Fall 1931 American Soccer League

Fall 1931 American Soccer League. At the start of this season the American Soccer League was in decline, suffering from the effects of the Great Depression. Clubs had begun to fold, merge and disappear. The eventual champions, New Bedford Whalers, had been formed by Sam Mark following the merger of Fall River F.C. and New York Yankees. Long time ASL members Brooklyn Wanderers folded before the season. However New York Americans, later to become a perennial contender in the second ASL, made their debut.

The season saw strong performances by New Bedford Whalers, New York Giants and a resurgent Pawtucket Rangers. Hakoah All-Stars improved markedly to take fourth place. Although the Whalers won this season, they lost the playoff series for the overall 1931 champion, being defeated by Spring 1931 champions New York Giants in a play-off. Whalers took the first game at home 8-3 before the Giants came back to win 6-0, taking the series on a 9-8 aggregate score.

Final table

Place Team GP W D L GF GA PTS PCT
1 New Bedford Whalers 21 14 2 5 60 32 30 .714
2 New York Giants 20 11 4 5 54 38 26 .650
3 Pawtucket Rangers 20 13 0 7 58 42 26 .650
4 Hakoah All-Stars 21 11 4 6 44 34 26 .615
5 Boston Bears 19 4 3 12 34 50 11 .289
6 New York Americans 20 3 3 14 32 69 9 .225
7 Newark Americans 11 1 2 8 16 39 4 .183

Top goalscorers

Rank Scorer Club GP G
1 Bert Patenaude New York Giants 16 24
2 Werner Nielsen New Bedford Whalers 21 16
3 Tommy Florie New Bedford Whalers 19 15
4 Bob McIntyre Pawtucket Rangers 16 15
5 James Hogg Pawtucket Rangers 18 13
6 Rudolph Nikolsberger Hakoah All-Stars 19 11

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References