National Soccer League (Chicago)

The National Soccer League of Chicago, formed by the merger of the Chicago Soccer League and International Soccer Football League of Chicago in 1928, is a semi-professional U.S. soccer league which is the oldest continuously operating soccer league in the United States.

History

In 1904, the Association Football League (also known as the Chicago Soccer League) was established as an ethnic British league in Chicago, Illinois. While the AFL, and others like it, catered to the British and Irish expatriate communities, there were few opportunities available to the rest of Chicago’s many immigrant groups to play organized, competitive soccer. In 1920, the International Soccer Football League of Chicago, with Frank Foldi as its president, was created to address this shortcoming. With teams from nearly every significant ethnic group in Chicago, it quickly established itself as a major player in Chicago soccer.^[1] The league grew in strength as most of the city’s other amateur and semi-professional league collapsed. In 1924, Carl Johnson of the ISFL’s Swedish-Americans, became the first U.S. player from outside the north-east capped by the U.S. In 1930, the ISFL created a junior division to give young players an opportunity to develop their talents at a high level en route to a spot on a first division roster. This served to enhance the league’s stability as it grew its own talent pool. In 1938, only the Chicago Soccer League and the International Soccer Football League remained as the top two city leagues. That year, they merged to form the National Soccer League of Chicago.

World War II hit the NSL hard as most of the top players were inducted in the armed forces. However, the end of the war brought a renaissance when those men returned from the military, to be quickly followed by western and central European immigrants fleeing the devastation caused by the war. A few years later, another wave of immigrants, this time Eastern Europeans fleeing communism, brought another fresh group of talented players into the NSL.^[2] These waves of immigration led to an expansion of the league into multiple divisions including junior and youth teams. While centered on Chicago, the league expanded to include teams from towns surrounding the city.

In 1950, the National Soccer League created the first indoor soccer league in the United States. Chicago leagues had played indoor tournaments for decades but this was the first time an annual competitive indoor season was founded. The league featured twelve teams with games broadcast live on radio. This indoor adjunct of the NSL was continued until 1968. That year, the North American Soccer League was created as a division one league. While the NASL struggled at times and ultimately folded in 1984, it created a national league which drew the best U.S. players away from the traditional regional and city leagues which had dominated U.S. soccer. This brought the slow eclipse of the National Soccer League of Chicago as a major player in U.S. soccer. The collapse of the NASL in 1984 brought a brief resurgence to the NSL, but the founding of Major League Soccer in 1996, along with the merger of the A-League and USISL in 1997 to form the USL First Division led to the decline of the NSL. The league continues as a local recreational league, but its teams are no longer the competitive force on the national level they once were.

Champions

International Soccer Football League

• 1922 Sparta Union
• 1923 Olympia
• 1928 Chicago Sparta
• 1930 Chicago Sparta
• 1931 Chicago Sparta
• 1932 Chicago Sparta
• 1933 Chicago Sparta
• 1934 Chicago Sparta
• 1935 Chicago Sparta
• 1936 Chicago Sparta

National Soccer League

• 1938 Chicago Sparta
• 1944 Hakoah Center
• 1948 Vikings
• 1949 A.A.C. Eagles
• 1950 A.A.C. Eagles
• 1951 Slovak
• 1952 Slovak
• 1953 Ukrainian Lions
• 1954 (tie) A.A.C. Eagles, Ukrainian Lions and Slovak
• 1955 Schwaben
• 1956 (tie) A.A.C. Eagles, Ukrainian Lions and Schwaben
• 1957 Schwaben
• 1958 Schwaben
• 1959 Schwaben
• 1960 Schwaben
• 1961 Maroons
• 1962 Maroons
• 1963 Schwaben
• 1964 Kickers
• 1965 Hansa
• 1966 Kickers
• 1967 Schwaben
• 1968 Kickers
• 1969 Olympic
• 1970 Olympic
• 1971 Croatans/Ukrainian Lions (division winners)
• 1972 Maroons/Ukrainian Lions (division winners)
• 1973 Croatian
• 1974 Ukrainian Lions
• 1982 Schwaben
• 1990 Schwaben
• 2004 Winged Bull
• 2005 Jahbat F.C.
• 2006 RWB Adria
• 2007 RWB Adria

References

1. ^ Encyclopedia of Chicago History
2. ^ http://books.google.com/books?id=xdV_JV1fbZMC&pg=PA435&lpg=PA435&dq=%22national+soccer+league%22+chicago&source=web&ots=ffKrEYapRO&sig=wi2pZOuFcDA_eQnTLHbrs03BPmU

External links

• League homepage
• American Soccer Archives article
• History of soccer in Chicago