Beyond the Field: How Soccer Built Community in the United States

Beyond the Field: How Soccer Built Community in the United States is a masterful addition to the historiography of early American soccer. In a series of fifteen essays—plus an introduction and epilogue—Brian D. Bunk traces the sporting history and development of soccer communities in small cities and towns throughout the United States. Bunk argues that while each place developed independently, when taken collectively, these cases represent an aspirational image of the United States: a nation where diverse people come together around the ideas of “companionship, fair play, and equal opportunity” (3). Between 1880 and 1920, American society underwent rapid changes due to industrialization, immigration, and urbanization. Though these changes presented ordinary Americans with a wealth of opportunities, they did not come without challenges. Thus, soccer, a sport often considered foreign to Americans, gave individuals from diverse backgrounds a source of community to aid in navigating their ever-changing society. Bunk contends that soccer, when viewed at the community level, played an important role in the lives of ordinary turn-of-the-century Americans by creating communities that extended beyond the pitch.The essays are case studies of less well-known locations where soccer was played, ranging from Pawtucket, Rhode Island, to Honolulu, Hawai‘i. Organized geographically from east to west, the book's structure—beyond the introduction and epilogue—does not require the essays to be read in order. This allows readers to forge their own path through the book. Bunk notes that other locations, such as Fall River, Massachusetts, or St. Louis, Missouri, had larger and more complex soccer communities that warrant full-length books of their own. While extensive and ongoing research has already been conducted on locations such as Chicago, Illinois, and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the focus on places less frequently examined in the literature expands the notion of where the game was played throughout the country. Detroit, Michigan, and Minneapolis/St. Paul, Minnesota, warrant two essays each, as does the Bay Area in California.The communities discussed in this book were often formed through ties of mutual identity. In some communities, this identity was based on the place of origin, as with the Scots in Barre, Vermont, and Miami, Florida; the Welsh in Scranton, Pennsylvania; or the Irish in Cincinnati, Ohio. Soccer evolved from ill-defined versions of football that were played as part of clan gatherings and community events. In others, the identity was employment-based, with white-collar workers forming communities in Honolulu and San Francisco and blue-collar workers in Scranton and Barre. In these communities, soccer was perhaps only part of an established culture of recreation and simply gave players and fans a reason to meet and commiserate with familiar friends in good times and bad. In all communities, the sport stoked local pride, especially when clubs were pitted against out-of-town or international competition.Regardless of the root identity that formed these communities, soccer was enjoyed by both native-born Americans and immigrants. Though the early pioneers in many of these locations came from Europe, Bunk illuminates the oft-overlooked or untold stories of how early American soccer communities were formed through the efforts of African Americans, as well as people of Chinese, native Hawaiian, Jewish, and Filipino descent. Through soccer, the reader is acquainted with Fred and Oliver Watson of Pawtucket, America's first recorded African American soccer players, and Wen Ping Pan, the University of Minnesota's first Chinese student who played for the local club Thistle. Above all, the individuals highlighted throughout the book are ordinary people who found solace in the bonds formed with others through a mutual love of soccer. This careful selection of underexamined locations where soccer was played, along with the individual stories of regular people, is a key strength of this work. Not only does this expand the perception of who played soccer during this period, but by telling these overlooked histories, Bunk aids in illuminating the mostly forgotten lives of ordinary Americans.Bunk concludes the book with a brief vignette about the American League of Professional Football, a short-lived attempt by Major League Baseball owners to launch a professional soccer league. Bunk cites a multitude of reasons the venture failed, but the overarching problem with the league was that the owners did not understand soccer, much less the communities that formed around the sport throughout the country. At the time, all soccer communities faced hardships. Finding sufficient playing fields posed a challenge; finances were often tight; and external events—financial collapse, weather, and war—led to the demise of early leagues. Yet communities based on neighborly camaraderie and mutual aid proved to be the game's greatest source of resilience. When tragedy struck, community members could rely on others to come to their aid, and if something forced play to be stopped, it would almost definitely start again. Against a backdrop of press articles in some locations that ridiculed the game, these soccer-loving Americans always found a way to keep the game alive.Overall, Bunk's work is a meticulously researched, well-written addition to the study of early American soccer. Drawing on a wealth of archival sources, limited newspaper reporting, and genealogical research, the book is excellently sourced. It is not only an exemplary work of sport history, but also an impressive example of how to blend local history methodologies with sport history. Many of the essays not only tell the stories of soccer communities, they also illuminate the local histories of the cities that formed them. Those looking for statistical breakdowns and league tables will not find them here. Nonetheless, serious soccer fans and interested scholars will find this book useful. Students will appreciate excellent retellings of the difficulties historians face when conducting research into topics with limited historiographies and sources, as well as a brilliant template of how to utilize a wealth of sources to find an unnamed individual in a team photo. Though some of the connections to broader historical themes felt out of place and less developed, this book should have wide appeal.