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Roger Allaway Blog

State-by-state soccer debuts

Posted on July 31, 2011 1:07 am

When and where was the first soccer game played in your state? Here are the answers to those questions — partial answers in many cases — for more than 40 different states. Of course, a few of these weren’t states yet when the first soccer game was played there, and the name soccer wasn’t used in this country until around 1905. Some of the exact dates are not known, and if no score is listed, that means that it is not known. As was the case with a previous blog entry that I posted on 19th-century American soccer, the data here is based on research by Melvin I. Smith of Asheville, N.C.

Alabama, Nov. 8, 1887 in Auburn — Auburn YMCA 2, Auburn Sumners 1.
Arizona, Jan. 24, 1891 in Clifton — Cliftons Association def. Longfellows Association.
Arkansas, May 17, 1878 in Little Rock — St. Andrew’s Benevolent Society intramural game.
California, Dec. 25, 1871 in San Francisco — San Francisco Industrial School intramural game.
Colorado, Spring 1879 in Denver — Denver High School intramural game.
Connecticut, Oct. 20, 1866 in Hartford — Trinity College Sophomores 1, Trinity College Freshmen 1.
District of Columbia, 1874 in Washington — Georgetown University intramural games.
Florida, Feb. 24, 1890 in Palatka — Palatka Association def. Jacksonville Association.
Georgia, March 1878 in Columbus — Columbus Jolly Band intramural games.
Idaho, May 1875 in Boise — Boise City “Young” vs. Boise City “Old.”
Illinois, June 1874 in Chicago — Chicago Foot Ball Association vs. Ann Arbor (Mich.) Town Team.
Indiana, April 3, 1874 in Elkhart — Englishmen “whites” vs. Englishmen “blues” intramural game.
Iowa, Nov. 27, 1872 in Iowa City — University of Iowa 4, University of Iowa Law School 0.
Kansas, March 4, 1871 in Leavenworth — Hibernian Society intramural game.
Kentucky, November 1875 in Covington — Droege Foundry vs. Hell-In-Town Boys.
Louisiana, July 21, 1868 in New Orleans — St. Joseph’s Association def. The Challenge Team.
Maine, Oct. 5, 1869 in Portland — Boston (Mass.) Ancient & Honorable Infantry 1, Portland Mechanic Blues & Light Infantry 0.
Maryland, Spring 1879 in Annapolis — St. John’s College intramural game.
Massachusetts, September 1868 in Medford — Tufts University Sophomores def. Tufts University Freshmen.
Michigan, April 16, 1870 in Ann Arbor — University of Michigan Freshmen 4, University of Michigan Sophomores 3.
Minnesota, Spring 1879 in Minneapolis — University of Minnesota Freshmen vs. University of Minnesota Sophomores.
Mississippi, Spring 1887 in Jackson — Jackson Water Valley Machine Shop intramural game.
Missouri, May 28, 1875 in St. Louis — Blond Lawyers 3, Brunette Lawyers 3 (the names referred to uniform colors, not hair colors).
Nebraska, October 1880 in Omaha — Omaha Foot Ball Club intramural game.
Nevada, Feb. 8, 1879 in Reno — Reno Town Team def. Reno Seminary School.
New Hampshire, April 3, 1868 in Hanover — Dartmouth College Juniors/Freshmen vs. Dartmouth College Seniors/Sophomores.
New Jersey, November 1867 in Princeton — Princeton College 5, Princeton Theological Seminary 2.
New Mexico, February 1888 in Gallup — Gallup Baseball & Football Club intramural game.
New York, November 1868 — Columbia College Freshmen vs. Columbia College Sophomores.
North Carolina, Oct. 31, 1890 in Charlotte — Ralph Holland Room 2, Macon School 1.
North Dakota, June 3, 1888 in Grand Forks — Grand Forks Foot Ball Association intramural game.
Ohio, July 1870 in Elyria — Elyria Town Team “Hats” 2, Elyria Town Team “Caps” 0.
Oregon, June 5, 1873 in Portland — Hibernian Society intramural game.
Pennsylvania, June 26, 1871 in Philadelphia — Philadelphia Irish Nationalists def. New York Irish Nationalists.
Rhode Island, November 1866 in Providence — Brown University Freshmen 1, Brown University Sophomores 0.
South Carolina, 1869 in Charleston — Charles Barnwell School intramural game.
South Dakota, April 1885 in Aberdeen — Aberdeen Foot Ball Club intramural game.
Tennessee, Spring 1889 in Knoxville — University of Tennessee intramural game.
Texas, March 17, 1872 in Galveston — Galveston Irishmen intramural game.
Utah, June 10, 1868 in West Jordan — West Jordan Lower Branch Ward vs. West Jordan Middle Branch Ward.
Vermont, Oct. 13, 1875 in Burlington — University of Vermont Freshmen def. University of Vermont Sophomores.
Virginia, Nov. 1, 1873 in Lexington — Washington & Lee University 4, Virginia Military Institute 2.
Washington, Nov. 27, 1890 in Seattle — Seattle Association 4, Tacoma Association 0.
West Virginia, April 16, 1880 in Wheeling — Linsley Institute intramural game.
Wisconsin, Oct. 11, 1866 in Waukesha — Carroll College 5, Waskesha Town Club 2.