1930 American Soccer League

Football league season

American Soccer League
-1930 Season-Season| 1930

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Champions| Fall River F.C. (6th title)
Lewis Cup| Fall River F.C.
Top goalscorer| Jerry Best (52)

← Fall 1929

1931 →

Statistics of American Soccer League in season 1930.

## Overview

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In 1928, a dispute broke out between the American Soccer League and the United States Football Association regarding participation in the National Challenge Cup. The League decided to boycott the cup, but three teams, Bethlehem Steel, the Newark Skeeters and the New York Giants all entered the competition. When the league suspended the three teams, the USFA offered to bankroll the creation of a new league, the Eastern Professional Soccer League. This new league included the three ex-American Soccer League teams, four teams from the Southern New York Football Association and one newly created team, New York Hakoah. By the fall of 1929, the onset of the Great Depression and the competition between the ASL and EPSL had created significant financial problems for both leagues and the USFA. Consequently, the USFA and the two leagued came to an agreement to end the dispute on October 9, 1929. The two leagues entered into discussions to merge.[1][2] By the first week of November 1929, the merger was complete with the new league taking the name of the Atlantic Coast Soccer League.[3] The new league decided to run a two-part 1930 season. Oddly enough, they decided to play the first games of the 1930 season during the weekend of November 6, 1929. The first half of the season ended the last weekend of April 1930. During the summer of 1930, the league resumed the name American Soccer League, beginning the second half of the season in September and ending the first weekend of January 1931. Although the league attempted to continue operations as it had before the dispute with the USFA, it began to fail during the 1930 season. The dispute between the ASL and USFA financially weakened the league and its teams. The onset of the Great Depression in 1929 further exacerbated these problems. This resulted in significant changes in the lineup of teams in the league.

### Team turmoil

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Boston became the first team to fail, leaving the league and disbanding after only four games. The second team to fail was one which had just entered the ASL, Bridgeport Hungaria. Based in Bridgeport, Pennsylvania, the team moved to Newark, New Jersey after ten games, played another five in Newark, then withdrew from the league and disbanded. During the mid-season break, Bethlehem Steel F.C. withdrew and disbanded. Then, the New York Giants renamed themselves the New York Soccer Club. The New York Nationals immediately took the name Giants.

### Champions

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The Fall River Football Club finished top of the table in both the first and second half. The league saw no need for a playoff and declared the 'Marksmen' champions. The 'Marksmen' also won the league (Lewis) cup and the 1929–30 National Challenge Cup, giving it a domestic treble. Having achieved this distinction, the 'Marksmen' promptly withdrew from the league and merged with the New York Soccer Club to form the New York Yankees for the 1931 season.

## League standings

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### First half (Atlantic Coast Soccer League)

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Place  | Team  | GP  | W  | L  | D  | GF  | GA  | Pts  | Pct

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1  | Fall River F.C. | 27  | 19  | 1  | 7  | 84  | 40  | 44  | .814
2  | New Bedford Whalers | 33  | 12  | 10  | 11  | 56  | 50  | 35  | .530
3  | Hakoah All Stars | 33  | 14  | 12  | 7  | 65  | 61  | 35  | .530
4  | Providence | 27  | 12  | 11  | 4  | 53  | 56  | 28  | .519
5  | New York Nationals | 33  | 14  | 14  | 5  | 88  | 89  | 33  | .500
6  | Pawtucket Rangers | 28  | 10  | 11  | 7  | 50  | 61  | 27  | .483
7  | Bethlehem Steel | 27  | 11  | 12  | 4  | 66  | 54  | 26  | .481
8  | New York Giants | 30  | 11  | 13  | 6  | 67  | 77  | 28  | .467
9  | Brooklyn Wanderers | 32  | 9  | 13  | 10  | 63  | 66  | 28  | .438
10  | Bridgeport Hungaria/Newark[Note 1] | 15  | 0  | 12  | 3  | 21  | 59  | 3  | .100
11  | Boston[Note 2] | 4  | 1  | 0  | 3  | 5  | 9  | 2  | .250

1. ^ Bridgeport played ten games in Bridgeport, then moved the Newark, New Jersey where they played five games before withdrawing from the league.
2. ^ Boston withdrew from the league after four games.

### Second half (American Soccer League)

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Place  | Team  | GP  | W  | L  | D  | GF  | GA  | Pts  | Pct

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1  | Fall River F.C.  | 27  | 13  | 8  | 6  | 54  | 43  | 34  | .630
2  | New Bedford Whalers  | 30  | 15  | 6  | 9  | 75  | 62  | 36  | .600
3  | Hakoah All-Stars  | 27  | 10  | 8  | 9  | 40  | 42  | 28  | .519
4  | Newark Americans[Note 1] | 28  | 11  | 6  | 11  | 62  | 55  | 28  | .500
5  | New York Soccer Club (Giants)[Note 2] | 27  | 12  | 3  | 12  | 51  | 55  | 27  | .500
6  | Providence  | 29  | 12  | 3  | 14  | 46  | 29  | 27  | .466
7  | Brooklyn Wanderers  | 30  | 10  | 7  | 13  | 57  | 58  | 27  | .450
8  | New York Giants (Nationals)[Note 3] | 31  | 9  | 7  | 15  | 64  | 86  | 27  | .435
9  | Pawtucket Rangers  | 31  | 0  | 8  | 14  | 54  | 26  | 26  | .419

1. ^ The Newark Americans entered the league mid-season and did not play in the first half.
2. ^ Team played as the New York Giants in the first half.
3. ^ Team played as the New York Nationals in the first half.

## League Cup

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The winners of the League Cup final were awarded the H.E. Lewis Cup. Hakoah All-Stars and New York Nationals were forced to play a replay on May 22, 1930, to determine a winner after the first two matches ended in draws, and neither side scored in 30 minutes of extra time at the end of the second match.[4][5]

The first game of the two-game final was originally scheduled for May 25, 1930, but was cancelled due to rain. It took place at night at a neutral site, the Polo Grounds in New York, two days later. The second game of the final was then scheduled for May 28, but rain forced its cancellation as well. The game was continually rescheduled until it was finally played on October 23, 1930.

### Bracket

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| May 10–22
2-legged aggregate & *match replay | | | May 27 and October 23
2-legged aggregate |

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|  |  |  |  |  | | |  |  |  |  |  |
| MA | Fall River F.C. | 1 | 3 | 4 | |
| RI | Pawtucket Rangers | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| | MA | Fall River F.C. | 2 | 3 | 5 |
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| | | NY | Hakoah All-Stars | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| NY | Hakoah All-Stars | 2 | 1(2) | 5 |

| NY | New York Nationals | 2 | 1(1) | 4 |

### Final

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Team 1 | Aggregate | Team 2 | First leg | Second leg | Attendance

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Fall River F.C. | 5–1 | Hakoah All-Stars | 2–1 | 3–0 | May 27 • Polo Grounds • 5,000
October 23 • Polo Grounds • 2,500

#### First leg

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May 27, 1930

Fall River F.C.| 2–1| Hakoah All-Stars

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Billy Gonsalves 4'
Werner Nilsen 70' | Report |  Siegfried Wortmann

The Polo Grounds, New York, New York

Attendance: 5,000

Referee: Ed McCabe

#### Second leg

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October 23, 1930
8:15 PM EST

Hakoah All-Stars| 0–3| Fall River F.C.

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| Report | ,  Billy Gonsalves
Arnie Oliver

The Polo Grounds, New York, New York

Attendance: 2,500

Referee: Ed McCabe

Fall River F.C. won Lewis Cup, 5–1, on aggregate.

## Goals leaders

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Rank  | Scorer  | Club  | Games  | Goals

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1  | Jerry Best | Pawtucket Rangers
Fall River F.C.
New Bedford Whalers | 49  | 52
2  | John Nelson | New York Nationals | 42  | 45
3  | Bert Patenaude | Fall River F.C.
Newark Americans | 44  | 44
4  | Archie Stark | Bethlehem Steel
Newark Americans | 38  | 40
5  | Bill Paterson | Providence
New Bedford Whalers | 44  | 38
6  | Billy Gonsalves | Fall River F.C. | 53  | 35
7  | Werner Nilsen | Boston
Fall River F.C. | 51  | 27
8  | Bob McIntyre | Pawtucket Rangers | 31  | 23
Davey Brown | New York Giants | 50  | 23
Josef Grünfeld | Hakoah All-Stars | 56  | 23
11  | Tommy Florie | New Bedford Whalers | 59  | 22
12  | Siegfried Wortmann | Hakoah All-Stars | 50  | 20
Jimmy Gallagher | New York Nationals
New York Giants | 64  | 20
14  | Bobby Yule | Brooklyn Wanderers | 49  | 19
15  | Janos Nehadoma | Brooklyn Wanderers | 32  | 18
16  | Herbert Carlsson | New York Nationals
New York Giants | 46  | 17
Bart McGhee | New York Nationals
New York Giants | 58  | 17
18  | James Brown | New York Giants
New York Soccer Club | 38  | 16
Red Ballantyne | New York Giants
Brooklyn Wanderers | 49  | 16
20  | Max Grünwald | Hakoah All-Stars | 52  | 15
21  | Tec White | Fall River F.C. | 50  | 14
Moritz Häusler | Hakoah All-Stars | 56  | 14
23  | Jimmie Baillie | New York Soccer Club | 26  | 13
Billy Oswald | Providence | 36  | 13
Jimmy McAuley | Fall River F.C.
Pawtucket Rangers | 49  | 13
Mike McLeavy | New Bedford Whalers | 50  | 13
27  | Rudolph Nickolsburger | Hakoah All-Stars | 49  | 12
József Eisenhoffer | Brooklyn Wanderers | 50  | 12
George Moorhouse | New York Giants
New York Soccer Club | 55  | 12
30  | Johnny Harvey | Pawtucket Rangers | 46  | 11
Arthur Scott | Pawtucket Rangers | 33  | 11
32  | Leslie Lyell | Brooklyn Wanderers | 31  | 10
Alex McNab | Fall River F.C. | 44  | 10
Shamus O'Brien | New York Giants
New York Soccer Club | 51  | 10
Ernő Schwarz | Hakoah All-Stars | 51  | 10

## References

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1. ^ Merger Inevitable
2. ^ PROPOSE TO ADOPT NEW NAME FOR SOCCER LOOP
3. ^ EXPECT HOME SOCCER GAME FOR SATURDAY: Recent Merger May Bring Former Heated Rival Here as Bethlehem Foe
4. ^ "All-night Soccer Looms For Tonight". New York Daily News. May 22, 1930. p. 47. Retrieved February 3, 2019.
5. ^ "Night Soccer Play". Brooklyn Daily Eagle. May 21, 1930. p. 27. Retrieved February 3, 2019.

## External links

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* The Year in American Soccer - 1929

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American Soccer League (1921–1933)

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* 1922–23
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