Archie Stark - Bethlehem Steel

Bethlehem Steel

In 1924, Bethlehem Steel picked up Stark from New York as New York rapidly sold its players to pay significant debts. Stark’s move to Bethlehem would gain him his greatest recognition as Bethlehem moved him to center forward from the right wing position he had played with New York. Bethlehem had some of the deepest pockets in the ASL and used that money to sign several top Scottish internationals. Surrounded by talent, Stark responded by scoring sixty-seven goals in forty-four games his first season with the team. He also scored three more goals in two league cup games. The next season, Stark earned his first title with Bethlehem as the team took the 1926 National Challenge Cup. Bethlehem rolled over Ben Millers by a score of 7-2, Stark scored three of the goals. Bethlehem went on to take the 1926-1927 ASL title, then the 1928-1929 and fall 1929 Eastern Soccer League titles.

In what became known as the Soccer Wars, FIFA declared the ASL an “outlaw league” in 1927. Reasons for this centered around a dispute between the ASL and FIFA/USSFA about control of the sport in the U.S. FIFA and USSFA demanded that all ASL teams enter the National Challenge Cup. The ASL refused to force its teams to do so and FIFA labeled the ASL an “outlaw league”. The ASL, with U.S. federal law on its side, announced it would no longer abide by FIFA rules and would boycott FIFA events, including the National Challenge Cup. The ASL, as one of the most competitive and highest paying leagues in the world at the time expected that many prominent international players would continue to flock to the ASL in defiance of FIFA. In order to reduce the prominence of the ASL, USSFA organized a rival league, the Eastern Soccer League in October 1928. Bethlehem Steel, in defiance of the ASL, had elected to enter the National Challenge Cup and was suspended by the league seven games into the 1928-1929 season, leading Bethlehem to join the ESL. Stark, and Bethlehem Steel, would remain in the ESL for two seasons before returning to the ASL for the team’s final season. However, neither Bethlehem Steel nor the ASL could withstand the financial strains imposed by this situation and the Soccer War led to the demise of the ASL and Bethlehem Steel. When Bethlehem Steel folded in 1930, Stark joined the Fall River Marksmen of a tour of Europe. However, the team faced financial difficulties and left the players stranded in Budapest where they returned to the U.S. as third class passengers.