Nat Agar, Galicia FC, and a Royal Visit

Real Madrid Crest 1920s
Source: http://www.leyendablanca.galeon.com/

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.

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.

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.

Nat Agar: Purveyor of International Competition

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).

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, Nathan “Nat” Agar, owner of the  Brooklyn Wanderers of the ASL.

Source: The Brooklyn Eagle

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. The Brooklyn Eagle 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.

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.

1924 Uruguayan Football Team
Andrade is sixth from the left, top row

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.

Galicia FC’s Rise

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. 

AC Sparta Praha 1922
Perner at center, top row
Source: http://www.sparta.cz/cs/klub/historie/ac-sparta-praha.shtml#a4

Needless to say, the club earned the right to face more challenging competition by the fall of 1926.

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. 

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.

Spanish Royalty Meet Their Countrymen

A young Bernabeu
Source: Real Madrid

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.

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.

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 The New York Times 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.

Patricio Escobal
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 his memoirs about his time in a Spanish prison.

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.

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. 

This article has also been featured on: http://inbedwithmaradona.com

In writing this article, I relied on a bevy of sources and the wonders of Google translate. My primary sources consisted of The Boston Globe, The Brooklyn Eagle, The Chicago Defender, The New York Amsterdam News, The New York Times, and The Washington Post. In addition to newspapers, I consulted numerous secondary sources including: Howler Magazine, the incredible Real Madrid archival website http://www.leyendablanca.galeon.com/, Roger Allaway's profile on Nat Agar, Sports Illustrated, Duke University's profile of Jose Leandro Andrade, Real Madrid's online coverage of the club's history, and, as always, the American Soccer History Archives. Also, thank you to Brian Bunk for helping correct some of the discrepancies within the article.  

Kristine Lilly, the Washington Warthogs, and Olympic Gold

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.

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.

Source: www.teamusa.org
Photo: Getty Images

Washington Warthogs and Lilly’s Signing

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.

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 The Washington Post, “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.

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).

Lilly playing for the Warthogs
Source: Sports Illustrated
Photo: Ted Mathias

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 Sports Illustrated, 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.

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.

Lilly along with Brandi Chastain, Joy Faucett, Julie Fowdy, and Mia Hamm in 2004
Source: Sports Illustrated
Photo: Michael O'Neil

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 definitively 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.

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 Sports Illustrated, The New York Times, and The Washington Post. In addition to these sources, I also consulted The New England Soccer Journal and, as always, The American Soccer History Archives.

Earl Clark and the Fashion Shop Forfeiture

Earl Clark - Boston Braves
Source: The Sporting News Archive

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).

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.

Earl Clark’s Playground Exploits and the Washington Soccer League

Monroe A.C. Eleven
Earl Clark is center in bottom row. To his right are his brothers Tom and Abner, respectively
Source: The Washington Post

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.

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.

Earl Clark Goudey Card

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.

The Fashion Shop Upset and the Locust Point Rangers

Aerial view of the Washington Monument and the Monument Grounds in 1919.
Part of the Library of Congress' Harris & Ewing Collection
Source: Library of Congress

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 The Washington Post 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.

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.

Aerial Photograph of Baltimore and the Maryland Baseball Park in 1927
The Park was also the home of the Baltimore Black Sox Negro League baseball team.
Source: An incredible article by MASN about the discovery of the photograph.

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.

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.

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.

Addendum (or other interesting information):

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. 

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.

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.

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. 

In writing this article, I relied heavily on the archives of The Washington Post. I also used articles from the Boston Globe during my research. In addition to these dailies, I consulted several websites including, www.baseball-reference.com and www.baseball-almanac.com.

Dick, Kerr Ladies Go to Washington

Dick, Kerr Ladies F.C. 1925
Source: http://www.donmouth.co.uk/womens_football/dick_kerr.html

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.

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.

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 

continued to compete on grounds unaffiliated with the FA up until finding a tempting opportunity overseas.

Coming to America

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.

Lily Parr
Source: The Washington Post

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 New York Times 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.

Soccer in Washington and Dick, Kerr

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.

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 The Washington Herald 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. The Washington Post billed the matchup as “one of the most unique invasions into the District’s sports realm,” while the Herald considered the contest “one of the most unique international athletic competitions in the history of District Sportsdom.” While the Herald and the Post were enthusiastically supporting the game, The Washington Times were chief amongst the Washington press to cover the distinctive matchup and the de facto promoter of the game. The Times had a self-serving interest in promoting the game that would result in an alteration to the Dick, Kerr Ladies game day schedule.

Alice Kell
Source: The Washington Times

Led by The Times, 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 The Times specifically pandered to their more chauvinistic readers by closing out their October 7 article thusly, “yes, some of them are pretty.”

While promoting the Dick, Kerr Ladies, The Times 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 The Times 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.

Ad for Pantomime World Series
Source: The Washington Times

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 The Times 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. The Times, 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 The Times 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, The Times 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.

Ad for Dick, Kerr Ladies game
Source: The Washington Times

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^th 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 The Times sponsored pantomime of the fifth game of the World Series, though in the days following the game The Washington Post printed several photos from the game within the newspaper. In addition to the extra money Dick, Kerr Ladies received from The Times, the women also left Washington with another item of value: a soccer ball signed by President Warren G. Harding.

Following their brief stay in Washington, Dick, Kerr Ladies played five more games along the Atlantic Seaboard rounding out their trip with 6-5 defeat at the hands of the Philadelphia Football Club. 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.

Here are a couple of The Washington Post's pictures from Dick, Kerr Ladies visit to American League Park:

In writing this article I relied on multiple primary and secondary resources. As always, for my primary resource material I consulted several newspapers including; The Baltimore Sun, The Guardian, The New York Times, The New York Tribune, The Washington Herald, The Washington Times, and The Washington Post. In addition to the many newspapers I used, I analyzed many websites and articles with Ed Farnsworth's article on Dick, Kerr Ladies visit to Philadelphia and its place within women's soccer history in that city chief among them. With anything dealing with Dick, Kerr Ladies F.C., one must certainly reference Gail Newsham's work on the club. Ms. Newsham is the club's official biographer and author of the book In a League of Their Own which definitively covers the club and the historical importance of the women. I also referenced the following articles and websites: Spartacus Educational's piece on Dick, Kerr Ladies, Donmouth's coverage of women's football, The 1922-23 Spalding Soccer Guide's coverage of the club's visit, and, as always,  The American Soccer History Archives.

A Simple Protestation

Ferenc Puskas, Budapest Honved

During the 1960s, many people in America were high on soccer. Pundits considered it sport of the future and speculated that soon 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.

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.

Vancouver Royals logo
Courtesy of www.sportlogos.net

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.

Robson’s replacement and eventual departure alienated many of the club’s fans prior to the season leaving renowned Vancouver Sun 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.

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.

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 groundskeepers 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.

Courtesy of The Washington Post

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.

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.

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.

Puskas showing off his famed left foot while managing Panathinaikos
Courtesy of Nationaal Archief Fotocollectie Anefo

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. 

In writing this post, my primary source material came from several newspapers. I consulted articles from The Baltimore Sun, The New York Times, The Vancouver Sun, and The Washington Post. As always, I also relied heavily on the wonderful American Soccer History Archives.