The Christmas Truce of 2014

Wars have started over soccer -  El Salvador attacked Honduras in July 1969 after beating Honduras in a World Cup qualifier - and wars have stopped for soccer - in 1967 the two factions in the Nigerian civil war agreed to a 48-hour cease-fire so they could watch Pele play in an exhibition in Lagos.

So it should not be a surprise to learn that Germans and English soldiers stopped fighting on Christmas Day 1914 to play soccer.  Or so the legend goes.

The New York Times wrote on December 25, 2014:

"Yet on Dec. 24, much of the Western Front fell silent as ordinary soldiers made temporary peace with the enemy. This was the remarkable Christmas Truce of 1914.

According to several accounts, soccer games were played in no man's land with makeshift balls that Christmas. Lt. Kurt Zehmisch of Germany's 134th Saxons Infantry Regiment witnessed a match.

Eventually the English brought a soccer ball from their trenches, and pretty soon a lively game ensued. How marvelously wonderful, yet how strange it was. The English officers felt the same way about it. Thus Christmas, the celebration of Love, managed to bring mortal enemies together as our friends for a time."

Other historians have questioned whether such a game or a truce actually took place. James Masters in CNN in December 2014 quoted several.  The article noted that regardless of historical accuracy, the English Premier League was celebrating the 100th anniversary of the truce and since 2011 had sponsored a Christmas Truce youth tournament in Belgium.

The consensus seems to be that while there may have been some instances of enemy soldiers kicking a ball around, there was probably not an actual truce between the two armies.  Still, one can only hope that some day all global conflicts will be decided on the soccer pitch (or basketball court or hockey rink or ...) rather than on a battlefield.

Giants Beat Phillies, 5-0 -- In Soccer??

Although he is  not a soccer fan by any means and can at times be sarcastic and caustic, I always like reading Frank Fitzpatrick's columns in the Inquirer.  He is close to my age and often writes (very well I might add) about Philadelphia sports history that I am old enough to remember - to a point.

In today's paper Fitzpatrick writes about the fabled Lighthouse Boys Club in Kensington, home of seven Hall of Famers.   (Fitzpatrick mentions one of the seven, Walt Bahr, but does not say that he assisted on the most famous goal in U.S. Soccer history in a 1-0 upset of England in the 1950 World Cup.)

Having played against and with numerous Lighthouse alumni myself, that aspect of the article was of great interest and will be to anyone who grew up playing in the Philadelphia area.  But what was even more fascinating was the latter half of the column about the American League of Professional Football, founded by Major League baseball owners in 1894.  Most of the seven teams took the names of their baseball counterparts, an exception being the Brooklyn Bridegrooms.

As Fitzpatrick points out, "These owners lacked any useful knowledge of soccer."  As an example, he cites the selection of Phillies baseball manager, Arthur Irwin, a Canadian, as league president.  He was also coach of the soccer Phillies.  And so it was that on October 6, 1894 an estimated 500 fans paid 25 cents each at the Baker Bowl on Broad Street to watch the New York Giants beat the Phillies, 5-0.

The league folded after the Phillies had played nine games - more than any other team.  They finished just above the last place Washington Senators.  Not much better on the soccer pitch than their current day namesake is on the baseball field, the soccer Phillies won two and lost seven, and were outscored 37-15.

The more things change, the more they stay the same.