James J. Gallagher (June 7, 1901 – October 7, 1971) was a

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right wing

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who spent eleven seasons in the American Soccer League. He was a member of the U.S. soccer teams at the

1930 FIFA World Cup The 1930 FIFA World Cup was the inaugural FIFA World Cup, the world championship for List of men's national association football teams, men's national Association football, football teams. It took place in Uruguay from 13 to 30 July 1930. FIFA, ...

and

1934 FIFA World Cup The 1934 FIFA World Cup was the 2nd edition of the FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international Association football, football championship for List of men's national association football teams, senior men's national teams. It took place in Kin ...

. Gallagher was inducted into the

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in 1986.

Youth

Gallagher moved to the U.S. with his mother when he was twelve, settling in

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. When he was seventeen, he signed with Tebo Yacht Basin F.C. of the New York State League. In 1920, Tebo lost to Brooklyn Robins Dry Dock in the third round of the

National Challenge Cup The Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup, commonly known as the U.S. Open Cup (USOC), is a knockout cup competition in men's soccer in the United States. It is the country's oldest ongoing national soccer competition. The competition was first held duri ...

. However, the team won the 1920-1921 league and league cup titles.

Professional career

In 1921, Gallagher, and teammate Albert Mitchell, moved to

J&P Coats J. & P. Coats was an American soccer club founded in 1900 as the team of the Pawtucket, Rhode Island branch of the J. & P. Coats threadmaking company of Paisley, Scotland (following a 1952 merger this firm became part of the Coats Group Coats ...

of the newly formed American Soccer League (ASL), spending two seasons with the team. J&P Coats won the 1922-1923 league title but lost in the semifinals of the 1923

to eventual winner Paterson F.C. Jimmy Gallagher

In 1923, Gallagher began the 1923–1924 season with Fall River F.C. but moved to the

New York Giants The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Giants compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. The ...

after only two games. In the summer of 1924, he moved to Fleisher Yarn. After one season, he transferred to Indiana Flooring, a new team to the league which played in the

area. In 1927, Charles Stoneham, bought Indiana Flooring and changed the team's name to the New York Nationals. After three season under that name, Stoneham changed it again, this time to the

in 1930. However, while still using the moniker "Nationals", the team won both the ASL league and cup (Lewis Cup) titles. As the Giants, the team won the 1931-1932 ASL championship. By that time, the league was collapsing. The Giants lasted through the spring 1932 season before folding. It appears that at that time, Gallagher moved to the New York Field Club. He then played for Malta United on Long Island through at least December 1933. He then moved west to sign with Cleveland Slavia. He remained with them through at least 1934 as he was listed with Slavia on the 1934 World Cup roster. At some point, he moved to Cleveland Graphite Bronze where he finished his career. When Gallagher left the ASL to move to Cleveland, he had played a total of 346 regular and post season games. That was third on the U.S. list until Chris Henderson passed him in 2006.

National team

Gallagher earned five

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with the United States national team. He played in all three U.S. games at the

as the U.S. made it to the semifinals. He also played a friendly with

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following the cup. His last game with the national team came in the U.S. victory over

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on May 24, 1934, which qualified the U.S. for the

finals. He is often confused with another Jimmy Gallagher, who played for the U.S. at the 1928 Olympics in Amsterdam.

Personal

In 1937 Gallagher married Marie Coughlin. They went on to have two daughters, Rita Gallager (Weber) and Carol Gallagher (Such). He has 11 grandchildren, 23 great-grandchildren, and 5 great-great-grandchildren. Gallagher was inducted into the