1950 Soccer Bowl

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Soccer Bowl
Penn State San Francisco
Independent
2 2
DateJanuary 1, 1950
VenueSportsman's Park, St. Louis, Missouri
RefereeHarry Lyons
Attendance4,500
WeatherParty Cloudy and 56 °F (13 °C)[1]
1951 →

The 1st Soccer Bowl the first edition of the Soccer Bowl, and a post-season college soccer championship game between the Penn State Nittany Lions and the San Francisco Dons on January 1, 1950, at the Sportsman's Park in St. Louis, Missouri. The match ended in a 2–2 draw with Penn State and San Francisco sharing the title. The game was used to determine the champion of the , which predated the NCAA as the premier organizing body of collegiate soccer, and represented the concluding game of the season for both teams.

Background[]

Soccer had been played at the American collegiate level since at least the late 1860s, with variations of a kicking game being played since the mid-1840s. Organized collegiate soccer did not formally occur in the United States until the arrival of the Intercollegiate Soccer Football League, which began in 1904. The ISFL determined national championships for college programs from 1905 until 1925, and from 1926 until 1940 the Intercollegiate Soccer Football Association of America determined national champions. These championship titles were determined by a selection committee and were largely subjective. These championships are not formally recognized by the NCAA as legitimate national championship claims.

Throughout World War II and into the late 1940s, the ISFAA did not claim any national championships, although several college programs with undefeated records, or teams atop the NSCAA poll claimed national championships during this time, causing numerous programs to stake championship claims in the same year. After World War II, the ISFA began declaring national championships, which drew ire from programs that felt they deserved a national championship title, but were not considered by the ISFA committee.

The goal of the Soccer Bowl was to take the highest ranked NSCAA and ISFA teams to have them play a one off match at a neutral venue. The concept of a neutral venue and titling the match as a "bowl" was heavy inspired and barrowed from the bowl game system that college American football uses.

Route to the bowl[]

Penn State[]

San Francisco[]

San Francisco ended the regular season with a perfect 10–0–0 record with a 6–0–0 record in the . In the championship game for the NCISC title, San Francisco defeated UCLA, 3–1, to win the title.[2] Ahead of the Soccer Bowl, the Dons played an exhibition match against a semi-professional team known as the Los Angeles Aztecs (unrelated to the NASL Aztecs), and tied 2–2.[2]

The San Francisco soccer teams of the mid 20th century were known for recruiting international talent, partially due to the city's cosmopolitan and international recognition.[3] While the team was traveling from San Francisco to St. Louis, the team was going out to dinner at a local restaurant in the area. The waiter refused to serve San Francisco's , a black Nigerian player on the team. Head coach, Gus Donoghue, rounded up the team and the left the restaurant and went to a hotel and restaurant in East St. Louis, Illinois, where integration was allowed.[2]

The Match[]

In the 1940s through 1950s, college soccer in the United States was played in four 22-minute quarters, partially in an effort to Americanize the sport to prevent alienating spectators. The match drew a crowd of 4,500 spectators at Sportsman's Park.[4] The match was played in partly cloudy conditions, with unseasonably warm weather for winter. The high temperature that day was 61°F and at kick off the temperature was around 56°F.[1]

The first goal of the match was scored by San Francisco's . Penn State's scored the tying goal off of a deflected shot.[5] Baptista would score the go-ahead goal later in the match to give San Francisco the 2–1 lead. The match remained that scoreline until late into the fourth quarter. The center official allowed for six minutes of stoppage time, and with 10 seconds left in the match, the center referee, , awarded a penalty kick to Penn State.[5] Several San Francisco players protested saying that there was no handball to prompt the penalty kick. Penn State's Little would score the tying penalty kick ending the match in a 2–2 draw.

It has been disputed as to whether or not the match was agreed to end in a draw,[5] or if San Francisco refused to play overtime against Penn State. Nevertheless, the 1st Soccer Bowl was declared to be a share title between Penn State and San Francisco, a national title both programs, the ISFA, as well as the American Soccer History Archives, recognize.[6]

Details[]

Penn State2–2San Francisco
Little 31', 90+7' Report Baptista 22', 53'
Attendance: 4,500
Referee:
Penn State[7]
San Francisco[8][9]
GK Scotland George Lawther
FB England William Yerkes
FB England Chuck Margolf
HB United States Dick Hannah
HB United States Ralph Hosterman
HB Scotland Will Kraybill
QL United States Ray Buss
IL United States Ron Coleman
C United States Joseph Lane
IR Scotland Harry Little
OR United States Ted Lieb
Substitutes:
OR United States Harry Lawroski
Manager:
Scotland Bill Jeffrey
GK Italy Angelo Carmassi
FB Romania Stephen Negoesco
FB Mexico Carlos Diaz
HB Nigeria Olifumni Osibogu
HB England Robert Lee
HB El Salvador Charles Heredia
QL United States Joe Matute
IL Scotland Henry Kirner
C United States Dick Baptista
IR Philippines Mario Ugarte
OR Philippines Luis Ugarte
Substitutes:
HB United States Mark Steinberg
QL Italy Tony Ragusla
Manager:
Scotland

Assistant referee:
Justin Keeney (United States)

Match rules:

  • 88 minutes.
  • Four 22-minute quarters
  • Unlimited substitutes

See also[]

References[]

  1. ^ a b "East St. Louis, IL Weather History - Jan. 1, 1950". Weather Underground. Retrieved March 23, 2019.
  2. ^ a b c "1949 National Collegiate Co-Champions". usfdons.com. August 9, 2012.
  3. ^ Cochrane, Mickey; Oliver, Len (October 10, 2000). "American College Soccer, 1946-1959: The Postwar era". American Soccer History Archives. NSCAA Soccer Journal. Retrieved March 23, 2019. USF located in cosmopolitan San Francisco, for example, relied almost solely on foreign-born players.[permanent dead link]
  4. ^ "100 Moments: First Soccer Bowl Held on Jan. 1, 1950". United States Soccer Federation. January 1, 2013. Retrieved March 23, 2019.
  5. ^ a b c Vadasz, George (January 5, 1950). "Soccer Lions Deadlock Frisco, 2-2" (PDF). The Daily Collegian. No. 59. State College, Pennsylvania. Retrieved March 23, 2019.[permanent dead link]
  6. ^ Litterer, David (August 14, 2011). "NCAA College Soccer Championships". American Soccer History Archives. Archived from the original on November 26, 2009. Retrieved March 23, 2019.
  7. ^ "Penn State Lineup". digitalnewspapers.libraries.psu.edu. Pennsylvania State University Libraries. January 5, 1950. Retrieved March 23, 2019.
  8. ^ "San Francisco Genealogy". sfgenealogy.org.
  9. ^ "San Francisco Lineup". digitalnewspapers.libraries.psu.edu. Pennsylvania State University Libraries. January 5, 1950. Retrieved March 23, 2019.

External links[]

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