American Soccer League
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The American Soccer League has been a name used by three different professional soccer leagues in the United States.
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[edit] ASL I
The original American Soccer League, operating between 1921 and 1933, was the first significant viable professional soccer league in the United States. The league operated primarily in the northeastern United States, particularly in the New York-New Jersey-Philadelphia triangle.
Additionally, the ASL was one of the first American soccer leagues prestigious enough to attract talented players from overseas. The league, in fact, was quite well attended, and was quite competitive with the nascent National Football League in terms of popularity. The combination of excellent pay and a high level of play drew talented oversees players, especially from Scotland and England. This led to a significant amount of resentment in Europe and threats of sanctions from FIFA. Then the ASL ran afoul of the US Football Association (USFA) when team owners complained that USFA's requirement that ASL teams play in the U.S. Open Cup created an unnecessary burden on the teams. At the time the Open Cup ran during the ASL season forcing the ASL teams to travel long distances by train or bus to play Open Cup games, then return to the Northeast to play league games. When the ASL decided to boycott the Open Cup, FIFA declared the ASL an "outlaw league". This sparked the "Soccer War".[1] The ASL team owners decided to defy FIFA, relying on the league's reputation to continue to draw players. At first it seemed as if the ASL might win; however, during the 1928-1929 ASL season, FIFA and USFA gained an opportunity to undermine the ASL when three teams, most prominently Bethlehem Steel F.C., defied the ASL and entered the Open Cup. When the ASL suspended these teams USFA offered to help bankroll the creation of a new league to rival the ASL. The three ex-ASL teams joined with several other east coast teams to create new Eastern Soccer League.[2] The creation of a competing league, combined with the onset of the Great Depression in 1929, caused severe financial strains on the ASL. The league finally broke and came into compliance with USFA and FIFA. In the fall of the 1929/30 season, the ESL and ASL merged to form the Atlantic Coast League which started play in the spring of 1930 now playing a spring-fall schedule. In the fall of 1930 (the second half of the 1930 season), the league was renamed the American Soccer League again. However, the Soccer Wars had permanently crippled the ASL and after the end of the 1933 spring season, the league collapsed. Ironically, while USFA and FIFA "won" the wars, the spectacle of a U.S. athletic association conspiring with a European organization to undermine a U.S. athletic league alienated many non-committed U.S. sports fans. These fans turned their backs on soccer, relegating the sport to the position of a minor league, ethnic based sport for decades to come.[3]
[edit] External links
[edit] Complete team list
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| Preceded by NAFBL | Division 1 Soccer League in the United States 1921-1933 | Succeeded by ASL II |
[edit] ASL II
In the fall of 1933, a second American Soccer League was established. This second league survived until 1983. Like the original ASL, this league primarily operated in the northeast for much of its existence. In order to compete with the North American Soccer League, the ASL went national in 1976, expanding to the west coast by adding teams in Los Angeles, Oakland, Sacramento, Salt Lake City, and Tacoma. In addition, Bob Cousy was hired as commissioner and the league changed the standings scoring system to more closely resemble the NASL. ASL teams were awarded 5 points for a win, 2 points for a tie, and 1 point for each goal up to a maximum of 3 per game (The NASL awarded 6 points for a win and 3 for a tie, with 1 for each goal up to 3 per game). The ASL also had a limit on the number of foreign players each team could have in an effort to gain popularity among American fans.
While this expansion gave the ASL national exposure, the league and teams were no match financially for the NASL. On rare occasions, an ASL team would outbid a NASL team for a recongnizable player, but more often than not, the better players in the ASL were offered more money to jump to the NASL. The high point in the history of the league may have been the 1976 championship game between the L.A. Skyhawks and N.Y. Apollo; L.A. won 2-1 in front of over 9,000 fans. But by 1979, attendance was down, every team was losing money, and the league finally folded in 1983. After the ASL II ceased operations, several of its teams formed the original United Soccer League, which played seasons in 1984 and 1985.
[edit] Complete team list
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| Preceded by ASL I | Division 1 Soccer League in the United States 1933-1966 | Succeeded by NPSL/USA |
[edit] ASL III
The next league to call itself the American Soccer League played two seasons in 1988 and 1989. This league comprised ten teams on the Atlantic coast. During its second season, the league champion Fort Lauderdale Strikers played the San Diego Nomads, champions of the Western Soccer Alliance in a "national championship" game. By 1990, the ASL and WSA had merged to form the American Professional Soccer League.
[edit] Complete team list
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[edit] Champions
[edit] American Soccer League I
1921-22 Philadelphia Football Club
1922-23 J. & P. Coats
1923-24 Fall River Marksmen
1924-25 Fall River Marksmen
1925-26 Fall River Marksmen
1926-27 Bethlehem Steel
1927-28 Boston Wonder Workers
1928-29 Fall River Marksmen
1929 Fall River Marksmen
1929-30 Fall River Marksmen
1930 Fall River Marksmen
1930-31 New York Giants
1932 New Bedford Whalers
1932-33 Fall River Football Club
[edit] American Soccer League II
1933-34 Kearney Irish
1934-35 Philadelphia German-Americans
1935-36 New York Americans
1936-37 Kearny Scots
1937-38 Kearny Scots
1938-39 Kearny Scots
1939-40 Kearny Scots
1940-41 Kearny Scots
1941-42 Philadelphia Americans
1942-43 Brooklyn Hispano
1943-44 Philadelphia Americans
1944-45 Brookhattan
1945-46 Baltimore Americans
1946-47 Philadelphia Americans
1947-48 Philadelphia Americans
1948-49 Philadelphia Nationals
1949-50 Philadelphia Nationals
1950-51 Philadelphia Nationals
1951-52 Philadelphia Americans
1952-53 Philadelphia Nationals
1953-54 New York Americans
1954-55 Uhrik Truckers (Philadelphia)
1955-56 Uhrik Truckers (Philadelphia)
1956-57 New York Hakoah
1957-58 New York Hakoah
1958-59 New York Hakoah
1959-60 Colombo
1960-61 Ukrainian Nationals (Philadelphia)
1961-62 Ukrainian Nationals (Philadelphia)
1962-63 Ukrainian Nationals (Philadelphia)
1963-64 Ukrainian Nationals (Philadelphia)
1964-65 Hartford SC
1965-66 Roma SC
1966-67 Baltimore St. Gerards
1967-68 Ukrainian Nationals (Philadelphia)
1968 Washington Darts
1969 Washington Darts
1970 Philadelphia Ukrainians
1971 New York Greeks
1972 Cincinnati Comets
1973 New York Apollo
1975 Boston/Worcester Astros & New York Apollo (Co-champions)
1976 Los Angeles Skyhawks
1977 New Jersey Americans
1978 New York Apollo
1979 Sacramento Gold
1980 Pennsylvania Stoners
1981 Carolina Lightnin'
1982 Detroit Express
1983 Jacksonville Tea Men
[edit] American Soccer League III
1988 Washington Diplomats
1989 Ft. Lauderdale Strikers
1990 Maryland Bays (Won USL Championship)
[edit] References
Defunct Soccer Leagues In The United States |
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AFA (1884–88) •
ALPF (1894–95) •
NAFBL (1895-1921) •
ASL I (1921–33) •
ASLII (1933–83) •
NPSL I (1967) •
USA (1967) •
NASL (1968–85) • |
