The Year in American Soccer – 1943

The American Soccer League

As the war heated up, more and more players were being mustered into service, although those stationed nearby were able to play at least part of the season. But an increasing number of players were being sent overseas on tours of duty, and the depletion of the rosters was becoming a major concern. Baltimore Americans had withdrawn from the league, and Baltimore S. C. assumed their name. The ASL launched their first league wide war effort, with the gates from the derby games of the second round being donated for Army Emergency relief and the Navy Relief Fund. The Philadelphia Americans stumbled early as they began the defense of their league title in a contentious and tense league race.

Brookhattan and Kearny Celtic were the early leaders in the close race, with the Americans briefly holding the lead about ten rounds in. But it was the surging Hispano club, spearheaded by Billy Gonsalves and Fabri Salcedo, and ably guarded by goalkeeper Gene Olaf, who surged into the lead early in January and cruised on to win a close race over Brookhattan. The Americans had to settle for third, but they made up for that disappointing finish by winning the Lewis Cup competition.

The NY Americans and Brookhattan celebrated the construction of the new and vastly improved Starlight Park in the Bronx. The old Starlight had been commandeered along with the adjacent Coliseum by the U. S. Army and was no longer available. The league wrestled with the challenges posed by the new “D” registration form. The “D” form had been instituted a few years previous to combat the problem of promising amateurs quitting their team on a few days notice to take a better offer elsewhere (usually for more money). However, the new registrations backfired, leading many clubs to sign amateurs for the year and then not letting them try out with major clubs, denying them opportunities to advance. The amateurs would say that they don’t get any compensation for training these players, but at the same time they hinder the progress of promising talent, which hurts the game as a whole. Clearly some third alternative was needed to address this problem.

Other recent changes were received with mixed reaction from fans, among them, the allowance of substitutions, three per game in the case of the ASL, as well as the option of expulsion of players for major infractions as opposed to merely replacing them, and changing the Lewis Cup later rounds to single elimination on a neutral site as opposed to the two-leg series. But there was general consensus that Derby games (matches pitting two teams from the same city) were considered a major asset.

                         Final League Standings, 1942-43


Before the season, Brooklyn Hispano changed their name to Brooklyn
Giants, but the new name didn’t catch on.  Baltimore SC became 
Baltimore Americans.  Kearny Irish became Kearny Celtic.

                              G    W   T   L   PCT  GF  GA  PTS
Brooklyn Hispano             18   11   3   4   .695 38  23   25
Brookhattan                  18   10   2   6   .612 49  34   22
Philadelphia Americans       18   10   1   7   .584 47  28   21
Brooklyn Wanderers           14    7   1   6   .536 21  27   15
Baltimore Americans          16    7   2   7   .500 32  35   16
New York Americans           16    6   4   8   .445 25  28   16
Kearny Celtic                16    6   2   8   .438 37  44   14
Kearny Scots                 15    4   2   9   .334 28  42   10
Philadelphia Nationals       17    5   1  11   .324 27  43   11

LEAGUE CHAMPION:  Brooklyn Hispano
LEWIS CUP WINNER:  Philadelphia Americans

LEADING SCORERS:
                                   GP   G   A
Chapppie Sheppell, Kearny Irish   15  12  14
Fabri Salcedo, Hispano             18  10   6
Duke Nanoski, Philly Americans     15  10   7
Jennette, Brookhattan              17  10   6
Quinones, Hispano                  16   9   9
Kuntner, Brookhattan               17   9   5
Boyle, Brookhattan                 15   8   6
Billy Gonsalves, Hispano           16   8   4
Jackson, Brooklyn Wanderers        13   7   0
Carroll, Kearny Scots              15   7   5
Dick, Philly Americans             17   7   4
Waldkewicz, Philly Nationals       12   7   1
Nick Kropfelder, Baltimore A's     12   7   0

Amateur League and Cup Champions

New York Senior State Challenge Cup: (No competition)
Dr. Manning Challenge Cup (NY): Celtic Circle
Eastern District League (NYC): Maccabi (Premier Division); Simplex (A Division)
German-American League (NYC): S. C. Eintracht
Metropolitan League (NYC): Local 32 (Premier Division); Segura (1st Division); Metropolitan Cup: Bronx Scots
National League of New York: (No competition)
New Jersey State Challenge Cup: Hoboken
Keystone League (Pittsburgh): Morgan Strasser
West Penn Challenge Cup: (No competition)
Rowland Cup (Maryland State): Santa Maria K. C.
Stewart Amateur Cup (Maryland): No competition
St. Louis Municipal League: El Reys
Peter J. Peel Cup (Illinois State): Slovaks & Vikings (Co-Champs)
California Association Senior Challenge Cup: B&F; Scots of Los Angeles
John O. Belis Perpetual Trophy: American A. C. Teutonia


The US National Team

The National Team was inactive this year.


International Tours

There were no international tours this year.


The College Game

Intercollegiate soccer activity was severely curtailed due to the war, to the point that no conference champion trophies were awarded..

1943 College Conference Champions:
Intercollegiate Soccer Football Association (ISFA): No Award

California Intercollegiate Soccer Conference: (No Champion)
Middle Atlantic Intercollegiate Soccer League:  (No Champion)
Middle Atlantic States Athletic Conference: (No Champion)
New England Intercollegiate Soccer League: (No Award)

College All-American Squad, 1943:

Goal               Gorsline, Navy
Right Fullback     Jarina, Rensselaer Poly
Left Fullback      Reeves, Navy
Right Halfback     Lilley, Rensselaer Poly
Center Halfback    Chaires, Navy
Left Halfback      Palmer, Rensselaer Poly
Outside Right      J. Lonbana, Penn State
Inside Right       Hritz, Pennsylvania
Center Forward     Callisto, Navy
Inside Left        Sciolla, Army
Outside Left       F. Teran, Rensselaer Poly

Other Results

1943 National Challenge Cup Final: On May 14, Brooklyn Hispano played Morgan-Strasser of Pittsburgh to a 2-2 draw. In the Replay, Brooklyn Hispano defeated Morgan Strasser 3-2 to win the Cup.

1943 National Amateur Cup Final: On June 11, Pittsburgh Morgan Strasser defeated Baltimore Santa Maria SC 4-1.

National Junior Cup: (No competition)