Peter J. Peel (1866 – May 3, 1960) was a two-time president of the

United States Football Association The United States Soccer Federation (USSF), commonly referred to as U.S. Soccer, is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization and the official governing body of soccer in the United States. It is a full member of FIFA and governs American soccer at ...

. He also coached the U.S. Olympic team at the

1924 Summer Olympics The 1924 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the VIII Olympiad () and officially branded as Paris 1924, were an international multi-sport event held in Paris, France. The opening ceremony was held on 5 July, but some competitions had al ...

and founded the

Peel Cup The Peter J. Peel Challenge Cup, better known as the Peel Cup, was an open soccer competition that crowned the Illinois state champion until it was replaced by the Illinois Governor’s Cup in 1971. History Origins Peter Peel was born in 1866 in ...

. He was elected as a builder to the U.S.

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 ...

in 1951. Peel was born in

Dublin, Ireland Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...

and grew up in Ireland, but in 1893 traveled to the United States to visit the Chicago World’s Fair. He remained in Chicago. Peel became an integral part of Chicago's athletic scene. In 1909, he established the

, an annual cup competition to crown the

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...

state champion. Peel intended this cup to have two purposes, one was to promote a high level of competition and also to raise money for a player benefit fund. The Peel Cup the longest running U.S. soccer cup until superseded in 1970 by the Illinois Governor’s Cup. Three years later, he established the Peel Shield which was awarded to the

Cook County, Illinois Cook County is the List of counties in Illinois, most populous county in the U.S. state of Illinois and the List of the most populous counties in the United States, second-most-populous county in the United States, after Los Angeles County, C ...

high school championship. In 1916, the Illinois State Soccer Football Association was formed, and Peter Peel was elected its first president.

U.S. Soccer

A year later, he was elected as the president of the

. At the time, the term of office was limited to one year. Peel was re-elected in 1918 for a second term. Peel was elected for a third time in 1923, narrowly defeating Thomas Cahill. In one of the more odd incidents in U.S. soccer administrative history, Peel terminated Cahill, who was the association’s first vice president, accusing Cahill of attacking him with a knife. According to Cahill, he was using a knife to peel a plug of tobacco when Peel became aggressive toward him. During this term in office, Peel oversaw the entry of the first official U.S. team to enter the Olympics. In 1924, Peel chose not to stand for re-election and declared bankruptcy soon after. However, he remained active in soccer affairs, primarily in Chicago, but also to a limited extent on the national level until his death in Chicago.

References

External links

National Soccer Hall of Fame
{{DEFAULTSORT:Peel, Peter 1866 births 1960 deaths Irish emigrants to the United States National Soccer Hall of Fame members Presidents of the United States Soccer Federation