SASH Sessions

On Friday, January 9, 2026, Alex Popovich discussed his time with the first Junior US Men’s National team.

The team was assembled to participate in the second CONCACAF Youth Tournament, which was staged in Guatemala City in April 1964.

Alex’s essay, “Memories of the first US Junior National Team: Guatemala, 1964,” was recently published on the SASH website at https://www.ussoccerhistory.org/memories-of-the-first-us-junior-national-...

On Friday, December 5, 2025, Conor Curran discussed Irish male and female soccer players’ experiences of US soccer scholarships in the twentieth century and how valuable these scholarships were in terms of playing, education and post-university careers.

Curran’s Blue Chippers from the Emerald Isle: A history of Irish footballers and scholarships in the USA in the twentieth century was recently published by Peter Lang (https://www.p...

November 2025 is full of anniversaries which have shaped sporting memory and scripted a national history of all codes of “foot ball”. The Oneida Football Club of Boston celebrates three such events including the 100th anniversary of the monument in their honor. Replete with twists and turns, Kevin Tallec Marston and Mike Cronin explain how the surprising story of a handful of old Boston boys has become a foundational origin point f...

On Friday, October 3, 2025, Rachel Allison, Jen Cooper, and Tom McCabe discussed the first US Women’s National Team, otherwise known as the 1985ers. 

Tom began the session with a discussion of the “Little Earthquakes” episode from the new soccer history podcast series, AN AMERICAN GAME. The subject of the episode is the Mundialito, the “little World Cup” women’s tournament played in...

On Friday, September 5 at 12 pm ET,  Dave Lange was joined by Ernesto Milani for a SASH Session discussing the creation of a mural in Cuggiono, Italy commemorating five St. Louis players of Italian descent on the US team that competed in the 1950 World Cup in Brazil.

Lange, author of book Made in St. Louis: A History of the Game in America's First Soccer Capital and member of the SASH Board of Directors, discussed the 1950 World Cu...

Whether it’s a club, a college, a supporter’s group or a professional team, history is an essential element for building strong, long-term soccer communities.

On January 9, 2025, at the United Soccer Coaches Convention in Chicago, David Kilpatrick and Chuck Carson led a discussion titled, “Implementing an Historical Initiative for Your Club, League, or Community.”

David Kilpatrick, a former SASH board member, is professor of Englis...

On December 6, 2024, SASH hosted an Oral History Workshop with Carly Adams, a Board of Governors Research Chair (Tier I), Director of the Centre for Oral History and Tradition and Professor in the Department of Kinesiology and Physical Education at the University of Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada. Arrow Salkeld moderated the discussion.

The Oral History Workshop presented an overview of the basics of conducting oral histories while al...

Gabe Logan discusses the origins of the National Amateur Cup tournament with an emphasis on the aborted 1923 tournament and completed 1924 tournament. Gabe looks at how the 1924 championship resulted in the partial selection of the 1924 Olympic roster with a cursory examination of select team personnel.

A professor of history at Northern Michigan University, Gabe is the author of The Early Years of Chicago Soccer,  1887–1939 (Lexin...

A survey of Minnesota’s soccer history from the 1890s to the 1970s. Brian D. Bunk discusses the McKendrick brothers, who starred on one of the state’s earliest championship teams in the 1890s. Brian Quarstad tells the story of Win Ping Pan, a Chinese student who helped build soccer at the University of Minnesota in the 1910s. Chris Bolsmann investigates the career of Minnesota Kicks standout Patrick “Ace” Ntsoelengoe.

Podcast produ...

On Friday, June 7, 2024, Tom McCabe presented a SASH Session titled, “Tom ‘Bullets’ Cahill: A Reappraisal of a Founding Father of American Soccer.”

There is quite a bit of mythology surrounding Thomas W. Cahill. The driving force behind the formation of the United States Soccer Football Association (now U.S. Soccer) in 1913, and the manager of the USA’s first official international matches in 1916, Cahill was called “The Father of ...

On Friday, April 5 at 12 pm ET, Zach Bigalke presented work from his dissertation in a session titled, “How the United States is Represented in Women’s Soccer Beyond the USWNT.”

Since the first FIFA Women’s World Cup in 1991, 109 American-born women have played for the U.S. Women’s National Team in the tournament. In that same time period, 110 American-born women played for other national teams at the World Cup. Zach discusses the ...

Host Tom McCabe is joined by Donald Wine for a presentation titled, "Black American Soccer History IS American Soccer History."

A Michigan native, Donald has lived in Washington, DC for over 16 years. He is on the national board of the American Outlaws, the largest supporters group for the U.S. national teams. You can find him organizing stadium support at matches all around the world. Donald is also is the manager of Stars & S...

As the 1924-25 reached the halfway point Fall River remained in first place. Brian Bunk recounts all the details and tells the stories of Tewfik Abdullah and Andrew Straden. Also, a scandal hits the ASL.

Theme song: Bix Beiderbecke, “Clarinet Marmalade” Headlines: Waring’s Pennsylvanians, “Bolshevik” Sponsor: Frank Teschemacher’s Chicagoans, “Jazz Me Blues” Sounds from www.freesound.org: football score.wav by winsx87

Episode premie...

Could 1924-25 be the American Soccer League’s most successful season yet? Brian Bunk traces all the changes as the ASL continued to expand.

Theme song: Bix Beiderbecke, “Clarinet Marmalade” Headlines: Waring’s Pennsylvanians, “Bolshevik” Sponsor: Frank Teschemacher’s Chicagoans, “Jazz Me Blues” Sounds from www.freesound.org: football score.wav by winsx87

Episode premiered September 2017

For more US soccer history, visit the SASH we...

In the season three finale, Brian Bunk describes Fall River’s run to the ASL title and gives out the season’s awards.

Theme song: Bix Beiderbecke, “Clarinet Marmalade” Headlines: Waring’s Pennsylvanians, “Bolshevik” Sponsor: Frank Teschemacher’s Chicagoans, “Jazz Me Blues” Sounds from www.freesound.org: football score.wav by winsx87

Episode premiered June 2017

For more US soccer history, visit the SASH website at https://www.ussocc...

Brian Bunk recounts the National Challenge Cup tournament and describes the action as the American Soccer League’s 1923-24 winds down. 

Theme song: Bix Beiderbecke, “Clarinet Marmalade” Headlines: Waring’s Pennsylvanians, “Bolshevik” Sponsor: Frank Teschemacher’s Chicagoans, “Jazz Me Blues” Sounds from www.freesound.org: football score.wav by winsx87

Episode premiered November 2016

For more US soccer history, visit the SASH website...

Brian Bunk details the first quarter of the ASL’s third season including two New York derbies, a title decider between Fall River and Bethlehem Steel and the story of the “Gay Cavalier,” Alex Jackson.

Theme song: Bix Beiderbecke, “Clarinet Marmalade” Headlines: Waring’s Pennsylvanians, “Bolshevik” Sponsor: Frank Teschemacher’s Chicagoans, “Jazz Me Blues” Sounds from www.freesound.org: football score.wav by winsx87

Episode premiered...

Brian Bunk chronicles the off-season moves and the first month of the 1923-24 American Soccer League Season.

Theme song: Bix Beiderbecke, “Clarinet Marmalade” Headlines: Waring’s Pennsylvanians, “Bolshevik” Sponsor: Frank Teschemacher’s Chicagoans, “Jazz Me Blues” Sounds from www.freesound.org: football score.wav by winsx87

Episode premiered August 2016

For more US soccer history, visit the SASH website at https://www.ussoccerhisto...

Brian Bunk describes the exciting conclusion to the ASL’s second season and names the team of the year and player of the year.

Theme song: Bix Beiderbecke, “Clarinet Marmalade” Headlines: Waring’s Pennsylvanians, “Bolshevik” Sponsor: Frank Teschemacher’s Chicagoans, “Jazz Me Blues” Sounds from www.freesound.org: football score.wav by winsx87

Episode premiered February 2016

For more US soccer history, visit the SASH website at https...