Johnny Jaap

Johnny Jaap (August 12, 1895 – May 1974) was a Scottish-U.S. soccer inside right. He played seven seasons in the American Soccer League and one with Hearts. He is a member of the National Soccer Hall of Fame.

Johnny Jaap
Personal information
Full name John Jaap
Date of birth (1895-08-12)August 12, 1895
Place of birth Bellshill, Scotland
Date of death May 1, 1974(1974-05-01) (aged 78)
Place of death Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA
Position(s) Inside Right
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
Castle Shannon
Arden
Vestaburg
Jeannette
1921–1922 Philadelphia Field Club 7 (1)
1925–1930 Bethlehem Steel 115 (43)
1930–1931 Heart of Midlothian
1931 Newark Americans 10 (4)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only

Jaap was born in Bellshill, Scotland, and moved to the United States with his family when he was a child. His family settled in Pittsburgh where he grew up playing soccer from a young age. He began his career in 1912 with a series of amateur and semi-professional teams in the Pittsburgh area. In 1921, he moved to Philadelphia Field Club of the first division American Soccer League. His first game came on February 13, 1922, a 5-2 victory over the Fall River Marksmen.[1] Jaap played seven games with Philadelphia, but returned to the minor leagues for several years. In September 1925, Bethlehem Steel signed Jaap.[2] Jaap remained with Bethlehem until it folded in 1930. During that time, Jaap won four league titles with Philadelphia/Bethlehem and the 1926 National Challenge Cup. In the Challenge Cup, a 7-2 win over St. Louis Scullin Steel F.C., Jaap scored one of the Bethlehem goals.[3] After Bethlehem Steel folded, Jaap moved to Scotland for one season with Hearts. He was back in the United States with the Newark Americans for one season.

After retiring from playing, Jaap became a youth coach. He was inducted into the National Soccer Hall of Fame in 1953.[4]

Japp died in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, aged 78.

References
  1. February 13, 1922 The Globe
  2. September 15, 1925 The Globe
  3. U.S. Open Cup in RSSSF Archived 2010-12-24 at WebCite
  4. Members in the National Soccer Hall of Fame Archived 2012-05-09 at the Wayback Machine
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.