American soccer writing, history & data.
A meeting was held on July 29, 1938 at the Marquette Hotel under the direction of newly-elected U.S.F.A. president, Harold S. Callowhill, in an effort to revive soccer interest in St. Louis. Marion F. Parker, a retired sports writer and delegate to the Central Council of the Municipal Athletic Association, Walter Giesler, Chairman of the Ozark A.A.U. Soccer Committee, John Scully of the Municipal ...
In the offseason after another problematic season, Johnny Marre took the initiative to keep the league going and associated with Charles DeWitt to re-establish the St. Louis Professional Soccer League for the 1937-38 season. The duo hoped to return to Sportsman's Park but were turned down because workers were putting up lights. Three teams were admitted to membership - Marre's team, formerly kn...
After the prior season had ended in disarray, the St. Louis Professional Soccer League held a reorganization meeting on September 3, 1935. Eleven friends and backers of teams in the league agreed to purchase stock in the circuit to assure a complete season and to cover any deficit which might occur. The group appointed Al Kaufman temporary chairman. They made plans to play week nights at West Side...
Prior to the 1935-36 St. Louis Professional Soccer League season, Phil A. Riley was elected president for the second straight year. A major shakeup in the traditional format was enacted as the league grew from eight to four teams. The first two teams to join were clubs from the Municipal League - the German Sport Club and the Spanish Sport Club. The latter team was located in East St. Louis, Ill. ...
During the offseason before the 1934-35 St. Louis Soccer League season, rumors began to circulate that the stockholders of the Soccer and Exhibition Co. of St. Louis which operated the league were considering quitting soccer. The stockholders reported those rumors were without foundation but the league looked to make changes in hopes of reversing the continued lack of interest in the professional ...
A number of changes occurred before the 1933-34 St. Louis Professional Soccer League season. Phil Kavanaugh's team, formerly Coca-Coal, found a new sponsor and played as the Minit-Rub Stars. Joe Hand, an outstanding fullback, replaced Johnny Marre as manager of the Anderson team. Willie Foley resigned as manager of the Ben Miller team and owner, George Miller, hired Eddie Croak to replace him. ...
Prior to the 1932-33 St. Louis Soccer League season, Winton E. Barker resigned as president of the league. Barker sold his stock in the Soccer and Exhibition Co. of St. Louis to Otto Schultz who was connected to the Stix, Baer & Fuller team. Don Anderson, sponsor of the Anderson team and president of the Missouri Amateur Golfers' Association, was elected to the post. Anderson was the first person ...
In the summer annual meeting prior to the 1931-32 season, Winton E. Barker was re-elected president of the St. Louis Soccer League after having resigned the previous December. Phil Riley was re-elected treasurer and elected as vice president. A.J. "Tate" Brady was also elected as secretary during that meeting but didn't stay in the office long. Soon after, John J. "Jack" Dwyer bought Tate Brad...
In April 1930, less than a month after the close of the St. Louis Professional Soccer League season, Phil Kavanaugh, manager of the Madison Kennel Club team, purchased that franchise from William and Frank Clark. The team, which Kavanaugh would continue to manager, would gain a new sponsor and be renamed as Coca-Cola. Along with the usual league schedule and National Challenge Cup matches, the SLS...
Two big changes occurred in the offseason before the 1929-30 St. Louis Professional Soccer League season. First, Tate Brady, owner and manager of the Wellston team, took $1500 from a new sponsor and renamed his team Hellrung & Grimm after a local furniture store. And, also, Phil Kavanaugh took over as manager of Madison Kennel Club replacing Jimmy Burke. Cold winter weather suspended the league...
During May of the offseason, Harry P. McCarthy, owner and manager of the Morgan Haulers team, sold his franchise to Dr. John J. Kehoe, reportedly the league's official physician. The transfer was not approved by the stockholders of the Soccer and Exhibition Co. of St. Louis reportedly because the league officers did not wish to have Harry J. Ratican in the organization as a manager. Ratican was re...
Prior to the 1927-28 St. Louis Soccer League season, J. G. Barrett, the long-time vice president of the Soccer and Exhibition Co. of St. Louis, sold his interests in the company to Willie Foley, manager of Ben Miller. Foley continued to lead the Hatters as well as being a director of the circuit. The season again played Sunday doubleheaders at Sportsman's Park. The league began being referred to a...
Following the failure of the Western Soccer Cup Association in mid-November 1926, the officials of the Soccer and Exhibition Co. of St. Louis reorganized the St. Louis Soccer League. Sunday doubleheaders were to continue the next Sunday after WSCA play ended but the matches at Sportsman's Park on November 21 were postponed due to snow. The league schedule for the 1926-27 season began on November 2...
In the summer prior to the 1925-26 season the Soccer and Exhibition Co. of St. Louis, formerly the St. Louis Soccer League, held a meeting and decided to sign player to contracts for a weekly salary with guaranteed minimums of $10 for a win, $7 for a tie, and $6 for a loss. The franchise owners were bound under a league agreement to pay players at least this fixed amount but were at liberty to pay...
During the summer of 1924, the St. Louis Soccer League began publicly referring to itself by its formal business name - the Soccer and Exhibition Co. of St. Louis. The business entity that operated the league since its inaugural season was usually made up of seven stockholders: the four team owners; president, Winton E. Barker; vice president J. G. Barrett; and treasurer, Phil Riley. This chang...
The same teams returned for the 1923-24 St. Louis Soccer League season. The only organizational change was that Harry Ratican took over as player-manager of the Ben Millers. As Ratican had again been hired as the soccer coach for the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, his brother, William, directed affairs at Ben Miller for the first two months of the season. The league returned to the tradition...
The offseason prior to the 1922-23 St. Louis Soccer League again brought team name changes. While the teams and managers again stayed the same, two clubs changed their names in late September. After only one season as the De Andreis team, Willie Foley was compelled to change the team's name due to the supreme body of the Knights of Columbus having voted to prohibit the use of council names in prof...
With Cardinal Park no longer available, the St. Louis Soccer League played at High School Field, the renamed old Federal League Park, for the 1921-22 season. The four SLSL clubs drew first round National Challenge Cup byes and the inter-league NCC matches again counted in the league standings. While the same teams continued from prior seasons, the Innisfails underwent a name change. In late Sep...
In early July, 1920 a team of 12 St. Louis and six eastern players, including captain Harry Ratican, sailed from Montreal for a Scandinavian tour. The tour delayed the opening of the 1920-21 St. Louis Soccer League season. The players returned on September 30 and the league opened its schedule on Sunday, October 10 with doubleheaders at Cardinal Park. The St. Louis Cardinals baseball club had left...
The 1919-20 St. Louis Soccer League was the first full season since the end of the Great War and could arguably be seen as the greatest season of soccer in St. Louis up to that point. In early July, league president Winton Barker announced that the four SLSL clubs would enter the National Challenge Cup that season instead of one picked organization representing St. Louis in the competition. It was...
Although an estimated 65% of players from the prior season were now in some branch of service, president Winton Barker announced in early August that the St. Louis Soccer League would open its 1918-19 schedule as usual. The same teams and managers returned from the previous season but with two major changes. The first was the loss of the St. Leo's name from the ranks of professional soccer. At ...
Little changed internally for the 1917-18 St. Louis Soccer League season, but external factors had an impact on the organization. The United States' entry into the Great War put the country on a war footing and the draft meant many of the SLSL players left the league due to military service. St. Leo's player-manager "Bull" Brannigan was drafted into the army so Harry McCarthy took over the team...
The 1916-17 season of the St. Louis Soccer League was the picture of stability as all four clubs and managers returned from the prior season. The league again played Sunday doubleheaders at Robison Field and all the officers were re-elected during the offseason. That returned results at the turnstiles as 3000 attended the opening doubleheader on October 15, 1916. On Christmas Day, 6000 were on ...
The rival factions of the St. Louis Soccer League (the Robison Field league) and the Federal Park Soccer League ended their war after the 1914-15 season and, in the spring, organized a new St. Louis Soccer League made up of the best two clubs from each league. Ben Miller (managed by Pete Ratican) and St. Leo's (under new manager Billy Monahan) joined from the FPSL while Columbus Club (managed by ...
With the demise of the Association Football League of St. Louis, Thomas Cahill left the St. Louis Soccer Football League and organized the St. Louis Soccer League for the 1908-09 season. Cahill was elected to his traditional position of secretary and Winton E. Barker was named president. The league would play Sunday doubleheaders at Kulage's Park. Teams included the New Tariffs (virtually the SLSF...
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