During the early 1900s, Soccer began to become popular in the South. While it was seen as a Northern sport reserved for the Ivy League scholars, the small communities of Irish and British immigrants caused the sport to have a foothold in the South. Most of this influence came from them. The mining communities, particularly coal and granite, would have families who were knowledgeable in the sport. This allowed for an organized series of games to be held with a present fan base.
Going into this reading, I knew about some soccer games held in the south. Particularly about the Dallas Athletics Program, a soccer team formed in 1908. However, learning about these communities in Georgia and Alabama that had a particular interest in the sport is new to me. It makes sense that communities of immigrants would want to engage in a shared past time, one that’s competitive in nature and relatively harmless, which would be sure to attract Westerners with an interest. I also thought it was interesting that the first game played in the south was a friendly charity match between the Irish and Scottish immigrants on St Patricks day of 1892. Another thing I found interesting was the 1911 Atlanta Soccer Football Club’s inclusion of a non-white player. They had a Native American on the team who went by the name “Charlie Wahoo.” Atlanta during this time was highly segregated, so the fact that they included him on the team speaks volumes about both his skill as a player and the progressiveness of the sport.
Eventually, the sport would begin connecting the North to the South through games and clubs between them. The article talks about upcoming teams across the southeast that were contacted by the Alabama team. They wanted to have a more structured league and needed teams to play against. So the invitation to upcoming teams in Alabama, North Georgia, Florida, Tennessee, and Louisiana was sent out. I did not know that teams in these areas existed. Upcoming soccer leagues in the southeast during this time were rare. With baseball and upcoming football leagues, I imagine that the popularity of the sport was few and far between. I also imagine the stigma of the European immigrants making up a large portion of the community did no favors for the popularity of the sport. That may also play into how progressive the early clubs were.
Week 2,
-Porter Cockrum
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