Francis J. “Hun” Ryan (January 10, 1908, 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 ...

– October 14, 1977, in

) was an American soccer

midfielder A midfielder is an outfield position in association football. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...

. He earned three

caps Caps are flat headgear. Caps or CAPS may also refer to: Science and technology Computing * CESG Assisted Products Service, provided by the U.K. Government Communications Headquarters * Composite Application Platform Suite, by Java Caps, a Ja ...

, scoring one goal, with the U.S. national team between 1928 and 1936. He was also a member of the U.S. teams at the 1928 Summer Olympics, 1936 Summer Olympics, and the

1934 FIFA World Cup The 1934 FIFA World Cup was the second edition of the FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international football championship for senior men's national teams. It took place in Italy from 27 May to 10 June 1934. The 1934 World Cup was the first in w ...

. Ryan was inducted into the National Soccer Hall of Fame in 1958.

Playing career

Ryan grew up in

, where he played soccer with Frankford High School. He also played for the Lighthouse Boys Club team. He maintained his amateur status which led to his selection to the

national team A national sports team (commonly known as a national team or a national side) is a team that represents a nation, rather than a particular club or region, in an international sport. The term is most commonly associated with team sports, for exa ...

at the 1928 Summer Olympics. In 1929, he signed with New York Galicia. After one season, he moved back to Lighthouse Boys Club. Once again, he spent only one season with Lighthouse before moving to the

Philadelphia German-Americans Philadelphia German-American was an American soccer club based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania that was an inaugural member of the professional American Soccer League. Before the 1941/42 season the club became known as the Philadelphia Americans. ...

in 1931. He continued with the team until at least 1936. In 1933, Philadelphia joined the American Soccer League (ASL). The German-Americans won the 1934-1935 ASL championship and the 1936 National Challenge Cup. Ryan served with the Custer Division in the U.S. Army from 1942 to 1945. Upon is return to Philadelphia, he played with the Philadelphia Nationals, leading the team to the ASL Lewis Cup in 1948-49 and 1951–52. Ryan also played with the Pennsylvania All Stars in May 1931 against Glasgow Celtic during the Scottish team's first North American tour.

National team

Ryan earned his first

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 ...

on May 28, 1928, in 11–2 loss to

Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...

at the 1928 Summer Olympics. Scored ten days later in a 3–3 tie with

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populou ...

Warsaw Warsaw ( pl, Warszawa, ), officially the Capital City of Warsaw,, abbreviation: ''m.st. Warszawa'' is the capital and largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the River Vistula in east-central Poland, and its population is officia ...

. He did not play for the U.S. again until the

when he was part of the 7–1 loss to

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

. He finished out his national team career at the 1936 Summer Olympics.FIFA Tournament Records
/ref> In 1958, Ryan was inducted into the National Soccer Hall of Fame.

References

External links

Soccer Hall of Fame bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ryan, Francis 1908 births 1977 deaths United States men's international soccer players Olympic soccer players for the United States Footballers at the 1928 Summer Olympics Footballers at the 1936 Summer Olympics 1934 FIFA World Cup players Lighthouse Boys Club players American Soccer League (1933–1983) players Uhrik Truckers players National Soccer Hall of Fame members Soccer players from Philadelphia American men's soccer players Men's association football forwards Men's association football midfielders