Playing Down a Man

Abstract

Soccer in the United States has developed unevenly, with certain areas, like Fall River, Massachusetts proving to be soccer hotbeds. Boston has repeatedly lacked interest and soccer specific infrastructure. Covering the development of professional soccer from 1870 to 1980 this thesis traces the rise and fall of the American Soccer League (ASL) and North American Soccer League (NASL) with a specific focus on reasons Boston failed to support a long-term professional team. While baseball and college football organized from 1870-1900, soccer was in its nascence, confined to specific immigrant groups like the Scottish, who immigrated to mill towns around Boston, not Boston proper. The lack of early interest in soccer meant that when a professional league formed in the 1920s, there was no amateur to professional player development pathway, no soccer specific stadium, and no cultural connections to the sport. The failure of the ASL to develop long-term community connections in Boston meant that the NASL inherited the same problems: no permanent stadium, small attendance numbers, and lack of community support. This thesis catalogues each eras of development in order to narrate the history of professional soccer within Boston.