James McGuire (1911 – November 26, 1974) was a two time president of the

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

. He played professionally in the American Soccer League and the English

Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, the league is the oldest such competition in the world. It was the top-level football league in Engla ...

. He also earned two schoolboy caps with Scotland and was inducted into the

National Soccer Hall of Fame The National Soccer Hall of Fame is a private, non-profit institution established in 1979 and currently located in Toyota Stadium in Frisco, Texas, a suburb of Dallas. The Hall of Fame honors soccer achievements in the United States. Induction ...

in 1951.

Playing

McGuire was born in Edinburgh, Scotland and raised in Scotland where he played twice for the national team as a schoolboy. At some point, he moved to the United States. In 1929, he signed with the Brooklyn Wanderers of the American Soccer League. In 1931,

Celtic Celtic, Celtics or Keltic may refer to: Language and ethnicity *pertaining to Celts, a collection of Indo-European peoples in Europe and Anatolia **Celts (modern) *Celtic languages **Proto-Celtic language * Celtic music *Celtic nations Sports Fo ...

toured North America, playing the Wanderers on June 7, 1931. McGuire impressed them enough for them to sign him before returning to Scotland. McGuire never appeared for their first team and in 1932, he moved to Northampton Town of the English

. McGuire played with Northampton Town until 1936. According to the National Soccer Hall of Fame, McGuire would return to play in the U.S. during the English off-season. When he left Northampton in 1936, McGuire returned to the U.S. for good, signing with

Brooklyn St. Mary's Celtic Brooklyn Celtic was a name used by at least two U.S. association football, 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 ...

of the second American Soccer League. In 1938, Brooklyn went to the final of the

National Challenge 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 ...

, but lost to Chicago Sparta. The next year, they defeated Chicago Manhattan Beer to win the Challenge Cup title. McGuire retired from playing professionally that summer.

Administration

Following his retirement from playing, McGuire became an administrator. In 1947, he became the president of the American Soccer League. He also served as president of the

(1952–1954 and 1971–1974). In 1974, he was part of the Organizing Committee for the

1974 FIFA World Cup The 1974 FIFA World Cup was the tenth FIFA World Cup, a quadrennial football tournament for men's senior national teams, and was played in West Germany (and West Berlin) between 13 June and 7 July. The tournament marked the first time that the ...

. He died that year, while still president of the USSF. McGuire was inducted into the

in 1951. In 1975, the national U-19 cup was named the McGuire Cup in his honor.U.S. Youth Soccer
/ref> He died in Hyde Park, New York.

References

External links

National Soccer Hall of Fame profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mcguire, James 1911 births 1974 deaths Scottish footballers Scottish emigrants to the United States American soccer players American Soccer League (1921–1933) players Brooklyn Wanderers players American Soccer League (1933–1983) players Brooklyn St. Mary's Celtic players Celtic F.C. players Northampton Town F.C. players National Soccer Hall of Fame members Presidents of the United States Soccer Federation Footballers from Edinburgh People from New Hyde Park, New York Association football midfielders Association football defenders Scottish expatriate sportspeople in the United States Expatriate soccer players in the United States Scottish expatriate footballers