World Cup 1934
The United States was eliminated from the first round of competition in the 1934 Cup. They had submitted a late entry for World Cup 1934, which was accepted by FIFA with the proviso that the US would have to play a qualification game against Mexico, the winner of the North American qualifications.
The US squad was chosen after a series of three tryout games. The first one pitted the US combine against the Pennsylvania League All-Stars on May 2, 2934. The USA side defeated the All-Stars 8-0, with Aldo Donelli and Werner Nilsen scoring hat tricks. Two days later in Newark, NJ, they lost to the talent-laden American Soccer League All-Stars 4-0, with the famed Archie Stark scoring a hat trick of his own. The final game was back in Philadelphia on May 5, where the USA combine defeated the eastern Pennsylvania All-Stars 2-0.
Nineteen players were chosen after the match; the ones who saw action in the Cup were Julius Hjulian (Chicago Wieboldt Wonderbolts), Adolph “Ed” Czerkiewicz, Walter Dick, and Tom Florie (Pawtucket Rangers), James Gallagher (Cleveland Slavia), Adelino “Billy” Gonsalves, William Lehman, Willie McLean, and Werner Nilson (St. Louis Stix, Baer and Fuller), Aldo Donelli (Curry Silver Tops), Peter Pietras and Francis Ryan (Philadelphia German-Americans). Elmer Schroeder was manager and David L. Gould, the Penn coach who had played with the 1897 American Cup champion Mainz. Moorhouse, Gonsalves, Florie, and Jimmy Gallagher were veterans of the 1930 World Cup squad. A young amateur player from Pittsburgh Curry named Aldo “Buff” Donelli made an impressive performance and found a spot, although he found that the professionals somewhat looked down on him as an amateur. But he was soon to become the surprise of the tournament for the US team.
The team arrived in Rome on May 14, and practiced the next day but the game was baseball. The next day they took out the soccer ball, primarily practicing movements rather than getting to know each other’s playing styles. At their first scrimmage, Buff Donelli was so impressive he was moved from the reserves to the starting lineup. Being somewhat disdained by the St. Louis-New York clique, he had to scramble for the ball, playing a wide open style very unusual in these static times when players were expected to keep to their zone. Billy Gonsalves had told Schroeder he had to play Donelli otherwise Gonsalves wouldn’t play. Buff made the starting team.
The qualifying match was on May 24 against Mexico in Rome. Mexico was better technically, but the US was faster and the defenders easily controlled Mexico’s attack. Fifteen minutes in, Donelli got a long Czerkiewicz pass and broke away, avoiding one opponent, with another falling while in pursuit, and beat the goalie to open the scoring. Mexico equalized 7 minutes later, but Donelli found the net again at the 30 minute mark. As Mexico pressed the attack, the US found more scoring opportunities for Donelli, who nearly found the net just before halftime. Fourteen minutes into the second half, a Mexican player was ejected for trying to stop Donelli with his hands on a scoring run. This gave the US had a notable edge, and Donelli continued to set the pace, scoring again in the 28th minute of the second half, when he took a Nilsen pass and broke away, to the surprise of the two defenders marking him. He took a big shot with the goalkeeper making no attempt to stop it. Mexico pulled to within one, but ultimately, Donelli got his fourth goal of the day taking a pass from Florie ans taking a sudden shot between two defenders, giving the US a 4-2 US victory. Donelli set a mark with 4 goals in a single world cup qualifiergame.
The Cup was held as a single-elimination tournament with a field of 16 teams. The US opened against a strong host Italian team. This Italian squad was the beneficiary of the lax rules regarding immigration and national team service then prevalent, having several players who were not Italian citizens or had previous played for other national teams: Luis Monti had played for Argentina in the 1928 Olympics and 1930 World Cup, and Raimundo Orsi played for Argentina in the ’28 Olympics. Atilio Demaria played for Argentina in the 1930 World Cup, and Marques Filo was a Brazilian national. In fact, the US was the only team to play against both Luis Monti of Argentina in the 1930 Cup AND Luis Monti of Italy in the 1934 Cup. The US was decidedly outmatched by this strong squad, which dominated from the start. Donelli managed to land a goal early in the second half to break the shutout, but Italy cruised on to a 7-1 victory, and the US was eliminated emphatically. Italy would go on to win the cup 2-1 over Czechoslovakia. The US team went on to tour Germany, playing various club teams.
American Soccer League
The new American League was founded upon the ashes of the original ASL which had disintegrated after its aborted spring 1933 season. The ASL II was formed in mid 1933 largely through the efforts of Erno Schwarz, owner of the New York Americans, Bill Low, Edward Duffy and Peter Flannery, a New York advertising executive, who set up a new team in Brooklyn. The New York Americans, along with Brookhattan had played in the last couple years of the original ASL, as it was undergoing its rapid decline. Elmer Schroeder, former VP of the USFA, brought his successful Philadelphia German-Americans franchise into the league, and James Graven spearheaded the effort to bring in the Kearny Irish side, with the Kearny Scots following soon thereafter. These teams, along with the Newark Germans and Brooklyn Hispano, formed the initial lineup of the Metropolitan Division. The league also established a New England Division with teams in Boston, New Bedford, Fall River and the Providence region. The USFA awarded the new ASL exclusive rights to organize professional soccer on the Atlantic Coast. The new ASL operated at a considerably lower level of professionalism than its predecessor. With the depression still raging, it was not possible to offer salaries anywhere near the level enjoyed by the previous league.
The inaugural season of 1933-34 saw a fairly impressive level of competition, as well as a few of the stars of the old league including Archie Stark, and George Moorhouse. The New York Americans in particular had a wealth of familiar names including Stan Chesney and Erno Schwarz in addition to Moorhouse. The Kearny Irish were the first league champions in the Metropolitan Division, winning the league title by a comfortable 4 points ahead of the New York Americans. Brooklyn Celtic absorbed the struggling Brooklyn S. C. team early in the season, but many of their players went to Brooklyn Hispano, and neither team fared well this season. The Kearny Scots finished a distant third. Archie Stark, of the Kearny Irish and Razzo Carroll of the Kearny Scots shared the scoring title with 22 goals each. Philadelphia Germans faired poorly in the league, but found success later as they went on to win the National Amateur Cup over Pittsburgh Heidelberg. Standings are not available for the New England Division, which consisted of the Boston Celtics, Fairlawn Rovers, Fall River Rovers, Pawtucket Rangers, and New Bedford Defenders among other teams.
Final American Soccer League Standings, 1933-34
- Metropolitan Division -
G W T L GF GA Pts
Kearny Irish 25 15 6 4 60 35 36
New York Americans 23 14 4 5 59 34 32
Kearny Scots 25 11 3 11 58 53 25
New York Brookhattan 24 8 3 13 45 51 19
Brooklyn Celtic 22 7 2 13 37 47 16
Newark Germans 19 7 1 11 32 49 15
Brooklyn Hispano 17 6 2 9 26 45 14
Philadelphia German-American 13 5 2 6 27 28 12
Brooklyn Celtic assumed the 4-2-6 record of Brooklyn F. C.
who withdrew during the season. Most of F.C.’s players
were absorbed by Brooklyn Hispano.
LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: Kearny Irish.
Leading Scorers: Archie Stark, Kearny Irish & Razzo Carroll,
Kearny Scots (22 goals each).
- New England Division -
(fall 1933; thru 12/23/1933)
GP W T L GF GA PTS
Fairlawn Rovers 16 12 1 3 52 28 25
Boston Celtics 15 10 2 3 50 28 22
Thornton Victorias 15 6 5 4 32 27 21
Pawtucket Rangers 14 8 3 3 38 19 19
Fall River Rovers 15 5 4 6 25 27 14
New Bedford Defenders 16 6 2 8 39 51 14
Fall River United 14 4 2 8 32 45 10
Quincy Canadians 15 2 3 10 24 58 7
New Bedford Tessiers 14 2 2 10 24 42 6
(spring 1934 - through March 23)
GP W T L GF GA PTS
Fairlawn Rovers 3 3 0 0 7 3 9
Thornton Victorias 3 1 1 1 6 6 3
Boston Celtics 1 0 1 0 3 3 1
Quincy Canadians 1 0 1 0 2 2 1
Pawtucket Rangers 1 0 1 0 2 2 1
Fall River United 2 0 1 1 5 6 1
Fall River Rovers 3 0 1 2 6 9 1
St. Louis Soccer League
Unlike the previous season, there was no race to the finish, as Stix Baer & Fuller won the league title with a convincing lead, finishing 7 points ahead of the Ben Millers. Andersons finished 3rd and the new Minit-Rubs bringing up the rear. Attendance ranged from 600 to 1500 fans per weekend, a significant drop from the league’s heyday. Leading scorer was Larry Ketcham of the Ben Millers with 11 goals.
1933-34 SLSL Final League standings
GP W L T GF GA Pts
Stix Baer & Fuller 13 9 2 2 38 15 20
Ben Millers 13 6 6 1 30 36 13
Andersons 13 4 6 3 31 33 11
Minit-Rubs 13 4 9 0 24 39 8
Champion: Stix Baer & Fuller
Municipal League Champion: Doyles
Leading scorers: G
Larry Ketcham, Ben Millers 11
"Mark" Semby, Anderson's 8
Simmerman, Anderson's 7
Billy Gonsalves, Stix, B & F 6
Ed Kane, Ben Millers 6
Pat Reidy, Minit-Rubs 6
Ed Flavin, Stix, B & F 5
Jimmy Roe, Stix, B & F 5
Amateur League & Cup Champions
New York State Senior Challenge Cup. St. Mary’s Celtic
New York State Qualifying Cup. Manhattan
German-American Soccer League (New York): German-American S. C.
Metropolitan League (New York). Nassau (Premier Division); Malta United (1st Division); Metropolitan Cup: Swedish
New Jersey State Challenge Cup. Irish-American
West Penn Challenge Cup: Heidelberg
Rowland Cup (Maryland State Open): Canton
Stewart Cup: Maryland Collegians
Peel Cup (Illinois State): Weiboldts
National Soccer League of Chicago: Sparta FC
California Senior Challenge Cup: Douglas Aircraft of Los Angeles
John O. Bellis Perpetual Trophy: Olympic
The US National Team
The National Team played only two games this year – both at the World Cup tournament, a qualifying match and a Cup match (details above under “world Cup 1934”).
National Team Results, 1934:
1934 Totals: 1W, 0D, 1L
May 27 34 L 1-7 Italy 30,000 Rome, Italy (WC'34)
Donelli
May 24 34 W 4-2 Mexico Rome, Italy (WCQ'34)
Donelli (4)
International Tours
S. K. Kladno of Czechoslovakia: September 3, 1934 through September 23, 1934. Results: 5 wins, 1 draw, 2 losses.
Roster: Behoundek, Cerny, Fisher, Junek, Klaz, Krauss, Moly, Nejedly, Novy, Prophazka, Stejakal, Svec, Tichy, Tronick.
9/3/34 Kladno 9, Sparta-Leader 0 (at Chicago) 9/5/34 Kladno 9, St. Louis Stars 1 (at St. Louis) 9/9/34 Kladno 4, Illinois Stars 0 (at Chicago) 9/15/34 Kladno 2, Philadelphia German-Americans 1 (at Philadelphia) 9/16/34 Kladno 2, Metropolitan Stars 3 (at New York City, NY) 9/19/34 Kladno 0, American league Stars 2 (at East Newark, NJ) 9/22/34 Kladno 4, Slavia F. C. 0 (at Cleveland) 9/23/34 Kladno 4, Wonderbolts 4 (at Chicago)
New York Americans to Cuba and Mexico: June 24, 1934 to August 19, 1934. Results: 3 wins, 0 draws, 5 losses.
Roster: Harry Collins, Joe Clark, Joe Edessa, Robert Fleming, Louis Gross, James Mazza, Robert McKay, William Morton, Eddie Parodi, William Rahmer. Manager: Erno Schwarcz.
6/24/34 New York Americans 0, Centro Gallego 2 (at Havana) 7/1/34 New York Americans 2, Juv Asturiana 3 (at Havana) 7/8/34 New York Americans 1, Iberia 2 (at Havana) 7/22/34 New York Americans 3, Espana 1 (at Mexico City) 7/29/34 New York Americans 1, Amerika 2 (at Mexico City) 8/5/34 New York Americans 2, Atlante 1 (at Mexico City) 8/12/34 New York Americans 2, Nexaca 0 (at Mexico City) 8/19/34 New York Americans 1, Atlante 3 (at Mexico City)
US World Cup team to Germany: June 6, 1934 through June 14, 1934. Results: 2 wins, 2 draws, 0 losses.
6/6/34 USA 1, Wurttemberg 0 (at Stuttgart) 6/7/34 USA 2, Wurttemberg 2 (at Ulm) 6/9/34 USA 2, Niedersachsen 2 (at Bremen) 6/14/34 USA 2, Niedersachsen 0 (at Hannover)
Penn State College to Scotland: August 23, 1934 through September 10, 1934. Results: 0 wins, 0 draws, 8 losses.
Roster: Marple Ambler, Joe Bielicki, John Binns, Joe Brady, Woodrow Corman, Bob Dallas, Eddie Finzel, Jack Fletcher, Eddie Long, Don Masters, Bill McEwan, John McEwan, Ben Palmer, Dick Siegel, Bill Nicolson. Coach: Bill Jeffrey.
8/23/34 Penn State 4, Leith Amateurs 6 (at Tynesdale) 8/25/34 Penn State 2, Gala Fairydean 7 (at Galashields) 8/29/34 Penn State 6, Inverness Caledonians 10 (at Inverness) 8/30/34 Penn State 4, Thurso F. C. 12 (at Thurso) 9/1/34 Penn State 4, Elgin City 5 (at Elgin) 9/5/34 Penn State 1, Falkirk Amateurs 10 (at Falkirk) 9/8/34 Penn State 2, Greenoch Former H.S. Pupils 5 (at Greenoch) 9/10/34 Penn State 6, Kilmarnock Academicals 9 (at Kilmarnock)
The College Game
Intercollegiate Soccer Football Association Champion: Cornell
Middle Atlantic Intercollegiate Soccer League: Cornell Middle Atlantic States Athletic Conference: Stevens New England Intercollegiate Soccer League: Amherst California Intercollegiate Soccer Conference Champion: San Francisco
College All-American Squad, 1934:
G - Bell, Penn State RF - Rees, Springfield LF - Graham, Penn State RH - Sutliff, Penn State CH - Bermijillo, Cornell LH - Oolsner, Princeton OR - Faust, Pennsylvania IR - Brown, Haverford CF - McEwan, Penn State IL - Bielicki, Penn State OL - Sanderson, Navy
Other Action
1934 National Challenge Cup Final: It took three matches, but Stix Baer & Fuller won their second consecutive National title. On April 1 they defeated Pawtucket Rangers 4-2, lost to them 2-3 a week later and won the deciding match 5-0.
1934 National Amateur Cup Final: On April 21, the Philadelphia German-Americans defeated Pittsburgh Heidelberg SC 2-1.