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| Soccer history in Harrison |
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The Kearny-Harrison area became a center of American soccer in part to the American Industrial Revolution that was built on the foundation of the immigrant population
Although the area was not the birthplace of soccer in America, It may have been just to the south in New Brunswick, N.J., where the game that has often been called the first game of American football, but which actually was soccer, played between Rutgers and Princeton in 1869. Or it may have been Boston, where a game was played in the early 1860s that could have been an early form of soccer. American college students were very enthusiastic about soccer in the early 1870s, particularly at Princeton (NJ) and Rutgers (NJ). But as the colleges were abandoning soccer in favor of American football, the recent immigrants like the British in New Jersey and New England and the Irish in St. Louis were there to take up the slack. How the Kearny-Harrison area became a center of American soccer is connected to the story of the American Industrial Revolution and was built on the foundation of the immigrant population. In Kearny, it was the Clark Thread Company, which started in Newark in 1866 and expanded to Kearny in 1880, a huge Scottish company, from Paisley, Scotland. Clark Thread Company formed a team named ONT, that stood for Our New Thread, a product whose name was a cornerstone of Clark's marketing efforts through the 20th century. ONT was the first champion of the American Football Association (AFA) formed in 1884 in Newark, New Jersey. Thomas Hood of Kearny was chosen as the first president of the AFA, which at the time was the only "national" soccer association in existence outside the British Isles. In 1885, ONT became the first winner of the AFA Cup, beating the New York Club, 2-1. It won again in 1886 and 1887. Also in 1885 the United States played Canada in Kearny in the first full international game ever played outside the British Isles. This game, on Nov. 28, 1885, is not today recognized by the United States Soccer Federation has having been a full international, because it was played before the formation of the USSF in 1913. Although Kearny's heyday as a focal point of American soccer ended more than 50 years ago, it has continued to produce good soccer talent right up to this day. Two of the greatest names in American soccer, current New York Red Bulls Assistant Coach John Harkes and current New York Red Bulls Goalkeeper, Tony Meola, grew up there and were teammates at Kearny High School. Prior to 1922, the top league was possibly the National Association Foot Ball League, which had teams primarily in New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania. The West Hudson Club was formed in Harrison which was more varied in its ethnic makeup than Kearny and in 10 seasons, won either the AFA Cup or the NAFBL title 8 times. West Hudson is the first team to win "the double," which means winning the country's top professional league title and its national cup title in the same year. West Hudson won both the AFA Cup and the NAFBL in 1912. In the cup final, it beat Paterson Rangers, 1-0. West Hudson won the AFA Cup in 1906 and 1908. The team from Harrison won the NAFBL a total of six times in 1907, 1909, 1910, 1912, 1913 and 1915. Harrison, New Jersey and its neighboring communities of Kearny and Newark's, Ironbound are densely populated with diverse international residents rich in soccer heritage. Harrison is located 8 miles to the west of New York City, and is sandwiched between Newark (the state's largest city) to the west and Jersey City (the state's second largest city to the east. Harrison High School owns 21 state championships in soccer, most in state history. Images by DailyHarrison.com | You're free to use, |
It was during 1994 FIFA World Cup that the town of Kearny, N.J., became known affectionately as "Soccertown USA," because, as every single commentator pointed out at least a dozen times a game, American stars John Harkes, Tab Ramos and Tony Meola all came from the town.
