Soccer in Oneonta was practically nonexistent until the 1950s. Rural schools in the region played the game because it was inexpensive and, in many cases, because the schools could not field six- or eleven-man football teams. The first organized soccer team began in 1955 at what was then called Oneonta State Teachers College, today's State University of New York College at Oneonta, and a year later, a team formed at Hartwick College. Both teams improved their skills in the 1960s and 1970s, and eventually the town was home to national champions from both schools. Interest spread to Oneonta High School, and youth soccer leagues became tremendously popular. Soccer in Oneonta depicts the teams, the players, the sport, and how this city in the northern Catskills got its nickname, "Soccertown, USA."

In 1936, the Baseball Hall of Fame was established to honor the legends of the sport. The first inductees were some of the greatest names of the dugout, including Ty Cobb and Babe Ruth. Less than ten years later, in 1945, the Hockey Hall of Fame inducted its first members. The Soccer Hall of Fame was established in 1950, followed by the Basketball Hall of Fame in 1959, and the Football Hall of Fame in 1963. In all, more than 1,400 inductees—players, teams, and behind the scenes personnel—have been enshrined in these five halls of fame. The Sports Hall of Fame Encyclopedia is a comprehensive listing of each inductee elected into one or more of these major sports halls of fame. From Hank Aaron to Fred Zollner, this book contains biographical information, sport and position(s) played, and career statistics (when applicable) of each of the more than 1,400 honorees. The book also includes specific appendixes for each shrine, in which inductees are listed alphabetically and by year of induction. Also included are appendixes briefly describing the history of each hall of fame.

The National Soccer Hall of Fame was formally organized in Oneonta, New York in 1980. Since that time the organization has actively collected documentary and three-dimensional objects related to the history of soccer in the United States.

With the explosive growth of youth soccer and overwhelming interest in U.S. professional leagues, Americans from coast to coast are eager to learn more about soccer. This easy-to-read guide, filled with illustrations and action photographs, contains everything for the fan and non-fan alike to understand and enjoy the sport of soccer.

It was the " American Menace" according to the Scottish and English newspapers of the 1920s. The best players in the Scottish leagues were being drawn to American companies that offered good jobs in return for playing on the company soccer team. The resulting squads, many of them ethnic, beat the best teams in the world at that time. This period from 1921 to 1931 were the "Golden Years of American Soccer." With the skyrocketing economic prosperity of the United States and its corollary flood of new immigrants to America's shores, came interest in soccer as a new form of sports entertainment. It grew rapidly around Northeastern industrial towns like Fall River, Massachusetts, and Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. As with the popular North American Soccer League of the 1970s and 80s and its imported stars like Pele, the American Soccer League of the 1920s bid for the best soccer players in the world, creating a competitive, fertile environment for the growth of soccer. Unfortunately, few detailed records remain about these great teams and players. League records were lost after W.W. II and newspaper coverage was concentrated in smaller cities. Many of the League's heretofore unknown players possess no first name in print, and the unfortunate losers of matches and league championship games often went unreported altogether. During the later, tougher years of the Depression, many of the foreign players hunkered down in jobs or returned to their native countries. The disbanded American Soccer League was revived under the same name but very different circumstances in 1933, but never reached the same level of skill as during the 1920s. American Soccer League 1921-1931 is the result of Colin Jose's tireless determination to provide accurate history of soccer's evolution in the United States. Soccer was one of the most popular sports in the United States during the 1920s, often drawing huge crowds in relatively small towns to see the world's best players compete. Documented through thousands of newspaper clipp

This book is a "handbook of the Cooperstown viciniy, offering three-dimensional insights to restaurants, accommodations, attractions, baseball celebrities, local farmers and food purveyors. All are paired with a favorite recipe using New York ingredients" - p. [vii].