Johnny Jaap (August 12, 1895 – May 1, 1974) was a Scottish-American

soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 Football player, players who almost exclusively use their feet to propel a Ball (association football), ball around a rectangular f ...

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 The National Soccer Hall of Fame is a public-private partnership among FC Dallas, the City of Frisco, Frisco Independent School District, and the U.S. Soccer Federation, and currently located in Toyota Stadium (Texas), Toyota Stadium in Frisco, T ...

. Jaap was born in

Bellshill Bellshill (pronounced "Bells hill") is a town in North Lanarkshire in Scotland, southeast of Glasgow city centre and west of Edinburgh. Other nearby localities are Motherwell to the south, Hamilton, South Lanarkshire, Hamilton to the south ...

, Scotland, and moved to the United States with his family when he was a child. His family settled in

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, second-most populous city in Pennsylvania (after Philadelphia) and the List of Un ...

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 Philadelphia Field Club is a name used by four soccer teams based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. All four versions of Philadelphia F.C. competed in the first American Soccer League, but none were in any way related to the other three teams whi ...

of the first division American Soccer League. His first game came on February 13, 1922, a 5–2 victory over the Fall River Jaap played seven games with Philadelphia, but returned to the minor leagues for several years. In September 1925,

Bethlehem Steel The Bethlehem Steel Corporation was an American steelmaking company headquartered in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. Until its closure in 2003, it was one of the world's largest steel-producing and shipbuilding companies. At the height of its success ...

signed Jaap. 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 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 ...

. In the Challenge Cup, a 7–2 win over St. Louis Scullin Steel F.C., Jaap scored one of the Bethlehem goals. 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

in 1953. Japp died in

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, second-most populous city in Pennsylvania (after Philadelphia) and the List of Un ...

, aged 78.

References

External links

Bethlehem Steel profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jaap, Johnny 1895 births 1974 deaths Footballers from Bellshill Castle Shannon SC players Scottish men's footballers British emigrants to the United States Soccer players from Pittsburgh American men's soccer players American Soccer League (1921–1933) players Bethlehem Steel F.C. (1907–1930) players Philadelphia Field Club players Heart of Midlothian F.C. players Newark Americans players National Soccer Hall of Fame members Men's association football forwards 20th-century Scottish sportsmen