Bethlehem Steel F.C.

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Bethlehem Steel F.C. was one of the most successful early American soccer clubs. The club was named in recognition of the Bethlehem Steel corporation. The played their home games first at East End Field in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, in the Lehigh Valley.

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[edit] History

According to a June 2, 1925 article in the Bethlehem Globe, the first soccer ball was introduced into Bethlehem in 1904. The sport took a hold of the town and local steel workers formed a recreational team.[1] On November 17, 1907, the factory team 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.[2] 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.[3] 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.[4] Bethlehem Steel was not associated with a league from 1916 to 1917, playing only exhibition or cup games.[5] In 1917, it joined the professional National Association Foot Ball League. In 1921, several teams from the NAFBL and other regional leagues joined together to form the American Soccer League. Although one of the strongest teams of the time, the owners decided to disband the club, moving the players and management to Philadelphia where it competed as the Philadelphia Field Club. Although Philadelphia won the first ASL championship, the team was in financial trouble and lacked fan support. The ownership moved it back to Bethlehem the next year taking back their old name. In 1925, Bethlehem, and the rest of the ASL, boycotted the National Challenge Cup. While this created some animosity with the United States Football Association, no serious ramification resulted. However, in 1928, the ASL again boycotted the Challenge Cup. When Bethlehem Steel chose to ignore the boycott, the league expelled them. 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 Eastern Soccer League. These actions, part of the 1928-1929 "Soccer Wars", along with the Great Depression, financial devastated the ASL, ESL and Bethlehem Steel. While Bethlehem Steel rejoined the ASL in 1929, the damage was done and the team folded after the spring 1930 season.

[edit] 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 Did not enter
1928/29 N/A ESL 1st Champion (no playoff) Quarterfinal N/A
Fall 1929 N/A ESL 1st Champion (no playoff) N/A N/A
1930 1 ACL (ASL) 7th (Spring) No playoff Semifinals N/A

[edit] Honors

  • League Champion
  • Winner (8): 1913, 1914, 1915, 1919, 1920, 1921, 1927, 1929
  • Runner Up (5): 1916, 1918, 1923, 1924, 1925
  • Winner (6): 1914, 1916, 1917, 1918, 1919, 1924
  • Runner Up (1): 1920
  • Lewis Cup
  • Winner (1): 1928
  • Allied Amateur Cup
  • Winner (1): 1914
  • Runner Up (1): 1912

[edit] Coaches

  • Harry Trend: 1909
  • Carpenter: 1913
  • William Sheridan: -1924
  • Jimmy Easton: 1924-
  • William Sheridan: 1930

[edit] Notable players

[edit] External links

[edit] References

  1. ^ June 2, 1925 The Globe
  2. ^ Bethlehem Steel's 100th Anniversary
  3. ^ August 2, 1914 New York Times
  4. ^ May 15, 1916 The Globe
  5. ^ February 7, 1917 The Globe
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