’s professional indoor soccer team, the
Washington Warthogs. <span style="font-size: small;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; line-height: 115%;">At the time of her signing with the Warthogs in the
summer of 1995, Kristine Lilly was already the USWNT’s most capped player and
arguably the best player in the country. She earned the first of her world
record 352 international caps while still in high school at the age of 16 in
1987. She was one of five U.S. Women’s U-19 players including Joy Fawcett,
Julie Foudy, and Mia Hamm that would emerge as the golden generation of the
USWNT, which won the inaugural Women’s World Cup in 1991.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Vxm9JWWduSg/U1fhK4yMiHI/AAAAAAAAAQQ/M0dc1hdTg38/s1600/lilly_kristine_soc_800x375_2007_76958490.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Vxm9JWWduSg/U1fhK4yMiHI/AAAAAAAAAQQ/M0dc1hdTg38/s1600/lilly_kristine_soc_800x375_2007_76958490.jpg" height="187" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Source: www.teamusa.org</span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;">Photo: Getty Images</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; line-height: 115%;">Washington
Warthogs and Lilly’s Signing<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; line-height: 115%;">The Washington Warthogs were a professional indoor
soccer team that competed in the Continental Indoor Soccer League (CISL) from
1994 to until the league’s collapse in 1997. Prior to the debut of Major League
Soccer, the Warthogs were the only professional club in Washington D.C. The Capital outfit featured some of the country’s and area’s
top talent in Phillip Gyau, Goran Hunjak, and Dante Washington. The club also made
national headlines during their first season in the CISL by signing the club’s
first female player in local product Colette Cunningham. The Warthogs signing
of Cunningham proved instrumental in Lilly’s signing during the summer of 1995
as it proved the club was willing to sign talent no matter the gender of the
player. During the clubs existence, US international Jim Gabarra - who also
happened to be married to USWNT forward Carin Jennings-Gabarra - coached the
Warthogs and was heavily influential in obtaining Lilly’s signature. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; line-height: 115%;">It was during the Women’s World Cup in Sweden, that
Jim Gabarra began gauging Lilly’s talent and judging whether she could bring
anything to the Warthogs. Travelling to support his wife Carin, Gabarra decided
over the course of the tournament that Lilly was just what the Warthogs wanted. The club sought to sign a female player prior to the 1995 season. Lilly fit the bill, and just
happened to be one of the best female players in the world and without a club
after the tournament, which provided Gabarra with a win-win scenario in
approaching Lilly to sign with the indoor club. Gabarra described what he saw
in Lilly to <i>The Washington Post</i>, “she
has great skills, she has an exceptional work rate, and she’s a competitor…. in
the right situation a woman can play with guys, and I know Kristine can do it.”
Gabarra singled out Lilly for these qualities and decided against pursuing any
other USWNT members after the tournament as none of the players stood out more
than Lilly, and their schedules were not compatible with that of the Warthogs.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; line-height: 115%;">Lilly, understanding that Gabarra and the Warthogs
offer was not a marketing ploy, signed with the Warthogs shortly after the
USWNT exit from the Women’s World Cup. She signed with every intent to compete
and raise her level of play for the 1996 Summer Olympics stating, “I am really
excited about playing indoors…. I really think this will help my game.” Lilly’s
signing offered her an arena to compete at a high level as she admitted she
“didn’t have anyone to work out with” when she was not with the USWNT. The
opportunity to play in the CISL also forced her to improve her ability on the
ball and helped sharpen her mental and physical quickness. Her debut for the
indoor club had to wait until late August while she honored her commitments
with the national team. Just a month after the Women’s World Cup, the USWNT
committed to compete in the first womne’s edition of the US Cup which was an
annual tournament sponsored by the United States Soccer Federation (USSF) that
pitted three other international teams against the US in a round robin
tournament to spur interest in the game within America (the USWNT won the
tournament). <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-4jpXYWy88wk/U1feCEO5bMI/AAAAAAAAAP8/lb1Wu_bFwZE/s1600/Lilly+Warthogs+SI+Photo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-4jpXYWy88wk/U1feCEO5bMI/AAAAAAAAAP8/lb1Wu_bFwZE/s1600/Lilly+Warthogs+SI+Photo.jpg" height="247" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption"><span style="font-size: small;">Lilly playing for the Warthogs</span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;">Source: Sports Illustrated</span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;">Photo: Ted Mathias</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; line-height: 115%;">Lilly began training with the Warthogs in late
August 1995. She saw her first action not take long after her arrival making
her Warthogs debut on August 27 coming on with 7:52 remaining in a game against
the Monterrey La Raza registering one shot in a near minute on the field. Gabarra
limited her time in order to gradually introduce her to the pace and
physicality of the indoor game. Her appearance garnered significant media
attention nationally that culminated in a short article in <i>Sports Illustrated</i>, in which she reiterated her commitment to compete and
improve her game for the USWNT bid for Olympic gold. Following her debut, Lilly
made a handful of other appearances for the Warthogs never notching a goal. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; line-height: 115%;">Though she never made a significant impact on the
club, she achieved her stated goal of finding consistent competition to raise
her level of play for the Olympics. Gabarra’s wife, and Lilly’s USWNT teammate, Carin joined the Warthogs at training on a handful occasions giving the
Warthogs another connection – albeit a tenuous one – to the USWNT and Olympic
gold. In the end, Lilly’s stint proved nothing more than a brief stop with the
indoor club that provided her with a scheduled training regimen and guaranteed
high-level competition outside of her USWNT appearances. Her limited number of
games and frequent training kept her fit and aided in honing her already
world-class skills for international competition.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Pomjm-pTHLo/U1fgv9b04II/AAAAAAAAAQI/-i7bHhEw36Q/s1600/mia-hamm.00final.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Pomjm-pTHLo/U1fgv9b04II/AAAAAAAAAQI/-i7bHhEw36Q/s1600/mia-hamm.00final.jpg" height="320" width="293" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Lilly along with Brandi Chastain, Joy Faucett, Julie Fowdy, and Mia Hamm in 2004</span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;">Source: Sports Illustrated</span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;">Photo: Michael O'Neil</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">Following a brief contract dispute with the USSF,
Lilly, Carin Jennings-Gabarra, and seven other players joined the USWNT in
January 1996 in preparation for the Atlanta games. The USWNT went on to win
gold at the Olympics attracting a world record crowd of 76,481 to the gold
medal game, firmly establishing the women’s game in the United States in
the process. The USWNT’s success at the 1996 Olympics was the precursor to the
more famous 1999 Women’s World Cup victory starring a shirtless Brandi Chastain
that </span></span><span style="line-height: 18.399999618530273px;">definitively</span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"> cemented women’s soccer in the US, and gave birth to the first
fully professional women’s league the Women’s United Soccer Association (WUSA)
in 2000. Lilly went on to compete for the USWNT for twenty-three years playing
in five World Cups and three Olympic Games. In 2014, she was a first-ballot
inductee into the United States National Soccer Hall of Fame and a member of
the USWNT All-Time Best XI. Her time with the Warthogs serves to highlight the
difficulties professional women soccer players faced during the game's infancy and
the growth of women’s soccer in the United States since the 1996 Olympic Games.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="line-height: 18.399999618530273px;">In writing this article, I relied on numerous sources. I am indebted to Jim Gabarra and Carin Jennings-Gabarra for taking time out of their coaching schedules to acquiesce to my interview requests. I also relied on articles from <i>Sports Illustrated, The New York Times, </i>and <i>The Washington Post. </i>In addition to these sources, I also consulted <a href="http://nesoccerjournal.com/news/players/12-30-from-nesj-lilly-improving-indoor" target="_blank">The New England Soccer Journa</a>l and, as always, <a href="http://homepages.sover.net/~spectrum/" target="_blank">The American Soccer History Archives.</a></span></span></div>
Skihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13488748094836677592noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6186634703462395529.post-42667097701649821812014-04-03T10:53:00.002-07:002014-04-03T13:23:10.210-07:00Earl Clark and the Fashion Shop Forfeiture<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-BktTlgfJcCQ/Uz2PNvPLahI/AAAAAAAAAOs/MtGlmqmGj8w/s1600/Clark_Earl_002.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-BktTlgfJcCQ/Uz2PNvPLahI/AAAAAAAAAOs/MtGlmqmGj8w/s1600/Clark_Earl_002.jpg" height="320" width="256" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Earl Clark - Boston Braves<br />
Source: The Sporting News Archive</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Led by British and Scottish expatriates, soccer aficionados
in Washington D.C. championed the beautiful game in the American capital throughout
the early 1900s. Efforts to establish city amateur leagues, inter-city leagues,
and the professional Southeastern Soccer League all failed, though the game
thrived within Washington’s public schools. The lack of a legitimate amateur
league or professional club left the city’s best players no option but to give
the game up, or attempt to find meaningless pickup games with local elevens.
Finally, in 1925, local advocates created the city’s first permanent soccer
league, the amateur Washington Soccer League (WSL). <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
This newly established league gave Washington’s soccer
players a legitimate arena to display their skills, compete, and eventually
gain entrance in National Amateur Cup tournament – known today as the US
Amateur Cup. It took three years from the creation of the WSL for Washington’s
first clubs to enter the tournament. By 1930, the city fielded numerous teams
who clamored for national silverware by entering the amateur competition. One
team, the comically named Fashion Shop S.C., proved the most ambitious of
Washington’s clubs in that year’s incarnation of the tournament as the club
rounded up the best talent available in the District regardless of the rules
surrounding the amateur nature of the competition. Fashion Shop S.C.’s strong desire
to compete on the national level and indifference towards the competition’s
rules led to the club’s eventual banishment from that year’s tournament due to
one name on the team’s roster: Major
League Baseball player and Boston Braves center fielder Earl Clark.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>Earl Clark’s
Playground Exploits and the Washington Soccer League<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><br /></b></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-tVgSam0RSq0/Uz2QUkP_6zI/AAAAAAAAAO4/d2lm6fBCD40/s1600/Monroe+AC.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-tVgSam0RSq0/Uz2QUkP_6zI/AAAAAAAAAO4/d2lm6fBCD40/s1600/Monroe+AC.jpg" height="190" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Monroe A.C. Eleven<br />
Earl Clark is center in bottom row. To his right are his brothers Tom and Abner, respectively<br />
Source: <i>The Washington Post</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Fashion Shop S.C. was not Earl Clark’s first or only soccer
club. The Braves outfielder grew up in Washington and excelled at baseball,
soccer, and track throughout his youth. He ascended to local fame in 1919 when,
at age twelve, he led the Monroe School – of the Columbia Heights neighborhood
- to the city elementary school soccer championship. The achievement had
several foreign soccer players playing amongst the embassies proclaiming Clark
as a future professional. Had Washington had a professional soccer franchise
during Clark’s career, their declaration may have come to fruition. Nonetheless,
Clark continued his playground dominance as he led the Monroe School to several
other city championships in baseball and soccer during the first half of the
1920s. Shortly after leaving school, Clark earned the reputation as the best
amateur player in both sports within the District. Clark’s athletic prowess
eventually garnered significant attention from the Richmond (Virginia) Colts
minor-league baseball club, which led to a professional contract in the spring
of 1926, but not before Earl - and several of his Monroe School teammates -
competed in the Washington Soccer League’s inaugural season. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
League soccer found a permanent home in Washington D.C. when
the Washington Soccer League kicked off in the fall of 1925. The inaugural WSL
campaign featured six clubs including the Monroe Athletic Club (MAC) headed by
Earl Clark. Joining Clark on the MAC roster was alumni of the Monroe School among
them were two of Earl’s brothers, Abner and Tom. The Monroe club was both the
youngest, and the only all-American team to compete in the newly formed league,
which proved a challenge to the former playground champions as the young club
finished the ten-game season fourth out of six teams with a record of three
wins, six losses, and one draw. Clark drew a fair share of the press coverage
surrounding the club during the 1925 season as MAC’s de facto captain. Though
the team struggled, and Clark had his share of missteps during the campaign -
including getting sent off for fighting during a game against the
German-American Reserves - the future Braves center fielder proved the attention
well warranted in the short time he was with the club as he was consistently
the focal point of the Monroe attack. Clark was able to feature in most of
MAC’s league games, but left the club prior to the end of the season to pursue
a professional baseball career with the minor-league Richmond Colts. Clark’s
play with the Colts eventually caught the eye of the Boston Braves who paid the
Richmond club $15,000 (nearly $200,000 today) for Clark’s services in August
1927. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-IQXtrzddPJc/Uz2Sd7MHqSI/AAAAAAAAAPE/fUkKdKyL6nc/s1600/EarlClarkGoudeycard.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-IQXtrzddPJc/Uz2Sd7MHqSI/AAAAAAAAAPE/fUkKdKyL6nc/s1600/EarlClarkGoudeycard.jpg" height="320" width="259" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Earl Clark Goudey Card</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The 1925 WSL season would only prove to be Clark’s first foray
in Washington’s soccer leagues. Clark returned every fall –during baseball’s
offseason - for the next several years to compete amongst the city’s amateurs,
despite the fact that by the time of him signing with the Braves many felt he
could have played professional soccer if he wanted to. The growth of the game
within Washington, the creation of an area governing body (the Washington and
Southeastern District Association), and the USFA’s recognition of the
District’s soccer leagues meant that city’s amateur clubs were able to enter the
National Amateur Cup with the famed Walford S.C. and Clan MacLennan clubs becoming the first Washington teams to do so during 1928 competition. By the
1930 tournament, seven Washington clubs entered the competition including,
Fashion Shop S.C. who signed the professional
Earl Clark before entering the competition. Perhaps not understanding the fifth
rule of the national tournament that stated “anyone who is or has been a
professional in soccer or in any other sport is not eligible to compete,”
Fashion Shop’s signing of Clark set up the club’s banishment from the
tournament.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>The Fashion Shop
Upset and the Locust Point Rangers<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><br /></b></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-0g9C7XY3f-s/Uz2UL4p5K8I/AAAAAAAAAPQ/m6r9wo7WGlE/s1600/Monument+Ground+1919.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-0g9C7XY3f-s/Uz2UL4p5K8I/AAAAAAAAAPQ/m6r9wo7WGlE/s1600/Monument+Ground+1919.jpg" height="287" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Aerial view of the Washington Monument and the Monument Grounds in 1919.<br />
Part of the Library of Congress' Harris & Ewing Collection<br />
Source: <a href="http://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/hec2008008837/" target="_blank">Library of Congress</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
As amusing as Fashion Shop S.C. moniker is, the club was
named after their sponsor Fred Pelzman’s Fashion Shop - a local haberdashery - and was
one of the most ambitious Washington clubs entering the 1930 National Amateur
Cup. The club formed as a collection of former players of the Rosedale and
Arcadian clubs who sought to compete in the 1929-30 WSL season, including the Clark
brothers. By all accounts, the club was expected to prove a formidable challenge
to the other clubs in the league, but started the WSL season rather
disappointingly and struggled to win games. Fashion Shop’s lamentable start to
their WSL campaign led <i>The Washington
Post</i> to label the club underdogs in their first round National Amateur Cup
match against the local WSL favorite, the Washington Soccer Club (WSC). The
first round match took place on December 8, 1929 as the two teams met on the
Monument Grounds in the shadow of the Washington Monument. Up to that point in
the WSL season, no league team complained about Earl Clark’s professional
status as he was able to compete in the District league without any dispute.
His hat-trick performance in the cup game proved the turning point as the
Washington Soccer Club filed a formal complaint with both the Washington and
Southeastern District Association and the USFA following Fashion Shop’s 6-2
victory. Earl was joined on Fashion Shop’s front line by both of his brothers,
Abner and Tom, in the dominating win. The victory secured Fashion Shop S.C. a
game against the Locust Point Rangers of Baltimore, MD in the second round of
the National Amateur Cup, but not before a rousing round of delays due to WSC’s
protests.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
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Initially, the Washington and Southeastern District
Association agreed with WSC and negated Fashion Shop’s win due to the
participation of Earl Clark. Officials at the Cleveland, Ohio headquarters of
the USFA did not agree with the local body’s assessment of the National Amateur
Cup’s rules regarding Earl Clark’s eligibility and upheld the 6-2 Fashion Shop
victory. The time between the initial ruling by the local body and the USFA’s
conflicting decision caused extensive confusion and considerably postponed the
second round game. In fact, on January 5, 1930 the day before the second round
fixture, the Locust Point Rangers were expecting the meet the Fashion Shop
eleven, but were prepared for both Washington teams to come to the site of the
game at the Maryland Baseball Park. In the end, Earl Clark and Fashion Shop
S.C. made the forty-mile trip to Baltimore to meet the Rangers on January 6,
1930.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-LCgGP0z0mZI/Uz2UxzhyqFI/AAAAAAAAAPY/MYtc-IoCHkQ/s1600/MarylandParkAerial.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-LCgGP0z0mZI/Uz2UxzhyqFI/AAAAAAAAAPY/MYtc-IoCHkQ/s1600/MarylandParkAerial.jpg" height="320" width="258" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Aerial Photograph of Baltimore and the Maryland Baseball Park in 1927<br />
The Park was also the home of the Baltimore Black Sox Negro League baseball team.<br />
Source: <a href="http://www.masnsports.com/orioles-buzz/2013/11/baseball-historian-discovers-photograph-showing-long-gone-maryland-park-westport-baseball-grounds-si.html" target="_blank">An incredible article by MASN about the discovery of the photograph.</a></td></tr>
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The much-anticipated second round National Amateur Cup match
proved disastrous for Fashion Club S.C. The Locust Point Rangers were the top
club in Maryland Soccer League and had already dispatched a Washington club in
the tournament’s first round – the Silver Spring Soccer Club. The Rangers made
quick work of Clark and the Fashion Shop eleven defeating the Capital City club
4-0. The Baltimore outfit dominated the first half and racked up a 3-0 lead by
halftime on goals by Ducks Kenney, Lou Cox, and C. Reichenberg. Fashion Shop
shored up their defense in the second half, but failed to score. Neil Schmidt
scored the fourth goal off of a free kick in the second half padding the
Rangers lead and ensuring the Baltimore club victory and advancement to the
third round of the tournament, or so they thought.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br />
Just days after Clark and Fashion Club S.C. drubbing at the
Maryland Baseball Park, the USFA reconsidered their initial decision and inexplicably
reversed course and agreed with the Washington and Southeastern District
Association and upheld the Washington body’s banishment of Fashion Club S.C.
for the use of a professional athlete in an amateur cup fixture. The USFA’s
abrupt about-face negated the Locust Point Rangers victory and further
prolonged the tournament’s second round by scheduling a cup match between the
Rangers and Washington Soccer Club on January 20. The Washington club did not
matter, nor did the use of professionals, as the Rangers walloped the visiting
WSC eleven 9-0 to finally advance to the third round of the amateur
competition. The Rangers eventually lost in the Eastern Quarterfinals of the
tournament to McLeod Council of Jersey City, NJ, while Clark and the Fashion
Shop eleven continued in the Washington Soccer League. <o:p></o:p></div>
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The banishment of Fashion Shop S.C. in the National Amateur
Cup did not end the club, or Clark’s participation in the Washington Soccer
League. Although the tournament was the first and last nationally sanctioned
soccer tournament that Clark played in, he continued to compete in the
District’s leagues for the next couple of years making appearances for the
Fashion Shop eleven, and other Washington clubs during the baseball offseason. Ultimately,
injuries hampered Clark’s professional baseball career, which led to his early
retirement at the age of 27. He moved back to Washington following his playing career and and
worked within different government institutions while still competing in city
baseball leagues and refereeing local soccer matches until he tragically lost
his life in a car accident at the age of thirty in 1938. Both Clark’s exploits
on the fields of Washington and his role in Fashion Shop S.C.’s banishment from
the 1930 National Amateur Cup tournament are now long forgotten, but his name
remains relevant due to his Major League Baseball career and his place as the co-record
holder as a player with the most putouts in a single nine-inning game in the
league’s history with twelve– a record
he shares with Jacoby Ellsbury and Lyman Bostock.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Addendum (or other interesting information):</div>
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Earl set his put out record on May 10, 1929. Bostock did not tie the record until 1977. Ellsbury equaled the mark in 2009. Clark is the only player in National League history to accomplish the feat. </div>
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Earl's brother, Tom, became a professional baseball player in 1931 after he signed with his hometown Washington Senators. He never made a Major League Baseball appearance.</div>
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The Washington Senators hosted the Boston Braves at Griffith Stadium in an exhibition game on April 8, 1931. The Senators deemed the day Earl Clark Day honoring the Washington native, and presented Earl with a gold watch.</div>
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Clark was always known for his speed both on the baseball diamond and the soccer field. He was reported as the fastest member of the Boston Braves during the team's Spring Training drills in Florida. In January 1932, Clark was recognized once again for his speed this time in a manner not associated with athletic competition when he used his speed to catch a thief on the streets of Washington. </div>
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In writing this article, I relied heavily on the archives of <i>The Washington Post. </i>I also used articles from the <i>Boston Globe</i> during my research. In addition to these dailies, I consulted several websites including, <a href="http://www.baseball-reference.com/" target="_blank">www.baseball-reference.com</a> and <a href="http://www.baseball-almanac.com/" target="_blank">www.baseball-almanac.com</a>.</div>
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Skihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13488748094836677592noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6186634703462395529.post-10105352439990382032014-03-09T12:28:00.005-07:002014-03-09T12:28:42.650-07:00Dick, Kerr Ladies Go to Washington<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-s2cCttxgLT4/Uxy5N2MAP6I/AAAAAAAAANA/5VUKha55dqA/s1600/1925_dick_kerr+donmouth.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-s2cCttxgLT4/Uxy5N2MAP6I/AAAAAAAAANA/5VUKha55dqA/s1600/1925_dick_kerr+donmouth.jpg" height="205" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Dick, Kerr Ladies F.C. 1925<br />Source: <a href="http://www.donmouth.co.uk/womens_football/dick_kerr.html" target="_blank">http://www.donmouth.co.uk/womens_football/dick_kerr.html</a></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">On December 5, 1921, the English Football
Association (FA) banned women’s football from club affiliated football grounds deeming
the sport dangerous to the health of women and utterly unladylike. The real and
unstated reason for the FA’s ban was the increasing popularity of the women’s
game and the threat it posed to the men’s leagues. The ban was aimed at one
women’s team in particular, the most formidable women’s team in England, Dick,
Kerr Ladies Football Club. The FA’s ban forced the women of Dick, Kerr to play
on unaffiliated grounds, which ultimately led the club to look for
opportunities outside of England, resulting in an American tour and a visit to
the nation’s capital, Washington, D.C in 1922.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Dick, Kerr Ladies was the most famous woman’s team
by the time of their United States tour. The outfit formed alongside many other
women’s clubs during the height of World War I as woman entered the workforce
at an unprecedented rate. Women inevitably formed football clubs as their male
counterparts had decades before. Alfred Franklin, an office worker at Dick,
Kerr, noticed that women indulged in the game along with their male coworkers
throughout breaks in the workday. Witnessing their ability, and sensing an opportunity
for the woman to contribute further to the war effort, Franklin urged the woman
to form a factory team and to play for charity. The women complied and competed
under the name Dick, Kerr Ladies F.C. starting on Christmas day 1917. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">In front of over 10,000 spectators, the Dick, Kerr Ladies
made their debut in a 4-0 victory against the women of Arundal Courtyard
Foundry at Deepdale, the home of Preston North End. The women played the game
for charity aiding local wounded soldiers with the gate receipts, which became
standard practice for the women throughout the war. Over the next four years,
Dick, Kerr Ladies continued to rack up wins in the name of charity even after
the signing of the Treaty of Versailles. Dick, Kerr Ladies string of victories
included a 2-0 victory in the first women’s international match against a
French eleven in 1920. As the women’s club profile increased, contempt from men
grew, including those within the sport’s governing body. Dick, Kerr Ladies
involvement in several matches benefiting forcibly unemployed miners in 1921
further roused the ire of the FA, which culminated in the FA’s ban in December
1921. Despite the ban, the club </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">continued to compete on grounds unaffiliated
with the FA up until finding a tempting opportunity overseas.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Coming
to America<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Under the direction of the Brooklyn Football Club,
Dick, Kerr Ladies F.C. planned to take part in over twenty games throughout
Canada and the United States during the fall of 1922. Several issues
immediately arose that shortened the club’s stay substantially. Upon docking in
Quebec, the women experienced their first set back as they learned that the
governing body of Canadian football, the Dominion of Canada Football
Association, did not sanction women’s football and refused to allow the club to
play within the country. Ostensibly banned from competing in Canada, the number
of games available to the club shrunk substantially as women in the United
States did not widely play the sport. The lack of available women’s clubs inevitably
forced Dick, Kerr to compete against men’s teams, many of whom recently joined
the professional American Soccer League (ASL). To further compound the club’s
already mounting troubles, the United States Football Association (USFA) had to
take over the club’s finances during their tour after the Brooklyn Football
Club proved fiscally irresponsible. Nonetheless, Dick, Kerr Ladies carried on and
made their United States debut against the men of the Paterson Football Club in
Clifton, New Jersey in front of over 5,000 spectators on September 24, 1922.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-cHOME7Es9D8/Uxy8VaGYBRI/AAAAAAAAANY/VWfQM_UY3aM/s1600/Lily+Parr+Post.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-cHOME7Es9D8/Uxy8VaGYBRI/AAAAAAAAANY/VWfQM_UY3aM/s1600/Lily+Parr+Post.jpg" height="320" width="233" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lily Parr<br />Source: <i>The Washington Post</i></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The game in Clifton proved to be the first of just
nine games Dick, Kerr Ladies would play within the States. Due to the
unexpected level of competition and the numerous issues the women endured,
Dick, Kerr Ladies unsurprisingly lost their first game against Paterson 6-3.
Regardless, the women proved both a worthy opponent and somewhat of a novelty
with the abilities of several of the women, including outside-left, Lily Parr
garnering praise in the <i>New York Times</i>
the following day. (Parr would later become the first female inductee into
England’s National Football Museum in 2002.) The women drew their next game 4-4
against J & P Coats Football Club in Pawtucket, Rhode Island, and lost
their third game 7-3 in New York City to the men of Centro-Hispano in front of
7,000 curious spectators. It was at this point during the tour, the USFA
stepped in to take over the club’s management. The change in management also
brought alterations to the club’s tour as the USFA dropped games in many cities
from Dick, Kerr Ladies schedule. Dick,
Kerr Ladies meeting with an amalgamated eleven at American League Park (later
renamed Clark Griffith Stadium) in Washington D.C. was also affected by the
USFA’s takeover as their game was moved to October 8. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Soccer
in Washington and Dick, Kerr<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">In 1922, soccer in Washington was still a work in
progress. The growth of the game sputtered time and again and was an outlier within
the city’s sports scene, despite the city fielding one of the country’s first professional
teams in 1894. Lacking the industrial factory teams of the Northeast, the
British Embassy was consistently at the fore of the game in Washington as the
government entity sported a team throughout the early 1900s. While the game’s
powerhouses in the Northeast were creating the professional American Soccer
League in 1922, clubs within Washington were still attempting to create an amateur
league within the city, resulting in the formation of the short lived District
Soccer League in January 1922. By the summer, the city league was non-existent and
Washington’s soccer leaders were busy establishing a team to compete in the newly
formed - and USSF sanctioned - Southeastern Soccer League (SSL). Ultimately, the
creation of the SSL gave birth to the eleven that would represent Washington
and face the most famous women’s team in the world, as the Washington Soccer
Club picked its players from clubs who competed in the defunct District League.
Though the club officially got practice underway just weeks before Dick, Kerr
Ladies arrived in America, hype around the game had been building since local
newspapers announced the club’s visit during the summer.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Each of the city’s dailies periodically reminded
Washingtonian’s of Dick Kerr’s visit for months prior to the October 8 matchup.
Though they were erroneously referred to as the Newcastle United Ladies
Football Club prior to the game - with <i>The
Washington Herald </i>even referencing the team by that moniker on the day of
the the game - the matchup against the venerable women was excitedly promoted,
correct club name or not. <i>The Washington
Post </i>billed the matchup as “one of the most unique invasions into the
District’s sports realm,” while the <i>Herald
</i>considered the contest “one of the most unique international athletic
competitions in the history of District Sportsdom.” While the <i>Herald </i>and the <i>Post</i> were enthusiastically supporting the game, <i>The Washington Times </i>were chief amongst
the Washington press to cover the distinctive matchup and the de facto promoter
of the game. <i>The Times </i>had a
self-serving interest in promoting the game that would result in an alteration
to the Dick, Kerr Ladies game day schedule. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-iA5ppXFAwdQ/Uxy8xKrzjrI/AAAAAAAAANg/vlSp-Vg6lm4/s1600/Alice+Kell+Wash+Times.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-iA5ppXFAwdQ/Uxy8xKrzjrI/AAAAAAAAANg/vlSp-Vg6lm4/s1600/Alice+Kell+Wash+Times.jpg" height="320" width="165" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Alice Kell<br />Source: <i>The Washington Times</i></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Led by <i>The
Times, </i>the Washington press lauded the achievements of the women’s eleven,
noting their collective record and international results. In addition to
highlighting the achievements of the team as a whole, the dailies extolled the
talents of both Lily Parr and club captain, Alice Kell, featuring pictures of
both women in articles leading up to the game. The press, seeking to capture
the attention of those familiar with the game, emphasized the praise given to
the women by famed English centerback, Bob Crompton, while <i>The Times</i> specifically pandered to their more chauvinistic readers
by closing out their October 7 article thusly, “yes, some of them are pretty.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">While promoting the Dick, Kerr Ladies, <i>The Times </i>were also busy pushing another
unusual event taking place at American League Park during the month of October,
The Pantomime World Series. The newspaper went to great lengths to secure the
services of Marines from the Washington Navy Yard and the Marine Barracks to
reenact the 1922 World Series pitch-for-pitch in real time. The newspaper also obtained
a dedicated telegraph wire from the Polo Grounds in New York so the players
could enact the game minutes after the action took place in New York. The
pantomime game also featured a full sixty-piece marching band led by the U.S.
Navy Band’s founder Lt. Charles Benter. Despite the option to listen to the
game over the radio, around 10,000 Washingtonians opted for the free show and
filled American League Park to watch the shadow-ball World Series on October 4.
The first game was such a rousing success that <i>The Times</i> committed to continue the spectacle for the duration of
the real World Series, which inevitably coincided with the visit of Dick Kerr
Ladies F.C. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-5hlCKq45Uk8/Uxy-k3sStAI/AAAAAAAAANs/rbe251ogKA8/s1600/Ad+for+Game+Wash+Times.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-5hlCKq45Uk8/Uxy-k3sStAI/AAAAAAAAANs/rbe251ogKA8/s1600/Ad+for+Game+Wash+Times.jpg" height="320" width="271" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ad for Pantomime World Series<br />Source: <i>The Washington Times</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">After weeks of obstacles and alterations to the
Dick, Ladies tour, the women were set to meet the choice eleven of the
Washington Soccer Club at 3:00 pm on Sunday, October 8. The game’s kick-off coincided with Game 5 of
the World Series, which proved problematic for <i>The Times</i> as the paper was committed to staging each World Series
game live as evidenced by the paper’s full-page advertisements for their
sponsored enactments. <i>The</i> <i>Times,</i> wishing to further curry the
favor of its readers, requested that the women make one more adjustment to
their schedule, the kick-off time of their game against the Washington eleven. The
paper was so committed to its pantomime endeavor that it offered to pay both
club’s to move their matchup’s kick-off time. Both clubs acquiesced to the
paper’s request after the daily agree to pay each club, a fact that <i>The Times </i>made sure their readers knew
by advertising the lengths the paper went through to stage their show. Not
wanting to alienate any of their readers who happened to be soccer fans, <i>The Times </i>also invited anyone attending
the Dick, Kerr Ladies affair to remain at American League Park for the World
Series game as guests of the newspaper. Finally, after weeks of both problems
and promotions, the matchup between Dick, Kerr Ladies F.C. and the Washington Soccer
Club kicked off at 12:45 pm on October 8.</span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-fW8n1MdJBlM/Uxy6GXomfhI/AAAAAAAAANM/eHlKBTaeinw/s1600/DKLFC+AD+for+WAS+game.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-fW8n1MdJBlM/Uxy6GXomfhI/AAAAAAAAANM/eHlKBTaeinw/s1600/DKLFC+AD+for+WAS+game.jpg" height="320" width="262" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px;">Ad for Dick, Kerr Ladies game<br />Source: <i>The Washington Times</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The women entered the game highly regarded and did
not disappoint (though the existing coverage of the game leaves much to be desired).
Prior to their game in Washington, press throughout the Northeast lauded Dick,
Kerr Ladies for their combination play and passing ability. The women leaned on
these skills to compete against the stronger and faster males of Washington as
they had throughout their American tour. In front of around 7,000 fans, the
women held Washington to a stalemate until the men scored the first goal in the
26<sup>th</sup> minute. Not to be outdone, Lily Parr evened the score for Dick,
Kerr Ladies just before halftime. After Washington quickly scored two goals early
in the second half, the game opened up and the women pushed forward seeking
goals. Subsequently, the game finished a 4-4 draw, but not after a dramatic
comeback by Dick, Kerr Ladies who scored two goals in the last ten minutes of
the match to secure the draw. Among the games stars were, of course, the
venerable Lily Parr who scored two goals from seven shots, and Dick, Kerr
Ladies keeper, Carmen Pomies who stopped eleven of Washington’s fifteen shots. In
the end, the game garnered far less coverage than the World Series Champion New
York Giants and <i>The Times</i> sponsored
pantomime of the fifth game of the World Series, though in the days following
the game <i>The Washington Post </i>printed
several photos from the game within the newspaper. In addition to the extra
money Dick, Kerr Ladies received from <i>The
Times</i>, the women also left Washington with another item of value: a soccer ball
signed by President Warren G. Harding. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Following their brief stay in Washington, Dick, Kerr
Ladies played five more games along the Atlantic Seaboard rounding out their
trip with <a href="http://www.phillysoccerpage.net/2013/05/08/first-womens-soccer-team-in-philly-1922/" target="_blank">6-5 defeat at the hands of the Philadelphia Football Club</a>. Overall,
Dick, Kerr Ladies finished their limited nine-game American tour with a respectable
record of three wins, three, draws, and three losses. The women sailed home via
the Port of New York on November 9, just one month after entertaining fans in
the nation’s capital. Once in England, Dick, Kerr Ladies continued to play for
charity despite the FA’s ban. The club changed its name in 1926 to Preston
Ladies F.C. and continued to compete under that designation for the next forty
years until 1965, just five years before the FA officially renounced their ban
and permitted women’s football in 1971. The FA formally issued an apology for
the 1921 ban in 2008. Paradoxically, as the women’s club was ceasing
operations, soccer in Washington was finally angling to compete at the professional
level during the late 1960s as the game experienced its first jolt of nationwide
investment.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Here are a couple of <i>The Washington Post's</i> pictures from Dick, Kerr Ladies visit to American League Park:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">In writing this article I relied on multiple primary and secondary resources. As always, for my primary resource material I consulted several newspapers including; <i>The Baltimore Sun, The Guardian</i>,<i> The New York Times, The New York Tribune, The Washington Herald, The Washington Times, and The Washington Post.</i> In addition to the many newspapers I used, I analyzed many websites and articles with <a href="https://twitter.com/FarnsworthPSP" target="_blank">Ed Farnsworth's</a> article on <a href="http://www.phillysoccerpage.net/2013/05/08/first-womens-soccer-team-in-philly-1922/" target="_blank">Dick, Kerr Ladies visit to Philadelphia and its place within women's soccer history in that city</a> chief among them. With anything dealing with Dick, Kerr Ladies F.C., one must certainly reference Gail Newsham's <a href="http://www.dickkerrladies.com/index.htm" target="_blank">work on the club.</a> Ms. Newsham is the club's official biographer and author of the book <i>In a League of Their Own</i> which definitively covers the club and the historical importance of the women. I also referenced the following articles and websites: <a href="http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/Fwomen.htm" target="_blank">Spartacus Educational's piece on Dick, Kerr Ladies</a>, <a href="http://www.donmouth.co.uk/womens_football/elfa.html" target="_blank">Donmouth's coverage of women's football</a>, <a href="http://collections.carli.illinois.edu/cdm4/document.php?CISOROOT=%2Fsie_soccer&CISOPTR=2610&REC=13&CISOBOX=dick%2C+kerr" target="_blank">The 1922-23 Spalding Soccer Guide's coverage of the club's visit</a>, and, as always, <a href="http://homepages.sover.net/~spectrum/kerrladies.html" target="_blank">The American Soccer History Archives</a>.</span></div>
Skihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13488748094836677592noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6186634703462395529.post-85983687369239733942014-02-23T17:47:00.002-08:002014-09-12T13:10:49.340-07:00A Simple Protestation<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-CCWBkpOGTyw/UwqKE6qCJXI/AAAAAAAAAME/oZCmcpJupBc/s1600/puskas1.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-CCWBkpOGTyw/UwqKE6qCJXI/AAAAAAAAAME/oZCmcpJupBc/s1600/puskas1.jpeg" height="320" width="208" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Ferenc Puskas, Budapest Honved</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">During the 1960s, many people in America were high
on soccer. Pundits considered it sport of the future and speculated that soon</span></span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"> Americans would be among the world’s elite. One of the many people championing the emergence of professional soccer in the North America was the
legendary Hungarian national team and Real Madrid forward Ferenc Puskas. As coach
of the Vancouver Royals during the North American Soccer League’s (NASL)
inaugural season in 1968, the twentieth century’s most famous Hungarian claimed,
“we have the players to take on the world in five years. The Royals will be
quiet ready to take on Real Madrid, and beat them in five years.” Puskas’ claim
could not have been farther from the truth as his team struggled to compete
in the fledgling NASL and ceased to exist by the end of the year. Ultimately,
Puskas’ lone season managing Vancouver proved rather forgettable and uneventful,
although a long forgotten early season game in Washington D.C. provided enough
excitement to last the entire season and conceivably defined the Hungarian’s
tenure.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; line-height: 115%;">Following his illustrious playing career, Puskas
jumped right into management and found an opportunity in the incipient United
Soccer Association (USA) in 1967. The Galloping Major signed a
three-year contract to coach the San Francisco Golden Gate Gales with the
intent to manage the club starting in the 1968 season. At the time of Puskas' signing, the USA imported teams from Europe and South America for
its 1967 season in order to get a jump on the rival National Professional
Soccer League (NPSL), while also signing coaches and players for the 1968
season. The anticipatory contracts eventually proved problematic after both
leagues experienced painful inaugural seasons, and merged to form the NASL in 1968.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-o_FOrJwlQQQ/UwqKiOncYHI/AAAAAAAAAMM/Q3Ik5UBgPuQ/s1600/Royals.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-o_FOrJwlQQQ/UwqKiOncYHI/AAAAAAAAAMM/Q3Ik5UBgPuQ/s1600/Royals.gif" height="249" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Vancouver Royals logo</span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;">Courtesy of <a href="http://www.sportslogos.net/logos/view/yj3d34frbkqxf1e98vrlg82b5/Vancouver_Royals/1968/Primary_Logo" target="_blank">www.sportlogos.net</a></span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; line-height: 115%;">Due to the merger between the USA and the NPSL, many
teams relocated or dissolved leaving each city with one professional franchise.
Among the list of clubs who ceased operations were Puskas’s Golden Gate Gales. Consequently, Puskas never managed a single game for the Gales. The
San Francisco outfit disbanded and united with the existing Vancouver Royals
subsequently leaving the Canadian club with two managers, Ferenc Puskas and
Bobby Robson. Prior to the creation of the NASL, Vancouver hired Fulham great Robson
as player-manager for the 1968 season not anticipating the future acquisition of
the Hungarian star. Puskas’ arrival nullified Robson’s position, as the Hungarian
became the club’s de facto manager once the two teams merged. Puskas’ appointment left Robson little option but to stay on as an assistant, which the
Englishman declined leaving the Royals to Puskas.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; line-height: 115%;">Robson’s replacement and eventual departure
alienated many of the club’s fans prior to the season leaving renowned <i>Vancouver Sun</i> columnist Jim Kearney to
question the move and its effect on the upcoming season’s attendance figures. The
club’s haphazard amalgamation coupled with its troublesome managerial
situation, caused significant problems regarding Vancouver’s roster. Teams
throughout the league scrambled to sign the best available talent prior to the
start of the season, the Royals chief among them. Unlike the Chicago Mustangs who
had been proactive prior the NASL merger and had a number of players under
contract before the start of the season, the Royals were still acquiring players well into the league's preseason. In fact, Puskas was scouring Europe for a talented striker just five days before the club’s
season opener. Vancouver’s lethargic approach to the upcoming season led
Kearney to state that the Royals were not ready to compete within the league,
which prophetically proved correct by seasons end.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; line-height: 115%;">The club’s unorganized approach to the NASL’s
inaugural season and Puskas’ lack of managerial experience did not immediately
hamper the Royals’ success. Vancouver opened the season with a 4-1 win over the
visiting Toronto Falcons, and briefly stood atop the Pacific Division after
winning their first three games. The club’s standing among the league’s best
changed drastically thereafter. The Houston Stars, led by fellow Hungarian, and former Mighty Magyar teammate, Geza Henni,
defeated the Royals 2-1 on April 16 handing Puskas’s his first loss as
Vancouver’s manager. Following the Royals first loss, the Canadian side
experienced a series of mediocre results with the Royals only winning two of their
next eight games, much to the chagrin of Puskas. Vancouver entered a mundane
game against the Washington Whips on May 25 third in the Pacific Division with a
record of five wins, four losses, and two draws. Up to that point, the Canadian
club had only scored seventeen goals highlighting the importance of Puskas’
preseason attempt to sign a legitimate striker, and Kearney’s sober assessment of
the club’s chances to compete. The game was anything but dull. It proved to
be a turning point in the Royals season, and the highlight of Puskas’ time as
the manager of Vancouver. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">The Washington Whips played their home games at the seven-year-old
D.C. Stadium just miles from the United States Capitol. Washington, like all
NASL’s teams, shared its stadium with other sports teams. In addition to the Whips, D.C. Stadium housed Washington’s NFL franchise and Major
League Baseball’s Washington Senators. Soccer’s shared tenancy created multiple
issues as clubs played on fields of questionable quality and varying dimensions
with many still featuring a baseball diamond. It was not uncommon for players
and coaches alike to bemoan the league’s playing surfaces. Perhaps the most famous example of the NASL’s dreadful field
conditions came in 1975 during Pele’s first match with the Cosmos, when </span></span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="line-height: 18.399999618530273px;">groundskeepers</span></span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"> spray painted patches of dirt on Downing Stadium’s field green for the game’s CBS
broadcast. Incidentally, the quality of D.C. Stadium’s field played a pivotal
role during the Royals visit to Washington, and led to an unexpected outburst by the famed Hungarian.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-T0dq_C4FTmg/UwqK05LTAtI/AAAAAAAAAMU/DZf_Lq-6P_8/s1600/WhipsRoyalsGameAD.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-T0dq_C4FTmg/UwqK05LTAtI/AAAAAAAAAMU/DZf_Lq-6P_8/s1600/WhipsRoyalsGameAD.jpg" height="320" width="149" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Courtesy of <i>The Washington Post</i></span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; line-height: 115%;">Prior to the game, Puskas complained that the field was
off-center and not rectangular. Despite Puskas’ protestations, the game kicked
off as scheduled and began rather routinely. The Royals grabbed a 1-0
lead via a goal from Cheung Chi Wai in the twelfth minute, while Victorio Casa tied
the game scoring a goal for the Whips prior to halftime. Washington controlled the
second half almost immediately and jumped into a 3-1 lead within eleven minutes
after Kaj Hansen converted two penalty kicks. The Royals frantically chased the
Whips the rest of the game. Harry Klein, the team’s leading scorer, increased
the Royals hope of a comeback scoring a goal in the seventy-ninth minute. The
Royals continued to pressure the Whips for the remainder of the game and earned
a penalty in the dying seconds of the game. Whips goalkeeper Jack Reilly ultimately
saved the penalty shot sealing the Whips 3-2 victory with five seconds
remaining. On the face of it, Reilly’s heroic last second save would seem to be
the story of the game, but an uncharacteristic tantrum by Puskas stole the
following day’s headlines.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; line-height: 115%;">As the game progressed in the Whips favor during the
second half, Puskas, perhaps still irritated that the officials allowed the
teams to play despite his protestations, entered the field of play. Following a
Vancouver foul in the penalty area, Puskas left the Royals bench and made his way
towards the spot of the foul against the vehement objections of the officials.
Upon entering the eighteen-yard box, Puskas grabbed the ball from one of his
players and booted it into the stands. As referee Eddie Pearson approached
Puskas, the Hungarian, allegedly, spit towards the referee's feet drawing an instant
ejection from the game. Puskas’ unsavory actions earned instant condemnation
from NASL president Dick Walsh resulting in a $300 fine and a
two-game suspension. In addition to Puskas’ suspension, Walsh fined Royals
defender Peter Dinsdale $50 and levied a five-day suspension on the defender
for throwing a punch during the game. While Dick Walsh was busy handing out
fines and suspensions, he surprisingly upheld Puskas’ original protest,
nullifying the Whips 3-2 victory. In an official report issued on May 31, a Washington survey firm confirmed that the field was in fact not rectangular contributing to
Walsh’s decision to nix the result. The two teams were to make up the game and
an undetermined date later in the season, while the game defined the Royals
season and displayed Puskas’s increasing discontent. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; line-height: 115%;">The Hungarian's eruption and subsequent suspension
proved to be the highlight of Puskas’ tenure with Vancouver. Over the
course of the next twenty-one games, the Royals would only win seven more games
and finish the season at the bottom of the Pacific Division with a record of
twelve wins, fifteen losses, and five draws. The suspension was not the only
one that Puskas would accrue during the remainder of the season as the Whips
game merely provided an outlet for his growing frustration. Throughout the season,
Puskas would collect several more suspensions, including one from his club for
failing to pay a league levied $200 fine stemming from an infraction the Hungarian committed
during the Royals exhibition against Borussia Dortmund. His suspensions led him
to manage a game or two from the stands. Ironically, despite Puskas’ upheld
protestations, the Whips won the make-up game by a wider margin of 5-3.</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-BYGkQH7Mqzw/UwqOU-Ti6eI/AAAAAAAAAMg/FukKdSpcciw/s1600/Panathiakos+picture.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-BYGkQH7Mqzw/UwqOU-Ti6eI/AAAAAAAAAMg/FukKdSpcciw/s1600/Panathiakos+picture.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Puskas showing off his famed left foot while managing Panathinaikos</span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;">Courtesy of <a href="http://www.gahetna.nl/collectie/afbeeldingen/fotocollectie/zoeken/weergave/detail/start/17/tstart/0/q/zoekterm/ferenc%20puskas/q/commentaar/1" target="_blank">Nationaal Archief Fotocollectie Anefo</a></span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 115%;">In the end, Puskas’ first managerial job was an
average affair in a nascent league that did not how to market the star they had in
Puskas. The world over, people still remember the Hungarian for his ability on
the field rather than lengthy managerial career. The Royals were but Puskas’
first managerial position and conclusively just another name on his resume. Had
the NASL not nearly imploded following the 1968 season, perhaps Puskas would
have stayed on with the Royals and become one of the league’s greatest
managers. Instead, the Royals dissolution forced Puskas to find another job
after the NASL shrank from seventeen teams in 1968 to just five clubs in 1969. The
Hungarian quickly found another club and joined Deportivo Alavés of Spain the following season. Puskas eventually found success at Panathinaikos guiding the Greek club to the
1970-71 European Cup Final, while Vancouver also found a more permanent
club when the Whitecaps represented the city for ten years prior to the collapse
of the NASL in 1984. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="line-height: 18.399999618530273px;">In writing this post, my primary source material came from several newspapers. I consulted articles from <i>The Baltimore Sun, The New York Times, The Vancouver Sun, </i>and <i>The Washington Post</i>. As always, I also relied heavily on the wonderful <a href="http://homepages.sover.net/~spectrum/" target="_blank">American Soccer History Archives.</a></span></span></div>
Skihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13488748094836677592noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6186634703462395529.post-32566022661241527432014-02-11T17:51:00.002-08:002016-03-26T09:31:25.446-07:00From Amateur to MVP: Janusz Kowalik and the Chicago Mustangs<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">In
the fall of 1968, the NASL flirted with extinction after its inaugural season.
The league, after a merger between the USA and the NPSL, failed to capture the
attention of the American sports fan as the owners had planned. Clubs drew less
than 5,000 fans a game collectively, which ultimately led to twelve of the
NASL’s seventeen teams to abandon the league all together. In the midst of this
turbulent atmosphere, Janusz Kowalik, along with Pepe Fernandez, netted a
league record thirty goals during the 1968 season. The record stood for a
decade until Giorgio Chinaglia scored thirty-four goals during the 1978 NASL
season. Due to the league’s popularity at the time of Chinaglia’s feat, the
press covered the Italian’s exploits extensively and his place within the
league’s history is unquestionable. Yet Janusz Kowalik is little more than a
footnote in the league’s history due to the leagues near insolvency in 1968.
Kowalik, like many of the NASL’s early players, remains a relative unknown, but
his path from amateur to NASL MVP is truly remarkable.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">The Youngest to
Ever Play</span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Janusz
Kowalik had been a professional footballer for seven years by the time he
signed with the Chicago Mustangs in 1967. In 1960, he became the youngest
player to play in the Polish top flight when he suited up for K.S. Cracovia at
the age of sixteen. Janusz had been involved with the Polish team throughout
his childhood, as his father was one of the club’s youth coaches giving Jan
immediate access to the club. In addition to his achievements with the Cracovia
first team, Kowalik featured in the Polish Under-18 team that ultimately
lost the UEFA Under-18 championship to Portugal in 1961.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-pW2VTW8VZhA/UvrCOOEsgGI/AAAAAAAAAKY/GK2Ce_IHzaY/s1600/Cracovia_(football_club)_logo.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-pW2VTW8VZhA/UvrCOOEsgGI/AAAAAAAAAKY/GK2Ce_IHzaY/s1600/Cracovia_(football_club)_logo.png" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://cracovia.pl/" target="_blank">Courtesy of Cracovia</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">All
told, Janusz spent six years playing for Cracovia, though his
service for the club was not continuous. Due to the Poland Communist
government’s heavy affiliation with the sporting clubs throughout the country,
the government deemed all of the players in Poland amateurs, meaning the pay
was far less than professionals in the West. This proved somewhat problematic
to the young Kowalik. In October of 1962, due to his growing status within the
locker room, Kowalik vented his team’s frustrations at their meager pay. Consequently,
Cracovia’s management banned Kowalik for two years accusing him of trying to
blackmail the club out of money. In the end, Kowalik ended up serving a
nine-month suspension, before eventually returning to the first team.
Ultimately, his dissatisfaction with the professional atmosphere in Poland led </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">Kowalik to make drastic changes.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Kowalik’s
pedigree and penchant for goal eventually earned him a spot on the Polish
National Team. He made his international debut against Belgium in 1965, and earned six caps from 1965-66. He failed to score a goal in his six
appearances, but he came close hitting the post in the dying minutes of a 1-1
draw with England at Goodison Park in 1966. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Since the time of his nine-month
suspension, Kowalik had been looking for a way out of the country to play
abroad, despite his growing profile within Poland. After six years with Cracovia,
Kowalik played his last game with the club against LKS Lodz on November 27,
1966. At the time, only Kowalik knew that he would never play within Poland again.
Following the end of the season, Kowalik officially left Poland for an
offseason vacation. His true intentions were more elaborate.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Kowalik’s
vacation was a planned exodus from the country. From the time he planned his
“vacation,” Jan intended to play outside of Poland. At the time the Communist regime
within Poland and the Polish Football Association (PZPN), the governing body of
Polish soccer, did not allow players to transfer out of the country until after
their thirtieth birthday. Kowalik’s escape provided a way around that rule.
Because of his father’s connections within the Polish military, Kowalik was
able to obtain a passport and legally left the country on holiday at the age of
twenty-three. By the time he reached Belgium, en route to the United States,
officials within the Polish government became aware of his plan but were unable
to stop him.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Chicago Eagles<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Once
in America, Janusz naturally made his way to Chicago, which had—and still has—the
largest concentrated Polish population outside of Warsaw. Jan had family in the
city and settled in with his cousin Leon. Upon establishing himself in Chicago,
Kowalik quickly found a club. The Pole arrived in the U.S. while the interest
in professional soccer was in its nascent stages. Two professional leagues debuted in the spring of 1967; the FIFA sanctioned United Soccer Association
(USA), which imported clubs from around the world to compete, and the CBS
televised National Professional Soccer League (NPSL). Despite his talent,
Kowalik did not sign with either league upon his arrival in the U.S. Due to his clandestine departure from Poland
and the ongoing formations of the new professional leagues, Kowalik could not
legally sign with another professional team without the authorization of
Cracovia and the PZPN. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;">Therefore,
Janusz took the road less traveled and signed with an amateur side, the Chicago
Eagles (AAC Eagles), a historic Polish club in Chicago’s National Soccer League (NSL). The NSL was one of the premier </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">amateur</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"> leagues in the United States upon his arrival. The Eagles also happened to be one of the most potent
teams in the league during that period. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;">Once he signed, Kowalik exhibited his ability
at once. He and fellow Poles Hubert Miller and Walter Kaszubski made their
Eagles debut during the NSL’s indoor season. The Poles showed no apprehension
and took the indoor game naturally. In the end, the Polish trio displayed their
class in a 3-1 win against the Ukrainian Lions in early February 1967. Kowalik
served as the club’s playmaker while Miller booted in two goals in the trio’s
debut. Eventually, the Poles led the Eagles to the NSL’s 1967 indoor
championship in March. By the time the NSL opened its outdoor season, Kowalik
was a known quantity within Chicago’s soccer circles and his talent began to
draw considerable interest from the newly formed professional leagues.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-W5MaR6oLHq8/UvrCfBrdEyI/AAAAAAAAAKg/b59E1deSwmc/s1600/Kowalik+Indoors+with+AAC+Eagles.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="263" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-W5MaR6oLHq8/UvrCfBrdEyI/AAAAAAAAAKg/b59E1deSwmc/s1600/Kowalik+Indoors+with+AAC+Eagles.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">By
May 1967, the two newly formed soccer leagues were in direct competition for
players to fill their club rosters. Initially, the FIFA sanctioned USA intended
to begin play in the spring of 1968, but the renegade NPSL insisted on starting
in 1967 forcing the USA to abandon its plans. In order to get a jump on the
NPSL, the USA resorted to importing teams from around the world to compete in
its inaugural season, while the NSPL acquired semi-pro and amateur talent from
around the U.S. as well as foreign players. The owners of the USA planned to
import teams during its first season in order to legitimize its league and
attract fans, knowing that they would eventually build rosters by signing
individual players and draw their talent from the existing talent pool in the
U.S. In the end, Chicago ended up with two professional clubs; the NPSL’s
Chicago Spurs, and the USA’s Chicago Mustangs, represented by the Italian club
Cagliari Calcio. The creation of two professional teams in Chicago gave the
best players in the NSL an opportunity to turn pro. Chicago Mustangs and
Chicago White Sox owner, Arthur Allyn Jr. readily identified the talent in the
city’s amateur league and set about signing many of the NSL’s players in
preparation for the USA’s 1968 campaign. Kowalik was one of their main targets
and one of the club’s first signings.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">As
with any transfer or signing, clubs have to address several legalities before
acquiring a player. Kowalik’s situation made his signing with the Chicago
Mustangs all the more unique and challenging. As the Eagles did not hold
Kowalik’s rights, the Mustangs Frank Meder had to negotiate directly with the
club that Kowalik abandoned just months earlier, Cracovia. In addition to
Cracovia, Meder and the Mustangs had to negotiate with both the PZPN and the
Polish government for Kowalik’s services. Negotiations between the parties
lasted weeks. Officially, the Mustangs paid around $20,000-$22,000 for
Kowalik, but as was customary when purchasing players from countries within the
Soviet Bloc, Cracovia, the PZPN, and the Polish government all received
substantial amounts of money under the table on top of Kowalik’s official
transfer fee. In addition to the extra fee the Mustangs paid for Kowalik, the
Polish triumvirate forbade any stories about Kowalik’s move for several years,
lest other players follow his example.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Spring Training<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-xWLDhWVEE9c/UvrC7-ogdkI/AAAAAAAAAKo/_zAFW3lFToo/s1600/Kowalik+Mustangs+NASLJERSEYS.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-xWLDhWVEE9c/UvrC7-ogdkI/AAAAAAAAAKo/_zAFW3lFToo/s1600/Kowalik+Mustangs+NASLJERSEYS.jpg" width="257" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Courtesy of <a href="http://www.nasljerseys.com/" target="_blank">www.nasljerseys.com</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">In
addition to Kowalik, the Mustangs plucked three other players from Chicago’s
National Soccer League in May 1967. Besides the Pole, the professional club was
able to pry Edward Murphy, Tomas Fotiatis, and Fotis Dakouvanos from the
amateur league. The Mustangs were also able to sign former Ajax midfielder
Werner Schaaphok and Norwegian goalkeeper Ray Olsen at the same time. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">While
Meder was signing Kowalik, Caligari Calcio, disguised as the Chicago Mustangs, kicked
off the USA season on May 28 1967. The Mustangs never intended Kowalik and the
others to take part in the 1967 season, as Cagliari were already competing as
the Chicago Mustangs, but signed the four players for the following season. Consequently,
the quartet was part of a group of around forty players that the Mustangs
shipped to Sarasota, Florida to train under former U.S. National team coach
George Meyer during the summer. In essence, there were two different Chicago
Mustangs teams during the summer of 1967; the team that was taking part in the USA
season, Cagliari, and the group led by Kowalik, who were unheralded members of
the club and technically part of the following season’s team. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Sarasota
was the spring training home of Allyn’s Chicago White Sox and, due to the
owner’s stature in South Florida, the city became the home of the Mustangs in
June 1967. While Caligari was representing Chicago, Kowalik, and a group of
professional hopefuls, got to work. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Of about forty players, only a handful of
players were under contract for the 1968 season. The rest of the group was on
training contracts for the summer. Upon arrival, the club convinced local
residents to form a caravan to transport the players from the
Sarasota-Bradenton Airport to the Sarasota Motor Hotel, the player’s home for
the duration of the camp. The idea to house and train players in Sarasota was
Arthur Allyn’s intention as soon as the USA formed. The fact that he had to
import a team to compete in the league during its first season did not change
his plans, and Kowalik was the embodiment of his original idea of capturing the
best talent available in the U.S.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">While
the Italians competed as the Mustangs in the USA, Meyer trained the future
Mustangs at a peewee football field in Sarasota until a soccer complex financed
by Allyn was completed. The initial camp lasted two months, from the beginning of June
until the end of July. The purpose of the camp was to identify players that
could represent Chicago professionally before the team returned to Florida for
its preseason camp in January 1968. Judging from the press covering the
Mustangs, soccer was an alien sport to the audience of <i>Sarasota Journal</i>. Despite the foreign nature of soccer to
Sarasotans, Kowalik stood out amongst the Mustangs within a week. The Pole’s ability
to score goals was unquestionable, and he quickly earned the praise of the
local press. By the end of June the <i>Sarasota Journal</i> deemed Kowalik soccer’s Joe DiMaggio. The press
continually highlighted his exploits for the duration of the camp. The climax
of the Mustangs first training camp was a series of games against the 1968 U.S.
Olympic Team, captained by future Mustang—and U.S. National team coach—Bob
Gansler. Other than the Olympic scrimmage, the camp proved to be of little
consequence to </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">Kowalik’s place within the team, but signaled how important he
would be to the club moving forward.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">By
the end of the camp, Kowalik and several of Chicago’s other signings were the
only Mustang team remaining. Cagliari finished the USA campaign with a record
of three wins, seven draws, and two losses and returned to Italy following the
short season. Despite their unimpressive record, Cagliari fielded the league’s
leading scorer Roberto Boninsegna, who finished the season with ten goals. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Predictably,
both the USA’s and NPSL’s seasons proved to be extremely underwhelming. The
leagues owners overestimated the pull the sport would have in the U.S. The
lackluster gate receipts and abysmal attendance figures eventually led to a
merger between the two leagues in December. The newly formed league took the
original name of the USA, and became the North American Soccer League (NASL).
Seventeen of the two leagues twenty-two teams signed on for the 1968 season. Of
the two Chicago franchises, the owners chose the Mustangs to represent the
Windy City, while the NPSL’s Spurs relocated to Kansas City. Much of the
wrangling between the two leagues proved irrelevant to Kowalik and the
Mustangs, as they continued to train throughout the calendar year. The group
even played a series of games in Chile, where they won over Chilean fans with their
professional level of play. Allyn used the Mustangs performance in South
America to tout not only his team’s abilities, but also to highlight the
success of the summer training camp. The team’s embarrassing 8-1 loss to Slavia
Prague in Chicago in late November did not figure into Allyn’s praise. Kowalik
again proved his worth in the club’s horrid showing scoring the lone goal for
the Mustangs. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">In
January 1968, Kowalik and the Mustangs returned to Sarasota to prepare for the
first NASL season. The local press celebrated the club’s arrival and continued to
trumpet Kowalik’s obvious talent. The club intended to stay in Florida as long
as they could find competitive games, which proved a questionable endeavor. During
the course of January, Kowalik and the club played local teams, which proved
immensely inferior to the professional Mustangs. In their first training match,
the Mustangs annihilated New College, a local university, 17-2. Kowalik netted
six goals in the contest. Subsequently, the Mustangs rolled through several
other teams, including a side made up of circus performers and a
Mexican-American All-Star team comprised of migrant workers attending the
season’s crops. The only real competition that the Mustangs faced during their
preseason training camp was a four-game series against the NASL’s Houston Stars
franchise. The Stars proved a worthy opponent and won three of the four
contests. In the end, the Mustangs remained in Florida until the end of
February. The two-month training camp served as a tune-up for the club’s
legitimate preseason games against European competition.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-_bZtnRNtY6k/UvrD89lrP7I/AAAAAAAAAK0/zZ-IRMqth9E/s1600/Chicago_Mustang_Soccer_Team_1968_lrg.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="169" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-_bZtnRNtY6k/UvrD89lrP7I/AAAAAAAAAK0/zZ-IRMqth9E/s1600/Chicago_Mustang_Soccer_Team_1968_lrg.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Courtesy of <a href="http://www.wisoccer.org/photos/photo56/photo56.htm" target="_blank">http://www.wisoccer.org</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">While
several of the other NASL teams were playing preseason games against Caribbean
teams, Owner Allyn and Coach Meyer wanted to test their group prior to the
club’s NASL opener on April 14, 1968. The Mustangs embarked on a nine-game tour
of Europe during the month of March, scheduling games against the likes of
Athletic Bilbao and Red Star Belgrade. In their first game against Austrian
side FC Wacker, the Mustangs fell 5-2.
Kowalik netted both of Chicago’s goals, once again proving his
troublesome transfer was well worth it. The Mustangs then lost 4-0 to Red Star
Belgrade and 1-0 to FK Sloboda in their next two games. Chicago wrapped up
their preseason exhibitions with an 8-0 beating at the hands of Atletico Bilbao. Out of ten
games, the Mustangs won once, tied once, and lost eight times. On the face of
it, the tour was a disastrous undertaking, but the games provided an unseen
benefit. While most of the league were warming up against inferior teams, the
Mustangs, though losing handily in some games, competed against legitimate
competition. Kowalik and the Mustangs quickly forgot the embarrassing results
and turned their attention to the first NASL season. The season would prove fruitful
for Kowalik as the Pole continued his fine form and banged in a record number
of goals.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">The Blond Bullet<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">After
nearly a year of training, the Chicago Mustangs kicked off their thirty-two
game 1968 NASL season on April 12, 1968 against division rivals the Cleveland
Stokers at Comiskey Park. In a stadium that could hold over 46,000 people, just
1,395 fans showed up to see the new more American Mustangs. Kowalik was absent
from the lineup, nursing an ankle injury he sustained during the club’s European
tour. Without the Pole, the Mustangs lacked a genuine goal-scoring threat and failed
to outscore their opponents, dropping their season opener 2-1. The Mustangs also lost their second game
5-2 to the Kansas City Spurs while Kowalik recovered. The club and fans alike
had until the Mustangs third game to witness the Pole’s ability firsthand. Once
he broke into the lineup, Kowalik proved his preseason goal-scoring prowess was
no fluke.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-k-uRwSS13ts/UvrEy1um6HI/AAAAAAAAALE/9uuw4snXdp8/s1600/Mustangs+1968+NASLJERSEYS.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="221" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-k-uRwSS13ts/UvrEy1um6HI/AAAAAAAAALE/9uuw4snXdp8/s1600/Mustangs+1968+NASLJERSEYS.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Courtesy of <a href="http://www.nasljerseys.com/" target="_blank">www.nasljerseys.com</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Fully
healed, Kowalik made his second professional debut against the Atlanta Chiefs
twelve days after the season opener on April 24. On a cold spring night in
front of just 336 fans, Kowalik led the Mustangs to a 4-1 win netting two goals
in the process. With the low attendance, Kowalik may have felt he was back
training in Florida, only this time the goals counted. In his second NASL
appearance, Kowalik scored another two goals in a 3-3 controversial draw
against the Boston Beacons. The Mustangs protested the result claiming that
Boston fielded two ineligible players including the scorer of the game-tying
goal, Tony Gulin. The protests proved futile, though as Kowalik’s four goals in
two games garnered significant attention from the Chicago press. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">The
Pole quickly became the face of the franchise, earning the nickname the Blond
Bullet in the process. Just a week after the Boston game, Chicago’s
African-American newspaper, <i>The Chicago
Daily Defender</i> even did a profile on the Pole. The paper mentioned
Kowalik’s name alongside the city’s leading athletes of the day including the
legendary Bears running back Gale Sayers and one of the most celebrated Cubs of
all-time, Ernie Banks. <i>The Defender</i>
proclaimed that Kowalik as the man who was going to make professional soccer a
popular sport in the Windy City. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Kowalik
proved worthy of the admiration. After dropping their first two games without
Kowalik, the Mustangs went on a sixteen game unbeaten streak with the Pole in
the lineup. Following the draw with Boston, Chicago tied Vancouver 1-1, though
Kowalik failed to score. However, he proved a lifesaver
in Chicago’s next game netting the game-tying goal in the dying seconds of a
1-1 draw against the St. Louis Stars. Jan followed up his game-tying heroics
the following game with an incredible four-goal performance in a 6-1 victory
over the Dallas Tornado on May 17. Kowalik continued to rack up goals as the
Mustangs extended their unbeaten streak into the summer. His only challenge
throughout the season for the league’s scoring crown came from the San Diego
Toros forward Cirillo “Pepe” Fernandez, who would nearly match Kowalik goal for
goal and assist for assist by the end of the season. By the beginning of July,
Kowalik was on his way to being named to the NASL All-Star team and the
Mustangs were the hottest team in the league, though their status among the
league’s elite soon changed. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">The
New York Generals, fresh off an exhibition win over Pele and the Santos eleven,
handed the Mustangs their first loss since the Chicago club’s second game of
the season, sans Kowalik. The loss proved to be the first in a series of losses
for the Mustangs. For all of Kowalik’s goals and the club’s unbeaten streak,
Chicago dropped its next four games jeopardizing the club’s chances for a spot
in the NASL playoffs. Within this series of losses, the Mustangs played perhaps
the most interesting game of the season on July 19, when Chicago faced the
formidable Gornik Zabrze of Poland at Hanson Field. It was Kowalik’s first game
against Polish competition since his defection. One can only imagine the
conversations between the Miners players and Kowalik while they were on the
field. Jan, no matter who the opponent, continued to score at will, netting
both of Chicago’s goals as the Mustangs fell to Gornik 3-2.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-E0WgY91ajIs/UvrIDtiNNlI/AAAAAAAAALQ/k6rFzdPbIwQ/s1600/Mustangs+68+Road+John+Kowalik+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-E0WgY91ajIs/UvrIDtiNNlI/AAAAAAAAALQ/k6rFzdPbIwQ/s1600/Mustangs+68+Road+John+Kowalik+1.jpg" width="255" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px;">Courtesy of <a href="http://www.nasljerseys.com/" target="_blank">www.nasljerseys.com</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Despite
the club’s hot start and its lengthy unbeaten streak, Chicago’s losing streak
proved too much for the Mustangs to overcome. Chicago’s fourth consecutive loss
came at the hands of Cleveland as the two teams entered the game tied for the
division lead. The Stokers defeated the Mustangs 4-1 on July 30, taking sole
possession of the Lakes Division lead. Kowalik again provided Chicago’s only
goal, but left the game with a possible concussion. This injury resulted in the
Pole missing the next game. Though the Mustangs were quickly falling out of
playoff contention, Kowalik still led the league in points scored. The NASL
counted each goal as two points, and rewarded one point for each assist. At the
time of his injury, Kowalik led the league in points with a score of fifty-five
points netting twenty-five goals and dishing out five assists. Pepe Fernandez
trailed Kowalik with twenty-two goals and three assists, giving the Toros
forward forty-seven points. The rest of the season proved an uphill battle for
the Mustangs as the club unsuccessfully chased Cleveland for the division title
and a spot in the NASL playoffs loss. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">The
loss against Cleveland proved to be the last chance that the Mustangs had at
winning their division. Following the loss, the Mustangs never seemed to find
their early season form and alternated between winning and losing the rest of
its games, never threatening the Stokers position atop the Lakes Division.
Ironically, Kowalik’s thirtieth and final goal came in a 2-1 loss to Cleveland on
September 4, 1968 that mathematically eliminated the Mustangs from the playoffs
and all but sounded the death knell for the Mustangs franchise. Chicago’s final
game against the Detroit proved to be the last the Mustangs would play as the
team, as well as the league, struggled to attract fans all season. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">The
highlight of the season, of course, was Kowalik. Despite the club failing to
make the playoffs, Kowalik won the league scoring title and captured the
league’s first MVP award, earning a new Volkswagen in the process (unfortunately
the model of the car was not specified). Kowalik finished the season with
thirty goals and nine assists giving the Pole sixty-nine total points.
Fernandez, competing with Kowalik for the title throughout the season, finished
second in points with sixty-seven points with thirty goals and seven assists.
The thirty goals by both players set a league record that lasted for a decade,
as the league nearly collapsed following the 1968 season.</span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-PIsmhy12CUg/UvrI-5pQfqI/AAAAAAAAALg/TB55akVqCzM/s1600/Sparta+Rotterdam+1970-71.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="249" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-PIsmhy12CUg/UvrI-5pQfqI/AAAAAAAAALg/TB55akVqCzM/s1600/Sparta+Rotterdam+1970-71.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sparta Rotterdam 1970-71<br />
Courtesy of <a href="http://thevintagefootballclub.blogspot.com/2011/04/sparta-rotterdam-1970-71.html" target="_blank">http://thevintagefootballclub.blogspot.com</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Due
to the league’s abysmal attendance figures, many of the club owners bled money
throughout the season. The NASL failed to attract enough fans for the owners to
break even, and one by one the clubs began to abandon the league. By the end of
1968, twelve of the seventeen teams ceased to exist, while the Chicago Mustangs
decided to join Chicago’s amateur National Soccer League. Kowalik, coming off
of his superb season, was forced to play elsewhere. He eventually signed with
the Oakland Clippers, joining Pepe Fernandez. Following the 1968 season, the
club changed their name to the California Clippers and declined to partake in
the 1969 NASL season. Instead, the Clippers decided to play only international
exhibitions hosting the likes of Dynamo Kiev, Fiorentina, and West Bromich
Albion, among others. The Clippers international experiment lasted a few months
before the club folded in the summer of 1969, leaving Kowalik without a club
once again. This time Kowalik was a free agent and was free to sign with any club without approval from Polish entities. From California, Kowalik signed
with Sparta Rotterdam of the Netherlands. The Pole spent several seasons in the
Eridivisie— the Dutch First Division—competing against Johann Cruyff for the league’s
golden boot, though he had not played his last game in the NASL.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-exxANEX-N-E/UvrJ6gTcbDI/AAAAAAAAALw/uPVJPVbb3LY/s1600/Janusz+Kowalik+DC.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-exxANEX-N-E/UvrJ6gTcbDI/AAAAAAAAALw/uPVJPVbb3LY/s1600/Janusz+Kowalik+DC.jpg" width="249" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Kowalik
returned to the U.S. and the NASL in the summer of 1976. He signed with the
Chicago Sting and had a decent season scoring nine goals. Kowalik also played
alongside Pele for Team America during the Bicentennial Cup, which was an
international series to celebrate America’s bicentennial. Team America lost each
of its games against the national teams of Italy, Brazil, and England.
Following the end of the NASL season Kowalik returned to Holland only to return
for one last campaign with the Sting a year later. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Though he went on to have a
very successful career in the Netherlands—and eventually returned to the NASL—
none of Kowalik’s NASL accomplishments ever compared to his record setting 1968
season. Although most soccer fans acknowledge Kowalik for scoring a league
record thirty goals and capturing the first NASL MVP, it is his
journey from the fields of Krakow to his eventual NASL debut that makes his
story all the more impressive.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-U4MHtT2Y0VY/UvrJTaHwOAI/AAAAAAAAALs/iJmoEtdODL8/s1600/1976+stars+of+the+world.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="259" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-U4MHtT2Y0VY/UvrJTaHwOAI/AAAAAAAAALs/iJmoEtdODL8/s1600/1976+stars+of+the+world.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Kowalik and Team America, 1976<br />
Courtesy of <a href="http://www.nasljerseys.com/" target="_blank">www.nasljerseys.com</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">I relied on numerous primary and secondary sources to write this article. As always I consulted numerous articles from <i>The Baltimore Sun, The Chicago Defender, The Chicago Tribune, The Los Angeles Tmes, The Sarasota Journal,</i><i> and The Washington Post.</i> In addition to newspapers, I referenced <a href="http://homepages.sover.net/~spectrum/" target="_blank">the American Soccer History Archives</a>, <a href="http://www.dziennikpolski24.pl/artykul/3020128,krol-futbolu-pele-podawal-janusz-kowalik-strzelal,1,id,t,sa.html" target="_blank">a wonderful interview with Kowalik in Dziennik Polski</a>, <a href="http://www.footballdatabase.eu/" target="_blank">www.footballdatabase.eu</a>, <a href="http://www.rsssf.com/" target="_blank">http://www.rsssf.com/</a>, <a href="http://www.aaceagles.org/" target="_blank">http://www.aaceagles.org/</a>, and <a href="http://cafefutebol.net/2013/08/07/chicagos-sardinian-summer/" target="_blank">Vadim Furmanov's incredible piece on the 1967 Mustangs</a>. Many thanks to all who helped me throughout the process, including Vadim. You can give his blog a follow <a href="http://cafefutebol.net/" target="_blank">here</a>, and follow him on twitter <a href="https://twitter.com/CafeFutebol" target="_blank">here.</a></span></div>
Skihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13488748094836677592noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6186634703462395529.post-27776445091345852052014-01-31T08:40:00.001-08:002014-01-31T09:56:24.995-08:00The Longest Game in North American Soccer League History<br />
I am going with a shorter piece this time. The subject has been covered before, but I felt it needed another look anyway. Enjoy.<br />
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">The NASL instituted several inane rules during its
existence. From the infamous penalty shoot-out to its elaborate points system,
the NASL inherently tweaked the laws of the beautiful game to make it more
appealing to Americans. Of all of the alterations to the traditional rules of
the game, the NASL’s institution of the golden-goal sudden-death overtime in
the 1971 postseason is perhaps one of the most outrageous modifications. The
rule inevitably led to the longest game in NASL
history.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">The 1971 season, the NASL’s fourth, saw the league
undergo significant change with the nascent league still experiencing growing
pains. The Kansas City Spurs franchise folded after the 1970 campaign while the
league expanded into three new cities: Toronto, Montreal, and New York, home of
its future flagship franchise the Cosmos. The new clubs brought the league total to eight.
With the influx of new teams, the club owners decided to expand the NASL
postseason by staging a series of best-of-three game semifinals prior to the best-of-three
game final, allowing the two division second place clubs a chance at a title. Amongst
these changes, the club owners, spurred on by Rochester Lancers owner Charlie
Schiano, reluctantly instituted a golden goal overtime period for the playoffs
to avoid ties. This led to some incredibly lengthy playoff games involving,
ironically, Schiano’s Lancers.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ypkfzKgdOFk/UuvJ59Px9wI/AAAAAAAAAJk/dQHQWYXGPt0/s1600/1971-team.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ypkfzKgdOFk/UuvJ59Px9wI/AAAAAAAAAJk/dQHQWYXGPt0/s1600/1971-team.jpg" height="213" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Courtesy of <a href="http://www.rochesterlancers.com/lancers.php" target="_blank">Rochester Lancers</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Rochester, the defending league champions, rolled
through the regular season finishing atop the Northern Division with a league
leading 141 points. They were paced by the league’s leading scorer, and future
U.S. international, the diminutive 5’4” Carlos Meditieri. The Cosmos, a team
devoid of star power at the time, ended their inaugural season in second place
pitting them in a semi-final series against Southern Division champion Atlanta.
Meanwhile, the Dallas Tornado finished one point shy of the South Division crown
second to Atlanta, rubber-stamping their place in a semi-final against
the league leading Lancers. While Atlanta swept New York in rather humdrum
fashion, the Rochester-Dallas semifinal series requires more than a sentence of
summary due to Schiano’s idea of sudden-death overtime.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">The Lancers achieved the best record throughout
the regular season and entered the series as favorites, though Schiano recognized
that wins would not come easy during the semi-final showdown. Dallas, owned by
soccer and NFL luminary Lamar Hunt, had a very English identity. Ron Newman,
former Portsmouth midfielder and future U.S. Hall of Famer, managed the Tornado
and instituted a very rough style of English play. Not to mention the club
featured former Yugoslavian international Mirko Stojanovic in goal, a player
Newman ultimately suspended for the first game for walking out on practice
earlier in the week. This forced an injured Kenny Cooper into goal for the series
opener. Dallas, a tough matchup throughout the season, sought to stymie the Lancers
fluid play in the semifinal series.</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-z07BmMljOgw/UuvLFj_SsBI/AAAAAAAAAJ4/Rl8VBeDvwDw/s1600/image.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-z07BmMljOgw/UuvLFj_SsBI/AAAAAAAAAJ4/Rl8VBeDvwDw/s1600/image.jpg" height="215" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Phil Woosnam, credit, Associated Press</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">With league president Phil Woosnam on hand, the
series kicked off at 8 pm on September 1 1971 at Aquinas Memorial Stadium in Rochester, New York in front of just over
8,000 fans. On one of the worst fields in NASL history, the two teams traded
goals during regulation. Dallas, physical as ever, slowed down Rochester’s creative
offense by consistently playing the ball out of bounds. The Tornado dictated the slow pace of the game and ultimately forced the game into overtime. After two overtime periods and 120 minutes neither team could break the
deadlock. Despite the game dragging with no end in sight, most of the fans stayed
to witness the rest of the match. Everyone must have felt a sense of history
watching as the game crept through several overtime periods.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Inevitably, President Woosnam sought to end the
match as it progressed into a fifth overtime period after appeals from several
individuals associated with the teams including Tornado owner Lamar Hunt and manager Newman. All
the while, Schiano, perhaps a little embarrassed at his golden goal suggestion,
insisted that the two teams play the game out, only agreeing to call the game
only if the two teams had not scored by midnight, four hours after the game
started. Little did anyone know that the game would actually last that long.
The players, past exhaustion, searched for ways to carry on throughout the
ordeal by drinking coffee and eating oranges. Salvation finally came in the form of a Calros Metidieri goal at 11:59 pm
in the 176<sup>th</sup> minute. Meditieri slotted a low shot past
Tornado keeper Kenny Cooper much to the excitement of everyone in attendance,
including the Tornado players. The teams were four minutes shy of playing two
games in one night. Following the lengthy affair, Metidieri predicted that the
Lancers record victory would propel them past a broken Dallas team, which
inevitably proved erroneous as the Tornado went on to win the next two games.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Beyond exhausted, the two teams met just three days
later in Dallas, with the Tornado taking that game 3-1 as Stojanovic returned
in goal. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The Lancers and Tornado travelled
back to Rochester just a few days later for the series deciding third game. In
a game that mirrored the series opener, the two teams both notched a goal during
regulation and predictably entered overtime. Just as in the first game, the two
teams battled through several overtime periods until Bobby Moffat scored for
the Tornado in the 148<sup>th</sup> minute coming nowhere close to the record setting first game. The win granted Dallas a 2-1 victory and a
spot in the championship series against the Atlanta Chiefs. Dallas,
fatigued from their record setting semifinal series, dropped their first game
to the Chiefs, only to win the next two games and claimed the 1971 NASL
championship. </span></div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-vVN9q5m4CZo/UuvLg_i4JJI/AAAAAAAAAKA/ASCTe1LViMc/s1600/Tornado%252071%2520Road%2520Team%25202.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-vVN9q5m4CZo/UuvLg_i4JJI/AAAAAAAAAKA/ASCTe1LViMc/s1600/Tornado%252071%2520Road%2520Team%25202.jpg" height="204" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Dallas Tornado<br />
courtest of <a href="http://www.nasljerseys.com/">www.nasljerseys.com</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">The league owners, upon Schiano’s insistence, introduced
the overtime rule to the NASL in 1971. Far from popular at the time of its institution,
the rule did not progress past the 1971 season. The owners dropped the playoff
series format and settled on single game elimination for the 1972 season, while
also dropping Schino’s overtime idea. Due to the rule changes the first game of
the Dallas-Rochester semifinal series in 1971 stands as the longest game in
NASL history and probably professional soccer history in America. The
significance of the game was not lost on either team following the season and
is still talked about among the individuals who were on hand that night. The
Dallas Tornado reveling in their grueling semi-final series win following their
championship season even had “176” engraved on their championship rings as a reminder of the historic game. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">In writing this post I relied on numerous sources. Notably I depended on <a href="http://www.soccerisakickinthegrass.com/Podcasts/HistoryofSoccerinRochester/tabid/79/Default.aspx" target="_blank">several interviews with Lancers owner Charlie Schiano by Soccer is a Kick in the Grass.</a> I also consulted the <a href="http://www.democratandchronicle.com/story/sports/soccer/blogs/direct-kicks/2011/11/16/lancers-101-theyll-honor-their-roots-at-saturdays-home-match/2304661/" target="_blank"><em>Rochester Democrat & Chronicle</em></a>, <a href="http://www.dallasnews.com/sports/more-sports/soccer/headlines/20101116-long-before-fc-dallas-the-tornado-gave-the-city-a-soccer-champion.ece?nclick_check=1" target="_blank"><em>The Dallas Morning News</em></a>, <a href="http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/soccer/mls/news/2000/10/27/hunt_qa_sa/" target="_blank"><em>Sports Illustrated</em></a>, <a href="http://www.ussoccerplayers.com/2011/09/back-in-the-day-the-nasls-longest-game.html" target="_blank">Michael Lewis' piece on the game</a>, and as always the <a href="http://homepages.sover.net/~spectrum/" target="_blank">American Soccer History Archives.</a></span></div>
Skihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13488748094836677592noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6186634703462395529.post-31237301884401071532014-01-26T08:11:00.000-08:002014-01-26T13:32:18.739-08:00Kazimierz Deyna in AmericaFor my latest post, I collaborated with <a href="https://twitter.com/rightbankwarsaw" target="_blank">Christopher Lash</a> on a piece about Kazimierz Deyna and his career with the San Diego Sockers. I am really excited about this post. Thanks to Chris for having me contribute to his <a href="http://www.rightbankwarsaw.com/" target="_blank">blog</a>. So, please, give it a read and share your opinions on the piece. You can find article <a href="http://rightbankwarsaw.com/2014/01/26/kazmierz-deyna-in-america/" target="_blank">HERE</a>.<br />
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Keep an eye out for my next post, which is also NASL related within the coming week. While you are at it, check out the Sockers musical chops.</div>
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Skihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13488748094836677592noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6186634703462395529.post-4161191078982696472014-01-17T07:03:00.001-08:002016-02-16T09:39:09.638-08:00The First Professional Soccer League in America Part Three<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">For the first part of the post <a href="http://amofb.blogspot.com/2014/01/the-first-professional-soccer-league-in.html" target="_blank">click here</a>. For the second part <a href="http://amofb.blogspot.com/2014/01/the-first-professional-soccer-league-in_12.html" target="_blank">click here</a></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">The ALPF failed for a myriad for reasons. As noted
in previous posts, interest in the league existed, but the ineptitude of the
owners negated any successes the league experienced before it could gain a
foothold in America. Several of the owners, including Washington’s Wagner, were
in favor of continuing the season regardless of the initial failure and
oversights of the league. The undefeated and self-proclaimed champions of the ALPF,
Baltimore Orioles did more than talk and continued to play games following the
leagues collapse, joined by the Brooklyn and Philadelphia outfits. Even in the face of the U.S Department of the Treasury’s
investigation, Ned Hanlon and his team of imported talent vowed to continue to
play the game for “Love, Blood, Money, or Marbles.”</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"></span><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-8XmgMJdQtmg/UtlCCa5weFI/AAAAAAAAAIw/CUoDU8KRnB4/s1600/0189fr.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-8XmgMJdQtmg/UtlCCa5weFI/AAAAAAAAAIw/CUoDU8KRnB4/s1600/0189fr.jpg" width="180" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ned Hanlon 1880s<br />
<a href="http://www.loc.gov/pictures/resource/bbc.0189f/" target="_blank">Library of Congress</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Following their third consecutive victory over
Washington on October 2, Baltimore discovered that the ALPF was abruptly
ending. Manager Ned Hanlon, A.W. Stewart, and the rest of Baltimore’s squad
were utterly surprised to hear that the league ceased to exist. Hanlon, in
particular, did not hide his opinions from the press stating that he felt that
the rest of the league, namely New York, were afraid of losing to his team and
subsequently ended the season. Hanlon’s jab at New York signaled his irritation
at losing the first Temple Cup to New York, despite Baltimore posting
the best record and winning the National League pennant. Hanlon further voiced
his frustrations at the cancellation of the season claiming that Baltimore
entered the league in good faith with every intention to play the entirety of
the season. The club showed their commitment to the ALPF by “spending twice as
much as any other city to secure the best professional football eleven” they
could get. With their undefeated record, their investment in their club and the
league, and the assurances from people who had seen the other clubs play Hanlon
and Baltimore professed to be the champions of the defunct ALPF. In spite of
the New York and Brooklyn clubs, Hanlon declared that Baltimore would fly a
championship pennant at Union Park on the opposite end of the grandstand of
their 1894 National League baseball pennant.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Feeling quite confident in the ability of A.W.
Stewart and the rest of his squad, Hanlon assured that they could defeat any
team within the United States and vowed not to disband for several weeks. Arthur Irwin, Philadelphia owner and the ALPF’s only president, also
committed his side to continue playing following the collapse of the league.
Subsequently, Irwin challenged Hanlon’s side to a series of games just two days
after the league officially ceased to exist. Baltimore willingly accepted the offer. A.W. Stewart, the club’s captain and manager in every respect but
name, echoed Hanlon’s sentiments and openly advocated for games against New
York. Stewart, not short of confidence, stated that he and his men feared no
side and claimed the only mistake his team made during the brief season was
defeating Washington too badly in their first league game. By handing
Washington a 10-1 defeat, Stewart and his men “opened the eyes of New York and
the others” of what Baltimore were capable of, again alluding to Hanlon’s claim
that New York effectively cancelled the season out of fear. With a collective
confidence bordering on narcissism, Stewart and the Baltimore eleven were ready
to defend the inscription on their first soccer pennant “Baltimore Champion
Football Club of the United States, 1894.”</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"></span><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-dtIycIZzOu8/UtlCeQE8zZI/AAAAAAAAAI8/htexfgF_3sw/s1600/Baltimore_Union_Baseball_Park_1895_1b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="252" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-dtIycIZzOu8/UtlCeQE8zZI/AAAAAAAAAI8/htexfgF_3sw/s1600/Baltimore_Union_Baseball_Park_1895_1b.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Union Park</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Riding a string of consecutive victories and a
collective sense of invincibility, Stewart led the Baltimore Orioles against
Irwin’s Philadelphia Phillies at Union Park on October 23. Baltimore’s bravado
proved to be well founded. The Orioles proved dominate once again defeating
Philadelphia 6-1. Baltimore extended its undefeated run of play to six games
after it defeated Philadelphia 4-0 and 6-4 in two games over the
next couple of days. Notably, Charlie Reilly, the Phillies Third Baseman and
future Washington Senator baseball player, worked the Philadelphia goal in the
4-0 defeat to Baltimore amid cheers from the Oriole crowd at Union Park. Following
their sweep of Philadelphia, Baltimore, seeking to defend their claim as
champions of the United States, committed to a two-week venture to Fall River,
Massachusetts to challenge Brooklyn to a
series of games. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">The Brooklyn club was comprised of amateurs from several
of Fall River’s teams and following the collapse of the ALPF the players
returned home. Still Brooklyn in name, the club was really a composition of the
best players from the industrial Massachusetts town. Fall River was a hotbed of soccer talent and
the heart of the soccer for much of the sports early history in the United
States. Stewart, looking to solidify Baltimore’s status as champions, agreed to
a six game championship series with Dennis (Denny) Shay, Brooklyn’s captain and
goalkeeper, with three games taking place in Fall River and an addition three
taking place in Baltimore after a horse show vacated Union Park. Both sides
claimed superiority with Baltimore’s profession of being undefeated apparent, but
Brooklyn fielded a formidable side during the short ALPF season finishing with
five wins and only one loss. Dennis Shay claimed his squad, since they all
primarily signed with Brooklyn from Fall River Rovers, was the best in America
and Canada and held a collective record of thirty-nine wins and two losses over
the course of 1894. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Shay had ample reason to boast. In several newspaper
reports covering Brooklyn’s team during the ALPF season, many considered Shay the best goalkeeper on the continent. The claim may not have been far off. Shay participated in a joint Canadian-American team that toured Ireland, Scotland,
and England in 1891. Though the team lost most of the games, Shay featured in
goal in over forty matches against clubs like, Bolton Wanderers, Preston, and
Middlesbrough to name a few. Shay turned down several offers to play overseas
and the opportunity to become the first non-British person to play in the English
First Division. That designation is held by his teammate during the tour, Walter
Bowman. This experience gave Shay plenty of confidence as did his club record
in the states prior to the founding of the ALPF. Shay and several of his
teammates were so convinced of victory that they were willing to wager $500 to $1000
(roughly $13,000 to $26,000 today) on the series. Considering the effect that the
economic depression brought on by the Panic of 1893 had on Fall River the
friendly wager seems all the more impressive. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"></span><br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-aZo1v5cAZjg/UtlDj5i9JoI/AAAAAAAAAJM/1YEnZK97wv4/s1600/shea.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-aZo1v5cAZjg/UtlDj5i9JoI/AAAAAAAAAJM/1YEnZK97wv4/s1600/shea.jpg" width="162" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Dennis "Denny" H. Shay (Surname listed both ways in source material)<br />
Brooklyn Eagle 10-7-1894</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"></span> <span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Baltimore and Brooklyn opened the championship series
on November 1 1894. In a rough game stifled by a heavy wind, the two top teams
of the ALPF played to a 2-2 draw. In addition to charges of unfair play against
the Brooklyn/Fall River eleven, <i>The
Baltimore Sun,</i> via a special dispatch from Fall River, declared the first
game of the series the greatest game ever played in that town. Over the course
of the next ten days, the two sides played two more games in Fall River with Stewart
and the Baltimore eleven humbled by losses to Shay and the hometown club.
Following the three game series, the Baltimore club returned home, while Shay and his club were ambitiously seeking games in the United Kingdom. Upon their
return home, Baltimore, in addition to challenges by several local clubs, intended
to host the Brooklyn/Fall River men for the rest of their six game series, but
ultimately were unable to due to the poor state of the Union Park grounds
following the horse show that occupied the stadium for two weeks. Ultimately, the
series between the Baltimore and Brooklyn clubs was never completed. Brooklyn, given its record in ALPF league play and games following the season, held the best record overall and could positively claim they were the real champions of the United States. The third
match between the two proved to be Baltimore’s last as the team officially
disbanded a week after returning to Baltimore from Fall River on November 20 1894. Ned
Hanlon’s illegally imported men returned to England in an attempt to continue
their careers while the rest of the league melted into historical obscurity. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Lastly, while Baltimore was parading around the
Northeast defending their self-proclaimed championship, <i>The Washington Post</i> published an in depth account detailing how Hanlon
managed to convince several English professionals to sail across the Atlantic
and join the Baltimore Orioles of the ALPF. As stated in the second post
covering the ALPF, Gus Schmelz discovered soon after his team’s 10-1 loss to
Baltimore in mid-October that Ned Hanlon had managed to secure the services of
several “ringers” for the first ALPF season. Following the collapse of the season
and the complete dissolution of the Treasury Department’s investigation, Ted Sullivan,
an Irish-born baseball magnate and ex-Washington owner, told the story as joke
to anyone who would listen. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"></span><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-fQODy-JJwS8/UtlEF2Y7_zI/AAAAAAAAAJU/iFcdiHlLjhg/s1600/Hanlon%252520Ned%252520Plaque_NBL.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-fQODy-JJwS8/UtlEF2Y7_zI/AAAAAAAAAJU/iFcdiHlLjhg/s1600/Hanlon%252520Ned%252520Plaque_NBL.png" width="228" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ned Hanlon's MLB Hall of Fame Plaque <br />
ALPF not included<br />
<a href="http://baseballhall.org/hof/hanlon-ned" target="_blank">National Baseball Hall of Fame</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span> <span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">As the story goes, Hanlon, completely occupied by
baseball side of club affairs, waited until after the Temple Cup to completely compile a
team to compete in the ALPF. Hanlon, not wanting to field an inadequate eleven,
lucked out when he ran into Ted Sullivan in Baltimore during the baseball season. Sullivan, seeing the
dilemma Hanlon was in, suggested that Hanlon scour the leagues of England for
talent. Hanlon jumped at the idea and hired Sullivan to sail to England to
obtain a few players. Hanlon's only reservation was the legality of such a move and exactly how Sullivan would acquire players without
the news travelling back to the States. Someone within the Baltimore club, presumptively Hanlon, actually inquired about the legality of importation of English players with Secretary of the Treasury John Carlisle as far back as August, which led to Carlisle's proclamation that such a move was illegal if the players were under contract. Ultimately, Sullivan reassured Hanlon that he would
be able to secure talent without anyone stateside finding out or else he would
not expect a penny for his services and the two men carried out their plan.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Under these
circumstances, Sullivan travelled to Liverpool and Manchester and scouted
several games. He picked out seven players total, convinced the directors of
the players’ respective clubs that he was from Glasgow, and asked for a loan on
the players for several games over the course of a week. During that week,
Sullivan promised to pay the players’ salaries and expenses. The players
pleaded to go out on loan in addition to Sullivan’s request and ultimately the
club directors granted the players leave. Sullivan, upon obtaining the release
of his seven players, boarded a steamship bound for America and smuggled the
men over the next day. The players registered as tradesmen upon boarding the ship
and did not officially sign for Baltimore until they landed in New York. A few days
later the team, peppered with a few American signings, walloped Washington in
their first ALPF game only to have Dean, of Washington, discover their identities.
The ruse ultimately aided in the demise of the league, but the story, nearly a
month after the league’s last game, remained an interesting talking point and a
favorite story of Ted Sullivan.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">In keeping with the format of my first post, I will list some of the sources I used in making this article here instead of using footnotes. A number of primary and secondary sources were used in the making of this post including: <em>The Baltimore Sun, The Brooklyn Eagle</em><i>, The Washington Post, </i><a href="http://www.canadiansoccerhistory.com/Canadiantoursabroad/Gt%20Britain%201891.html" target="_blank">Colin Jose's article covering the 1891 Canadian-American tour of the UK</a>, <a href="http://www.phillysoccerpage.net/2010/03/31/the-philadelphia-phillies-and-early-philadelphia-soccer-history-part-1/" style="font-style: italic;" target="_blank"><span style="color: #992211;">Ed Farnsworth's post concerning Philadelphia's ALPF History</span></a>, <a href="http://homepages.sover.net/~spectrum/alpf.html" style="font-style: italic;" target="_blank"><span style="color: #992211;">Steve Holroyd's History of the ALPF</span></a>, <a href="http://www.baseballreference.com/" style="font-style: italic;" target="_blank"><span style="color: #992211;">www.baseballreference.com</span></a>, as well as several other secondary sources.</span></span>Skihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13488748094836677592noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6186634703462395529.post-21532354613984360712014-01-12T09:56:00.000-08:002016-02-16T09:38:57.714-08:00The First Professional Soccer League in America and the Senators of Washington, Part Two<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
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<b>For the first part of this post, <a href="http://amofb.blogspot.com/2014/01/the-first-professional-soccer-league-in.html" target="_blank">click here</a>.</b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">After months of meetings between its owners, and in
the midst of the National League’s Temple Cup Series, four teams kicked off The
American League of Professional Football (ALPF) inaugural season October 6, 1894.
Bostonians, wooed to the South End Grounds by a pre-game rugby match, witnessed
the Boston eleven defeat the visiting Brooklyn club 3-2, while the original New
York Football Giants swept into Philadelphia and drubbed the hosts 5-0. Meanwhile,
the people of Washington had to wait nearly another week to see the Senators
play the first professional soccer game in the city, as the league postponed the their intial game due to the Orioles
participation in the Temple Cup. Oddly, New York, Baltimore’s Temple Cup foe,
was able to field an eleven to open the ALPF season a full ten days before Baltimore
officially entered the league on October 17. Baltimore’s entrance into league
play proved to be unique among the league’s entrants, and a defining storyline
in the short history of the ALPF.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><u><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></u></b></div>
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<b><u><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">The
Washington Senators<o:p></o:p></span></u></b></div>
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<b><u><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></u></b></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-30b9yywd0Zk/UtLOroLnMII/AAAAAAAAAIA/7JZeOFDxz3k/s1600/Nationals_original_display_image.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-30b9yywd0Zk/UtLOroLnMII/AAAAAAAAAIA/7JZeOFDxz3k/s1600/Nationals_original_display_image.gif" width="191" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Washington Nationals Logo 1948-54<br />
Potential badge for soccer club?<br />
<a href="http://www.sportslogos.net/logos/list_by_team/992/Washington_Senators/" target="_blank">www.sportslogos.net</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Washington’s owner, J. Earl Wagner, knew that he
would need to exert significant effort to draw spectators to the stadium and
make soccer a viable professional sport within America. Similar to Boston’s
staging of a rugby game prior to its opener, Wagner enticed fans to the Senators’
season opener on October 11 in a number of ways. First, Wagner, who had pushed
updates of his squad through the press for months, advertised a band concert
prior to Washington’s first game every day in <i>The Washington Post</i> for a week prior to game day. In addition to offering a concert prior to the
club’s first foray in the ALPF, Wagner offered free entry to woman in
possession of “complimentary books,” an offer he carried over from the baseball
side of his growing sports empire. “Ladies Day” was something Wagner sought to
offer two games a week prior to the season. Wagner mailed these books to women throughout
Washington upon written request, which today seems rather odd, but did not
solicit any known reaction within the press in 1894.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">An introductory band and free entry for women would
seem to be enough to garner interest in the Washington Senators season opener, but
Wagner desired more attention and more paying customers. Prior to the concert
and the game, both the Senators, and their opponent Philadelphia, paraded, in
full uniform, to the stadium in carriages following “a brass band on a tally-ho
coach.” Any Washingtonian wishing to witness the gallant parade of players and
game could enter National Park for as little as .25 cents. Entry to the game,
as agreed upon with the other team’s owners, was .25 and .50 cents, the same
rate for Georgetown “gridiron” football games and, ironically, admission to
George Washington’s estate, Mt. Vernon. Wagner also entered into an agreement
with the management of the Randall Hotel, near the White House, to fly a flag
from their premises when the Senators played a game. If the flag were flying at
3:00 pm each game day, then the Senators would be on display as they were on
October 11. Within such a vivacious and celebratory atmosphere, Washington
played host to ALPF President Irwin’s eleven from Philadelphia. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">After the ostentatious entrance to National’s Park
and the advertised pre-game entertainment, 700 to 1,500 people gathered into
National Park to witness their city’s initial flirtation with association
football. (Newspaper sources differ on the attendance and this aggregation of
announced attendances via different newspapers will be used throughout this
post) Spectators filled the grandstand as well as carriages that
lined center and left field of the baseball stadium. Washington, as the other
clubs of the league had, took the field in the 2-3-5 pyramid formation of the period.
One of Wagner’s original signings, John D. Gallagher captained the Washington club
and led “his crew of gamey youngsters” against ALPF President, and Philadelphia
Phillies owner, Arthur Irwin’s favored eleven. Washington, with goals from
fullback Joseph Devlin and right wing George Harvey took a 2-1 lead into halftime.
After a five-minute intermission, as was league custom, the Senators defended
their slim lead and captured their first win in an auspicious opening at
National Park.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Trying to make up for lost time, a staple of the
young league, the two sides played a second game at National Park the following
day, October 12. The amounts of spectators fell by several hundred despite another
rousing band concert prior to the game, though <i>The Washington Post</i> does not give an official attendance figure.
Despite their successes, perhaps luck, in their first game, Washington did not
win their second game. Though the referee disallowed a potential game-tying
goal, which was blamed on the lack of guard net, the Washington eleven fell to
visiting Philadelphia 3-2. The referee disallowed the potential goal in
question early in the second half, as he could not judge from his place on the
field whether a ball went over or under the goal. The press assigned blame for
the equipment bungle squarely on the club’s management, an early instance of
the press meddling with the hearts and minds of supporters. Despite the loss,
the press surrounding the game, and the league at large, proved to be positive up
to this point in the season, but significant threats to the viability of the
league were forming.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><u><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></u></b></div>
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<b><u><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Baltimore,
Washington, and rest of the ALPF’s first season<o:p></o:p></span></u></b></div>
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<b><u><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></u></b></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-UmKWV0zhaVE/UtLL84Ar1XI/AAAAAAAAAH0/xi66Inlez-0/s1600/Ned+Hanlon.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-UmKWV0zhaVE/UtLL84Ar1XI/AAAAAAAAAH0/xi66Inlez-0/s1600/Ned+Hanlon.jpg" width="232" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Edward, "Ned" Hanlon<br />
<a href="http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/ggbain.06473" target="_blank">Library of Congress</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">While professional soccer was on display in
Washington for the first time, the other members of the ALPF were also playing
games, save for Baltimore who were still signing and waiting for their players
to arrive in the city on October 12. The baseball side of the Baltimore club
had just dropped four straight games and the Temple Cup to New York, whose
soccer club, opened the ALPF season on October 6 while
their baseball team was competing for the Temple Cup. Baltimore’s lack of a
concrete soccer eleven prior to the beginning of the ALPF season gives one the
impression that the club cared little about their foray into professional
soccer, which could not be farther from the truth. While it seemed Baltimore
was lacking behind the rest of the ALPF sides, the club including their
baseball manager, Edward Hanlon, were busy forming what proved to be the finest
squad in the league. In his own words, Hanlon described the squad he rounded up
shortly after the end of the baseball season:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">“</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif";">I
did not think it would be right, after giving Baltimore a good baseball team,
to give it a mediocre football team, so I have hustled around the last two
weeks and gotten together a first-class one. The managers of the other clubs
have been sneering at our team, but I didn’t live in Detroit for several years
for nothing, and I am sure that my material is the best in the circuit.” [sic]<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Hanlon, though manager
in name, allowed one of his signings, A.W. Stewart, to effectively manage the
team as goalkeeper and club captain, making Baltimore the only club in the
league managed by someone familiar with the game. In addition to Stewart,
Hanlon signed a number of professional footballers he claimed were from Detroit
like Stewart, but the players actually hailed from England and included; Mitchell
Calvey, Archibald Ferguson, Tommy Little, and Alexander Wallace all squad
players of Manchester City, and Fred Davies of Sheffield United. Baltimore’s
use of English professionals would prove to be problematic despite the fact
that other clubs, like Philadelphia, had signed former English professionals.
With A.W. Stewart at the helm and a core of seasoned professionals, Baltimore
became the last team in the ALPF to play its season opener on October 17
against Washington at Nationals Park.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">By October 15, the
league still did not have a definitive schedule of games beyond October 23,
which again is something that illustrates the commitment, or lack thereof, of
the baseball magnates to the ALPF. The lack of a prolonged schedule was one of
the factors deemed potentially detrimental to the success of the league upon
its formation in the first part of this post. In addition to this week-by-week
schedule and the late start to the league due to the National League baseball
season, another threat to the success of the league appeared at this time. Rumblings
of a rival professional baseball league surfaced just after the ALPF season officially
started. On October 18, the American Association of Baseball Clubs (ABA) officially
formed in New York in direct competition for fans and players with the National
League. The rival league threatened the monopoly the National League owners had
on professional baseball, and due to their lackluster commitment to their
soccer clubs, threatened the future of the ALPF. Despite these somewhat glaring
shortcomings, the ALPF continued in the meantime.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-JfYkpHm8ihQ/UtLZARNpZJI/AAAAAAAAAIY/fKG7wckpbv0/s1600/John_Griffin_Carlisle,_Brady-Handy_photo_portrait,_ca1870-1880.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-JfYkpHm8ihQ/UtLZARNpZJI/AAAAAAAAAIY/fKG7wckpbv0/s1600/John_Griffin_Carlisle,_Brady-Handy_photo_portrait,_ca1870-1880.jpg" width="154" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Secretary of the Treasury John G. Carlisle<br />
<a href="http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/cwpbh.04037" target="_blank">Library of Congress</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Prior to their initial meeting
with Baltimore, Washington, keeping with the close succession of games thus far,
travelled to Philadelphia and dropped their second consecutive game to the
Phillies 4-1 on October 15. The Senators opened the scoring early on from an
own goal and trailed only 2-1 at the half, but the Philadelphia side proved too
much over the course of the game. After the loss, Washington travelled back
home to host Baltimore the very next day, October 16, at National Park. Wagner
again deemed the game Ladies Day, and allowed free entry to women in possession
of his patented “complimentary books.” Going into the game, both <i>The Washington Post</i> and <i>The Baltimore Sun</i> extolled the talents
of the Baltimore eleven hailing primarily from Detroit by way of England,
though the players origins remained unknown, outside of Baltimore’s club, prior
to the game. The praise from the city’s dailies proved well placed. A.W.
Stewart and his band of seasoned professionals entered National Park and did
not disappoint the 300 to 500 fans present. By the end of the game, Hanlon’s group
of imported talent proved too much for the diminutive Senators, as Baltimore
completely outclassed Washington and took the game by a score of 10-1. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">After the game, Ralph
Dean, one of Washington’s wingers, informed manager Gus Schmeltz that he recognized
several of Baltimore’s players names from England, as he subscribed to a Manchester
area newspaper and saw that the paper named several players of Baltimore in an
article. <i>The Washington</i> <i>Post</i> broke the story the next day in their
recap of the game, while <i>The Baltimore
Sun</i> made no mention of the imported talent aside from the cryptic headline “Foot-Ball
Hustlers.” Shortly after Washington’s accusations, the United States Department
of the Treasury, the government entity that handled immigration at that time, opened
an investigation of Baltimore’s team. The Treasury opened the investigation because
then Secretary of the Treasury, John G. Carlisle, declared prior to the season
that footballers were not artists and would not be able to enter the country while
under contract overseas. Therefore, the ALPF’s employment of English
professionals was fine, as long as they were not under contract with any club
outside of the United States, as it appeared several of Baltimore’s players
seemed to be. The Treasury Department’s investigation coupled with the creation
of the ABA capitalized on the already glaring inefficiencies of the league and signaled
the death knell of the ALPF. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-VmLka6vNlR0/UtLPPsg1ATI/AAAAAAAAAII/kBAwyT9VV1g/s1600/Union+Park.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="252" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-VmLka6vNlR0/UtLPPsg1ATI/AAAAAAAAAII/kBAwyT9VV1g/s1600/Union+Park.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px;">Union Park, Baltimore, MD, 1897<br />
<a href="http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/cph.3a22847" target="_blank">Library of Congress</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Just two days after
walloping Washington at National Park, Baltimore hosted the Senators on October
18, in its first home game at Union Park in front of 2500- 3000 spectators. Baltimore’s
talent proved superior once again, though they could not notch double-digit
goals a second consecutive time, defeating Washington 5-1. The two sides played
another game at National Park two days later, October 20, in front of only a “fair”
crowd, in what proved to be the final game of the season. Baltimore, with its imported
talent, defeated Washington once again this time by the score of 3-0. By this
time, the ABA officially formed and, though the new baseball league denied it, directly
battled the National League for fans and players while the U.S. Department of
the Treasury was actively investigation Baltimore’s alleged importation of professionals
under contract. The owners, not alluding to the ABA or government
investigation, decided to end the first season of the ALPF abruptly on October
20, much to the protestations of Wagner, President Irwin, and the Baltimore
outfit. Officially, the owners cited the leagues floundering attendance, the
late start of the league, and a possible conflict with the college football
schedule as the reasons they were ending the season. The owners did not admit
any fault for their lack of a definitive schedule, their baffling scheduling of
games during the workweek, their failure of employing individuals familiar with
the game, or their complete disrespect for the American Football Association. The
owners decided to honor their players’ contracts until November 1 and vowed to
learn from their mistakes and make a second attempt at a league the following year.
Many in the press already doubted that the sincerity of the claim, which
ultimately proved prophetic as the ALPF’s first season was also its last. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Wagner, following
Washington’s final game, paid his players their remaining salaries and purchased
train tickets to their respective hometowns. He, along with Philadelphia
Phillies owner Arthur Irwin, and Baltimore’s Harry Von der Horst, wanted to
continue the season despite its rocky start. Wagner, who showed a commitment to
the undertaking from the beginning, stated:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 27pt 10pt 31.5pt; tab-stops: 441.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif";"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 27pt 10pt 31.5pt; tab-stops: 441.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif";">“I
was for continuing (the season), even if the clubs were losing a little money.
I went into the scheme with the full expectation of sinking a few thousand
dollars into this preliminary season, knowing that in time the game will take
with the masses and we would be reimbursed for our outlay. This was intended
merely as a season of education. It always takes more or less time to develop
any kind of sporting ventures and creating a liking for them with the people
who want to be entertained or amused.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Ultimately, league play
within the ALPF lasted a mere two weeks from October 6-20. The endeavor perhaps
doomed from the baseball magnates initial meetings, eventually succumbed to the
ineptitude and ignorance of the owners, a hallmark of many professional
startups within the United States. The ALPF’s failure was only the first of
many unsuccessful professional soccer leagues over the course of the next
century. Ironically, had the ALPF somehow survived, the league’s centenary
would have coincided with the 1994 World Cup, which eventually led to the
current professional league in the United States, Major League Soccer.
Ddespite the failure of the ALPF, soccer survived in the U.S. and
several of the founding members of the league refused to stop playing once the
league folded, including the mighty Baltimore outfit. Due to the abrupt end to the
season and their undefeated record, Baltimore declared the club champions of
the league. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><a href="http://amofb.blogspot.com/2014/01/the-first-professional-soccer-league-in_17.html">Click here for the third and final post</a>: The real story of how
Baltimore’s ruse of importing players was discovered, and what the champion
Baltimore Orioles did following the league’s collapse. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">In keeping with the format of my first post, I will list some of the sources I used in making this article here instead of using footnotes. A number of primary and secondary sources were used in the making of this post including: <i>The Baltimore Sun, The Boston Globe, The New York Times, The New York Tribune, The Washington Post, The Washington Star, </i><a href="http://www.phillysoccerpage.net/2010/03/31/the-philadelphia-phillies-and-early-philadelphia-soccer-history-part-1/" style="font-style: italic;" target="_blank">Ed Farnsworth's post concerning Philadelphia's ALPF History</a><i>, </i><a href="http://homepages.sover.net/~spectrum/alpf.html" style="font-style: italic;" target="_blank">Steve Holroyd's History of the ALPF</a><i>, </i><a href="http://www.baseballreference.com/" style="font-style: italic;" target="_blank">www.baseballreference.com</a>, as well as several other secondary sources.</span><br />
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
Skihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13488748094836677592noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6186634703462395529.post-26048936020736222132014-01-04T11:02:00.000-08:002016-02-16T09:38:45.789-08:00The First Professional Soccer League in America and the Senators of Washington, Part One<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">In the first post of this three-part series, I
introduce the American League of Professional Football, covering its formation,
rules, and participating cities. The Washington Senators also feature
extensively in this initial post. This by no means is a complete history of the league or any of its
clubs, but more of an introduction to America’s first professional soccer
league. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">When most people think of professional soccer in the
United States, they usually think of Major League Soccer and, inevitably, the
North American Soccer League (NASL). Granted professional soccer in America has
a checkered, albeit storied, history. Americans have played the game almost as
long as they have baseball and it would be naïve to think that the NASL was the
first professional league to kick the ball on American soil. The first
professional soccer league, in fact, dates back to the 19<sup>th</sup> century, preceding
the formation of professional basketball, football, and hockey leagues. In
1894, a group of baseball owners, looking to create a professional sports league for the winter months,
created the nation’s first professional soccer league, the American League of
Professional Football. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">The
ALPF and its Origins<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-jGiDAl7zcJo/UshYSWcOKeI/AAAAAAAAAHQ/4AjocIzkIAQ/s1600/1895+washington+senators.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="228" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-jGiDAl7zcJo/UshYSWcOKeI/AAAAAAAAAHQ/4AjocIzkIAQ/s1600/1895+washington+senators.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">1895 Washington Senators Baseball Club</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">During the last decade of the 19<sup>th</sup>
century, a vacuum in sports entertainment existed. Professionalism among
athletes was in its nascent stages. Baseball fielded the only professional
sports league in the country and held a monopoly on the summer months. College
football held court in the fall months, but was considered non-professional and embroiled
in a debate over the violence inherent in the game. Sure, Americans played other sports during the
winter and several amateur sports leagues existed, but by 1894 only baseball existed
at the professional level. By creating
the American League of Professional Football (ALPF), the owners of several
National League baseball clubs sought to fill this winter void, fill their vacant
stadiums, line thier pockets, and maintain their stranglehold
on the growing sports landscape.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">The formation of the ALPF grew out of a series of
meetings between the owners of six baseball clubs in the National League that
began as early as February 1894. The idea of a professional soccer league
managed by the National League owners came up during the league’s annual
meeting in February and plans continued well after. A preliminary meeting took
place on 19 June 1894. During this meeting, the owners announced they would
create a professional soccer league starting in the fall of 1894. The owners
agreed signed a three-year partnership agreement, as well as, a guarantee fund stating,
“any club that refused to play, or finish a game, would forfeit $500.” In
addition, the owners announced a vague schedule that would run from the
beginning of October until the start of the New Year. The owners named
Arthur Irwin, the Philadelphia Phillies owner, interim president. Joining
Philadelphia in the league were the cities of Baltimore, Boston, Brooklyn, New
York, and Washington D.C. The respective owners were optimistic the league
would succeed, among them, Washington Senators owner Jacob Earl Wagner.
From the onset, both Irwin and Wagner sought to field a successful team. In
fact, both owners had a number of players already under contract by the meeting
in June. Over the course of the next month, it seemed clear that despite the natural
drawing power of the baseball players, the owners, fearing injuries, concluded
they would not field any of their baseball stars in the ALPF. Ultimately, some
baseball players would suit up for several of the soccer clubs, but they were in the minority. By the
beginning of August, still in the midst of baseball season, many of the clubs
had begun rounding up talent and forming their squads. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">The baseball magnates formally created the ALPF on
August 14, 1894 at the Fifth Avenue Hotel in New York City. Irwin removed the
interim title from his name and became president of the newly formed league. </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">The
new vendors of professional soccer, seeking to maintain their dominance within
the sporting world, drew up a constitution mirroring that of their baseball
league, which in effect gave them the utmost authority and left the players
powerless after they put pen to paper. The owners confirmed the October to
January schedule, ratified that the rules of the game, and set ticket prices at
.25 and .50 cents, which was on par with what the National League charged for its baseball games.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">The league’s rules would be
the same as those in England, save for a few minor tweaks, which, judging by
the newspaper articles available seemed to include substitutions, something
that was not allowed in the English League until the 1960s. In addition to the schedule
and rules, the league also adopted a set of rules for the clubs uniforms. The
home clubs were to wear a white uniform with black stockings, while the away
clubs were to wear black or another dark color with white stockings. Lastly,
the ALPF announced that Sunderland, then an English powerhouse, were to come stateside
and play a series of exhibitions with its league members in 1895.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-dJhuGOSnNa0/UshYghJdSLI/AAAAAAAAAHY/TvyuwKeoMvw/s1600/Gus_Schmelz_1890.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-dJhuGOSnNa0/UshYghJdSLI/AAAAAAAAAHY/TvyuwKeoMvw/s1600/Gus_Schmelz_1890.JPG" width="196" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Washington Senators Manager Gus Schmelz<br />
via www.baseballreference.com</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Despite the positivity emanating from the press, and
the consistently emphatic language spewed by the owners, several factors seemed
detrimental to the long-term success of the ALPF. First, the owners did not set a fixed schedule. Though the owners kept pushing an October to
January schedule through the press, in reality the league could and would not
begin until the end of the baseball season, which could, and did, drum on after
October 1. </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Additionally, the owners did
not set specific game dates, only stating that they would try not to interfere
with the college football schedule. In fact, well into October the league still
did not have a season schedule stretching farther than the end of that month. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Another act that seemed detrimental to the success of the league was that fact the
owners refused to gather genuine soccer minds. The owners allowed the baseball managers to
run the soccer clubs, though as you will see was not true for each of the six
clubs. In Washington’s case, the manager of both sports was Gustavus, “Gus,”
Schmelz. </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">This, in effect, was an attempt
to keep baseball fans interested since the baseball players would not be
participating in the new league, but, consequently, meant that fans would not
witness the best tactics on display. In addition to retaining their baseball
managers, the owners named the soccer clubs after their respective baseball
clubs. This may seem odd to any American sports fan, but became common elsewhere
in the world, with Real Madrid being a prime example of several sports falling
under the umbrella of one club.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Outside opposition to league also existed in addition
to these initial glaring oversights in the league’s creation. </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">A little over a
month after the announced formation of the ALPF, the American Football
Association (AFA) the first governing body for the sport in the United States,
barred any of its players from playing in the new league. The AFA, formed in
1884, oversaw the non-professional leagues throughout the East. The AFA had
reason to worry, as the ALPF pulled many players from teams under their jurisdiction,
including several of Washington’s players who J. Earl Wagner culled from the
Trenton (NJ) Rovers and nearly all of the players competing for Brooklyn once
suited up for the Fall River Rovers (MA). Ironically, the AFA’s opposition proved
irrelevant after sides affiliated with the governing body engaged in friendly
matches with the new professional clubs prior to the start of the ALPF season.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">The
Washington Senators</span></b><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">As previously mentioned, J. Earle Wagner, owner of
the Washington Senators Baseball Club, in addition to President Irwin and
Boston’s owner Arthur Soden, took the creation of the ALPF seriously from the
first rumblings of its creation. This may, or may not, have been to the
detriment of Washington’s baseball club, as they eventually finished 11<sup>th</sup>
out of the 12 team National League posting a 45-87 record. By July 30, well
before the official creation of the league, Washington had twelve of eighteen
players under contract. The <i>Washington
Post</i> featured a profile on these twelve “footballers” a short time later,
which is something each city’s daily did to garner interest in the ALPF. Among
the initial twelve players signed by August 5, were future captain and halfback
John, D. Gallagher, and 5’4 ¼ ” goalkeeper John L. Kearns, who ultimately did not remain with the team. In addition to player profiles, each city’s press
claimed that their city’s team were a quality eleven capable of winning the
league, Washington was no exception. President, and Philadelphia Phillies
owner, Irwin even proclaimed the Washington squad as quality prior to the start
of the campaign, though no league president has ever publicly stated that teams
competing within his start-up league were not quality, nor would any local
press seek to turn off fans by writing about how terrible a team was. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-WOWZkHPQxr8/UshVZAFqReI/AAAAAAAAAGs/oADipPoZroo/s1600/temple-cup.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-WOWZkHPQxr8/UshVZAFqReI/AAAAAAAAAGs/oADipPoZroo/s1600/temple-cup.jpg" width="174" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Temple Cup</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">After several months of planning and the positive
press emanating from the <i>Washington Post</i>,
Washington’s roster final roster remained up in the air after announced start
of the league on October 1. Washington was not the only club with a roster
that remained unfilled. Each club within the league had holes within their
roster for a variety of reasons. Inevitably, the National League baseball season
delayed the start of the ALPF season with mangers, like Wagner, still tweaking
his baseball roster while focusing on the soccer side of his club. Ultimately,
the Temple Cup, the newly created championship of the National League, series
dragged on until October 8 and postponed the announced start of the ALPF’s
season. The inaugural Temple Cup Series is an entire story unto itself, with a
feud over gate receipts, a fashionably late fixed schedule, and a rousing party
welcoming the Baltimore baseball team in the city of Washington all happening
prior to the ALPF season. Obviously, and perhaps from the owners perspective, understandably,
the opening of the soccer season remained second fiddle to baseball. Within
this atmosphere, the soccer entities, namely Washington, continued practicing,
scrimmaging, and singing players. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-htPwCG14f9Q/UshVmQvnF6I/AAAAAAAAAG0/F4Q7Y_VF0gY/s1600/American_League_Park_Washington_1905+Boundary+Field+National+Field.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="163" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-htPwCG14f9Q/UshVmQvnF6I/AAAAAAAAAG0/F4Q7Y_VF0gY/s1600/American_League_Park_Washington_1905+Boundary+Field+National+Field.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">National Park ca. 1905</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Going into October, Gus Schmelz, Washington’s manager,
had an idea of his squad’s makeup and the ground they would play on. Each
soccer club played in the stadium of their baseball counterparts as these were
the premier venues of their day. For Washington, this meant that the club
played its home games at National Park, a site that the Howard University
Hospital now occupies in Northwest, Washington, D.C. Wagner selected red, white, and
black as the team’s colors, similar to D.C.’s current club D.C. United. The
team’s uniforms consisted of “trousers of heavy white duck, the shirts of wide
black and white stripes, and the skull caps, belts, and stockings of dark red.”
To round out the uniform, the team had two sweaters, “the lighter one of solid
red, and the heavier one of black and white horizontal stripes.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-U_pPYZhkeHY/UshVz1sBcYI/AAAAAAAAAG8/3tXavfcGbyc/s1600/charles+abbey+gk+for+senators+1895+(1).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-U_pPYZhkeHY/UshVz1sBcYI/AAAAAAAAAG8/3tXavfcGbyc/s1600/charles+abbey+gk+for+senators+1895+(1).jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Charlie Abbey<br />
Washington Senators Centerfielder<br />
and Footballer</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Based on just the first twelve signings for the of Washington’s squad, we, today, would consider many of the players small. The tallest player of
the first twelve to sign for Washington was halfback James Tiffany who stood
just 5’7 ½” tall. Of the first twelve to sign with the club, ten remained with
the club to open the season. Due
to their collective height, Washington looked to utilize the players speed to
compete in the league. In fact, Washington fielded several players that football
experts of the day considered the fastest in the league. Joining manager
Schmelz from the baseball side was Charlie Abbey, the only Senator to suit up
for both baseball and soccer entities. The <i>Post</i>
projected Abbey as a reserve keeper, but also mentioned his abilities in the
field. He eventually saw action in defense. It was not until October 10, the
day before Washington’s season opener, that the squad seemed finalized when
their goalkeeper, John Lynch finally showed up to Nationals Park. With the team
finally set, the opening game of Washington’s foray in the ALPF proved to be a rather
pompous and celebrated affair. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p>So what became of the ALPF? <a href="http://amofb.blogspot.com/2014/01/the-first-professional-soccer-league-in_12.html" target="_blank">Click here for part two.</a></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">In keeping with the format of my first post, I will list some of the sources I used in making this article here instead of using footnotes. A number of primary and secondary sources were used in the making of this post including: <i>The Baltimore Sun, The Boston Globe, The New York Times, The New York Tribune, The Washington Post, The Washington Star, </i><a href="http://www.phillysoccerpage.net/2010/03/31/the-philadelphia-phillies-and-early-philadelphia-soccer-history-part-1/" style="font-style: italic;" target="_blank">Ed Farnsworth's post concerning Philadelphia's ALPF History</a><i>, </i><a href="http://homepages.sover.net/~spectrum/alpf.html" style="font-style: italic;" target="_blank">Steve Holroyd's History of the ALPF</a><i>, </i><a href="http://www.baseballreference.com/" style="font-style: italic;" target="_blank">www.baseballreference.com</a>, as well as several other secondary sources.</span></div>
Skihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13488748094836677592noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6186634703462395529.post-87357467533733536102013-12-25T14:58:00.000-08:002016-03-18T08:33:41.574-07:00The Last American Cup: Taking the Title to Poland<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Q8-321P-Ydk/UrtVqa4TlkI/AAAAAAAAAB4/yGjY2AiJmLM/s1600/ACC.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Q8-321P-Ydk/UrtVqa4TlkI/AAAAAAAAAB4/yGjY2AiJmLM/s1600/ACC.jpg" width="135" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The American Challenge Cup<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">There was a time in American soccer history when the
some of the top clubs from around the world competed in a top-flight American
league. This premier league was the International Soccer League (ISL), which
existed for a short period from 1960 to 1965. The ISL generated enough buzz during
its existence to lay the foundations for the future of the sport in America.
During its existence, the ISL featured a number of teams that are known worldwide
today including Bayern Munich, Everton, and Sporting Lisbon, to name a few.
Among the teams to compete in the ISL, was a team from behind the Iron Curtain
that would prove formidable in the last year of the leagues existence and take
the American Challenge Cup (ACC) back to Poland for good. This team was Polonia
Bytom.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><u><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></u></b></div>
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<b><u><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></u></b></div>
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<b><u><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Origins
of the ISL</span></u></b><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">The International Soccer League was the brainchild
of William Drought Cox, a man who is commonly associated with his ownership of
several professional sports franchises including the Philadelphia Phillies, and
the failed New York Yankees and Dodgers football franchises. Cox was, in fact,
an ambitious entrepreneur who dealt in a number of businesses from art to
lumber in addition to his forays into professional sports. His lumber company
even supplied the pilings that constructors used to reinforce the Panama Canal,
which he later sold and reinvested into mineral development in Greece. During
the 1950s through his dealings in Europe, Cox became a soccer fan, saw a good
business opportunity, and a void within the sports landscape of the United
States. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">The 1960’s
saw an explosion of professional sports leagues in the United States. From
1960 to1965, Major League Baseball grew from 16 clubs to 20. Professional
football saw the American Football League challenge the National Football
League in 1960, which culminated in the merger of the two leagues and the
creation of the Super Bowl in 1966. By the end of the decade, professional
basketball and hockey would increase the number of existing franchises, and see
the ABA challenge the NBA for basketball supremacy. Within this vast sports
landscape, the American Soccer League (ASL) was at the helm of professional soccer,
which many considered a semi-pro league talent wise. The ASL, though it was the
only FIFA sanctioned league within the United States, was confined to the East
Coast, at this time, and more specifically around New York City and New
England. William Cox theorized that soccer would succeed in the growing sports
landscape of America, if only the level of play was on par with the product
overseas.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Cox saw the amount of people who would push through
the turnstiles to see the best clubs and players across Europe. The world,
including the United States, by this time, also knew about a growing legend
from Brazil and the throngs of people who would pack into the Maracana to watch
the beautiful game. Relying on the successes of the game worldwide, and the
potential for a world-class production of the game within the states, Cox, in
conjunction with the Mayor of New York, Robert F. Wagner, announced the
creation of the International Soccer League on October 28, 1959. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">From the onset, the ISL drew considerable interest
from both the different ethnic groups of New York City and its major daily
publication, the New York Times. In addition to its initial media coverage in
print, the ISL managed to secure a television contract as well, something that
today is vital to the success of professional sports, but was then still in its
infancy. The league would also feature, albeit shortly, in other dailies
across the nation, and in publications such as Sports Illustrated, Time
Magazine, and the New Yorker, proving there was considerable interest in the
league initially.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Keeping with Cox’s original intent, the ISL brought
over some of the world’s best teams and some of the best players of the era.
The inaugural season set the tone for the league, and saw the league gain a
foothold in the sports psyche of America as the final for the first American
Challenge Cup drew over 25,000 fans to the Polo Grounds in New York to see
Bangu, of Brazil, defeat Kilmarnock. The successes of the first season ensured
the growth of the league in its second season and a future for a top-flight league
in the United States.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">The next five seasons saw the growth of the league
coupled with expansion, threats of FIFA sanctions, Cox’s commitment to the
growth of soccer and the success of the national team within the United States,
and ultimately the demise of the league. FIFA nearly aborted the second season,
only to retract its threats “as long as the proper paperwork was in the mail.”
The second season also witnessed the first expansion of league play outside of
New York City when the ISL held games in Montreal Canada. The ISL would later
host games in Los Angeles, Chicago, Guadalajara, Mexico, and Chicopee, MA. The
second season also saw the implementation of a two game final, and the first
appearance of the team that came to dominate the American Challenge Cup, Dukla
Prague. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><u><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></u></b></div>
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<b><u><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Dukla
Prague, so what?</span></u></b><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-cbXEICyRnpM/UrtTsmCyhnI/AAAAAAAAABs/sEK9LamTnV0/s1600/dukla_621.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="195" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-cbXEICyRnpM/UrtTsmCyhnI/AAAAAAAAABs/sEK9LamTnV0/s1600/dukla_621.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Dukla Prague 1962</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">The 1960s saw Dukla Prague at the pinnacle of
Czechoslovak soccer. The team dominated the first half of the decade and
captured five league titles in six years. Due to the clubs ties with the army of
Czechoslovakia, the team reaped financial benefits from the military, and were
able to seize talented players from other clubs as part of their “military conscription”. The club reached its apex in the 1966-67
campaign when it reached the semi-final round of the European Cup, where it
lost to eventual champion Celtic.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">When Dukla Prague entered the ISL in 1961, they were
coming off a domestic double. The club also brought six players who would
feature for the 1962 World Cup runner-up Czechoslovak national team, including the
legendary, 1962 Ballon d’Or winner, Josef Masopust. Dukla competed in the second
section of the 1961 season and absolutely tore through their group finishing
undefeated with a 6-0-1 record with a plus 30-goal differential (36 for, 6
against). En route to the second section crown, Dukla rolled through Red Star
Belgrade 4-2, Monoco 2-0, and Espanyol 5-1. Dukla also easily handled lesser
competition from Shamrock Rovers, Rapid Vienna, and Israeli side Petah Tikva. Only Montreal Concordia were able to take a point from the Czechoslovak outfit.
Rudolf Kucera of Dukla captured the golden boot handily with fifteen goals.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Dukla Prague’s success continued in the two game
series for the American Challenge Cup against Everton. In addition to Masopust,
Dukla fielded a top-notch squad featuring stalwarts of the national team: Ladislav Novak, Masopust’s midfield running mate, Svatopluk Pluskal, and
national team members, Jaroslav Borovicka, Josef Jelinek, and goalkeeper Pavel Kouba.
Dukla were favored in the two game series against Everton. The English side
finished fifth during their 1960-61 English campaign and brought Welshman Roy
Vernon, Scots Bobby Collins, Alex Parker and Alex Young to the across the Atlantic to compete in the ISL. Everton, the winners
of the First Section of that ISL season, were by no means a pushover, but the
9-2 aggregate scoreline in favor of Dukla proved otherwise.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-n1Q35ZAjlqI/UrtWSZh_3kI/AAAAAAAAACA/x2RHT9BrMqA/s1600/josef+masopust.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-n1Q35ZAjlqI/UrtWSZh_3kI/AAAAAAAAACA/x2RHT9BrMqA/s1600/josef+masopust.jpg" width="287" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Josef Masopust</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">The first game of the Cup championship took place at
the Polo Grounds on August 2, 1961. Dukla were favored to win the match due to
their recent dominance in the second section of the league and, likely, the
short memory of the press and fans. Though they were champions of the first section,
Everton had not played in the ISL since mid-June, while the Dukla eleven were
fresh off their 10-0 rout over Shamrock Rovers just three days prior. Dukla
showed no signs of fatigue, carried their outstanding form into the game from
the first whistle, and dominated Everton to the tune of 7-2. The second-leg, on
August 6, proved to be a rather dull affair compared with the first match, but
ultimately saw Dukla shut out Everton 2-0. With that win, Dukla ended
their first foray in the ISL with an emphatic exclamation point. The next
season, 1962, the ISL realized what a gem they had in Dukla Prague and changed
the format of the league once again. Dukla would return to defend their
championship only after the two section winners battled each other for the
regular season ISL title. Dukla Prague would return to New York for the next
four years and rattle off a run of four consecutive American Challenge Cups
defeating America RJ of Brazil, a Bobby Moore led, West Ham United, and Polish
side <span style="background-color: white;">Zagłębie
Sosnowiec. Though none of Dukla’s cup victories were as lopsided as the one
against Everton, it took a team at the apex of its existence to snatch the ISL
crown, 1962 Polish champions, Polonia Bytom. <i><u><o:p></o:p></u></i></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><u><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></u></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><u><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">1965 ISL
First Section Champions<o:p></o:p></span></u></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><u><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></u></b></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-tm7WkkwJ5T0/UrtaYECkeMI/AAAAAAAAACY/CaIcRxOX6LU/s1600/1965+ISL+Schedule.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="260" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-tm7WkkwJ5T0/UrtaYECkeMI/AAAAAAAAACY/CaIcRxOX6LU/s1600/1965+ISL+Schedule.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">1965 ISL Schedule. <br />
Courtesy of www.oldbaggies.com</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">The ISL’s final season proved to be a promising one. The league hosted double headers throughout the season and featured several strong sides including
second time participant and 1963 ISL champion West Ham United, who lined up
eventual 1966 World Cup winners, Martin Peters, Geoff Hurst, and the legendary
Bobby Moore. The league, though successful to this point, did have its own
problems. Similar to the 1964 campaign, the 1965 rendition only featured ten
teams, down from a high of fourteen in 1963. Competing against West Ham in the
first Section were: TSV 1860 Munich, European Cup Winners Cup runners up to
West Ham United, and 1965-66 Bundesliga Champions, Italian sided Varese, and Brazil's
Portugesa. Rounding out the group were the reincarnation of the New York Americans, a side
comprised of a who’s who of the German-American Soccer League.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">On paper, West Ham should have run roughshod through the first section.
They were the preseason favorite given their reputation and past performances
within the ISL, but by the end of the six game tournament they were bottom of
the table with only one win and two losses coming to the first section champions,
the New York Americans. The Americans proved to be a plucky bunch and took the
league by surprise. Standout keeper Uwe Schwart and future NFL placekicker
Bobby Howfield led them throughout the 1965 season. In fact, the Americans
defeated West Ham twice and only dropped their first game to 1860 Munich en
route to the first section crown. The New York squad had to wait the rest of the
summer to find out who they would face for the ISL championship and a shot at
Dukla Prague for the American Challenge Cup. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><u><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></u></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><u><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></u></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><u><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">So what
exactly is a Polonia Bytom?<o:p></o:p></span></u></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><u><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></u></b></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-HtTcFjlPc6I/UrtW0Ft_2uI/AAAAAAAAACM/yyb0eD5ePhY/s1600/Bytom+Badge.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="175" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-HtTcFjlPc6I/UrtW0Ft_2uI/AAAAAAAAACM/yyb0eD5ePhY/s1600/Bytom+Badge.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Courtesy of club website</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Only four teams competed in the second section of the 1965 ISL season,
but the clubs played the same amount of games, six, as the clubs of the first section.
Competing in the second half of the campaign was, West Bromwich Albion, recent
Scottish champions, Kilmarnock, the renowned, Inter-Cities Fairs Cup winners
and Hungarian champions, Ferencvaros, and reigning Karl Rappan (Intertoto) Cup
champions and two-time Polish champion, Polonia Bytom. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Coming into the second section, Polonia Bytom were looking to continue
the successes of past Polish clubs in the ISL. Polonia were the third Polish
team to enter the tournament following Polish powerhouse, the Miners of Gornik
Zabrze, and 1964 ISL Champions and ACC runners up, Zaglebie Sosnowiec. <i>The Ukrainian
Weekly</i> considered Bytom “the most
enthusiastic, swift, and resourceful team” competing in the second section. Club
legends Edward Szymkowiak, Zygmunt Anczok, and Jan Liberda paced the Silesian
eleven. Bytom were in the midst of their most successful spell, fresh off of their first international cup title, and ultimately
at the apex of the club's success. Their foray in the ISL would see the Poles continue their fine run of
form and ultimately add silverware to their trophy cabinet.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-03iGkaWm-gg/UrtasKKMhpI/AAAAAAAAACg/-AvVInB3kWA/s1600/Edward.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-03iGkaWm-gg/UrtasKKMhpI/AAAAAAAAACg/-AvVInB3kWA/s1600/Edward.jpg" width="225" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; line-height: 18px;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Edward Szymkowiak<br /> Courtesy of club website</span></span></td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Looking to draw some of its large Polish population, the ISL scheduled
Polonia Bytom’s first match in Chicago against Ferencvaros, a team that some
media considered the best in the section. A little over 12,000 people saw a
competitive nil-nil draw between the two Eastern European clubs, which
undoubtedly is less than the league thought would come through the gates. It
proved the last ISL game played outside of New York, as the teams completed the
rest of the season at an increasingly dilapidating Downing Stadium on Randall’s
Island.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">In their second game, played in front of just over 6,000 fans, the Polish squad
missed several opportunities and went down 1-0 to Kilmarnock in the 26<sup>th</sup>
minute. Bytom equalized via a beautifully placed ball by Jan Banas that nicked
the crossbar and dropped in tying the game at 1-1. The Scots hung on and poor shooting by the Poles
doomed the side to their second consecutive draw. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Bytom’s third foray in league play saw the Red and Blue face the Baggies
of West Brom. The Brits from the West Midlands were comfortably up 2-0 at
halftime. Were it not for two late goals by future St. Louis Star Norbert
Pogrezba, West Brom would have taken the two points and command of the second
section. The 2-2 draw, displayed in front of a paltry 4,000 plus fans, moved the
Poles into a tie for second in the league after three games.
The next few games proved decisive in Polonia Bytom’s ISL title hopes and
ultimately cemented their place in the championship game against the New York
Americans.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Bytom’s streak of three draws came to an end in their forth
league game in a rematch with the Hungarian champions Ferencvaros. In a game
mired by controversy, the Poles stole two points late on a game winning goal by
Zygmunt Schmidt. The Hungarians protested the result due to an illegal
substitution. </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">The ISL rules dictated that a team could make a substitution up
to the 45<sup>th</sup> minute of a game, save for a goalkeeper, but Schmidt
entered the game for Jan Banas at the start of the second half. Despite the
protests, the late goal by the proclaimed illegal substitute Schmidt stood.
Bytom took the two points for a victory, winning 2-1, and climbed to the top of the four-team
table with five points. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">The Polish side looked to continue racking up wins when they met
Kilmarnock in their fifth game. Bytom’s eleven proved better finishers the
second time around. Zygmunt Schmidt seized the lead for the Poles within the
first quarter hour on an assist from Jerzy Jozwiak. In the second half, Norbert
Pogrezba tallied another goal for Bytom and cemented the Silesian side’s place
atop the second section standings with an easy 2-0 win. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Polonia Bytom’s final match in the ISL’s second section was a rematch
against English side West Bromich Albion. The game hardly resembled the first match
between the two sides. Bytom dominated the match from the first whistle. Pogrezba
and Schmidt again flashed their goal-scoring prowess throughout the game.
Schmidt notched the first goal, a header from a corner, in the 31<sup>st</sup>
minute. Pogrezba added a second goal from eight yards away only four minutes
after Schmidt’s tally. Schmidt put the game out of reach just four minutes
later when he found the net for the second time. West Brom found themselves
down 3-0 at the half. Bytom kept the pressure on the Baggies and added a 4<sup>th</sup>
goal scored by Pogrezba just twenty seconds into the second half. Both Pogrezba
and Schmidt added another goal each, giving both men a hat trick in a 6-0 rout
of West Brom. With the win, Polonia Bytom became the third consecutive Polish
side to win an ISL second section title. They finished the section undefeated
with three wins and three draws and earned a two game series with the New York
Americans for the ISL Championship, with the winner gaining the right to
challenge Dukla Prague for the American Challenge Cup.</span></div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-6cCN0VUwiSo/UrtdNACQyLI/AAAAAAAAAC0/ANKdu9BeZz0/s1600/Bytom+1960s.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="229" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-6cCN0VUwiSo/UrtdNACQyLI/AAAAAAAAAC0/ANKdu9BeZz0/s1600/Bytom+1960s.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Polonia Bytom 1960s<br />
Courtesy of club website</td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Despite the successes of the Americans in the first section of the
season, Polonia Bytom entered the series as favorites. Before their section
win, the New York eleven, the first American team to compete in the ISL in
three years, were not considered to be serious contenders for the section. Their win, to
some, symbolized a breakthrough in American soccer and showed that teams could
not just come to the States to vacation and collect a paycheck. Both teams
featured speedy attacks and superb goaltenders anchored both clubs defenses. In
fact, the Americans keeper, Uwe Schwart earned the Dwight D. Eisenhower MVP
trophy becoming the second goalkeeper to win the award joining Karl Bogelein of
West German club Reutlingen. Bytom entered the series fresh off its 6-0 rout of
West Brom looking to end the Americans Cinderella run and take as much
silverware as they could back to Poland.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Congressman, and soon to be Mayor of New York, John Lindsay took the honorary
first kick in front of just over 8,000 fans to get the first game of the series
underway. Bytom pressed the New Yorkers from the first whistle storming into
the final third early on. New York had no answer defensively, but the Americans
were able to contain the Poles for the first quarter of an hour. Soon after,
Jan Banas capitalized on a botched clearance and slotted the ball past Uwe
Schwart to put Polonia Bytom up 1-0. The score line held for the rest of the
first half. Bytom managed eight shots in the first half, a number they would quadruple
by the end of the game, an ISL record. The Poles started the second half much
the same as the first and continually made deep runs into the final third, totaling
twenty-five shots in the half. Zygmunt Schmidt notched Bytom’s second goal just
after the start of the half, while Jerzy Jozwiak, a second-half substitute, bagged
an empty net goal in the dying minutes of the game after New York pulled
Schwart from goal. Consequently, Pogrezba assisted both second half goals. Had
it not been for the 5’7” MVP Schwart manning the Americans goal, Polonia Bytom could
have won the game by a far greater margin. Bytom’s win all but ensured a win in
the second leg of the final, and pushed them one-step closer to a showdown with
Dukla Prague. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">The second match, a rain soaked affair witnessed by a little over 3,000
fans, initially appeared to follow the script written by both sides just three
days prior in the first leg played August 1<sup>st</sup>. Polonia Bytom sought
to command the game once again from the onset, but New York, learning from its
mistakes, weathered the attack. The Americans played with much more confidence
and saw Robert Howfield put them up 1-0 at the 28<sup>th</sup> minute mark. It
proved to be a short-lived lead for the New York club. Zygmunt Schmidt tied the
game two minutes later, and just after the start of the second half Jozwiak
scored putting Bytom up 2-1. Once again, Pogrezba assisted on both goals. The
Polish side proved too much for New York and held off the Americans to win the
game by the score of 2-1 and the series on a 5-1 aggregate. All that stood in
the way of Bytom and the American Challenge Cup trophy was four-time winners
Dukla Prague.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><b><u>The American Challenge Cup</u></b></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-_KVerIQTbIc/UrtdluhxBhI/AAAAAAAAAC8/t07EpGq-2Gg/s1600/ISL+FInal+1965+program.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-_KVerIQTbIc/UrtdluhxBhI/AAAAAAAAAC8/t07EpGq-2Gg/s1600/ISL+FInal+1965+program.JPG" width="215" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">ACC Series Program</td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Dukla Prague, perennial Czechoslovak power, reigning ACC champions, and
current Czechoslavak Cup champions, came to New York right after it completed a
series of games on a tour of South America. The format for the two game series differed
from years past. The ACC would be decided on points, two for a win and one for
a loss, instead of total goals. If the series remained tied after the two
games, then the teams would play an extra fifteen-minute period to determine
the champion. The teams would play an additional fifteen minutes if a tie
remained, and if for some reason either team failed to break the deadlock, a
coin flip would determine the winner. Under these circumstances, Polonia Bytom and
Dukla Prague met on August 8, 1965 for the first match in the series.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">The game kicked off on a hot Sunday afternoon in front of 11,442 fans at
Downing Stadium. Both sides fielded heady keepers, a well-knit defensive unit,
and a strong attack, but Dukla’s reputation had them favored to win especially
with their slew of international stars. Dukla controlled the tempo throughout the
first half, but could not take advantage of on their strong play. Bytom slowly
warmed to the game, utilized their speed, and capitalized on several of Dukla’s
defensive mistakes and the rainy weather. Jan Banas put Bytom up 1-0 in the 54<sup>th</sup>
minute. A Ladislav Novak foul set up a Bytom free kick, one that Banas took
eagerly. The free kick bounced around in the box and Banas, sensing an
opportunity, knocked in the rebound for the goal. Bytom took advantage of a
little rain and another foul to add its second goal of the game. Ryszard
Grzegorczyk rocketed in a twenty yarder off an indirect free kick that bounced
off the post and in leaving Czechoslovak national team keeper Ivo Victor
frozen. The game ended 2-0 seeing Polonia Bytom one-step closer to the trophy and
saw Dukla lose for the first time in 20 ISL games over five years. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Just three days later on August 11, Polonia Bytom carried their fine form
into the second game of the ACC series. The Poles pressed Dukla as soon as the
game started. All of their confidence and pressure almost proved for naught
when Josef Vacenovsky put Dukla up 1-0 in the 7<sup>th</sup> minute of the
match. All Dukla needed to do was preserve their lead and win to force a
fifteen minute playoff following the game. The Polish side proved undeterred by
the early defensive lapse and stayed with their original game plan. Bytom kept the
pressure on and managed an equalizer in the 23<sup>rd</sup> minute when Jerzy
Jozniak received a pass from Jan Banas, deked Dukla keeper Pavel Kouba, and
slotted the ball into the goal. Sensing victory, Bytom continued to press and
completely outran and outclassed Dukla for the rest of the game. Bytom won the
series on points with three to Dukla’s one. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-kgtOSoiC1RQ/UrtgNgY8ZvI/AAAAAAAAADU/ZZtr2FwHz3I/s1600/Bytom+Holding+American+Cup.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="226" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-kgtOSoiC1RQ/UrtgNgY8ZvI/AAAAAAAAADU/ZZtr2FwHz3I/s1600/Bytom+Holding+American+Cup.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Several players holding the ACC<br />
Courtesy of club website</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Nearly 15,000 fans witnessed the ISL final that day. Bytom wowed everyone
in attendance and finally ended Dukla Prague’s dominance of the ACC. The crowd
rushed the field and encircled the Poles as William Cox handed them their second
international trophy of the year. The game proved the last of the ISL, but not
the end of top-flight soccer in the United States. Through the ISL, Cox brought
a level of soccer to America that had never truly existed. By putting quality
soccer on display, and only losing around $100,000 in five years, Cox proved
that soccer was something more than a kicking game played by non-Americans. The
ISL directly influenced the creation of NASL and Polonia Bytom by defeating
Dukla Prague in the last game of the league’s existence, gave the league a fine
swansong, and the Polish side an incredibly large trophy that it
still holds to this day.</span></div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-087KNtwmQZo/UrthEAuBkLI/AAAAAAAAADo/qM81wxqq-m0/s1600/pb1965.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="176" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-087KNtwmQZo/UrthEAuBkLI/AAAAAAAAADo/qM81wxqq-m0/s1600/pb1965.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Polonia Bytom with their Intercontinental haul</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-soH9bz0z_HA/UrtglVD3zSI/AAAAAAAAADc/Vslpbd0Hp_I/s1600/Crowds+cheering+Bytom+coming+home+from+ISL.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="232" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-soH9bz0z_HA/UrtglVD3zSI/AAAAAAAAADc/Vslpbd0Hp_I/s1600/Crowds+cheering+Bytom+coming+home+from+ISL.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Crowd amassed for Polonia Bytom's return from the United States<br />
Courtesy of the club website</td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">A number of primary and secondary sources were used in the making of this article. Some of sources used include: The New York Times, The Ukrainian Weekly, <a href="http://homepages.sover.net/~spectrum/" target="_blank">The American Soccer History Archives</a>, <a href="http://pitchinvasion.net/blog/2011/11/04/they-even-cheered-technique-the-1960-international-soccer-league-part-one/" target="_blank">Tom Dunmore's Pitch Invasion post on ISL history</a>, and Sports Illustrated, Time Magazine, The New Yorker, and several other sources. </span></div>
Skihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13488748094836677592noreply@blogger.com0