Charles Henry Ellis (1890-1954) was an American soccer player who is best known for scoring a goal in each of the U.S. national team's first two games. Ellis played both forward and midfield during his career. His first recorded team was Columbia Oval of the New York State Amateur League for which he played from at least 1908 until 1914. He then moved to

Brooklyn Celtic Brooklyn Celtic was a name used by at least two U.S. soccer teams. The first was an early twentieth century amateur team which was formed in August 1910 and dominated the New York Amateur Association Football League from 1912 to 1917. The second ...

of the New York State Association Football League. Celtic went to the

1915 American Cup The 1915 American Cup was the annual open cup held by the American Football Association. The Scottish-Americans, after two previous final appearances, won their first American Cup by overcoming the Brooklyn Celtics 1-0 in the championship game. ...

final before falling to the

Kearny Scots The Kearny Scots are an American soccer club based in Kearny, New Jersey. The club presently plays in the Eastern Premier Soccer League, which is a United States Adult Soccer Association-affiliated league and an amateur affiliate of the professio ...

. In 1916, the

United States Football Association The United States Soccer Federation (USSF), commonly referred to as U.S. Soccer, is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization and the official governing body of the sport of soccer in the United States. Headquartered in Chicago, the federation is a ...

(USFA) organized the first games for its national team. USFA was admitted to FIFA in 1913 but

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

prevented the association from playing national team games. However, in 1916, USFA decided to send the team to

Scandinavia Scandinavia; Sámi languages: /. ( ) is a subregion in Northern Europe, with strong historical, cultural, and linguistic ties between its constituent peoples. In English usage, ''Scandinavia'' most commonly refers to Denmark, Norway, and Swe ...

to play teams from other neutral countries. USFA drew most of its players from the north-east and Ellis was selected to play right midfield. In the first official U.S. game against Sweden on August 20, 1916, Thomas Swords scored the first U.S. goal. Fifteen minutes into the second half, Ellis scored the second U.S. goal in the team's 3–2 victory. Two weeks later, Ellis scored the U.S. goal in a 1–1 tie with

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the ...

. At the end of the tour, a local Stockholm club hired Ellis as its coach. However, he returned to Brooklyn Celtic for the 1917 season.

References

American soccer players United States men's international soccer players Brooklyn Celtic players Association football forwards Association football midfielders 1890 births 1954 deaths {{US-footy-forward-stub