Philadelphia Soccer History

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A tale of two titles

The Union aren’t the first Philadelphia soccer team to win silverware. Steve Holroyd looks at the differences between now and 1973, when the Philadelphia Atoms captured the NASL title.

Philadelphia Soccer History

Philadelphia soccer and the 1918 Spanish Flu epidemic

A look at soccer in Philadelphia during the 1918 Spanish Flu epidemic.

History / Philadelphia Soccer History

Russians, Atoms, and the birth of indoor soccer

Forty five years ago a team from Philadelphia faced off against the Red Army, and shifted the course of soccer in our country for decades.

History / Philadelphia Soccer History

Meet the Spartans: Philly’s original pro team

The Philadelphia Spartans were the city’s first major league professional soccer team. Steve Holroyd recounts their story, from inception to demise.

Philadelphia Soccer History

The life — and murder — of a U.S. Soccer president

In September 1953, Elmer Schroeder, U.S. soccer’s first American-born president, was brutally murdered in his West Philadelphia apartment. No one was ever convicted for his murder. PSP’s Ed Farnsworth writes about the life and death of a man who was an American soccer pioneer in more ways than one.

Philadelphia Soccer History

Happy 90th, Walter Bahr

Roger Allaway on Walter Bahr, arguably the greatest soccer player ever produced by Philadelphia and one of the prototypes of the American soccer prodigy.

Philadelphia Soccer History

Christmas soccer in Philly, 1916

Philadelphia’s tradition of Christmas Day soccer games continued a hundred years ago in 1916 with games within the city and beyond.

Philadelphia Soccer History

1916: Bethlehem Steel wins the US Open Cup and American Cup

On May 6, 1916, Bethlehem Steel became the first team to win the National Challenge Cup, known today as the US Open Cup, twice in a row.

Philadelphia Soccer History

US Open Cup, 1916: Bethlehem Steel advances to the final

After defeating West Hudson on April 2, 1916 in the quarterfinals, Bethlehem Steel faced Chicago’s Pullman FC twice in the semifinals of the 1915-1916 National Challenge Cup, with the deciding game at Lehigh University’s Taylor Stadium on April 22, 1916.

Philadelphia Soccer History

Third Lanark/All-Scots in Philly, 1921

In 1921, the first-ever US tour by a professional international side included games in Bethlehem and Philadelphia.