An Early History of Soccer in the USA: An Origin Story

Table of Contents

• When did soccer first come to the United States?
• Immigrant players in New Orleans – Does the story of US soccer begin in Louisiana?
• The Oneida Football Club – Is MA the birthplace of US Soccer?
• Princeton vs. Rutgers, 1869 – A claim for NJ?
• What about Waukesha, Wisconsin’s position in the history of soccer in the USA?
• Our verdict: Soccer’s origin story – A history of soccer in the United States

Although soccer isn’t yet the number one sport in the USA, anyone who has watched any of the Qatar World Cup will know that team USA is making a big impression on the global stage and it might have led you to wonder – what’s the history of soccer in the USA? 

Even President Biden felt it necessary to inform the press of America’s 1-0 victory over Iran, but whether that was politically motivated remains to be seen! 

Regardless, lots of Americans have tuned into soccer for the first time since the beginning of the 2022 World Cup and like what they have seen. Hopefully, it will contribute to the growth of soccer in the USA before the next World Cup in 2026. 

But before we get ahead of ourselves, this article takes a look back in time and provides an origin story for soccer in the USA. Let’s begin with the obvious question – when did soccer first come to the United States? 

In this exploration of US soccer’s origin story, we present the case for four states – Louisiana, Massachusetts, New Jersey, and Wisconsin – each of which has a credible claim as the birthplace of the beautiful game in the United States. 

By the end of this article, we will make our case and put together the compelling origin story of soccer in the United States of America.

When did soccer first come to the United States?

The earliest record of soccer in the United States of America is from the 1850s. Yes, really! It seems strange to write this given that many Americans think that soccer is relatively new to the American sporting landscape, but it’s thought that soccer’s first emergence in America was in the year 1858 in New Orleans. 

(Scott Crawford’s brilliant book – A History of Soccer in Louisiana 1858 – 2013 – is well worth reading if you want to learn more about soccer’s emergence in the States). 

Immigrant players in New Orleans – Does the story of US soccer begin in Louisiana?

In the late 1850s, Scottish and Irish immigrants brought the game to New Orleans and hosted some of the first games of soccer played on American soil. By the start of the 1860s, there were actually several versions of soccer in America, and the Boston Game was one of the most popular – a hybrid between soccer and rugby. 

As such, when looking for soccer’s origin story, it’s accurate to determine that the birthplace of soccer in the United States was New Orleans and not in Princeton, New Jersey, as many soccer fans believe (more on this shortly).

The Oneida Football Club – Is MA the birthplace of US Soccer?

In 1862, four years after soccer first came to New Orleans, Gerrit Smith established the Oneida Football Club, the very first soccer club in the United States. Based in Boston, MA, the game that Oneida promoted was a mixture of football, rugby, and American football, and it was played by prep students in the city. 

Interestingly, when Smith established Oneida, there was no accepted standard of football (or soccer) in the United States, and the schools that played soccer typically followed their own sets of rules. Naturally, this made competition challenging, as there was no accepted way of playing the game!  

One thing to note about Oneida’s early interpretations of what would become soccer was that the games were exceptionally violent. Fights would nearly always break out, and players were as interested in kicking their opponents as they were in kicking the ball. 

It’s perhaps for this reason that many soccer historians gloss over the Oneida days and fast-forward to 1869 and the Princeton vs. Rutgers game as the birth of soccer in the United States. 

Princeton vs. Rutgers, 1869 – A claim for NJ?

American football fans will know that the 1869 match between Princeton and Rutgers is attributed as the birth of the sport. However, it is also considered by many historians to be the first soccer game on the continent, too. 

The reason for this is that the match was actually governed by the Football Association’s (the UK body responsible for the formation of soccer) first set of rules. Initially called “socker” the inaugural game at Princeton would soon be played at Yale, Harvard, Cornell, and Penn State. 

Lots of people point to this game as the birth of soccer in the US because the game quickly spread throughout the States in the decade that followed, and by the 1870s, both soccer and American football were common in the US. 

However, there’s another state that has laid claim to being the birthplace of soccer in the US, as we explain below.

What about Waukesha, Wisconsin’s position in the history of soccer in the USA?

Last but certainly not least, the state of Wisconsin is regarded by some to be the official birthplace of soccer in the United States. An archived newspaper report explains that a game of soccer was played in Waukesha, Wisconsin, on October 11, 1866. 

The game was played between Carrol College and “the young men of Waukesha.” The college fielded 22 players, and the team from Waukesha had 25 players, described as “altogether larger men.” The game was played over approximately 90 minutes and resulted in a 5-2 victory for the college.  

Chronologically in our US soccer origin story, the Wisconsin game would pre-date the Princeton vs. Rutgers game, but it still took place after the establishment of some form of soccer in Louisiana and MA. 

Still, it’s a fascinating story of a game of soccer being played out between two teams and is one of the earliest recorded games of soccer in American history. Even though it might not be the first, the Waukesha game has earned its place in American soccer legend! 

Our verdict: Soccer’s origin story – A history of soccer in the United States

When it comes to an early history of soccer in the United States, the evidence is fascinating! Based on what we read when researching this blog post, we can conclude the following: 

• The first soccer games (albeit informal and without rules and structure) were played in New Orleans, Louisiana, by Scottish and Irish immigrants. As such, the birthplace of soccer in the United States is New Orleans, sometime in the late 1850s.
• In 1862, the establishment of Oneida Football Club in Boston, MA, saw more structure added to the game, although it was still extremely violent and lacked any sort of cohesion! 
• Thanks to the preservation of a newspaper article, we know that a (relatively organized) soccer game was played in Waukesha, Wisconsin, in 1866, pre-dating the Princeton vs. Rutgers clash of 1869.
• Therefore, while the Princeton vs. Rutgers game is accurately described as the start of American football, soccer was being played in the US at least a decade before the game in New Jersey took place. 

So, when was soccer first introduced to the United States of America? In New Orleans, Louisiana, sometime around 1858. Fascinating stuff!

We recently wrote a comparison piece on soccer today and soccer back in the day to ascertain how the game has changed. If you’ve found this article on the early history of soccer in the USA interesting, we think you will enjoy our look back on soccer in days gone by!