The first Philadelphia Ukrainians team, also known as the "Philadelphia Tridents", Tryzub FC (Ukrainian Sports Association Philadelphia Tridents, in uk, УСО (Український Спортовий Осередок) «Тризуб» (Філадельфія). USO (Ukrainsky Sportovy Oseredok) «Tryzub» (Philadelphia)), was 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
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...
and was a member of the
American Soccer League. The Ukrainian Nationals were six (6) time American Soccer League Champions: in 1960-61, 1961–62, 1962–63, 1963–64, 1967–68 and 1970. The team's colors are red and black. The Philadelphia Ukrainian Nationals were the first team in United States history to have home games televised, and played in the first regulation indoor soccer game in Atlantic City's Convention Center in New Jersey.
Throughout its history the Philadelphia Ukrainian Nationals have hosted international friendly matches with teams such as
Manchester United F.C.
Manchester United Football Club, commonly referred to as Man United (often stylised as Man Utd), or simply United, is a professional football club based in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, England. The club competes in the Premier League, ...
,
Austria Wien
Fußballklub Austria Wien AG (; known in English as Austria Vienna, and usually shortened to Austria (German: Österreich) in German-speaking countries, is an Austrian association football club from the capital city of Vienna. It has won the mos ...
,
VfB Stuttgart
Verein für Bewegungsspiele Stuttgart 1893 e. V., commonly known as VfB Stuttgart (), is a German sports club based in Stuttgart, Baden-Württemberg. The club's football team is currently part of Germany's first division, the Bundesliga. VfB Stu ...
,
Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C.
Wolverhampton Wanderers Football Club (), commonly known as Wolves, is a professional football club based in Wolverhampton, England, which compete in the . The club has played at Molineux Stadium since moving from Dudley Road in 1889. The club's ...
,
Eintracht Frankfurt
Eintracht Frankfurt e.V. () is a professional sports club based in Frankfurt, Hesse, Germany. It is best known for its football club, which was founded on 8 March 1899. The team is currently playing in the Bundesliga, the top tier of the Germa ...
,
Manchester City F.C.
Manchester City Football Club are an England, English association football, football club based in Manchester that competes in the Premier League, the English football league system, top flight of Football in England, English football. Fo ...
,
Dundee F.C.
Dundee Football Club is a professional football club based in the city of Dundee, Scotland, founded in 1893. The team are nicknamed "The Dark Blues" or "The Dee". The club plays its home matches at Dens Park.
The club was formed after a merg ...
and
Nottingham Forest F.C.
Nottingham Forest Football Club is an association football club based in West Bridgford, Nottinghamshire, England. Nottingham Forest was founded in 1865 and have been playing their home games at the City Ground, on the banks of the River Trent ...
History
Philadelphia Ukrainians
The club was suspended by the
USSFA
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 ...
one week into its first professional season, following a complaint by the
Penn State Association.
[Great Philly soccer teams: Ukrainian Nationals]
The Philly Soccer Page. Ed Farnsworth, January 21, 2010. "As the Philadelphia Ukrainians, they first took the field in 1950 and by 1956 had reached the finals of the National Amateur Cup, losing to St. Louis Kutis S.C. The Philadelphia Ukrainians decided to turn pro after that and joined the ASL for the 1957-58 season. For reasons that are at present unknown to me, the Philadelphia Ukrainians were suspended by the United States Soccer Football Association one week into the season. The Ukrainian Nationals were formed in their place, taking part of their name from the by now defunct Philadelphia Nationals."
Year-by-year
Ukrainian Nationals/Philadelphia Ukrainians
The Ukrainian Nationals was 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
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...
that was a member of the
American Soccer League.
After the ''Philadelphia Ukrainians'' was suspended a week into the season, a new Philadelphia franchise, the Ukrainian Nationals, was awarded and took the former Philadelphia Ukrainians' spot in the league.
For the 1964/65 second season, the club joined the "super-league"
Eastern Professional Soccer Conference
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 Li ...
. After the EPSC folded at the end of its only season, the team returned to the ASL.
The club became known as the Philadelphia Ukrainians before the 1968 season.
After the 1970 season, the team moved to the amateur
German American Soccer League
The Cosmopolitan Soccer League is a regional soccer league consisting of semi-pro and amateur teams based in and around New York City. Established in 1923, it is one of the oldest soccer leagues in the United States and has contributed greatly ...
.
The club completed the "double" in 1961 and 1963, winning the league and 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 ...
. The club also won the league cup (the
Lewis Cup The Lewis Cup was an American soccer trophy established in 1914 as the championship trophy for the amateur Blue Mountain League, which was composed of clubs from the Lehigh Valley region of northeastern Pennsylvania. It was later awarded to the win ...
) in 1959 and were runners-up in 1958 and 1963.
Year-by-year
[USA - American Soccer League II](_blank)
/ref>
Honors
* American Soccer League Champion: 6
::1960-61, 1961-62, 1962-63, 1963-64, 1967-68, 1970
* National Challenge Cup Winner: 4
::1959-60, 1960-61, 1962-63, 1965-66
* CONCACAF Champions' Cup Quarterfinals: 1
::1967Copa de Campeones CONCACAF 1967
/ref>
*Philadelphia Soccer League Champion: 1
::1955-56
References
;Notes
External links
Футбол - Українська футбольна діаспора
History of the Philadelphia Ukrainian Nationals at their 60th anniversary - "America" news article
Historical standings of the Cosmopolitan Soccer League (German-American Football Association)
{{USSoccer
Ukrainians
Ukrainians ( uk, Українці, Ukraintsi, ) are an East Slavs, East Slavic ethnic group native to Ukraine. They are the seventh-largest nation in Europe. The native language of the Ukrainians is Ukrainian language, Ukrainian. The majority ...
German-American Soccer League
American Soccer League (1933–1983) teams
Ukrainian association football clubs outside Ukraine
U.S. clubs in CONCACAF Champions' Cup
Ukrainian-American culture in Philadelphia
Association football clubs established in 1950
1950 establishments in Pennsylvania
Diaspora soccer clubs in the United States
U.S. Open Cup winners