Peter J. Peel (1866 – May 3, 1960) was a three-time president of the

United States Football Association 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 a ...

. He also managed the U.S. Olympic team at the 1924 Summer Olympics and founded the

Peel Cup The Peter J. Peel Challenge Cup, better known as the Peel Cup, was an open soccer competition that crowned the Illinois state champion until it was replaced by the Illinois Governor’s Cup in 1971. History Origins Peter Peel was born in 1866 in ...

. He was elected as a builder to the U.S. National Soccer Hall of Fame in 1951. Peter_Peel_-_May_1923

Peel was born in Dublin, Ireland and grew up in Ireland, but in 1893 traveled to the United States to visit the Chicago World’s Fair. He remained in Chicago. Peel became an integral part of Chicago's athletic scene. In 1909, he established the

, an annual cup competition to crown the

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolitan areas include, Peoria and Rockf ...

state champion. Peel intended this cup to have two purposes, one was to promote a high level of competition and also to raise money for a player benefit fund. The Peel Cup the longest running U.S. soccer cup until superseded in 1970 by the Illinois Governor’s Cup. Three years later, he established the Peel Shield which was awarded to the

Cook County, Illinois Cook County is the most populous county in the U.S. state of Illinois and the second-most-populous county in the United States, after Los Angeles County, California. More than 40% of all residents of Illinois live within Cook County. As of 2 ...

high school championship. In 1916, the Illinois State Soccer Football Association was formed, and Peter Peel was elected its first president.

U.S. Soccer

A year later, he was elected as the president of the

. At the time, the term of office was limited to one year. Peel was re-elected in 1918 for a second term. Peel was elected for a third time in 1923, narrowly defeating

Thomas Cahill Thomas Quinn Cahill (March 29, 1940 – October 18, 2022) was an American scholar and writer. He was best known for ''The Hinges of History'' series, a prospective seven-volume series in which the author recounts formative moments in Western civ ...

. In one of the more odd incidents in U.S. soccer administrative history, Peel terminated Cahill, who was the association’s first vice president, accusing Cahill of attacking him with a knife. According to Cahill, he was using a knife to peel a plug of tobacco when Peel became aggressive towards him. During this term in office, Peel oversaw the entry of the first official U.S. team to enter the Olympics. In 1924, Peel chose not to stand for re-election and declared bankruptcy soon after. However, he remained active in soccer affairs, primarily in Chicago, but also to a limited extent on the national level until his death in Chicago.

References

External links

National Soccer Hall of Fame
{{DEFAULTSORT:Peel, Peter 1866 births 1960 deaths Irish emigrants to the United States (before 1923) National Soccer Hall of Fame members Presidents of the United States Soccer Federation