The Year in American Soccer – 1945

The American Soccer League

The American Soccer League continued to struggle on, without the services of dozens of players serving in the Armed Forces. Brookhattan, led by MVP Steve Rozbora was greatly improved this season, winning the league title in a close race with the defending champion Philadelphia Americans. Philly, which boasted the league’s leading scorer, (Jukey Nanoski, 22 goals) was in the race until the end, falling short by 2 points. Brooklyn Hispano took a big dive this year, falling to eighth place; they were a pale copy of the team which had won the league title a mere two years earlier. In an unusual occurrence, six teams finished within a point of each other in the lower ranks of the standings. By modern standards, Baltimore and Kearny, with their 17 points, should have finished below the four teams who had earned 18 points. The ASL during some years in the 1940s determined standings through won-loss percentage rather than points earned, explaining the discrepancy. The hapless New York Americans and Baltimore S.C. again brought up the rear. Brookhattan then went on to win the Lewis Cup and the National Challenge Cup.

                         Final League Standings, 1944-45

                              G    W   T   L   PCT  GF  GA  PTS
Brookhattan                  20   11   6   3  .700  54  46   28
Philadelphia Americans       19   11   4   4  .685  64  27   26
Brooklyn Wanderers           18   10   3   5  .638  39  33   23
Baltimore Americans          17    6   5   6  .500  35  39   17
Philadelphia Nationals       19    6   6   7  .474  40  40   18
Kearny Scots                 19    5   8   6  .474  33  45   18
Kearny Celtic                18    6   5   7  .472  41  38   17
Brooklyn Hispano             20    9   0  11  .450  49  46   18
New York Americans           18    6   4   8  .445  37  45   18
Baltimore S.C.               18    1   3  14  .139  23  56    5

LEAGUE CHAMPION:  Brookhattan
LEWIS CUP WINNER:  Brookhattan

LEADING SCORERS:
                                   GP   G   A  
Jukey Nanoski, Philly Americans    19  22  16
Nemchik, Brookhattan               18  18   7
Kelly, Philly Americans            18  16   9
Altemose, Philly Nationals         19  15   7
Fabri Salcedo, Brooklyn Hispano    14  15  10
Al Sasso, Kearny Celtic            18  15   1

Most Valuable Player: Steve Rozbora, Brookhattan


Amateur League and Cup Champions

New York Senior State Challenge Cup: S. C. Eintracht
Dr. Manning Challenge Cup (NY): New York Reserves
Eastern District League (NYC): Hakoah (Premier Division); Swiss (A Division)
German-American League (NYC): (S. C. Eintracht
Metropolitan League (NYC): Cork Celtic (Premier Division); Metropolitan Cup: Segura
National League of New York: (No competition)
New Jersey State Challenge Cup: (No competition)
Keystone League (Pittsburgh): (No competition)
West Penn Challenge Cup: Morgan Strasser
Rowland Cup (Maryland State): Combined British Services
Stewart Amateur Cup (Maryland): (No competition)
St. Louis Municipal League: Raftery
Peter J. Peel Cup (Illinois State): Swedish-Americans
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. The USA’s national soccer organization formally changed its name from the United States Football Association to the United States Soccer Football Association.


International Tours

There were no international tours this year.


The College Game

Intercollegiate soccer activity was severely curtailed due to the war.

1945 College Conference Champions:
Intercollegiate Soccer Football Association (ISFA): No Award

California Intercollegiate Soccer Conference: No Champion
Middle Atlantic Intercollegiate Soccer League:  Haverford
Middle Atlantic States Athletic Conference: Haverford
New England Intercollegiate Soccer League: Yale

College All-American Squad, 1945:

Goal               Tyree, Army
Right Fullback     Crowley, Army
Left Fullback      Barlow, Temple
Right Halfback     Clayton, Haverford
Center Halfback    Benedict, Army
Left Halfback      Hamilton, Penn State
Outside Right      Matlack, Penn State
Inside Right       Ketchum, Pennsylvania
Center Forward     A. Callisto, Navy
Inside Left        Brice, Yale
Outside Left       Ruggieri, Navy

Other Results

1945 National Challenge Cup Final: In a two-leg series, New York Brookhattan defeated Cleveland Americans 4-1 on June 10 and 2-1 on June 16 to take the Cup.

1945 National Amateur Cup Final: On July 8, S. C. Eintracht of New York defeated St. Louis Rafterys 1-0.

National Junior Cup: Pompei S.C., Baltimore and Hornets S.C., Chicago (co-champions)