18-425: Newark Americans were a team in the first American Soccer League . They were founded in 1930, but folded following the spring 1932 season. This article about a soccer club from New Jersey is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . American Soccer League (1921-1933) The American Soccer League , established in 1921, was the first of four different professional soccer sports leagues in
36-530: A dedicated soccer facility owned by Agar. Agar also chose to manage the team and played several games during the team's first two seasons. In 1926, Hakoah Vienna , one of the top Austrian teams toured the U.S. The team was composed entirely of Jews, many of whom were favorably impressed with the United States. Agar, who was also Jewish, immediately began negotiations to sign the players and in December 1926, brought
54-790: A game in April 1910. While Agar was part of the founding of the United States Football Association in 1913. However, he later became one of the major forces opposing the USFA during the 1928–1929 "Soccer War." In 1922, Agar entered the realm of professional team ownership when he entered the Brooklyn Wanderers into the American Soccer League . The ASL was set for its first season and the Wanderers would play at Hawthorne Field,
72-698: A growing disenchantment with the mismanagement of the NAFBL as well as the desire by the United States Football Association (USFA) to create a unified first division league. The ASL's first secretary was Thomas Cahill , who had founded the United States Football Association and who had been the first head coach of the U.S. national team. By 1924, the combination of excellent pay and a high level of play drew talented overseas players, especially from Scotland and England, with 50 European internationals good enough to play for their national teams playing in
90-620: The National Challenge Cup created an unnecessary financial burden. At the time the Challenge Cup ran during the ASL season forcing the ASL teams to travel long distances by train or bus to play cup games, then return to the Northeast to play league games. Therefore, the ASL boycotted the 1924 National Challenge Cup . They reentered the competition the next year after the USFA reduced its take of
108-567: The "soccer war". The ASL team owners defied USFA and FIFA, relying on the league's reputation to continue to draw players. At first it seemed as if the ASL might win; however, USFA then helped bankroll the creation of a new league, the Eastern Professional Soccer League (ESL), to rival the ASL. The three ex-ASL teams joined with several teams from the Southern New York Soccer Association (SNYSA) to form
126-561: The ASL. This led to a significant amount of resentment in Europe and threats of sanctions from FIFA , including the possible expulsion of the USFA. At the Sixteenth Annual Congress of FIFA on June 4, 1927, the USFA and the other national associations came to an agreement regarding player transfers which defused the situation. The ASL then ran afoul of the USFA when team owners complained that USFA's requirement that ASL teams play in
144-585: The Atlantic Coast League which began a 1930 spring-fall season. After the summer break, the league was renamed the American Soccer League and the league finished the fall half of the 1930 season with a different name than it began the spring half. However, the Soccer Wars had permanently crippled the ASL and it collapsed at the end of the 1933 spring season. Ironically, while USFA and FIFA "won"
162-569: The ESL. This led to the SNYSA, under the leadership of Nat Agar , owner of the ASL Brooklyn Wanderers , to leave USFA and ally with the ASL. Despite the alliance between the ASL and SNYSA, the creation of a competing league 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
180-777: The United States to use the ASL name. It was formed by the merger of teams from the National Association Football League and the Southern New England Soccer League . For several years the ASL's popularity rivaled the popularity of the National Football League . Disputes with the United States Football Association and FIFA , as well as the onset of the Great Depression , led to the league's collapse in spring 1933. The original American Soccer League, operating between 1921 and 1933,
198-564: The association president, Dr. Manning, resigned, Agar was elected in his place. Agar then led the SNYFA in leaving the USFA and allying itself with the ASL against the USFA. In June 1926, Agar was selected to coach the U.S. national team in a two-game, home and away, series with Canada . The U.S. lost the first, 1–0, in Canada, but won the November rematch 6–1, in the U.S. On June 11, 1926, Agar again led
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#1732884007651216-630: The ball. He remained with Critchleys until it folded following the 1912–13 season. He then played at least one season, 1916–17 with New York Clan MacDonald of the New York State Association Football League and at least one season, 1919–20 with Longfellows of the New York State League. Agar also served as a referee for the New York Amateur Association League, being assaulted while officiating
234-502: The early 1900s, Agar immigrated to the United States from his native England. In 1905, he founded his first team, Critchleys. In 1906, he was instrumental in the founding of the New York Amateur Association Football League. Agar was elected as the league's secretary, a position he held until at least 1911. He was also president of the league in 1910. In January 1909, Agar broke his leg while challenging for
252-419: The gate receipts from 33.3% to 15%. However, resentment continued to simmer between the league and governing body. Matters came to a head in 1928, when the ASL decided to again boycott the Challenge Cup. When three ASL clubs, most prominently Bethlehem Steel , defied the league and entered the cup anyway, the ASL suspended them. In response, the USFA and FIFA declared the ASL an "outlaw league". This sparked
270-654: The several Hakoah stars to the Wanderers. Despite the additional talent, the Wanderers remained a mid-table team for much of its existence. During the Soccer War, the USFA brokered the creation of the Eastern Soccer League composed of three teams suspended from the American Soccer League as well as several teams from the Southern New York State Football Association. The SNYFA considered the ESL to be encroaching on its territory, and, when
288-615: The wars and established their pre-eminence over the ASL, the spectacle of a U.S. athletic association conspiring with a European organization to undermine a U.S. athletic league alienated many U.S. sports fans by creating an image of soccer as a sport controlled by foreigners. These fans turned their backs on soccer, relegating the sport to the position of a minor league, ethnic-based sport for decades to come. – existed before joining ASL. – continued after ASL. – existed before ASL and after ASL. Nat Agar Nathan "Nat" Agar (July 26, 1887 – June 24, 1978)
306-441: Was an English-American soccer player, coach, referee, team owner and league executive. He was part of the formation of the United States Football Association , but later fought it as a team owner and league official of the American Soccer League and Southern New York State Football Association during the 1928 "Soccer War." He also coached three United States national team games against Canada in 1925 and 1926. At some point in
324-543: Was the first significant, viable, professional soccer league in the United States. The league operated primarily in the Northeastern United States , mainly in the New York metropolitan area , Massachusetts , Rhode Island , and Pennsylvania . The ASL was created by the merger of several teams from the National Association Football League (NAFBL) and Southern New England Soccer League in 1921. The move came from
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