Archie Stark
Archibald McPherson Stark (born December 21, 1897 in Glasgow , † May 27, 1985 in Kearny, New Jersey ) was an American football player .
When he was 13 years old, Stark moved his family from Scotland to West Hudson , New Jersey, and began playing football for the youth team there, still as a defender at the time. A year later, when he was 14, he joined the Scottish Americans , for whom he played for four years, before moving to Babcock and Wilcox in 1916 , for which he only played one year.
In 1917, Stark was drafted into the United States Army and served in France . After returning from the war in 1919, he went to Paterson FC , with whom he was able to reach the final of the National Challenge Cup , but lost 2-0 to Bethlehem Steel FC . After that defeat, Stark went on a tour of Denmark and Sweden with Bethlehem Steel FC. He then moved to the NAFBL team Erie AA , for which he played until 1921. When the American Soccer League was founded and the NAFBL disbanded, he went to the New York Field Club , for which he played for three years and during that time scored 45 goals in 69 championship games.
After he moved to Bethlehem Steel FC in 1924 , his most successful period followed. In his first season he scored 67 goals in 44 championship games. Overall, he was able to win the US Open Cup 1926, the championship 1926/27 and the League Cup 1928 during his time at Bethlehem Steel FC and scored 218 goals in 207 competition games. In 1930, the Bethlehem Steel team was disbanded and Stark moved to the Newark Americans .
After the ASL was dissolved in 1933 due to economic difficulties and a semi-professional successor league was founded under the same name, Stark still played for the Kearny Irish-Americans , with whom he won the title again in 1934 and was the most successful goalscorer of the season.
Stark played two international matches for the United States national soccer team , scoring 4 goals. The nomination for the United States' world championship selection in 1930, he canceled for business reasons.
In 1950, Stark was inducted into the Soccer Hall of Fame. With his 67 goals in the 1924/25 season, he still holds the record for the most first division goals scored in one season and is the most successful goalscorer in the history of the ASL.
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| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Strong, Archie |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Stark, Archibald McPherson |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | American soccer player |
| DATE OF BIRTH | December 21, 1897 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Glasgow , Scotland |
| DATE OF DEATH | May 27, 1985 |
| Place of death | Kearny , New Jersey, USA |