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 The
most prolific goal scorer in American soccer history,
Archie came to the United States as a young man.
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Personal Information |
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Class of 1950 |
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Born: December 21, 1897 - Glasgow, Scotland |
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Died: May 27, 1985 - Kearny, NJ |
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Position: Forward |
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Int'l
Caps: 2 |
Int'l
Goals: 4 |
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He began
his senior soccer career with the Kearny Scots-Americans
before switching to the Babcock and Wilcox team in nearby
Bayonne. World War One interrupted his playing days and he
spent time in the U.S. Army. With the end of the war he
resumed his career with the Erie Athletic Association team
in New Jersey before crossing the Hudson River in 1921 to
play for the New York Football Club, in the professional
American Soccer League where he was used mainly at inside
right. But Stark's career really took off and he gained
national prominence when he was signed by Bethlehem Steel
as a center forward at the start of the 1924-25 season. In
his first season with the famous Steel club, he scored 67
goals in 44 league games and added three more in ASL cup
competition. Between 1921 and 1932 he scored over 300
goals in games played in the American and Eastern
professional soccer leagues, and ASL cup games, plus 29
more in U.S. Open Cup games. With Bethlehem Steel he won
the American Soccer League championship in 1927 and
Eastern Soccer League championship in 1929 as well as the
U.S. Open Cup in 1926. Stark also played for the United
States against Canada twice in 1925 scoring four times in
the 6-1 American win at Ebbets Field in Brooklyn. Selected
to the U.S. World Cup team in 1930, he turned down the
offer citing business reasons, but later went on tour to
Europe as a guest player with Fall River. When the first
American Soccer League collapsed following the combined
effects of an internal dispute with the United States
Football Association and the Great Depression, Stark
signed to play in the second ASL for Kearny
Irish-Americans. The greatest American goal scorer of all
time, Archie Stark ranks 43rd on the all time list of the
worlds top first division goal scorers with his 300 goals.
Hall of Famer Spotlight:
One
of the knocks against U.S. soccer in the NASL years was that
while American soccer could produce good goalkeepers, defenders
and midfielders, it could not develop world-class strikers.
more>
U.S. National Team
Statistics |
