New York Hakoah is an American

soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...

club based in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

, which takes its name from two earlier, defunct clubs. ''Hakoah'' (roughly translated as "strength" from Hebrew) is a frequent name for sport and social Jewish clubs around the world, something linked with the original clubs' ties to the Jewish community.

New York Hakoah I

Originally formed by former players from

Hakoah Vienna SC Hakoah Vienna (german: Sport Club Hakoah Wien; ' means "the strength" in Hebrew) is a Jewish sports club in Vienna, Austria. Prior to World War II, it produced several Olympic athletes and was notable for fielding an entirely Jewish associati ...

, including Béla Guttmann and

Rudolph Nickolsburger Rudolph Nickolsburger (born 21 March 1899, Hungary; died New York, December 1969), also referred to as Nikolsburger Rezső and Rudy Nichols, was a Hungarian footballer who played for Ferencvárosi TC, SC Hakoah Wien and Hungary. He later emigrat ...

, they initially played in the

Eastern Soccer League Eastern may refer to: Transportation *China Eastern Airlines, a current Chinese airline based in Shanghai * Eastern Air, former name of Zambia Skyways * Eastern Air Lines, a defunct American airline that operated from 1926 to 1991 * Eastern Air ...

in the fall of 1928.Joseph Siegman (2020)
''Jewish Sports Legends; The International Jewish Sports Hall of Fame''
/ref> In 1929 they won the

1929 National Challenge Cup Nineteen or 19 may refer to: * 19 (number), the natural number following 18 and preceding 20 * one of the years 19 BC, AD 19, 1919, 2019 Films * ''19'' (film), a 2001 Japanese film * ''Nineteen'' (film), a 1987 science fiction film Music ...

, now known as the

Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup The Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup, commonly known as the U.S. Open Cup (USOC), is a knockout cup competition in men's soccer in the United States of America. It is the oldest ongoing national soccer competition in that country. The 2023 U.S. O ...

. In 1930 they merged with

Brooklyn Hakoah Brooklyn Hakoah is a former United States soccer team club based in Brooklyn, New York, that played in the American Soccer League. Brooklyn Hakoah I Originally formed by former players of SC Hakoah Wien, they played in the American Soccer Lea ...

of the American Soccer League to become the

Hakoah All-Stars Hakoah All-Stars is a former United States soccer club, based in New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distribut ...

New York Hakoah II

The name was revived just prior to the 1956–57 season when a revived

merged with

New York Americans The New York Americans, colloquially known as the Amerks, were a professional ice hockey team based in New York City from 1925 to 1942. They were the third expansion team in the history of the National Hockey League (NHL) and the second to play ...

to become the ''New York Hakoah-Americans''. They then became ''New York Hakoah'' for the 1962–63 season. They were American Soccer League champions three times in a row between 1957 and 1959. Kurt Lamm coached the team for 14 years, including during their three consecutive American Soccer League Championships (1955–56 to 1957–58. He was ASL’s Manager of the Year in the 1957–58 and 1962–63 seasons.

New York Hakoah III

Originally called ''Sport Club Hakoah Bergen County'', the modern club was established in 2009. Ron Glickman decided to try and rebuild the Hakoah club in the

suburb of

Teaneck, New Jersey Teaneck () is a Township (New Jersey), township in Bergen County, New Jersey, Bergen County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It is a bedroom community in the New York metropolitan area. As of the 2010 United States census, 2010 U.S. census, th ...

. Scouting for players was done via local college rosters and direct contact with college coaches. At the beginning of the 2011–2012 season, the club came to an agreement with

Fairleigh Dickinson University Fairleigh Dickinson University is a private university with its main campuses in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Founded in 1942, Fairleigh Dickinson University currently offers more than 100 degree programs to its students. In addition to its tw ...

to use University Stadium as the team's home field. Sponsorship agreements were also announced with a shirt sponsorship deal from

El Al Israel Airlines El Al Israel Airlines Ltd. (, he, אל על נתיבי אויר לישראל בע״מ), trading as El Al (Hebrew: , "Upwards", "To the Skies" or "Skywards", stylized as ELAL; ar, إل-عال), is the flag carrier of Israel. Since its inaugural ...

in addition All Ways Travel and Data Life. Hakoah Bergen County joined the North Jersey Soccer League Premier West Division for the 2011/12 season where they finished in fourth place. In August 2012, the club announced that they would re-brand and continue the legacy of New York Hakoah.

Year-by-year

References

Jewish football clubs Hakoah Hakoah sport clubs Jews and Judaism in New York City Eastern Professional Soccer League (1928–29) teams American Soccer League (1933–1983) teams Hakoah All-Stars 2009 establishments in New York (state) Soccer clubs in New Jersey Association football clubs established in 2009 Diaspora soccer clubs in the United States U.S. Open Cup winners {{NYC-sport-stub