The American Soccer League
Before the 1961-62 season, Inter S.C. merged with Brooklyn Italians, while Galicia merged with a non-league club, Honduras. Neither team, even with the strengthened rosters, could compete with Philadelphia Ukrainian Nationals, who went 16-3-1 en route to another championship. The Ukes were derailed on their trip to another “double”, being upset in the semi-finals by eventual National Open Challenge Cup champion New York Hungaria of the German-American League. The MVP was finally wrested away from Ukrainian Nationals, going instead to Inter-Brooklyn’s Pete Millar. New York Hakoah’s Kurt Lamm won his second Coach of the Year award; the next season would find him as league president.
In 1961-62, The ASL and the Canadian Football Association sponsored a 9-game tour of Sheffield United, English FA Cup semifinalists. This season also saw New York Inter set a single-game scoring record of 13 During the early 1960’s, the ASL struggled to establish a reasonable level of professionalism; although the standard of play was higher than the GASL and NSL-NY, it was semi-pro at best. Nobody was making any money and players had to hold regular jobs to make ends meet. Player and managerial turnover was fairly rapid, and sometimes players were basically coaching themselves. New teams would come in with enthusiasm but found they couldn’t make ends meet financially, and many soon withdrew. There was a serious lack of long-term planning which wouldn’t be resolved until the mid to late 1960’s.
The early 1960’s saw the culmination of an ongoing rivalry between the ASL (with heavy presence in the New York-New Jersey metropolitan area) and the German-American Soccer League, the largest of the New York-based amateur leagues. This rivalry which lead to mutual recriminations in the late 1950’s was patched up sufficiently for the two leagues to merge for the 1961-62 season, although they continued to compete separately. This cooperation culminated in the establishment of the Eastern Soccer Conference in 1964-65, which played a summer season with teams from both leagues.
Final League Standings, 1961-62
Before the season, Inter SC and Brooklyn merged.
Galicia merged with Honduras, an amateur club.
G W T L GF GA PTS
Ukrainian Nationals 20 16 1 3 54 24 33
Inter-Brookklyn Italians 23 12 4 7 73 50 28
Newark Portuguese 19 11 3 5 46 31 25
Fall River SC 18 8 2 8 29 30 18
New York Hakoah SC 19 6 5 8 31 35 17
Falcons SC 21 5 2 14 35 51 12
Galicia-Honduras 20 2 4 14 28 49 8
Uhrik Truckers SC 17 1 1 15 26 78 3
CHAMPION: Ukrainian Nationals.
After the season, Galicia-Honduras withdrew.
Leading Scorers:
Pete Millar, Inter SC 18
R. Pegorer, Ukrainian Nationals 9
G. Brown, Falcons 7
F. Catroppa, Inter SC 7
P. Pepe, Newark 7
Most Valuable Player: Pete Millar, Inter SC
Coach of the Year: Kurt Lamm, New York Hakoah
The International Soccer League
The International Soccer League continued to grow, staging games in Chicago as well as New York. This time no American clubs were represented, but the absence of a native side did not hurt the gate, the league had its strongest season yet, averaging 10,405 fans per game. The league was aided by good weather and close fought races in both divisions. Section I champion America Rio de Janeiro defeated Section II winner Belenenses of Portugal for the ISL title, only to lose to Dukla Prague in the newly minted American Challenge Cup, played on August 8 and 12, in Chicago. For the second straight year, the American Challenge cup featured the ISL champion against the previous year’s Challenge Cup winner. The playoff games were played in cities as widespread as New York, Chicago, Guadalajara Mexico and Chicopee Mass.
Final League Standings, 1962
GP W T L GF GA Pts
Section I
America RJ (Brazil) 5 3 2 0 11 8 8
Reutlingen (West Germany) 5 3 1 1 6 1 7
Guadalajara (Mexico) 5 1 2 2 7 7 4
Palermo (Italy) 5 1 2 2 7 8 4
Dundee FC (Scotland) 5 1 2 2 9 11 4
Hadjuk Split (Yugoslavia) 5 1 3 1 8 10 3
Section II
Belenenses (Portugal) 5 4 1 0 14 6 9
Wiener AC (Austria) 5 2 2 1 11 17 6
Panathinaikos (Greece) 5 1 3 1 9 12 5
MTK Budapest (Hungary) 5 1 2 2 10 12 4
Elfsborg (Sweden) 5 0 3 2 12 16 3
Real Oviedo (Spain) 5 0 3 2 7 10 3
CHAMPIONSHIP
Aug. 1 at New York: America RJ 2 Belenenses 1
Aug. 5 at New York: America RJ 1, Belenenses 0
(America RJ wins by 3-1 aggregate)
AMERICAN CHALLENGE CUP
Aug. 8 at Chicago: Dukla Prague 1, America RJ 1
Aug.12 at New York: Dukla Prague 2, America RJ 1 (Downing Stadium, attendance 20,185)
(Dukla Prague wins by 3-2 aggregate)
Leading scorers:
Lukaric, Hadjuk 5
Fernandes, Belenses 7
Vasas, MTK Budapest 6
Papaemmanouil, Panathanicos 5
Eisenhower Trophy (MVP): Karl Boegelein
Eastern Canada Professional Soccer League
Toronto City retained only Tommy Younger from its crop of English stars, and he served as coach, not being allowed to play by his parent club, Leeds United. The expansion Toronto Roma won the regular season, but were eliminated from the playoffs at the hands of Italia, 5-1. The big draws this season were the intercity matches between Italia and Roma in Toronto.
Final League Standings, 1962
Before the season, Toronto Roma and Buffalo were added. Montreal
did not play this season.
GP W T L GF GA PTS
Toronto Roma 24 12 7 5 41 28 31
Toronto City 24 8 7 9 38 38 25
Toronto Italia 24 9 5 10 31 33 23
Hamilton Steelers 24 10 3 11 37 40 23
Buffalo White Eagles 24 8 4 12 34 42 20
Semi-Finals: Italia defeated Roma 5-1
City defeated Hamilton 3-2
CHAMPIONSHIP: Italia defeated City 3-2
After the season, Buffalo withdrew.
Leading Scorer: Danny Clapton, Toronto City (9 goals)
Amateur Leagues & Cups
German American Soccer League
This was the year for New York Hungaria. Winners of the league cup and the US Open Cup, Hungaria compiled an impressive 17-2-2 record, and then, taking on several regional all-stars, embarked on a multinational tour of the midwest where racked up the wins. Hunhgaria had taken its fourth consecutive league title, although they were followed closely by Giuliana and BW Goettschee.
Final League Standings, 1961-62
GP W T L GF GA PTS
Hungaria 21 17 2 2 65 11 36
Giuliana 23 16 2 5 57 31 34
BW Gottschee 27 14 6 7 55 46 34
Ukrainian 25 14 3 8 59 37 31
SC New York 25 14 3 8 59 46 31
SC Hota 26 13 5 8 65 57 31
German-Hungarian 26 11 4 11 50 42 26
Greek-American 25 10 3 12 59 47 22
DSC Brooklyn 26 8 5 13 51 51 21
SC Eintracht 26 5 4 17 41 70 16
Premier Division Champion: Elizabeth (15-4-3-34)
League Division Champion: Pfaelzer (13-3-1-29)
National Soccer League of Chicago
Chicago Maroons took the league title, although they lost to the Kickers 3-1 in the finals of the Illinois State Championship. This gave the Kickers their fourth consecutive Peel Cup trophy. In other action, the Chicago All-Stars defeated three of five opponents in regional exhibitions. They defeated the Wisconsin All-Stars 4-0, the Michigan-Ontario All-Stars (6-2 in detroit, 7-0 in Windsow), and lost to St. Louis Kutis 2-3, and the touring North German Stars 0-3. This was also the first year that a Chicago-based junior all-star squad was invited to play in an invitational regional tournament, held in new York. They defeated new Jersey 2-1 and 5-0, and were even with New York 0-0 in the finals when it was called at halftime due to heavy rain. Schwaben won their first NSL indoor title in eleven seasons of indoor competition.
Final League Standings, 1961-62
GP W T L PTS
Chicago Maroons 13 10 1 2 21
Eagles 14 8 0 6 14
Schwaben 13 5 4 4 14
Hansa 14 6 2 6 14
Lions 14 4 6 4 14
Fortuna 13 4 5 4 13
Slovaks 14 4 4 6 12
Wanderers 14 3 0 11 6
Indoor League Champion: Schwaben
California State Association Senior Challenge Cup:Los Angeles Kickers
Pacific Coast International Championship (Kennedy Cup) Vancouver Fire-Fighters defeated Mexico “B” 2-1 before 10,000 fans. Also playing: San Francisco Scots and Eintracht (West Germany).
New Jersey State Cup:A.S. Roma
New Jersey State League: A.S. Roma
Manning Memorial Cup (New York): Palermo;Knickerbocker Cup: Gaulois; Association Cup: Brooklyn
National Soccer League of New York: Gjoa (awarded after tie in standings with Brooklyn Scots)
Italian-American League (NY): Palermo FC
Inter-City League (NY): Italian-American
Long Island League: Flushing Heights; Jose Cup: Patchogue; Edwards Cup: Lindenhurst
Garden State League: H.A.A.S.
Greater New Bedford City League: Portuguese Sports of New Bedford (13-1-0-27)
Interstate League (MA-RI): Orioles of Tiverton, RI (15-1-1-31)
Connecticut State Cup: Bridgeport Ukrainian
National Soccer League of Connecticut: Bridgeport Ukrainian
Philadelphia League: Kensington Blue Bells
Rowland State Open Championship (Maryland): (not available): Michigan-Ontario International Soccer League: Detroit Carpathia Kickers
Peel Cup (Illinois State):Kickers defeated Maroons 3-1.
Hines Cup: Furtna and Rams drew 1-1, declared co-champions.
The US National Team
The team played no full internationals this year.
U. S. Open Cup
The cup returned to the German-American Soccer League when New York Hungaria defeated the San Francisco Scots, 3-2, on June 17 at Eintracht Oval in New York in the first final to include a northern California team. A total of 144 teams entered the competition this year.
Hungaria had reached the final by eliminating the defending champion, Philadelphia Ukrainian Nationals, in the two-leg eastern semifinal on April 21 and 28, winning each leg by 2-1. In the western semifinal on June 10, San Francisco Scots beat St. Louis Kutis, 6-5, marking the third time in four years that the 1957 champions had been ousted by a single goal in the semifinals.
In the quarterfinals, Hungaria beat Newark Portuguese, 2-0, and San Francisco Scots defeated Los Angeles Magyar, 3-1 and 2-0. The other quarterfinals were Ukrainian Nationals 4, Pittsburgh Beadling 0, and Kutis 9, Milwaukee Bavarian 3.
International Tours
North German All-Stars : May 6, 1962 – May 22, 1962. Results: 5 wins, 1 draw, 0 losses.
Roster: Hans Altenkirch, Joachim Baese, Werner Gestle, Manfred Greif, Hans Jacker, Heiner Klose, Gerd Kull, Guenther Mess, Juergen Moll, Peter Osterhoff, Ingo Proges, Walter Schmidt, Rolf Siesler, Klaus Traeger, Klaus Winkelman, Uwe Witt. Coach: Martin Wikle.
5/6/62 North Germany 1, German-American League Stars 1 (at New York City) 5/10/62 North Germany 3, St. Louis Stars 1 (at St. Louis) 5/13/62 North Germany 3, Chicago Stars 0 (at Chicago) 5/16/62 North Germany 6, New Jersey G.A.L. Stars 1 (at New Jersey) 5/20/62 North Germany 5, Ukrainian Nationals 0 (at Philadelphia) 5/22/62 North Germany 3, German-American League Stars 1 (at New York City)
Sheffield United, England: May 12 1962 – June 9, 1962. Results: 9 wins, 1 draw, 0 losses.
Roster: Len Allchurch, Michael Ash, Len Badgar, Cecil Coldwell, John Dohety, Barry Hartle, Willie Hodgson, Keith Kettleborough, Reg Matthewson, Derek Pace, Brian Richardson, Joe Shaw, Ron Simpson, Gerry Summers, Des Thompson, Bob Widdowson, Richard Wragg. Manager: John Harris. Trainer and Coach: John Short.
5/12/62 Sheffield United 4, Ukrainian Nationals 1 (at Philadelphia) 5/13/62 Sheffield United 3, ASL & GAL stars 2 (at New York City) 5/18/62 Sheffield United 3, Toronto Stars 0 (at Toronto) 5/23/62 Sheffield United 4, C.Y.O Stars 1 (at St. Louis) 5/27/62 Sheffield United 2, Saarbrucken of Germany 0 (at Chicago) 5/30/62 Sheffield United 7, Edmonton Stars 1 (at Edmonton) 6/2/62 Sheffield United 4, Eintracht Frankfurt 1 (at Vancouver) 6/4/62 Sheffield United 1, Victoria Stars 0 (at Victoria, BC) 6/6/62 Sheffield United 2, Vancouver Stars 2 (at Vancouver) 6/9/62 Sheffield United 4, Eintracht Frankfurt 0 (at Toronto)
A.S.V. Nuernberg, West Germany: Results: 4 wins, 1 draw, 3 losses.
Nuernberg 3, Detroit Kickers 3 (at Detroit) Nuernberg 1, Milwaukee Brewers 2 (at Milwaukee) Nuernberg 1, Chicago Schwaben 2 (at Chicago) Nuernberg 2, Kutis 3 (at St. Louis) Nuernberg 3, Ft. Wayne 1 (at Ft. Wayne, IN) Nuernberg 4, Dayton 1 (at Dayton) Nuernberg 4, Youngstown Magyars 2 (at Youngstown, OH) Nuernberg 5, Philadelphia United League 2 (at Philadelphia)
1st Saarbruecken, West Germany: May 25, 1962 – June 10, 1962. Results: 5 wins, 0 draws, 1 loss.
5/25/62 Saarbruecken 5, Dundee 1 (at Detroit) 5/27/62 Saarbruecken 0, Sheffield United 2 (at Chicago) 5/30/62 Saarbruecken 6, Bavarians 2 (at Milwaukee) 6/3/62 Saarbruecken 7, All-Stars 1 (at Cleveland) 6/8/62 Saarbruecken 8, C.Y.C. 2 (at St. Louis) 6/10/62 Saarbruecken 2, Ukes & United League 1 (at Philadelphia)
Bangu, Brazil: No details available
Dukla, Czechoslovakia: No details available
Red Star Belgrade, Yugoslavia: No details available
U. S. All-Stars to the Middle East: September 11, 1962 – October 1962. Results: 9 wins, 4 draws, 0 losses.
Note: Many of the players were from New York Hungaria, winners of the US Open Cup and GASL League championship. Roster: Included Nick Henni, Andrew Mate, Tibor Resnecki, Andy Ciota, Joseph Csabai, Arpad Bugar, Ted Virba, Steve Karsay, Charles Horvath, Dominick Zsido, Joseph Pal, Dieter Albrecht, Andy Bomborowski (all NY Hungaria).
9/11/62 USA 2, Homs, Syria 0 (att. 2,500)
9/14/62 USA 2, Damascus, Syria 1 (att. 9,500)
9/16/62 USA 4, Aleppo, Syria 3 (att. 7,000)
9/18/62 USA 5, Latakin, Syria 1 (att. 10,500)
9/21/62 USA 1, Syrian Army 0 (att 14,000)
9/23/62 USA 6, Amman, Jordan 2 (12,500)
9/25/62 USA 2, Jerusalem, Jordan 2 (att. 15,000)
9/27/62 USA 6, Jordan Army 2 (att. 9,500)
USA 0, Besikas 0 (in Turkey)
USA 1, Fenerbahce 1 (in Turkey)
USA 2, Izimir 1 (in Turkey)
USA 3, Isfahan 0 (in Iran)
USA 2, Iran Champion (Daraii) 2 (att. 25,000 including the Shah of Iran)
Above games listed in USSFA Yearbook. Other sources also list the following:
USA 0, Sahai, Iran 4
USA 5, Limasol, Cyprus 4
USA 2, Nikosta, Cyprus 4
USA 4, Lebanon stars 1
USA 2, Lebanon Stars 2
Bavarian of Milwaukee to West Germany: August 4 1962 – August 18, 1962. results: 1 win, 0 draws, 4 losses.
8/4/62 Bavarian 0, Bottrop 6 8/8/62 Bavarian 0, Osnabrueck 3 8/11/62 Bavarian 3, Mannheim 18/15/62 Bavarian 1, Plattling 2 8/18/62 Bavarian 3, Nuermburg 6
Carpathia Kickers of Detroit to West Germany: June 19 1962 – June 30 1962. Results: 2 wins, 0 draws, 3 losses.
6/19/62 Carpathia Kickers 1, V.F.B. Stuttgart 12 (at Stuttgart) 6/21/62 Carpathia Kickers 1, Bamberg 3 (at Bamberg) 6/24/62 Carpathia Kickers 5, Karlsruhe-Durlach 2 (at Karlsruhe-Durlach) 6/27/62 Carpathia Kickers 1, Rosenheim 1860 3 (at Rosenheim) 6/30/62 Carpathia Kickers 5, Wacker 1 (at Innsbruck, Austria)
Hoboken F.C. to West Germany: June 16 1962 – June 30 1962. Results: 3 wins, 1 draw, 2 losses.
6/16/62 Hoboken 0, Daxlander SV 7 (at Karlsruhe) 6/19/62 Hoboken 1, Kircheim/Teck S.C. 3 (at Kircheim) 6/23/62 Hoboken 3, Rot-Weiss Alzey 3 (at Alzey, Rhine) 6/24/62 Hoboken 4, Alzey All-Stars 1 (at Alzey, Rhine) 6/27/62 Hoboken 4, Wuerzberg All-Stars 2 (at Wuerzburg) 6/30/62 Hoboken 3, Grossheuback All-Stars 2 (at Grossheubach)
New York SC to West Germany: July 28 1962 – August 8 1962). Results: 2 wins, 1 draw, 2 losses.
7/28/62 New York 2, TuS Mayen 2 (at Mayen) 8/1/62 New York 1, VfR Heilbronn 3 (at Heilbronn) 8/5/62 New York 3, VfR Pforzheim 4 (at Pforzheim) 8/6/62 New York 5, Enztal All-Stars 1 (at Calmbach) 8/8/62 New York 1, FC Freiburg 4 (at Freiburg)
New Bedford Portuguese to Azores: June 1 1962 – June 14 1962. Results: 3 wins, 1 draw, 1 loss.
Roster: Includes Antonio Morais, John Raposo, Robert Cardoza, Edward Goulart, Antonio Marmelo, Manual Gasper, Antone Correia.
6/1/62 Portuguese SC 1, Maritimo SC 2 (at Sao Miguel Sta.) 6/4/62 Portuguese SC 2, Fayal SC 1 (at Algoa Sta.) 6/8/62 Portuguese SC 4, Augusties AV 2 (at Algoa Sta.) 6/13/62 Portuguese S.C. 3, SC Andrense 3 (at Angro do Heroismo Ter.) 6/14/62 Portuguese SC 5, Santa Maria 2 (at Sta. Maria, Sao Miguel)
The College Game
In the NCAA Tournament quarterfinals, Springfield defeated Hartwick 2-1, Maryland defeated Pittsburgh 4-3, St. Louis defeated Stanford 9-3, Michigan State defeated Howard 9-1. The semifinals saw Maryland defeat Springfield 5-0, and St. Louis defeated Michigan State 2-0. The Championship returned to St. Louis with the home team defeating Maryland 4-3.
Conference Champions: California Intercollegiate Soccer Conference: Stanford New England Intercollegiate Soccer League: Williams Ivy league: Penn, Harvard (co-champs) Metropolitan Intercollegiate Soccer Conference: Pratt Atlantic Coast Conference: Maryland New York State Athletic Conference: Cortland Rocky Mountain Intercollegiate League: Air Force, Wyoming (tie) Midwestern Collegiate Soccer Conference: St. Louis (Western), Michigan State (Eastern) Ohio Collegoate Soccer Association: Akron Mason-Dixon Conference: Lynchburg Southern California Soccer Association: Pomona Pacific Coast Conference (Northern): California Middle Atlantic States Athletic Conference: Elizabethtown Collegiate All-Americans: G - Dave Smoyer, Dartmouth RF - Paul Ferdy, Cortland State LF - Louis Buck, Pennsylvania RH - Fritz Kungle, Akron CH - Reiner Kemeling, Michigan State LH - Bill Vieth, St. Louis OR - Garry Balassi, St. Louis IR - Karl Kasser, Nevy CF - Don Williams, West Chester IL - Rubena Filzola, Michigan State OL - Keith Van Winkle, Middlebury NAIA Championship: East Stroudsberg 4, Pratt Institute 0 NJCAA Championship: Mitchell College 6, Orange County Community College 0
Other Action
Kennedy Cup: Held in Los Angeles. Winner: Vancouver Firefighters
May 27, 1962 - Vancouver Firefighters 4: Los Angeles Kickers 4 (Firefighters on on penalty kicks)* May 27, 1962 - Mexican Selects 5: San Francisco Scots 3 May 28, 1962 - Los Angeles Kickers 2: San Francisco Scots 2 (3rd Place) May 28, 1962 - Vancouver Firefighters 2: Mexican Selects 1 (Final) Note the Firefighters vs Kickers game was tied at 3-3 after the regular game. Two 30 minute overtimes were played at it was still 3-3. Another 15 minute over was played and it was tied 4-4. In the penalty kicks Vancouver took all three and scored all three. Then LA took one and missed. Game over.
1962 National Amateur Cup Final: Detroit Carpthia defeated New Brunswick American Hungarian, 4-0. The tournament started with 148 teams.
National Junior Cup: Schumachers, St. Louis
1962 CONCACAF Champions Cup: The USA did not participate. Guadalajara (Mexico) defeated Communicaciones (Guatemala)1-0, 5-0. This was the inaugural cup.
1962 CONCACAF U-20 Championship: The U.S. did not participate. Cup won by Mexico.
National Soccer Hall of Fame: In 1962, Walter Giesler was inducted into the Hall of Fame.