11 April 1926 - Bethlehem Steel Takes The Fifth

On 11 April 1926, Bethlehem Steel beat Ben Millers to claim their fifth National Challenge Cup, setting a record that remains unbroken.

Despite being separated by half a continent, the two teams had developed a healthy rivalry over the previous decade. In 1916, Bethlehem Steel (pictured in a 1921 photo) were the strongest team in the eastern half of the United States, while Ben Millers were the dominant side in the powerful St. Louis soccer world. The teams met for a Christmas Day friendly that year in St. Louis to settle which team was the country's best and played to a 2-2 draw. In a rematch in New York the following year, Bethlehem Steel won 2-0.

Playing in separate leagues, both teams continued to do well in the intervening years, with Ben Millers winning four league titles (1916, 1917, 1918, 1920) and one National Challenge Cup (1920), while Bethlehem Steel had won six league titles (1913, 1914, 1915, 1919, 1920, 1921), and a record four National Challenge Cups (1915, 1916, 1918, 1919). (The National Challenge Cup has since been renamed the US Open Cup.)

Bethlehem Steel reached the National Challenge Cup Final again in 1926 as Eastern Division champions, where they met Western Division champions Ben Millers. But despite the rivalry, it turned out to be one of the tournament's most lopsided matches, as Bethlehem Steel rolled to a 7-2 victory led by a hat-trick from Archie Stark.

It was the last appearance in the Final for either team, but Bethlehem Steel's five wins remain a record (though it is shared with Maccabi Los Angeles, who matched it in 1981).

5 April 1931 - Johnny Nelson's Last Match

On 5 April 1931, a knee injury ended the playing career of forward Johnny Nelson, one of the top all-time scorers of the original American Soccer League. He was 26. 

The Scottish-born Nelson started his professional career with Yonkers Thistles, but moved to Brooklyn Wanderers (pictured) in 1923. In five years there, he made 126 appearances, scoring 101 goals. In 1928, he moved to Fall River, scoring 10 goals in 14 appearances for the Marksmen, then moved again later that year to J&P Coats, where he finished out the 1928-29 season, adding another seven goals in 12 appearances.

For the start of the 1929-30 season, he joined the New York Nationals, where he would finish his career (though they changed their name to the New York Giants in 1930). He finished as the league's top scorer for the Spring 1930 season and, in all, knocked home a staggering 105 goals for New York in 98 appearances and helped them win the title for the Spring 1931 season.

Unfortunately, he did not make it to the end of that season, as he suffered a career-ending knee injury that April. Though he was only 26, his career tally of 223 goals in 250 games ranks him second on the ASL's all-time scoring list, behind Bethlehem Steel's Archie Stark (253 goals in 293 appearances over ten seasons).

Afterward, Nelson worked as a carpet designer. He passed away in Yonkers in 1984 at the age of 79.

21 December 1897 - Stark's Start

On 21 December 1897, legendary American goalscorer Archie Stark was born in Glasgow.

He moved to the US when he was thirteen, settling with his family in New Jersey, which was a hotbed of association football. In 1912, he signed his first professional contract with Kearny Scots and stayed there for four seasons, followed by spells with other New Jersey clubs Babcock & Wilcox (1916-17), West Hudson (1917), and--after service in France during World War I--Paterson (1919) and Erie (1919-21).

When the American Soccer League formed in 1921, Stark joined the New York Field Club and helped them finish as league runners-up. He spent two more seasons there, scoring a total of 56 goals in 80 appearances, then moved to Bethlehem Steel for the 1924-25 season. His scoring form exploded as he netted an incredible 70 times in 46 games, followed by 54 in 45 games in the 1925-26 season when Bethlehem Steel won the National Challenge Cup. In both seasons, he was the league's top scorer.

He went on to win three league titles with Bethlehem Steel before leaving the club for the Newark Americans in 1930, then retired in 1934 after a season with Kearny Irish.

Despite his scoring prowess, he made only two appearances for the US national team, both coming against Canada in 1925. He scored five goals.

8 November 1925 - A Stark Contrast

On 8 November 1925, Archie Stark made his second and last international appearance, scoring five for the US in a 6-1 win over Canada.

The forward had just come off an incredible 1924-25 season for Bethlehem Steel, scoring 70 goals in 46 appearances across all competitions (67 of those came in his 44 league games). That June, near the end of the season, he got his first cap in a 1-0 loss to Canada in Montreal.

For their next game, the US hosted Canada in Brooklyn, where Stark returned to the national team's starting line-up. There, he regained his club form from the previous season, scoring five goals as the US won 6-1 (Davey Brown scored the other for the US, while Canada's goal came from Gordon Burness).

He went on to have another strong season for Bethlehem Steel, scoring 54 goals in 45 games. The US invited him to join the squad for the 1930 World Cup, but he declined because he was engaged in a new business venture following the dissolution of Bethlehem Steel earlier that year.

11 April 1926 - Bethlehem Steel Takes The Fifth

On 11 April 1926, Bethlehem Steel beat Ben Millers to claim their fifth National Challenge Cup, setting a record that remains unbroken.

Despite being separated by half a continent, the two teams had developed a healthy rivalry over the previous decade. In 1916, Bethlehem Steel (pictured in a 1921 photo) were the strongest team in the eastern half of the United States, while Ben Millers were the dominant side in the powerful St. Louis soccer world. The teams met for a Christmas Day friendly that year in St. Louis to settle which team was the country's best and played to a 2-2 draw. In a rematch in New York the following year, Bethlehem Steel won 2-0.

Playing in separate leagues, both teams continued to do well in the intervening years, with Ben Millers winning four league titles (1916, 1917, 1918, 1920) and one National Challenge Cup (1920), while Bethlehem Steel had won six league titles (1913, 1914, 1915, 1919, 1920, 1921), and a record four National Challenge Cups (1915, 1916, 1918, 1919). (The National Challenge Cup has since been renamed the US Open Cup.)

Bethlehem Steel reached the National Challenge Cup Final again in 1926 as Eastern Division champions, where they met Western Division champions Ben Millers. But despite the rivalry, it turned out to be one of the tournament's most lopsided matches, as Bethlehem Steel rolled to a 7-2 victory led by a hat-trick from Archie Stark.

It was the last appearance in the Final for either team, but Bethlehem Steel's five wins remain a record (though it is shared with Maccabi Los Angeles, who matched it in 1981).

5 April 1931 - Johnny Nelson's Last Battle

On 5 April 1931, a knee injury ended the playing career of forward Johnny Nelson, one of the top all-time scorers of the original American Soccer League. He was 26.

The Scottish-born Nelson started his professional career with Yonkers Thistles, but moved to Brooklyn Wanderers (pictured) in 1923. In five years there, he made 126 appearances, scoring 101 goals. In 1928, he moved to Fall River, scoring 10 goals in 14 appearances for the Marksmen, then moved again later that year to J&P Coats, where he finished out the 1928-29 season, adding another seven goals in 12 appearances.

For the start of the 1929-30 season, he joined the New York Nationals, where he would finish his career (though they changed their name to the New York Giants in 1930). He finished as the league's top scorer for the Spring 1930 season and, in all, knocked home a staggering 105 goals for New York in 98 appearances and helped them win the title for the Spring 1931 season.

Unfortunately, he did not make it to the end of that season, as he suffered a career-ending knee injury that April. Though he was only 26, his career tally of 223 goals in 250 games ranks him second on the ASL's all-time scoring list, behind Bethlehem Steel's Archie Stark (253 goals in 293 appearances over ten seasons).

Afterward, Nelson worked as a carpet designer. He passed away in Yonkers in 1984 at the age of 79.