American soccer champions
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The American soccer champions are the annual winners of the top soccer leagues in the United States. The United States lacked a consistent, multi-division soccer system until recently. Consequently, the selection of a national champion has been problematic at times. For example, the United States did not have a truly national league until the North American Soccer League in the late 1960s. Before that, the U.S. had several regional and city leagues of various levels of quality. For example, while the American Soccer League is considered here as the de facto national league, teams from the St. Louis Soccer League and St. Louis Major League regularily defeated the best the ASL had to offer. While the creation of the NASL in 1968 brought a bona fide, national first division league to the U.S., its collapse in 1984 saw a return to the fragmented league structure. The merger of the Western Soccer League and American Soccer League created a new national league, but not until the establishment of Major League Soccer in 1996 was there again a truly national, first division U.S. league. During those years in which the U.S. league system was fragmented, the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup was used to determine the national champion.
For consistency, leading scorers are based on goals, not points, as the recording of assists did not begin until the 1960s.
[edit] Outdoor champions
[edit] National Association Football League I (1895-1899)
| Year | Winner (number of titles) | Runners-up |
|---|---|---|
| 1895 | Centreville A.C. (1) | Kearny Scots |
| 1895-1896 | No Records Exist | |
| 1896-1897 | Centreville A.C. (2) | Brooklyn Wanderers |
| 1897-1898 | Paterson True Blues (1) | Kearny Scots |
| 1898-1899 | Paterson True Blues (2) | Kearny Arlington |
[edit] American Football Association (1896-1907)
[edit] National Association Football League II (1906-1921)
| Year | Winner (number of titles) | Runners-up |
|---|---|---|
| 1906-1907 | West Hudson A.A. (1) | Kearny Scots |
| 1907-1908 | Newark F.C. (1) | Paterson Rangers |
| 1908-1909 |
East Newark Clark A.A. (1)[1] West Hudson A.A. (2) |
|
| 1909-1910 | West Hudson A.A. (3) | Jersey A.C. |
| 1910-1911 | Jersey A.C. (1) | Paterson Wilberforce |
| 1911-1912 | West Hudson A.A. (4) | Paterson Wilberforce |
| 1912-1913 | West Hudson A.A. (5) | Paterson True Blues |
| 1913-1914 | Brooklyn F.C. (1) | West Hudson A.A. |
| 1914-1915 | West Hudson A.A. (6) | Jersey A.C. |
| 1915-1916 | Harrison Alley Boys (1) | Kearny Scots |
| 1916-1917 | Jersey A.C. (2) | Kearny Scots |
| 1917-1918 | Paterson F.C. (1) | Bethlehem Steel F.C. |
| 1918-1919 | Bethlehem Steel F.C. (1) [2] | Philadelphia Merchant Ship |
| 1919-1920 | Bethlehem Steel F.C. (2) [2] | Kearny Erie |
| 1920-1921 | Bethlehem Steel F.C. (3)[2] | New York F.C. |
[edit] American Soccer League I
- The league began to collapse in 1932. While it continued to play into the Spring of 1933, records no longer exist for final team standings.[3]
[edit] American Soccer League II (1933-1983)
[edit] North American Soccer League (1968-1984)
[edit] United Soccer League (1985)
| Year | Winner (number of titles) | Runners-up | Top Scorer |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1985 | Fort Lauderdale Sun (1) | Houston Dynamos | José Neto |
[edit] Western Soccer Alliance (1985-1989) /Lone Star Soccer Alliance (1987-1992) /American Soccer League III (1988-1989)
- In 1985, several independent teams on the west coast formed the Western Soccer Alliance. Dedicated to fiscal austerity, it succeeded where the United Soccer League, founded the same year, failed. In 1987, the Lone Star Soccer Alliance imitated the success of the WSA in creating a viable regional league. In 1988, the third version of the American Soccer League, was established as a regional, east-coast league.
| Western Soccer Alliance | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Winner (number of titles) | Runners-up | Top Scorer | ||||
| 1985 | San Jose Earthquakes (1) | Victoria Riptides | |||||
| 1986 | Hollywood Kickers (1) | F.C. Portland | Brent Goulet | ||||
| 1987 | San Diego Nomads (1) | F.C. Seattle | Joe Mihaljevic | ||||
| 1988 | F.C. Seattle Storm (1) | San Diego Nomads | Scott Benedetti | ||||
| 1989 | San Diego Nomads (2) | San Francisco Bay Blackhawks | Steve Corpening | ||||
| Lone Star Soccer Alliance | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Winner (number of titles) | Runners-up | Top Scorer | ||||
| 1987 | Dallas Express (1) [5] | Houston Dynamos | |||||
| 1988 | Dallas Mean Green (2) [5] | Houston Dynamos | |||||
| 1989 | Austin Thunder (1) | F.C. Dallas | |||||
| 1990 | Oklahoma City Spirit (1) | F.C. Dallas | |||||
| 1991 | F.C. Dallas (3) [5] | Austin Thunder | |||||
| 1992 | Dallas Inter (4) [5] | America F.C. | |||||
| American Soccer League III | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Winner (number of titles) | Runners-up | Top Scorer | ||||
| 1988 | Washington Diplomats (1) | Fort Lauderdale Strikers | Jorge Acosta | ||||
| 1989 | Fort Lauderdale Strikers (1) | Boston Bolts | Ricardo Alonso Mirko Castillo |
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[edit] American Professional Soccer League / A-League (1990-1996)
- In 1989, the Western Soccer League and the American Soccer League champions played each other for the first national champion since the end of the North American Soccer League.
- In 1990, the two leagues merged to form the American Professional Soccer League.
| Year | Winner | Runners-up | Top Scorer |
|---|---|---|---|
| Western Soccer League / American Soccer League championship | |||
| 1989 | Ft. Lauderdale Strikers (1) | San Diego Nomads | |
| American Professional Soccer League | |||
| 1990 | Maryland Bays (1) | San Francisco Bay Blackhawks | Chance Fry |
| 1991 | San Francisco Bay Blackhawks (1) | Albany Capitals | Jean Harbor |
| 1992 | Colorado Foxes (1) | Tampa Bay Rowdies | Jean Harbor |
| 1993 | Colorado Foxes (2) | Los Angeles Salsa | Paulinho Criciúma |
| 1994 | Montreal Impact (1) | Colorado Foxes | Paul Wright |
| APSL renamed the A-League | |||
| 1995 | Seattle Sounders (1) | Atlanta Ruckus | Peter Hattrup |
| MLS takes over as First Division, A-League becomes second | |||
| 1996 | Seattle Sounders (2) | Rochester Raging Rhinos | Wolde Harris |
[edit] Major League Soccer (1996-)
[edit] Total Titles Won
[edit] Indoor champions
[edit] North American Soccer League (1975-1976, 1979-1982, 1983-1984)
| Year | Winner (number of titles) | Runners-up | Top Scorer |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1975 | San Jose Earthquakes(1) | Tampa Bay Rowdies | Paul Child |
| 1976 | Tampa Bay Rowdies (1) | Rochester Lancers | |
| 1979-1980 | Tampa Bay Rowdies (2) | Memphis Rogues | David Byrne |
| 1980-1981 | Edmonton Drillers (1) | Chicago Sting | Karl-Heinz Granitza |
| 1981-1982 | San Diego Sockers (1) | Tampa Bay Rowdies | Juli Veee |
| 1983-1984 | San Diego Sockers (2) | New York Cosmos | Steve Zungul |
[edit] Major Indoor Soccer League I (1978-1992)
| Year | Winner (number of titles) | Runners-up | Top Scorer |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1978-1979 | New York Arrows (1) | Philadelphia Fever | Fred Grgurev |
| 1979-1980 | New York Arrows (2) | Houston Summit | Steve Zungul |
| 1980-1981 | New York Arrows (3) | St. Louis Steamers | Steve Zungul |
| 1981-1982 | New York Arrows (4) | St. Louis Steamers | Steve Zungul |
| 1982-1983 | San Diego Sockers (3) | Baltimore Blast I | Steve Zungul |
| 1983-1984 | Baltimore Blast I (1) | St. Louis Steamers | Mark Liveric |
| 1984-1985 | San Diego Sockers (4) | Baltimore Blast I | Steve Zungul |
| 1985-1986 | San Diego Sockers (5) | Minnesota Strikers | Erik Rasmussen |
| 1986-1987 | Dallas Sidekicks (1) | Tacoma Stars | Tatu |
| 1987-1988 | San Diego Sockers (6) | Cleveland Force | Hector Marinaro |
| 1988-1989 | San Diego Sockers (7) | Baltimore Blast I | Preki |
| 1989-1990 | San Diego Sockers (8) | Baltimore Blast I | Tatu |
| 1990-1991 | San Diego Sockers (9) | Cleveland Crunch | Tatu |
| 1991-1992 | San Diego Sockers (10) | Dallas Sidekicks | Zoran Karic |
[edit] American Indoor Soccer Association/National Professional Soccer League (1984-2001)
[edit] Major Indoor Soccer League II (2001-)
| Year | Winner (number of titles) | Runners-up | Top Scorer |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2001-2002 | Philadelphia KiXX (1) | Milwaukee Wave | Dino Delevski |
| 2002-2003 | Baltimore Blast (2) | Milwaukee Wave | Dino Delevski |
| 2003-2004 | Baltimore Blast (3) | Milwaukee Wave | Greg Howes |
| 2004-2005 | Milwaukee Wave (4) | Cleveland Force | Greg Howes |
| 2005-2006 | Baltimore Blast (4) | St. Louis Steamers | Greg Howes |
| 2006-2007 | Philadelphia KiXX (2) | Detroit Ignition | Jamar Beasley |
[edit] References
- ^ Clark and West Hudson finished tied and were declared co-champions.
- ^ a b c d e In 1921, Bethlehem Steel's owners moved the team to Philadelphia for the inaugural American Soccer League season. It competed under the name Philadelphia Field Club. In 1922, the team was back in Bethlehem
- ^ U.S. Soccer History - 1933
- ^ a b c d e f g h i The Philadelphia German-Americans were renamed the Philadelphia Americans in 1941. In 1953, it was renamed Uhrik Truckers, but remained the same team through these name changes.
- ^ a b c d The LSSA Dallas franchise went through several name changes. They began as Dallas Express in 1987. Dallas Mean Green in 1988, F.C. Dallas from 1989 to 1991 and Dallas Inter in 1992.
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| Cup Competitions in American Soccer | |||||||||||||||||||||||
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