James "Jimmy" or "Bow" Ford was an American soccer

outside right Forwards (also known as attackers) are outfield positions in an association football team who play the furthest up the pitch and are therefore most responsible for scoring goals as well as assisting them. As with any attacking player, the role ...

who earned one

cap A cap is a flat headgear, usually with a visor. Caps have crowns that fit very close to the head. They made their first appearance as early as 3200 BC. Caps typically have a visor, or no brim at all. They are popular in casual and informal se ...

with the U.S. national team in 1916. He played professionally in the

National Association Football League The National Association Football League (also spelled ''National Association Foot Ball League'') (NAFBL) was a semi-professional U.S. soccer league which operated between 1895 and 1898. The league was reconstituted in 1906 and continued to oper ...

and the American Soccer League, scoring goals in the first two National Challenge Cup Finals.

Professional career

The son of English immigrants, Ford was born in 1889 in

Kearney, New Jersey Kearny ( ) is a town in the western part of Hudson County, New Jersey, United States and a suburb of Newark. As of the 2010 United States Census, the town's population was 40,684,Brooklyn Field Club Brooklyn Field Club was a soccer team based in Brooklyn, New York, that existed from 1898 to 1924. It is one of the few to predate the United States Soccer Federation, which was founded in 1913. Between 1909 and 1916 they played in the second Na ...

of the

. In 1914, Brooklyn won the

1914 National Challenge Cup This year saw the beginning of what became known as World War I, after Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria, heir to the Austrian throne was Assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, assassinated by Serbian nationalist Gavrilo Princip. It als ...

with Ford scoring the winning goal in the 87th minute. Later in 1914, Ford signed with

Bethlehem Steel The Bethlehem Steel Corporation was an American steelmaking company headquartered in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. For most of the 20th century, it was one of the world's largest steel producing and shipbuilding companies. At the height of its succe ...

On May 3, 1915, Ford scored in his second consecutive

Challenge Cup final The Challenge Cup of Rugby league was instituted in the 1896–97 Northern Rugby Football Union season, 1896–97 and the final was contested between Batley Bulldogs, Batley and St Helens R.F.C., St. Helens at Headingley Rugby Stadium, Headingley, ...

, as Bethlehem defeated

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 ...

. However, he soon after moved to Jersey City in the New Jersey National League. In the spring of 1916, he went on loan to

New York Clan MacDonald The New York Clan MacDonald were a Scottish American professional soccer club. They spent several seasons in both the National Association Football League and New York State Football Association. History In 1907, Clan MacDonald joined the Nationa ...

. In 1916, he was with Kearny Ryerson, also known as Kearny A.C., when he was called up for the first official U.S. national team games. That fall, he signed with 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 ...

and played with the team until inducted into the

army An army (from Old French ''armee'', itself derived from the Latin verb ''armāre'', meaning "to arm", and related to the Latin noun ''arma'', meaning "arms" or "weapons"), ground force or land force is a fighting force that fights primarily on ...

when the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

entered

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 ...

. After serving with the 29th Division in France. In 1919, he joined Bethlehem for a tour of Scandinavia. In 1920, he joined Erie A.A. of the NAFBL. In 1921, Erie joined the newly established American Soccer League and changed its name to Harrison S.C. In 1923, he moved to the New York Giants, then to the

Newark Skeeters The Newark Skeeters was an American soccer club based in Newark, New Jersey and was a member of the American Soccer League and the Eastern Soccer League. History In December 1924, Tom Adam, former manager of West Hudson A.A., became the manage ...

in 1924. He retired in 1925.

National team

Ford earned his one

with the national team in its first official game, a 3-2 victory over Sweden on August 20, 1916.USA - Details of International Matches 1885-1969

References

External links

Hidden Caps: James Ford
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ford, James 1889 births Year of death missing People from Kearny, New Jersey American men's soccer players American Soccer League (1921–1933) players Brooklyn Field Club players Bethlehem Steel F.C. (1907–1930) players Harrison S.C. players Jersey City (soccer) players Kearny Scots players National Association Football League players New York Giants (soccer) players Newark Skeeters players Soccer players from Hudson County, New Jersey United States men's international soccer players Men's association football forwards