1931 American Soccer League

At the start of this season the American Soccer League was in decline, suffering from the effects of the Great Depression. Clubs had begun to fold, merge and disappear. The eventual champions, New Bedford Whalers, had been formed by Sam Mark following the merger of Fall River F.C. and New York Yankees. Long time ASL members Brooklyn Wanderers folded before the season. However New York Americans, later to become a perennial contender in the second ASL, made their debut.

The season began on February 29, 1931. The first half ended on May 31, 1931. The second half began September 19, 1931 and the season concluded on December 27, 1931. The season saw strong performances by New Bedford Whalers, New York Giants and a resurgent Pawtucket Rangers. Hakoah All-Stars improved markedly to take fourth place. Although the Whalers won this season, they lost the playoff series for the overall 1931 champion, being defeated by Spring 1931 champions New York Giants in a play-off. Whalers took the first game at home 8-3 before the Giants came back to win 6-0, taking the series on a 9-8 aggregate score.

League standings

First half

Place Team GP W D L GF GA PTS PCT
1 New York Giants 17 10 2 5 42 28 22 .647
2 Brooklyn Wanderers 16 9 2 5 32 27 20 .625
3 New York Yankees 17 9 3 5 40 27 21 .619
4 Pawtucket Rangers 18 9 3 6 47 33 21 .583
5 Fall River[Note 1] 16 8 2 6 28 25 18 .558
6 Hakoah All-Stars 17 5 2 10 25 41 12 .353
7 Newark Americans 13 4 1 8 18 29 9 .346
8 New Bedford Whalers[Note 2] 11 3 2 6 18 22 9 .346
7 Boston Bears[Note 3] 7 1 0 6 10 30 2 .143
  1. ↑ In late April 1931, the New Bedford Whalers merged with Fall River F.C. The combined team continued under the Fall River name.
  2. ↑ Following an April 19, 1931 game with Fall River, the New Bedford Whalers merged with Fall River.
  3. ↑ The Bears withdrew from the league in early April 1931, having lost six of their seven games. They re-entered the league for the fall half.

Second half

Place Team GP W D L GF GA PTS PCT
1 New Bedford Whalers[Note 1] 21 14 2 5 60 32 30 .714
2 New York Giants 20 11 4 5 54 38 26 .650
3 Pawtucket Rangers 20 13 0 7 58 42 26 .650
4 Hakoah All-Stars 21 11 4 6 44 34 26 .615
5 Boston Bears[Note 2] 19 4 3 12 34 50 11 .289
6 New York Americans[Note 3] 20 3 3 14 32 69 9 .225
7 Newark Americans 11 1 2 8 16 39 4 .183
  1. ↑ During the mid-season break, Fall River F.C. failed. The New York Yankees then moved to New Bedford, obtained the rights to the name and players of both Fall River F.C. and the New Bedford Whalers. The Yankees then changed their name to the New Bedford Whalers.
  2. ↑ The Bears had withdrawn from the league during the first half of the season, but re-entered for the second half.
  3. ↑ The Americans were a new team that entered the league during the mid-season break.

Playoff

January 1, 1932
New Bedford Whalers 8-3 New York Giants
Billy Gonsalves
Werner Nilsen  50'
Billy Gonsalves
Tommy Florie
OG Hugh Lafferty 		 53' Bert Patenaude
 83' Frank Tollan
Battery Park, New Bedford, Massachusetts


January 3, 1932
New York Giants 6-0 New Bedford Whalers
Shamus O'Brien  20'
Bert Patenaude  23'
Bart McGhee  30'
Shamus O'Brien  53'
Jimmy Gallagher  67'
Bert Patenaude  80'
The Polo Grounds, New York, New York
Attendance: 3,000

New York Giants won 9-8 on aggregate.

Top goalscorers

Rank Scorer Club GP G
1 Bob McIntyre Pawtucket Rangers 34 38
2 Bert Patenaude New York Yankees
New York Giants		 31 33
3 Willie Crilley Fall River F.C.
Brooklyn Wanderers
Newark Americans		 22 23
4 Tommy Florie New Bedford Whalers
Fall River F.C.		 36 22
5 Werner Nilsen New York Yankees
New Bedford Whalers		 29 21
6 Billy Gonsalves New York Yankees
New Bedford Whalers		 36 20
7 Davey Brown New York Giants 30 18
Rudolph Nikolsberger Hakoah All-Stars 35 18
9 Bill Paterson Brooklyn Wanderers
Fall River F.C.		 30 16
10 Jimmy McAuley Pawtucket Rangers 35 15
Moritz Häusler Hakoah All-Stars 38 15
11 Nib Hogg Fall River F.C.
Pawtucket Rangers		 27 14
12 Tec White New York Yankees
New Bedford Whalers		 38 13
13 Arthur Scott Pawtucket Rangers 35 12
14 George Moorhouse New York Yankees
Newark Americans		 31 11
Bart McGhee New York Giants 32 11
16 Herbert Carlsson New York Giants 34 10

External links

References

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