American Soccer

The American Soccer League

It was the " American Menace" according to the Scottish and English newspapers of the 1920s. The best players in the Scottish leagues were being drawn to American companies that offered good jobs in return for playing on the company soccer team. The resulting squads, many of them ethnic, beat the best teams in the world at that time. This period from 1921 to 1931 were the "Golden Years of American Soccer." With the skyrocketing economic prosperity of the United States and its corollary flood of new immigrants to America's shores, came interest in soccer as a new form of sports entertainment. It grew rapidly around Northeastern industrial towns like Fall River, Massachusetts, and Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. As with the popular North American Soccer League of the 1970s and 80s and its imported stars like Pele, the American Soccer League of the 1920s bid for the best soccer players in the world, creating a competitive, fertile environment for the growth of soccer. Unfortunately, few detailed records remain about these great teams and players. League records were lost after W.W. II and newspaper coverage was concentrated in smaller cities. Many of the League's heretofore unknown players possess no first name in print, and the unfortunate losers of matches and league championship games often went unreported altogether. During the later, tougher years of the Depression, many of the foreign players hunkered down in jobs or returned to their native countries. The disbanded American Soccer League was revived under the same name but very different circumstances in 1933, but never reached the same level of skill as during the 1920s. American Soccer League 1921-1931 is the result of Colin Jose's tireless determination to provide accurate history of soccer's evolution in the United States. Soccer was one of the most popular sports in the United States during the 1920s, often drawing huge crowds in relatively small towns to see the world's best players compete. Documented through thousands of newspaper clipp

American Soccer Nation

A comprehensive recounting of the beautiful game and its boundless potential on US soil, American Soccer Nation is destined to become a foundational positive text about the history of elite US men’s soccer. Soccer is the most popular game in the world, but does it truly belong in the heart of American sports culture? The answer is a resounding yes—and the 150-year journey of elite men’s soccer in the US is filled with drama, surprises, reversals, and triumphs that rival any world-class match. With meticulous research and lifelong passion, Mark C Franek delivers a fast-paced, foundational soccer book that also serves as a celebration of American soccer. This book is a must-have for all fans, players, parents, coaches, and professionals across the sport. In brisk, punchy prose that moves in a confident tiki-taka style, Franek explores: The soccer-like games played by Native Americans long before the arrival of Europeans How organized soccer predates gridiron football, started in American colleges, and was carried forward by immigrant communities Why soccer has always been more inclusive and immigrant-friendly than other professional sports The rise and fall of the original ASL and the Golden Age of American soccer America’s Olympic and World Cup highs and lows dating back to the early 20th century Soccer’s growing popularity today, from MLS and USL to elite youth academies The accordion-like journey of the USMNT over the past 40 years, leading to the USA’s co-hosting of the 2026 World Cup A roadmap for how the US can go from good to great on the international stage—based on firsthand accounts from professional athletes and experts in the sport With forewords by Cavan Sullivan and Tim Howard, American Soccer Nation is the definitive text affirming that the US really is a soccer nation.

The Official Soccer Book of the United States Soccer Federation