Thomas W. Cahill (December 25, 1864 - September 29, 1951) was an Irish American athlete, coach and businessman who was one of the founding fathers of soccer in the United States.[1]
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Thomas Cahill was born in New York City, but moved to St. Louis, Missouri in 1871. He attended St. Louis University and built a reputation as one of the pre-eminent amateur athletes in the country. Originally favoring running and baseball, he became interested in soccer after witnessing a game involving a team visiting from Toronto.
Cahill returned to the East Coast and settled in Newark, New Jersey in 1910. It was there that he decided to establish a national governing body for soccer. He traveled to Stockholm in 1912 to attend the FIFA annual congress with the intention of gaining recognition for the American Amateur Football Association, a group he co-founded. This attempt failed, though he ultimately achieved his goal when he formed the United States Football Association,[2][3] which would later become the United States Soccer Federation. He served three separate terms as the Executive Secretary of the USFA; 1913-1921, 1923-1924 and a final term in 1928.[4] In 1921 Cahill was instrumental in forming the American Soccer League, which was the first serious attempt to establish a professional league in the United States. He served as the organization's secretary in its early years.
In 1916 he became the first coach of the United States men's national soccer team, taking a team for a tour of Scandinavia.
Cahill was enshrined in the National Soccer Hall of Fame in 1950. He died the next year in South Orange, New Jersey.
| Preceded by N/A |
U.S. men's
national soccer team head coach 1916-1924 |
Succeeded by George Burford |
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   | NSHOF Bio - National Soccer Hall of Fame: Page Not Found |
| | NSHOF Bio - Thomas Cahill - Class of 1950 |
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