James McGuire (1911 – November 26, 1974) was a two time president of the United States Soccer Football Association. He played professionally in the American Soccer League and the English Football League. He also earned two schoolboy

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 ...

with

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a Anglo-Scottish border, border with England to the southeast ...

and was inducted into the National Soccer Hall of Fame in 1951.

Playing

McGuire was born in

Edinburgh, Scotland Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian on the southern shore of ...

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 The Brooklyn Wanderers was a U.S. soccer team which was a founding member of the National Association Football League in the late nineteenth century. Later versions joined the original American Soccer League and the reorganized American Soccer Le ...

of the American Soccer League. In 1931, Celtic 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 Northampton Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in the town of Northampton, England. The team plays in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1897, the club competed in the Midland ...

of the English Football League. 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 of the second American Soccer League. In 1938, Brooklyn went to the final of the National Challenge Cup, but lost to

Chicago Sparta The Sparta Athletic and Benevolent Association Football Club, better known as Chicago Sparta, is one of the longest continually established soccer clubs in the United States. Founded in 1917, it was one of the dominant teams from Chicago, Illinois, ...

. 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 United States Soccer Football Association (1952–1954 and 1971–1974). In 1974, he was part of the Organizing Committee for the 1974 FIFA World Cup. He died that year, while still president of the USSF. McGuire was inducted into the National Soccer Hall of Fame 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 Hyde Park is a town in Dutchess County, New York, United States, bordering the Hudson River north of Poughkeepsie. Within the town are the hamlets of Hyde Park, East Park, Staatsburg, and Haviland. Hyde Park is known as the hometown of Fran ...

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