Fred Pepper

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Fred Pepper
Personal information
Full name	Frederick Pepper
Date of birth
Place of birth	England
Place of death	United States
Playing position	Inside Forward
Senior clubs1
Years	Club	App (Gls)*
1913-1914 1914-1920 1920-1921 1921-1922 1922-1923 1923-1924	Notts County Hamilton Lancashire Bethlehem Steel Tebo Yacht Basin Harrison Soccer Club Fall River Marksmen New York Giants	21 (3) 13 (1) 6 (3)
1 Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. * Appearances (Goals)

Frederick “Pep” Pepper was an English football (soccer) inside forward who began his career in England, played one season in Canada, and finished it in the American Soccer League.

[edit] Player

Pepper played with Notts County in The Football League. In 1913, he moved to Canada where he spent a season with Hamilton Lancashire, winner of the 1913 Ontario Cup.^[1] In 1914, Pepper moved south to Bethlehem Steel F.C., playing in his first game on November 23, 1914. While he played sporadically that first season, seeing time in only six games and scoring three goals, he became a regular during the 1915-1916 season. Pepper won both the 1915 and 1916 National Challenge Cup with Bethlehem, lost the 1917 National Challenge Cup final, then scored in Bethlehem’s 3-0 victory over the Fall River Rovers in the 1918 National Challenge Cup. In 1917, Bethlehem joined the National Association Football League (NAFBL), the country’s premier league, winning the league championship in 1919 and 1920. Pepper began the 1920-1921 season with Bethlehem, never made a game day roster. In December 1920, Pepper moved to Tebo Yacht Basin F.C.^[2] where he became quickly became the team captain.^[3] In 1921, several teams from the NAFBL joined with others from the Southern New England Soccer League to form the American Soccer League. This move led to the merger of Tebo Yacht Basin F.C. and Brooklyn Robins Dry Dock into Todd Shipyards, the parent corporation of both Tebo and Robins.^[4] Pepper did not join Todd Shipyards, but moved to Harrison Soccer Club in the ASL. In 1922, he moved to the Fall River Marksmen, then ended his professional career the next season with the New York Giants.^[5]

[edit] Post playing career

After retiring from playing, Pepper settled in Lehigh Valley, Pennsylvania, home to Bethlehem Steel. He entered business and became a significant part of the local soccer culture, serving as a referee in the Pennsylvania Eastern League and the president of the Lehigh Valley Soccer Referees Association. He was also the treasurer of the Lehigh Valley Soccer League, and the vice president of the Eastern Pennsylvania District Soccer Association. In August 1929, he broke off association with the Lehigh Valley Soccer League due to disagreements over league policy.^[6]

[edit] References