A History of the American Soccer Leagues, 1922 – 2010
1922: The Birth of a League
It was an affair to remember at 126 Nassau Street, New York, New York as the titans of America's three major soccer leagues finally did something that the baseball leagues had done years ago and that the NFL had done just months ago, taking the best of the best and forming the new American Soccer League. With the best teams of the National Association Football League, the Southern New England Soccer League, the St. Louis Soccer League, and teams from Chicago and Baltimore the league looked to be a force to be reckoned with as the 1922-1923 season started. Management was solid as well, with the league's president Edgar Lewis being the owner of America's premier teams, Bethlehem Steel, and the first chairman of the USSF, Thomas Cahill as the new league's secretary. The twelve teams that would etch their names into the annals of football history are listed below [cities in brackets when needed]
Baltimore SC
Ben Millers [St. Louis]
Bethlehem Steel
Fall River United
Harrison SC
Holyoke Falcos
J&P Coats [Pawtucket, R.I.]
New York F.C.
Olympia [Chicago]
Philadelphia F.C.
St. Louis United
Todd Shipyards [Brooklyn]
Season:
Bethlehem Steel, as befitting their reputation as the strongest team in America, impressed everyone, winning the league by eight points. More importantly, the attendances were good around the league, and none of the teams collapsed during the season, although Holyoke was in financial trouble, they managed to finish our the 1922-1923 season. The surprise of the year was Fall River's abysmal finish at tenth place in the new league.
The league's leading scorer was Harold Brittan of Bethlehem Steel with 27 goals in 22 games.
Final Standings:
Code:
Team P W D L For Ag +/- Pts
1 Bethlehem Steel 22 17 2 3 62 21 +41 53
2 New York Field Club 22 13 6 3 51 25 +26 45
3 St. Louis United 22 13 4 5 41 26 +15 43
4 J & P Coats 22 12 5 5 36 24 +12 41
5 Harrison SC 22 12 3 7 31 21 +10 39
6 Todd Shipyards [Brooklyn] 22 11 4 7 44 34 +10 37
7 Ben Millers [St. Louis] 22 8 4 10 31 30 +1 28
8 Olympia [Chicago] 22 6 6 10 14 22 -8 24
9 Philadelphia Field Club 22 4 9 9 28 45 -17 21
10 Fall River United 22 4 8 10 21 42 -21 20
11 Holyoke Falcos 22 2 3 17 14 42 -28 9
12 Baltimore SC 22 2 2 18 19 60 -41 8