Greek-American A.C.
San Francisco's most decorated SFSFL club with two US Open Cups.
Last updated
Greek-American Athletic Club was a semi-professional soccer club from San Francisco, California that played in the San Francisco Soccer Football League. They are the most successful team in the league's history with 16 titles. In its 56-year history, Greek-American AC advanced to the US Open Cup Final three times, winning in 1985 and 1994. The club first reached the Open Cup Quarterfinals in 1963 and over the next three decades would finish with 12 Round of 8 appearances, which remains tied for the third-most in the tournament's history.
History
The team was founded in 1949 by brothers Jim and John Rally. Initially under the Greek Orthodox Church of Annunciation, it entered the Alliance (Reserve) Division of the SFSFL as 'Pan-Hellenes', recording five wins and twenty-three losses over two seasons. Becoming independent, it was admitted to the Second Division for the 1950–51 season under the auspices of the Greek-American Youth Club and renamed Greek-Americans. Within two years, the team won the Second Division championship and promotion, led by recent Cyprus arrival Mike Nicolas, who scored 43 goals in 14 league games.
The following season, the inexperienced side finished last in the First Division and was demoted. After contending in the Second Division for two seasons, they won the title again in the 1957–58 season in a play-off against the SSF Scots. Their second top-division stint ended with a seventh-place finish and a relegation play-off loss to Club Peru.
Did You Know?
- Mike Nicolas scored 43 goals in 14 league games to lead the team to promotion in 1952.
- The club won its third Second Division championship in 1960–61 without suffering a single defeat.
- Between 1986 and 1989, the Greeks were undefeated in 55 consecutive games.
- The 1997 fire destroyed much of the club's memorabilia and trophies.
- Co-founder Jim Rally died in 2015 at age 85; John Rally died in 2019 at age 90.
More in Diaspora Soccer Clubs in the United States
Sources
Compiled from Wikipedia and the sources listed below. Text from Wikipedia is available under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is adapted from it.
- Wikipedia: Greek-American A.C. (CC BY-SA 4.0).
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