Recycling Steel: football, tradition, and historicity in Pennsylvania

ABSTRACT

On 19 August 2015, the Philadelphia Union of Major League Soccer announced plans to sponsor an expansion team in the second-tier United Soccer League. Two months later, an enthusiastic crowd filed into the historic Bethlehem Steel plant in eastern Pennsylvania to witness the new side’s unveiling. Against the backdrop of towering blast furnaces that evoked the region’s industrial golden age, Union representatives heralded the return of Bethlehem Steel Football Club. This paper explores the nexus of past and present in the recycling of Steel. Juxtaposing the modern club’s retro-themed kit against the identity of its storied namesake, it argues that the past is simultaneously honoured and obscured. In so doing, it situates the recycling of Steel in its broader historical context, paying attention to the business ambitions of Union executives, the cultural penchant for heritage branding and the efforts of a once-vibrant manufacturing town to negotiate the realities of a postindustrial landscape.

Acknowledgments

The author would like to express his gratitude to the journal referees for their valuable comments and critiques. Thanks are also due to Chloe Taft and Dan Morrison for their feedback on drafts of the paper, to Chris Bolsmann for conceptual guidance throughout the research process, and to John Greer for his assistance in getting the details right. The participants at the Beautiful Game workshop (Basel and Winston-Salem) helped refine the ideas herein, and the staffs at the Morning Call, Falvey Memorial Library, Lovejoy Library and Bethlehem Area Public Library (especially Matthew Rothfuss) were diligent in tracking down materials.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Notes

1 Gregory Ramshaw and Sean Gammon, ‘More than Just Nostalgia? Exploring the Heritage/Sport Tourism Nexus’, Journal of Sport & Tourism 10, no. 4 (2005): 233.

2 Gary R. Blockus, ‘The “Steel”, Soccer-Style’, Morning Call, October 28, 2015.

3 Gregory Ramshaw, ‘The Construction of Sport Heritage Attractions’, Journal of Tourism Consumption and Practice 3, no. 1 (2011): 1–25.

4 Philadelphia Union, ‘We are Bethlehem Steel FC’, YouTube video, October 27, 2015, available at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=id6MJkxCyyE.

5 Andrei S. Markovits and Steven L. Hellerman, Offside: Soccer and American Exceptionalism (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 2001), 99. On soccer’s diffusion to the United States and across the globe, see Bill Murray, The World’s Game: A History of Soccer (Champaign, IL: University of Illinois Press, 1998); David Goldblatt, The Ball Is Round: A Global History of Football (London: Viking, 2006); David Wangerin, Soccer in a Football World: The Story of America’s Forgotten Game (Philadelphia: Temple University Press, 2008); and David Wangerin, Distant Corners: American Soccer’s History of Missed Opportunities and Lost Causes (Philadelphia: Temple University Press, 2011).

6 See, for example, Gabriel S. Logan, ‘Lace Up the Boots, Full Tilt Ahead: Recreation, Immigration, and Labor on Chicago’s Soccer Fields, 1890–1939’ (PhD diss., Northern Illinois University, 2007); David Trouille, ‘Association Football to Fútbol: Ethnic Succession and the History of Chicago-Area Soccer, 1890–1920’, Soccer & Society 9, no. 4 (2008): 455–76; Derek Van Rheenen, ‘The Promise of Soccer in America: The Open Play of Ethnic Subcultures’, Soccer & Society 10, no. 6 (2009): 781–94; Brian D. Bunk, ‘The Rise and Fall of Professional Soccer in Holyoke Massachusetts, USA’, Sport in History 31, no. 3 (2011): 283–306; Steven Apostolov, ‘Everywhere and Nowhere: The Forgotten Past and Clouded Future of American Professional Soccer from the Perspective of Massachusetts’, Soccer & Society 13, no. 4 (2012): 510–35; and Brian D. Bunk, ‘Sardinero and Not a Can of Sardines: Soccer and Spanish Ethnic Identities in New York City during the 1920s’, Journal of Urban History 41, no. 3 (2015): 444–59.

7 Joseph Mortimer Levering, A History of Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, 1741–1892 (Bethlehem, PA: Times Publishing, 1903), 59–79, 536–682, quote on 646.

8 Robert Hessen, ‘The Transformation of Bethlehem Steel, 1904–1909’, Business History Review 46, no. 3 (1972): 340–42.

9 Arundel Cotter, The Story of Bethlehem Steel (New York: Moody Magazine and Book, 1916), 13, 35; Hessen, ‘The Transformation of Bethlehem Steel, 1904–1909’; and Kenneth Warren, Bethlehem Steel: Builder and Arsenal of America (Pittsburgh: University of Pittsburgh Press, 2008), 104. On Schwab in more depth, see Robert Hessen, Steel Titan: The Life of Charles M. Schwab (Pittsburgh: University of Pittsburgh Press, 1990); and Kenneth Warren, Industrial Genius: The Working Life of Charles Michael Schwab (Pittsburgh: University of Pittsburgh Press, 2007).

10 Roger Allaway, Corner Offices & Corner Kicks (Haworth, NJ: St Johann Press, 2009), 46.

11 ‘Schwab Corners Football Stars’, New York Times, August 2, 1914; John S. Wadolny, interview by Kathleen Purcell Munley, March 11, 1975; Mark E. Grubb, interview by Pat Parker, March 27, 1975; and Harry K. Trend, interview by Roger D. Simon, June 17, 1975, from ‘In the Age of Steel: Oral Histories from Bethlehem, Pennsylvania’, Lehigh University Library. Although it is difficult to discern the specific nature of the work, the aforementioned oral histories suggest that the jobs given to footballers were, at least on occasion, nominal. Mark Grubb, who worked in accounting, recalled that players were ‘favorite sons’ who received time off to train. John Wadolny, a staff representative for the United Steelworkers of America, suggested that footballing stalwart Fred Pepper was required to do little more than punch in, train and punch out.

12 ‘Schwab Gives Athletic Field to His 22,000 Men’, Evening Ledger, June 24, 1916; ‘Schwab’s Employees Given Athletic Field’, Philadelphia Inquirer, June 25, 1916; and H.W. Trend, ‘Bethlehem Steel Company Football Club’, in Spalding’s Official ‘Soccer’ Football Guide 1916–17, ed. Thomas W. Cahill (New York: American Sports Publishing, 1916), 45–46. In an entry for the 1915–16 edition of Spalding’s guide, E.L. Mockler was more effusive still. After noting that Schwab was considered ‘the friend of every man in the plant’, he suggested that the magnate’s efforts were instructive for how to bridge the divide between capital and labour, ‘two essentials of life that have been made into bugaboos for each other by addlepated agitators all over the country’. Parallel to his athletic investments, Schwab put up the funds for a band hall for the company and a concert hall for the city. E.L. Mockler, ‘Lesson of Bethlehem’s Victory’, in Spalding’s Official ‘Soccer’ Football Guide 1915–16, ed. Thomas W. Cahill (New York: American Sports Publishing, 1915), 28; ‘Schwab Gives $100,000 Hall’, New York Times, May 23, 1916; and Harold B. Farquhar, ‘Bethlehem Wins Honors in Soccer’, Pittsburgh Press, July 2, 1916.

13 Robert Hessen, ‘The Bethlehem Steel Strike of 1910’, Labor History 15, no. 1 (1974): 3–18; Warren, Bethlehem Steel, 83; and Ron W. Ennis, ‘Bethlehem Steelworkers, the Press, and the Struggle for the Eight-Hour Day’, Pennsylvania History: A Journal of Mid-Atlantic Studies 83, no. 3 (2016): 337–65. Curiously, and in contrast to the other scholars cited here, Warren downplays the strike as ‘a relatively moderate dispute by the standards of the time’.

14 ‘Use of Athletic Field’, Bethlehem Steel, June 3, 1918, 7; ‘Our Soccer Boys’, Bethlehem Booster, July 1, 1918, 11; and ‘Athletic Committee Meets’, Bethlehem Booster, February 3, 1919, 11, Bethlehem Steel Company Collection, Independence Seaport Museum Collection, Digital Library@Villanova University (hereafter DLVU). In its recap of the 1917–18 season, for instance, the Booster proclaimed a ‘banner year for soccer in Bethlehem’, before adding: ‘now the readers of the “Booster” may well be proud of the achievements of the team’. On Schwab’s sporting motives in greater depth, see Daniel J. Kungl, ‘The Role of Sports in the Bethlehem Community, 1915–1938: A Social Barometer’ (MA thesis, Lehigh University, 1994), 20–24.

15 H.W. Trend, ‘H. Edgar Lewis of Bethlehem, Penna.: The Man That Developed the Bethlehem Soccer Foot Ball Club’, in Spalding’s Official ‘Soccer’ Football Guide 1914–15, ed. Thomas W. Cahill (New York: American Sports Publishing, 1914), 97; and Trend, ‘Bethlehem Steel Company Football Club’, 45–46. The treble consisted of the Allied American League of Philadelphia, the Allied Amateur Cup and the American Cup.

16 Insightful and accessible accounts of the club’s history can be found in Wangerin, Soccer in a Football World; Allaway, Corner Offices & Corner Kicks; and Wangerin, Distant Corners.

17 Keith Groller, ‘Chester’s PPL Park Hidden Gem for Fans’, Morning Call, July 6, 2015.

18 Gary Blockus, ‘We’ll Start Getting Our Kicks at Lehigh U’, Morning Call, August 20, 2015; Blockus, ‘The “Steel”, Soccer-Style’; and ‘LVHN Signs with Valley Soccer Club’, Morning Call, March 18, 2016.

19 Bob Williams, ‘Bethlehem Steel Must Be the Name of Philadelphia Union’s Affiliate Team in United Soccer League’, Telegraph, August 20, 2015; and ‘Philadelphia Union Pay Homage to U.S. Soccer History, Name USL Club Bethlehem Steel FC’, Major League Soccer, October 27, 2015, available at http://www.mlssoccer.com/post/2015/10/27/philadelphia-union-pay-homage-us-soccer-history-name-usl-club-bethlehem-steel-fc. The other name options were Lehigh Valley Steel FC, Lehigh Valley Blast and Steel SC. Union executives were apparently confident enough that Bethlehem Steel would be selected that they secured the trademark rights in advance of the fan vote.

20 Matthew Strutner, Charles Parrish and John Nauright, ‘Making Soccer “Major League” in the USA and Beyond: Major League Soccer’s First Decade’, Sport History Review 45, no. 1 (2014): 23–36; and Brian Trusdell, ‘When It Comes to Names, Even Rivals Can Be United’, New York Times, June 30, 2015. For more on kitsch in American soccer, see Ian Plenderleith, Rock ‘N’ Roll Soccer: The Short Life and Fast Times of the North American Soccer League (London: Icon Books, 2014).

21 Jean Williams, ed., ‘Kit: Fashioning the Sporting Body’, special issue, Sport in History 35, no. 1 (2015); and Alison Goodrum, ed., ‘The Dress Issue’, special issue, Annals of Leisure Research 19, nos. 2–3 (2016).

22 John Hughson, ‘“Ten Years Ahead of His Time”: The East End Elegance of Martin Peters’, Sport in History 35, no. 1 (2015): 108–26; Christopher Stride et al., ‘From Sportswear to Leisurewear: The Evolution of English Football League Shirt Design in the Replica Kit Era’, Sport in History 35, no. 1 (2015): 156–94; and Jean Williams, ‘Given the Boot: Reading the Ambiguities of British and Continental Football Boot Design’, Sport in History 35, no. 1 (2015): 81–107. For earlier work on the football shirt, see Christian Derbaix, Alain Decrop and Olivier Cabossart, ‘Colors and Scarves: The Symbolic Consumption of Material Possessions by Soccer Fans’, in NA – Advances in Consumer Research, vol. 29 (2002), eds Susan M. Broniarczyk and Kent Nakamoto, 511–18; Claudio E. Benzecry, ‘Azul y Oro: The Many Social Lives of a Football Jersey’, Theory, Culture & Society 25, no. 1 (2008): 49–76; Gavin Kendall and Nick Osbaldiston, ‘“You’re Not Fit to Wear the Shirt”: Towards a Cultural Sociology of the Football Shirt’, in Social Causes, Private Lives: Proceedings of the Australian Sociological Association Conference (Sydney, 2010); and John Hughson and Kevin Moore, ‘“Hand of God”, Shirt of the Man: The Materiality of Diego Maradona’, Costume 46, no. 2 (2012): 212–25.

23 Mike Huggins, ‘The Sporting Gaze: Towards a Visual Turn in Sports History – Documenting Art and Sport’, Journal of Sport History 35, no. 2 (2008): 311–29; Mike Huggins and Mike O’Mahony, ‘Prologue: Extending Study of the Visual in the History of Sport’, International Journal of the History of Sport 28, nos. 8–9 (2011): 1089–1104; and Mike Huggins, ‘The Visual in Sport History: Approaches, Methodologies and Sources’, International Journal of the History of Sport 32, no. 15 (2015): 1813–30.

24 Eric Hobsbawm, ‘Introduction: Inventing Traditions’, in The Invention of Tradition, eds Eric Hobsbawm and Terence Ranger (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1983), 1–14; and Stride et al., ‘From Sportswear to Leisurewear’, 176–83.

25 Stephen Brown, ‘Retro-Marketing: Yesterday’s Tomorrows, Today!’, Marketing Intelligence & Planning 17, no. 7 (1999): 366. See, too, Amanda Koontz, ‘Constructing Authenticity: A Review of Trends and Influences in the Process of Authentication in Consumption’, Sociology Compass 4, no. 11 (2010): 977–88.

26 Michael N. Danielson, Home Team: Professional Sports and the American Metropolis (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1997), 134–51; and John Bale, Sports Geography (London: Routledge, 2003), 93–99.

27 Gregory Ramshaw, Sean Gammon, and Wei-Jue Huang, ‘Acquired Pasts and the Commodification of Borrowed Heritage: The Case of the Bank of America Stadium Tour’, Journal of Sport & Tourism 18, no. 1 (2013): 17–31.

28 Blockus, ‘The “Steel”, Soccer-Style’. The only emblem typically affixed to the original club’s shirt, the ‘B’ went through several iterations: laid atop a white diamond, flush against the base blue, or superimposed over the letters ‘SC’. For a well-researched account of the original Steel’s kits, see Ed Farnsworth, ‘Evolution of a Kit: Bethlehem Steel FC’, The Philly Soccer Page, December 14, 2011, available at http://www.phillysoccerpage.net/2011/12/14/evolution-of-a-kit-bethlehem-steel-fc.

29 Zachary McLeod Hutchins, ‘Rattlesnakes in the Garden: The Fascinating Serpents of the Early, Edenic Republic’, Early American Studies 9, no. 3 (2011): 681–85. The rattlesnake was popularised by Benjamin Franklin, who deemed it ‘a strong picture of the temper and conduct of America’. It was often printed alongside the dictum ‘Join, or Die’ or ‘Don’t Tread on Me’.

30 Kerith Gabriel, ‘Union Kicks Off New MLS Franchise’, Philadelphia Daily News, May 12, 2009; and Farnsworth, ‘Evolution of a Kit’. The original Steel appeared to oscillate between a dark and light blue jersey, paired with white shorts.

31 ‘Soccer for Bethlehem’, Philadelphia Inquirer, October 16, 1908.

32 ‘Soccer Booming in Bethlehem’, Philadelphia Inquirer, August 29, 1911.

33 ‘Bethlehem Wins the American Cup’, Philadelphia Inquirer, June 11, 1916.

34 ‘Another Soccer League’, Philadelphia Inquirer, September 20, 1914; ‘Bethlehem Soccer Team Defeats University Team 2 to 0 in Thirty-Minute Game’, Brown and White, November 6, 1914; J.H. Carpenter, ‘Blue Mountain League’, in Spalding’s Official ‘Soccer’ Football Guide 1915–16 (New York: American Sports Publishing, 1915), 59; ‘Red and Blue Meets Crack Bethlehem Eleven This Afternoon’, Pennsylvanian, March 31, 1917; ‘Soccer Players Open Season’, Brown and White, October 22, 1920; Levi Wilcox, ‘Soccer Progressing Rapidly at Lehigh’, Philadelphia Inquirer, December 18, 1922; Lehigh University, The Epitome: The Book of the Class of 1923, 425–26; and ‘Soccer Team Shows Steady Progress’, Brown and White, November 13, 1925.

35 ‘“Babe Ruth” of Soccer Turns Down Big Offer’, Seattle Star, February 17, 1921. On the side’s struggles during this period, see ‘Bethlehem Is Still Best on Soccer Field; Steel Club, However, Showing Signs of Disintegration’, New York Tribune, December 28, 1919.

36 ‘Socker Stars Being Secured by Wireless’, Brooklyn Daily Eagle, February 11, 1923; and ‘Breach Healed, Soccer Bodies Had Good Year’, Brooklyn Daily Eagle, December 21, 1930.

37 Peter J. Ratican, ‘Champion St. Louis Soccer Team’s Career’, Sporting Life, August 5, 1916; and John E. Wray, ‘St. Louis Soccer and Its Individuality’, in Spalding’s Official ‘Soccer’ Football Guide 1919–20, ed. Thomas W. Cahill (New York: American Sports Publishing, 1919), 67–69. For in-depth analysis of football in St Louis, see James Francis Robinson, ‘The History of Soccer in the City of Saint Louis’ (PhD diss., Saint Louis University, 1966); and Wangerin, Distant Corners, 136–73.

38 Sam MacLerie, ‘Ben Miller Soccer Team to Arrive Here Tomorrow at Noon’, New York Evening Post, April 9, 1926.

39 ‘U.S. Soccer Title Is at Stake Today’, New York Times, April 11, 1926; and ‘Soccer Teams in Title Play at Ebbets Field Today’, Brooklyn Daily Eagle, April 11, 1926. The ‘carpet’ system was a possession-oriented setup that drew inspiration from Europe. The ‘whirlwind’ approach, by contrast, was built around ‘greyhound’ speed and individual initiative.

40 ‘Bethlehem Wins, 7–2; Takes Soccer Title’, New York Times, April 12, 1926; and Laurence J. Spiker, ‘Soccer’, New York Times, April 12, 1926. Such framing was not anomalous and occurred at least a decade prior. See, for example, ‘British-Born Players Fail to Score, in Game against St. Louis-Made Soccerites’, St Louis Post-Dispatch, December 25, 1916.

41 Fred Nonnemacher, ‘Banquet to Soccer Players’, Bethlehem Globe-Times, July 22, 1919.

42 Rex, ‘American Champions’ Tour of Sweden and Denmark’, in Spalding’s Official ‘Soccer’ Football Guide 1919–20, ed. Thomas W. Cahill (New York: American Sports Publishing, 1919), 27.

43 ‘Soccer Champions’ Baggage Marked with Four Nations’ Flags’, New York Tribune, July 20, 1919.

44 ‘Socker Team Back; Enjoyed the Trip’, Brooklyn Daily Eagle, September 20, 1916; Rex, ‘The All-America Team Tour of Norway and Sweden’, in Spalding’s Official ‘Soccer’ Football Guide 1916–17, ed. Thomas W. Cahill (New York: American Sports Publishing, 1916), 9–11; and ‘American Champions’ Tour of Sweden and Denmark’, 35, 42, 48, 59–61.

45 ‘Harry Ratican May Play Here’, Philadelphia Inquirer, January 17, 1919; Fred Nonnemacher, ‘Merchants Looking Forward to Coming Season’, Bethlehem Globe-Times, June 10, 1919; and ‘Harry Ratican Chosen Captain’, Bethlehem Globe-Times, July 21, 1919.

46 ‘American Sockers All Ready for Trip’, Brooklyn Daily Eagle, July 20, 1919; and ‘American Soccer Team in Successful Tour Abroad’, New York Times, December 21, 1919.

47 Bassett Digby, ‘Swedes Criticise U.S. Soccer Team’, Evening Star, August 18, 1919; and ‘American Champions’ Tour of Sweden and Denmark’, 25, 37. Despite the press criticism, the team finished with a respectable record of seven wins, five draws and two losses.

48 ‘Soccer Players Remain Abroad’, Bethlehem Globe-Times, October 4, 1919; and Fred Nonnemacher, ‘Soccer Champions Back to Bethlehem’, Bethlehem Globe-Times, October 8, 1919.

49 ‘Soccer Players Doing Their Bit’, Philadelphia Inquirer, May 13, 1918.

50 Peter J. Peel, ‘Annual Report of the President’, in Spalding’s Official ‘Soccer’ Football Guide 1918–19, ed. Thomas W. Cahill (New York: American Sports Publishing, 1918), 18; and Thomas W. Cahill, ‘Annual Report of the Hon. Secretary’, in Spalding’s Official ‘Soccer’ Football Guide 1918–19, ed. Thomas W. Cahill (New York: American Sports Publishing, 1918), 19.

51 ‘Bethlehem May Get New Soccer Record’, Philadelphia Inquirer, April 15, 1918; ‘Bethlehem Has Four Legs on Soccer Cup’, Philadelphia Inquirer, May 27, 1918; ‘Soccer Champions Will Remain Intact’, Philadelphia Inquirer, July 24, 1918; ‘Bethlehem Lose Two Soccer Stars’, Philadelphia Inquirer, September 2, 1918; and C.A. Lovett, ‘Rival War Work Clubs to Crowd Schwab’s Kickers’, New York Tribune, September 30, 1918.

52 Levi Wilcox, ‘Two Soccer Clubs Still Undefeated’, Philadelphia Inquirer, December 5, 1921. Although the article refers to the Philadelphia Field Club, or Phillies, this was in effect the Bethlehem team, which moved en masse to the Quaker City for the 1921–22 season. The author of the piece took exception to the notion that the players had not responded to the call to arms, and indicated that several had in fact reported for duty. One should also note that Steel took part in several benefit matches and, as government work became more pressing, players sacrificed time typically allotted for training. When the club suffered a rare defeat on New Year’s Day of 1919, the company bulletin attributed the result to the absence of key players on account of the war. ‘Soccermen to Aid British War Relief’, Philadelphia Inquirer, November 26, 1917; ‘Soccer Players to Do Their Bit’, Philadelphia Inquirer, December 2, 1917; ‘Bethlehem Lose Two Soccer Stars’; ‘Dominion Sockers Play Here Sunday’, Brooklyn Daily Eagle, November 10, 1918; C.A. Lovett, ‘Canada May Humble U.S. in Soccer Classic To-Day’, New York Tribune, November 17, 1918; ‘Steel Team Victor in Soccer Contest’, New York Times, November 18, 1918; and ‘Send Back the Soldiers’, Bethlehem Booster, January 15, 1919, 12, Bethlehem Steel Company Collection, Independence Seaport Museum Collection, DLVU.

53 Benjamin Grove, ‘Association Foot Ball in Philadelphia’, in Spalding’s Official Association ‘Soccer’ Football Guide 1912–13, ed. Thomas W. Cahill (New York: American Sports Publishing, 1912), 138.

54 See, for instance, ‘Cardington Drops Lead to Up-Staters’, Philadelphia Inquirer, November 11, 1912; ‘Bethlehem Eleven Favored for Title’, Philadelphia Inquirer, January 18, 1915; and ‘Philadelphia District Soccer’, Sporting Life, January 1, 1916.

55 ‘Eight Clubs Join Soccer Cup Series’, Philadelphia Inquirer, March 4, 1917. Again, this framing was not atypical, as evidenced in coverage of Merchant Ship A’s bid for the American Cup two years later. See ‘Merchant A Must Travel to Paterson’, Philadelphia Inquirer, March 14, 1919.

56 ‘Soccer Cup Match to Be Played Today’, Philadelphia Inquirer, April 5, 1915. See, too, ‘Kicks from the Corner’, Philadelphia Inquirer, January 4, 1915.

57 ‘Corner Kicks’, Philadelphia Inquirer, September 22, 1913; and ‘Corner Kicks’, Philadelphia Inquirer, October 20, 1913.

58 ‘Local Fans Want Bethlehem to Win’, Philadelphia Inquirer, April 2, 1914; and ‘Corner Kicks’, Philadelphia Inquirer, April 6, 1914.

59 ‘Corner Kicks’, Philadelphia Inquirer, April 13, 1914; ‘Soccer’, Bethlehem Globe-Times, April 16, 1914; ‘Soccer’, Bethlehem Globe-Times, April 17, 1914; and ‘Donaghy’s Goal Defeats Tacony’, Philadelphia Inquirer, May 4, 1914.

60 ‘Bethlehem Bows to Disstons, 2–0’, Philadelphia Inquirer, November 21, 1915. The headline was a misprint, as Bethlehem pulled a goal back in the second half to lose 2–1.

61 ‘Bethlehem to Stay Out’, Sporting Life, January 29, 1916; and ‘Another Blank Day for Soccer Players’, Philadelphia Inquirer, February 13, 1916.

62 ‘Soccer Games Today’, Philadelphia Inquirer, January 13, 1917.

63 ‘Bethlehem Beats All-Star Eleven’, Philadelphia Inquirer, January 14, 1917.

64 Colin Jose, The American Soccer League: The Golden Years of American Soccer, 1921–1931 (Lanham, MD: Scarecrow, 1998).

65 Levi Wilcox, ‘Plan Inter-City Soccer Circuit’, Philadelphia Inquirer, January 17, 1921. See, too, Levi Wilcox, ‘Crack Soccer Team Here Next Season’, Philadelphia Inquirer, February 7, 1921. A concern at the lack of home support was voiced at least as early as 1918. In its coverage of a draw between Bethlehem Steel and Disston at the Elizabeth Avenue grounds, the company bulletin lamented that there was ‘nary a chirp from many in the grandstand’. ‘Soccer’, Bethlehem Steel, May 1, 1918, 10, Bethlehem Steel Company Collection, Independence Seaport Museum Collection, DLVU.

66 Levi Wilcox, ‘More Soccer Teams than Ever Before’, Philadelphia Inquirer, September 19, 1921; ‘Predicts America Will Soon Lead Soccer Field’, Evening Public Ledger, September 21, 1921; and Levi Wilcox, ‘Tigers Are Real Soccer Champions’, Philadelphia Inquirer, November 21, 1921. In Bethlehem, by contrast, the game suffered markedly. As Fred Nonnemacher summed up at the end of the season, ‘When the Bethlehem team disbanded, everything went to smash’. Fred Nonnemacher, ‘Soccer Revival Looks Encouraging’, Bethlehem Globe-Times, April 19, 1922.

67 Levi Wilcox, ‘Fans Laud Playing of Phils’ Soccermen in American League’, Philadelphia Inquirer, April 3, 1922; and ‘American Soccer League’, in Spalding’s Official ‘Soccer’ Football Guide 1922–23, ed. Thomas W. Cahill (New York: American Sports Publishing, 1922), 57–62. Brittan topped the scoring charts with 27 goals.

68 Nonnemacher, ‘Soccer Revival Looks Encouraging’; ‘May Revive Soccer Team Here’, Bethlehem Globe-Times, August 8, 1922; and Fred Nonnemacher, ‘City to Have Big League Soccer This Season’, Bethlehem Globe-Times, August 11, 1922.

69 ‘Five Local Soccer Men Leave Here’, Bethlehem Globe-Times, July 7, 1922; William S. Dallas, ‘Harold Brittain [sic] Quits Bethlehem’, Evening Public Ledger, September 20, 1922; and ‘Imports British Stars’, New York Times, October 5, 1922.

70 Fred Nonnemacher, ‘“Boot the Ball” in Philadelphia Today’, Bethlehem Globe-Times, October 7, 1922.

71 Levi Wilcox, ‘Philadelphia Assured of Big League Soccer in 1922–3’, Philadelphia Inquirer, April 17, 1922.

72 ‘Revival of Soccer Here’, Bethlehem Globe-Times, April 17, 1922; Nonnemacher, ‘Soccer Revival Looks Encouraging’; and Nonnemacher, ‘City to Have Big League Soccer This Season’.

73 ‘Banquet for Soccer Men’, Bethlehem Globe-Times, June 14, 1922.

74 Levi Wilcox, ‘Steel Soccer Team Surprise of Season’, Philadelphia Inquirer, October 24, 1922.

75 Levi Wilcox, ‘Greatest Year in History of Polo’, Philadelphia Inquirer, October 10, 1922.

76 ‘Sale of Phila. Soccer Players Not Sanctioned, Says League President’, Philadelphia Inquirer, October 12, 1927; ‘Philadelphia Out of Soccer League’, New York Times, October 19, 1927; and Levi Wilcox, ‘Fall River to Play Steeltowners Here’, Philadelphia Inquirer, March 14, 1928.

77 ‘Poor Support of Soccer Blamed’, Bethlehem Globe-Times, March 15, 1928.

78 Levi Wilcox, ‘Olympic Committee Pick Soccer Stars’, Philadelphia Inquirer, March 19, 1928.

79 ‘Bethlehem May Lose Its Soccer Team’, Bethlehem Globe-Times, March 6, 1928; Fred Nonnemacher, ‘Better with Each Game’, Bethlehem Globe-Times, March 27, 1928; and Levi Wilcox, ‘1919 Last Time Cup Final Staged Here’, Philadelphia Inquirer, April 7, 1928.

80 Levi Wilcox, ‘Steelmen Too Much for Fall River Lads’, Philadelphia Inquirer, March 18, 1928.

81 Nonnemacher, ‘Better with Each Game’.

82 Levi Wilcox, ‘Young Polo Players Speeding Up Game’, Philadelphia Inquirer, May 21, 1928. The number of spectators appeared to be less of an issue, according to Wilcox. The New York Times struck a similar chord, noting that ‘the Philadelphia games drew large attendances’. ‘Bethlehem to Raise $15,000 to Keep Soccer Team at Home’, New York Times, June 3, 1928.

83 Fred Nonnemacher, ‘The Future of Soccer’, Bethlehem Globe-Times, May 28, 1928; ‘Bethlehem to Raise $15,000 to Keep Soccer Team at Home’; ‘Soccer Boosters Hold Meeting’, Bethlehem Globe-Times, June 5, 1928; ‘Lions Boosting for Soccer Team’, Bethlehem Globe-Times, June 5, 1928; and ‘Soccer Discussion Here Last Night’, Bethlehem Globe-Times, June 12, 1928.

84 Fred Nonnemacher, ‘Says Mr. Wilcox’, Bethlehem Globe-Times, May 21, 1928.

85 ‘The Old Sport’s Musings’, Philadelphia Inquirer, March 5, 1928.

86 Wilcox, ‘Steel Soccer Team Surprise of the Season’.

87 Fredric Jameson, Postmodernism, or, the Cultural Logic of Late Capitalism (Durham, NC: Duke University Press, 1991).

88 Ramshaw, ‘The Construction of Sport Heritage Attractions’, 10.

89 Kerith Gabriel, ‘New Season, New Kit as Union Uniform Upgrade Honors Soccer’s Deep Roots in Philadelphia Area’, Philadelphia Union, February 26, 2013, available at http://www.philadelphiaunion.com/post/2013/02/26/newseason-new-kit-union-uniform-upgrade-honors-soccers-deep-rootsphiladelphia-area; and Simon Borg, ‘Jersey Week: Union Pay Homage to Bethlehem Steel with Retro 3rd Shirt’, Major League Soccer, February 26, 2013, available at http://www.mlssoccer.com/post/2013/02/27/jersey-week-union-pay-homage-bethlehem-steel-retro-3rd-shirt.

90 Philadelphia Union, ‘Philadelphia Major League Soccer Team Reveals Identity to the World’, press release, May 11, 2009.

91 Jim Deegan, ‘Philadelphia Union Honors Bethlehem Steel Soccer Club on New Jerseys’, Lehigh Valley Live, February 28, 2013, available at http://www.lehighvalleylive.com/sports/index.ssf/2013/02/philadelphia_union_honor_bethl.html; Don Muret, ‘Philadelphia Union’s Retro Third Jersey Producing Robust Sales’, Street & Smith’s SportsBusiness Journal, April 15, 2013; and Allison Steele, ‘Bethlehem Soccer Team Gets Assist’, Philadelphia Inquirer, September 16, 2013.

92 Spark, ‘Mitchell & Ness Releases Limited-Edition Bethlehem Steel FC Soccer Apparel’, press release, May 22, 2014.

93 Paul Grainge, ‘Nostalgia and Style in Retro America: Moods, Modes, and Media Recycling’, Journal of American & Comparative Cultures 23, no. 1 (2000): 27–34. See, too, Brown, ‘Retro-Marketing’.

94 Alexander Wolff, ‘Rockin’ the Retros’, Sports Illustrated, December 22, 2003.

95 ‘LA Galaxy to Host #GalaxyThrowback Night during June 2 Match vs. Sporting KC’, Los Angeles Galaxy, May 24, 2016, available at http://www.lagalaxy.com/post/2016/05/24/la-galaxy-host-galaxythrowback-night-during-june-2-match-vs-sporting-kc; ‘Sounders FC Unveils New Secondary Kit for 2017 Season’, Seattle Sounders, February 23, 2017, available at http://www.soundersfc.com/post/2017/02/23/sounders-fc-unveils-new-secondary-kit-2017-season; and Sam Kovzan, ‘Sporting KC to Celebrate Retro Night on May 17 against Seattle Sounders FC’, Sporting Kansas City, May 8, 2017, available at http://www.sportingkc.com/post/2017/05/08/sporting-kc-celebrate-retro-night-may-17-against-seattle-sounders-fc.

96 Barbara B. Stern, ‘Historical and Personal Nostalgia in Advertising Text: The Fin de Siècle Effect’, Journal of Advertising 21, no. 4 (1992): 11–22; Morris B. Holbrook, ‘Nostalgia and Consumption Preferences: Some Emerging Patterns of Consumer Tastes’, Journal of Consumer Research 20, no. 2 (1993): 245–56; Christina Goulding, ‘An Exploratory Study of Age Related Vicarious Nostalgia and Aesthetic Consumption’, in NA – Advances in Consumer Research, vol. 29 (2002), eds Susan M. Broniarczyk and Kent Nakamoto, 542–46; and Christopher Marchegiani and Ian Phau, ‘The Value of Historical Nostalgia for Marketing Management’, Marketing Intelligence & Planning 29, no. 2 (2011): 108–22. Passed-down nostalgia is typically learned through people, objects or collective memory. In the sporting context, it is often part of one’s socialisation into fandom. See, for instance, Eldon E. Snyder, ‘Sociology of Nostalgia: Sport Halls of Fame and Museums in America’, Sociology of Sport Journal 8, no. 3 (1991): 228–38. On nostalgia as an interpersonal phenomenon more broadly, see Tim Wildschut et al., ‘Nostalgia: Content, Triggers, Functions’, Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 91, no. 5 (2006): 975–93.

97 Michael D. Kennedy, ‘Rewriting the Death and Afterlife of a Corporation: Bethlehem Steel’, Biography 37, no. 1 (2014): 246–78.

98 Fred Davis, Yearning for Yesterday: A Sociology of Nostalgia (New York: Free Press, 1979); Bryan S. Turner, ‘A Note on Nostalgia’, Theory, Culture & Society 4, no. 1 (1987): 147–56; and Roland Robertson, ‘After Nostalgia? Wilful Nostalgia and the Phases of Globalization’, in Theories of Modernity and Postmodernity, ed. Bryan S. Turner (London: Sage, 1990), 45–61.

99 Sabina Deitrick and Robert A. Beauregard, ‘From Front-Runner to Also-Ran – The Transformation of a Once-Dominant Industrial Region: Pennsylvania, USA’, in The Rise of the Rustbelt: Revitalizing Older Industrial Regions, ed. Philip Cooke (London: UCL Press, 1995), 52–71. On the plight of the steel industry in more depth, see John Hoerr, And the Wolf Finally Came: The Decline and Fall of the American Steel Industry (Pittsburgh: University of Pittsburgh Press, 1988); and John Strohmeyer, Crisis in Bethlehem: Big Steel’s Struggle to Survive (Pittsburgh: University of Pittsburgh Press, 1994).

100 Michael Pickering and Emily Keightley, ‘The Modalities of Nostalgia’, Current Sociology 54, no. 6 (2006): 919–41.

101 Catherine M. Cameron and John B. Gatewood, ‘The Authentic Interior: Questing Gemeinschaft in Post-industrial Society’, Human Organization 53, no. 1 (1994): 21–32; Catherine M. Cameron and John B. Gatewood, ‘Excursions into the Un-remembered Past: What People Want from Visits to Historical Sites’, Public Historian 22, no. 3 (2000): 107–27; Chloe E. Taft, ‘Wishing Upon a Star: Christmas Tourism and Urban Renewal in Bethlehem, PA’, Journal of Planning History 12, no. 2 (2013): 154–78; and Chloe E. Taft, From Steel to Slots: Casino Capitalism in the Postindustrial City (Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 2016), particularly 1–10, quotes on 4, 6. It warrants noting that the rise of casino capitalism is not unproblematic. Per Michael Kennedy, in contrast to the ‘working-class morality and community integrity’ produced during the era of the Bethlehem Steel Corporation, ‘it’s hard to find any soul in gambling’s economy’. Kennedy, ‘Rewriting the Death and Afterlife of a Corporation’, 268–70. See, too, Jill A. Schennum, ‘Bethlehem Steelworkers: Reshaping the Industrial Working Class’ (PhD diss., City University of New York, 2011).

102 Nicole Radzievich, ‘ArtsQuest Center to Offer Look at Bethlehem’s Varied Past’, Morning Call, April 10, 2011; and Ian Volner, ‘ArtsQuest Center at SteelStacks’, Architect, September 2011. The colour international orange was used on San Francisco’s Golden Gate Bridge, which was built with steel from Schwab’s company.

103 Nicole Radzievich, ‘Big Score with Soccer Festival’, Morning Call, July 26, 2014; and Margie Peterson, ‘SoccerFest 2015: It’s the Women’s Turn’, Morning Call, June 4, 2015.

104 David L. Andrews, Sport–Commerce–Culture: Essays on Sport in Late Capitalist America (New York: Peter Lang, 2006), 95–107; and Callum Ingram, ‘Building between Past and Future: Nostalgia, Historical Materialism and the Architecture of Memory in Baltimore’s Inner Harbor’, Philosophy & Social Criticism 41, no. 3 (2015): 317–33.

105 Cameron and Gatewood, ‘Excursions into the Un-remembered Past’.