"Bethlehem Steel F.C." redirects here. For the USL soccer club formerly known as Bethlehem Steel FC, see Philadelphia Union II.
Bethlehem Steel Football Club (1907–1930) was one of the most successful early American soccer clubs. Known as the Bethlehem Football Club from 1907 until 1915 when it became the Bethlehem Steel Football Club, the team was sponsored by the Bethlehem Steel corporation. Bethlehem Steel FC played their home games first at East End Field in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, in the Lehigh Valley, then later on the grounds Bethlehem Steel built on Elizabeth Ave named Bethlehem Steel Athletic Field.
The first soccer ball came to Bethlehem in 1904, according to a June 2, 1925, article in The Bethlehem Globe. The sport took hold of the town and local steel workers formed a recreational team.[1] 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 was not associated with a league from 1916 to 1917, playing only exhibition or cup games. 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. Legendary Scottish football player Alex Jackson, played for Bethlehem Steel. 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, financially devastated the ASL, ESL and Bethlehem Steel FC. While Bethlehem Steel FC rejoined the ASL in 1929, the damage was done and the team folded after the spring 1930 season.
Year-by-year
The team that won the national title in 1917–18.
Photo of Bethlehem Steel FC circa July 1921.
Bethlehem Steel before playing the final match of the 1914–15 season against Brooklyn Celtic.
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Bethlehem Steel F.C..
History of Bethlehem Steel F.C. by Dan Morrison.
by Julian Brown
January 21, 2023
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Bethlehem Steel F C redirects here For the USL soccer club formerly known as Bethlehem Steel FC see Philadelphia Union II Bethlehem Steel Football Club 1907 1930 was one of the most successful early American soccer clubs Known as the Bethlehem Football Club from 1907 until 1915 when it became the Bethlehem Steel Football Club the team was sponsored by the Bethlehem Steel corporation Bethlehem Steel FC played their home games first at East End Field in Bethlehem Pennsylvania in the Lehigh Valley then later on the grounds Bethlehem Steel built on Elizabeth Ave named Bethlehem Steel Athletic Field Bethlehem Steel F C Full nameBethlehem Steel Football ClubNickname s SteelworkersFounded1907 116 years ago 1907 as Bethlehem F C Dissolved1930 93 years ago 1930 StadiumBethlehem Steel Athletic Field Bethlehem PennsylvaniaLeagueAmerican Soccer LeagueHome colors Contents 1 History 2 Year by year 3 Honors 4 Famous players 5 Coaches 6 References 7 External linksHistory EditThe first soccer ball came to Bethlehem in 1904 according to a June 2 1925 article in The Bethlehem Globe The sport took hold of the town and local steel workers formed a recreational team 1 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 was not associated with a league from 1916 to 1917 playing only exhibition or cup games 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 Legendary Scottish football player Alex Jackson played for Bethlehem Steel 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 financially devastated the ASL ESL and Bethlehem Steel FC While Bethlehem Steel FC rejoined the ASL in 1929 the damage was done and the team folded after the spring 1930 season Year by year Edit The team that won the national title in 1917 18 Photo of Bethlehem Steel FC circa July 1921 Bethlehem Steel before playing the final match of the 1914 15 season against Brooklyn Celtic Year Division League Reg Season Playoffs Challenge Cup American Cup1911 12 N A AAFBA N A Final N A Did not enter1912 13 N A AAFBA 1st Champion no playoff N A Did not enter1913 14 N A AAFBA 1st Champion no playoff Third round Champion1914 15 N A ALAFC 1st Champion no playoff Champion Semifinal1915 16 N A ALP 2nd No playoff Champion Champion1916 17 N A N A N A N A Final Champion1917 18 N A NAFBL 2nd No playoff Champion Champion1918 19 N A NAFBL 1st Champion no playoff Champion Champion1919 20 N A NAFBL 1st Champion no playoff Quarterfinal Final1920 21 N A NAFBL 1st Champion no playoff Second round Semifinal1921 22 see Philadelphia Field Club1922 23 1 ASL 2nd No playoff Third round Second round1923 24 1 ASL 2nd No playoff Semifinals Champion1924 25 1 ASL 2nd No playoff Did not enter N A1925 26 1 ASL 4th No playoff Champion N A1926 27 1 ASL 1st Champion no playoff Semifinals N A1927 28 1 ASL 2nd 1st half 4th 2nd half Semifinals First Round N A1928 29 1 ASL withdrew after 6 games N A N A N A1928 29 N A ESL 1st Champion no playoff Quarterfinal N A1929 N A ESL 1st Champion no playoff N A N A1930 1 ACL ASL 7th Spring No playoff Semifinals N AHonors EditLeague 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 1915 1916 1918 1919 1926 Runner Up 1 1917 American Cup 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 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 25Famous players EditArchibald McPherson Stark World Record holder of the Highest Season Scoring Record 67 goals 1924 25 season 3 Coaches EditHarry Trend 1909 Carpenter 1913 Jimmy Lawson 1914 William Sheridan 1924 Jimmy Easton 1924 William Sheridan 1930References Edit 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 comExternal links Edit Wikimedia Commons has media related to Bethlehem Steel F C History of Bethlehem Steel F C by Dan Morrison The Rise and Fall of the Bethlehem Steel Football Club by Julian Brown Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Bethlehem Steel F C 1907 1930 amp oldid 1130576920, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
