Bethlehem Steel F.C. (1907–1930)
Moravian College in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, U.S. | ||
League | American Soccer League | |
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Bethlehem Steel Football Club (1907–1930) was one of the most successful early American
History
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Bethlehem_vs_Brooklyn_1915.jpg/220px-Bethlehem_vs_Brooklyn_1915.jpg)
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/ac/Bethlehem_Steel_F.C._1917-1918.jpg/220px-Bethlehem_Steel_F.C._1917-1918.jpg)
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/94/Bethlehem_Steel_F.C._1921.jpg/220px-Bethlehem_Steel_F.C._1921.jpg)
The first
On November 17, 1907, the Bethlehem Football Club played its first official match, an 11–2 loss to West Hudson A.A., at the time one of the top professional teams in the country.
In 1913, the steel company created Bethlehem Steel Athletic Field, the country's first soccer field with stadium-seating. In 1914 Charles Schwab, owner of the Steel Company, took the team professional, using his wealth to induce several top players to move to Bethlehem Steel and changing the team name to the Bethlehem Steel Football Club.[2] Schwab would eventually begin importing players from Scotland and England. From 1911 to 1915, the club was a member of the amateur Allied American Foot Ball Association before moving to the American Soccer League of Philadelphia, another amateur league, for the 1915–1916 season.[1]
Bethlehem Steel FC was not associated with a league from 1916 to 1917, playing only exhibition or cup games. In 1917, it joined the professional
In 1925, the ASL, including Bethlehem Steel F.C., boycotted the
In 1925 - 1926 Bethlehem Steel F.C. was awarded the United States Football Association Medal. Patrick McColgan, from, Old Kilpatrick, Scotland had travelled to Philadelphia to help establish the team. His name is on the medal.
Under the leadership of the USFA, Bethlehem Steel and two other expelled teams joined with teams from the Southern New York State Soccer Association to create the
Year-by-year
Year | Division | League | Reg. Season | Playoffs | Challenge Cup | American Cup |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1911/12 | N/A | AAFBA | N/A | Final | N/A | did not enter |
1912/13 | N/A | AAFBA | 1st | Champion (no playoff) | N/A | did not enter |
1913/14 | N/A | AAFBA | 1st | Champion (no playoff) | Third round | Champion |
1914/15 | N/A | ALAFC | 1st | Champion (no playoff) | Champion | Semifinal |
1915/16 | N/A | ALP | 2nd | No playoff | Champion | Champion |
1916/17 | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | Final | Champion |
1917/18 | N/A | NAFBL | 2nd | No playoff | Champion | Champion |
1918/19 | N/A | NAFBL | 1st | Champion (no playoff) | Champion | Champion |
1919/20 | N/A | NAFBL | 1st | Champion (no playoff) | Quarterfinal | Final |
1920/21 | N/A | NAFBL | 1st | Champion (no playoff) | Second round | Semifinal |
1921/22 | see Philadelphia Field Club | |||||
1922/23 | 1 | ASL | 2nd | No playoff | Third round | Second round |
1923/24 | 1 | ASL | 2nd | No playoff | Semifinals | Champion |
1924/25 | 1 | ASL | 2nd | No playoff | did not enter | N/A |
1925/26 | 1 | ASL | 4th | No playoff | Champion | N/A |
1926/27 | 1 | ASL | 1st | Champion (no playoff) | Semifinals | N/A |
1927/28 | 1 | ASL | 2nd (1st half); 4th (2nd half) | Semifinals | First Round | N/A |
1928/29 | 1 | ASL | withdrew after 6 games | N/A | N/A | N/A |
1928–29
|
N/A | ESL | 1st | Champion (no playoff) | Quarterfinal | N/A |
1929 | N/A | ESL | 1st | Champion (no playoff) | N/A | N/A |
1930 | 1 | ACL (ASL) | 7th (Spring) | No playoff | Semifinals | N/A |
Honors
- League Champion
- Winner (9): 1913, 1914, 1915, 1919, 1920, 1921, 1927, 1929, Fall 1929
- Runner Up (5): 1916, 1918, 1923, 1924, 1925
- National Challenge Cup
- Winner (5): 1926
- Runner Up (1): 1917
- Winner (5):
- American Cup
- Lewis Cup
- Winner (1): 1928
- Allied Amateur Cup
- Winner (1): 1914
- Runner Up (1): 1912
- National Association Football League
- Winner (3): 1918–19, 1919–20, 1920–21
- Runner Up (1):1917–18
- American Soccer League
- Winner (1): 1926–27
- Runner Up (3):1922–23, 1923–24, 1924–25
Notable players
- Archie Stark, world record holder for the highest season scoring record with 67 goals in the 1924-25 season[3]
Coaches
- Harry Trend: 1909
- Carpenter: 1913
- Jimmy Lawson: 1914
- William Sheridan: ?–1924
- Jimmy Easton: 1924–
- William Sheridan: 1930
References
- ^ a b "Bethlehem Steel Soccer Club Archive". Archived from the original on October 27, 2009. Retrieved June 7, 2013.
- ^ ""Schwab corners football stars" at The New York Times, August 2, 1914" (PDF). New York Times. August 2, 1914. Retrieved June 7, 2013.
- ^ Highest Season Scoring Records. rsssf.org
External links
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/4/4a/Commons-logo.svg/30px-Commons-logo.svg.png)
- History of Bethlehem Steel F.C. by Dan Morrison.
- The Rise and Fall of the Bethlehem Steel Football Club by Julian Brown