# 1931 American Soccer League

Statistics of American Soccer League in season 1931.

## Overview

At the start of this season the American Soccer League was in decline, suffering from the effects of the Great Depression. Clubs had begun to fold, merge and disappear. The eventual champions, New Bedford Whalers, had been formed by Sam Mark following the merger of Fall River F.C. and New York Yankees. Long time ASL members Brooklyn Wanderers folded before the season. However New York Americans, later to become a perennial contender in the second ASL, made their debut.
The season began on February 29, 1931. The first half ended on May 31, 1931. The second half began September 19, 1931, and the season concluded on December 27, 1931. The season saw strong performances by New Bedford Whalers, New York Giants and a resurgent Pawtucket Rangers. Hakoah All-Stars improved markedly to take fourth place. Although the Whalers won this season, they lost the playoff series for the overall 1931 champion, being defeated by Spring 1931 champions New York Giants in a play-off. Whalers took the first game at home 8-3 before the Giants came back to win 6-0, taking the series on a 9-8 aggregate score.

## League standings

* The percentage is a percentage of points won to points available, not a win-lose percentage.

### First half

| Place | Team | GP | W | D | L | GF | GA | PTS | PCT |
| 1 | New York Giants | 17 | 10 | 2 | 5 | 42 | 28 | 22 | .647 |
| 2 | Brooklyn Wanderers | 16 | 9 | 2 | 5 | 32 | 27 | 20 | .625 |
| 3 | New York Yankees | 17 | 9 | 3 | 5 | 40 | 27 | 21 | .619 |
| 4 | Pawtucket Rangers | 18 | 9 | 3 | 6 | 47 | 33 | 21 | .583 |
| 5 | Fall River | 16 | 8 | 2 | 6 | 28 | 25 | 18 | .558 |
| 6 | Hakoah All-Stars | 17 | 5 | 2 | 10 | 25 | 41 | 12 | .353 |
| 7 | Newark Americans | 13 | 4 | 1 | 8 | 18 | 29 | 9 | .346 |
| 8 | New Bedford Whalers | 11 | 3 | 2 | 6 | 18 | 22 | 9 | .346 |
| 9 | Boston Bears | 7 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 10 | 30 | 2 | .143 |
* ↑ In late April 1931, the New Bedford Whalers merged with Fall River F.C. The combined team continued under the Fall River name.
* ↑ Following an April 19, 1931, game with Fall River, the New Bedford Whalers merged with Fall River.
* ↑ The Bears withdrew from the league in early April 1931, having lost six of their seven games. They re-entered the league for the fall half.

### Second half

| Place | Team | GP | W | D | L | GF | GA | PTS | PCT |
| 1 | New Bedford Whalers | 21 | 14 | 2 | 5 | 60 | 32 | 30 | .714 |
| 2 | New York Giants | 20 | 11 | 4 | 5 | 54 | 38 | 26 | .650 |
| 3 | Pawtucket Rangers | 20 | 13 | 0 | 7 | 58 | 42 | 26 | .650 |
| 4 | Hakoah All-Stars | 21 | 11 | 4 | 6 | 44 | 34 | 26 | .615 |
| 5 | Boston Bears | 19 | 4 | 3 | 12 | 34 | 50 | 11 | .289 |
| 6 | New York Americans | 20 | 3 | 3 | 14 | 32 | 69 | 9 | .225 |
| 7 | Newark Americans | 11 | 1 | 2 | 8 | 16 | 39 | 4 | .183 |
* ↑ During the mid-season break, Fall River F.C. failed. The New York Yankees then moved to New Bedford, obtained the rights to the name and players of both Fall River F.C. and the New Bedford Whalers. The Yankees then changed their name to the New Bedford Whalers.
* ↑ The Bears had withdrawn from the league during the first half of the season, but re-entered for the second half.
* ↑ The Americans were a new team that entered the league during the mid-season break.

## Playoff

| Team 1 | Aggregate | Team 2 | First leg | Second leg | Attendance |
| New York Giants | 9–8 | New Bedford Whalers | 3–8 | 6–0 | January 1 • Battery Park • ??? January 3 • Polo Grounds • 4,000 |

### Second leg

New York Giants won, 9–8, on aggregate.

## Top goalscorers

| Rank | Scorer | Club | GP | G |
| 1 | Bob McIntyre | Pawtucket Rangers | 34 | 38 |
| 2 | Bert Patenaude | New York Yankees New York Giants | 31 | 33 |
| 3 | Willie Crilley | Fall River F.C. Brooklyn Wanderers Newark Americans | 22 | 23 |
| 4 | Tommy Florie | New Bedford Whalers Fall River F.C. | 36 | 22 |
| 5 | Werner Nilsen | New York Yankees New Bedford Whalers | 29 | 21 |
| 6 | Billy Gonsalves | New York Yankees New Bedford Whalers | 36 | 20 |
| 7 | Davey Brown | New York Giants | 30 | 18 |
| 7 | Rudolph Nikolsberger | Hakoah All-Stars | 35 | 18 |
| 9 | Bill Paterson | Brooklyn Wanderers Fall River F.C. | 30 | 16 |
| 10 | Jimmy McAuley | Pawtucket Rangers | 35 | 15 |
| 10 | Moritz Häusler | Hakoah All-Stars | 38 | 15 |
| 11 | Nib Hogg | Fall River F.C. Pawtucket Rangers | 27 | 14 |
| 12 | Tec White | New York Yankees New Bedford Whalers | 38 | 13 |
| 13 | Arthur Scott | Pawtucket Rangers | 35 | 12 |
| 14 | George Moorhouse | New York Yankees Newark Americans | 31 | 11 |
| 14 | Bart McGhee | New York Giants | 32 | 11 |
| 16 | Herbert Carlsson | New York Giants | 34 | 10 |