Rutgers Prof Teaches History of Soccer During World Cup Summer

"Soccer's the global game," says Tom McCabe, as he considers the sport's impact on world history, economics and culture. As a Visiting Assistant Professor of History at Rutgers University-Newark, he and 35 students have an opportunity to study the sport together; this year's summer session includes "Topics in Transnational History: History of Soccer." "It's a dream course," explains McCabe, who taught a version of the class at Montclair State University previously, made timely by this summer's World Cup.

Rutgers-Newark is considered the most diverse college campus in the country, according to McCabe. He notes that his students live locally, but represent a number of continents and, not incidentally, several World Cup teams. Student Stephanie G. wrote that a class visit to a social club in Kearny, a soccer stronghold, reminded her of her parents' club, Hoboken's Juventus, established by immigrants from Molfetta, Bari and other small towns in Italy.

McCabe, himself, is New Jersey born and bred. Raised in South Orange, where he still lives, McCabe began playing soccer at age 5. He played Cougar soccer locally and played college soccer at Princeton. "My coach was Bob Bradley," recalls McCabe, "the current head coach of the U.S. Men's National Team. His son, Michael, was a young boy at the time and would always show up to practice." He later earned a Ph.D. in American History from Rutgers University.

McCabe continues to support local soccer, as his daughter now plays Cougar soccer. He describes the family's commitment to the sport as "total immersion." He considers soccer "a great game for kids. You meet the world on the soccer field."

He notes that, for much of the world, soccer is the dominant sport. McCabe and his students are considering the reasons for soccer's success, as well as its impact in many areas of life. A recent class trip, chronicled on McCabe's course website, took students to Passaic Avenue in East Newark, to a site behind the Tops Diner. The paved lot was once Clark Field, a "cradle of American soccer."

Scottish immigrants, many of whom worked at the nearby Clark Thread Company or at Nairn Linoleum, brought the sport with them to New Jersey. The Kearny Scots American Club was established by Scots immigrants, whose reached extended into the Oranges and what became Maplewood. South Orange's Clark Street and East Clark Place were named for the same family of factory owners.

The weeks that follow will see McCabe and his class traveling the area—next stop Sport Clube Português, where the group will watch the Ivory Coast take on Portugal—and pursuing soccer through history. Class topics include "Global Diffusion of the Game," closer looks at Latin America and Africa, soccer in Communist Europe, its role in World War II, and the feminization of the sport. "Faith, Fatima and Futebol: Newark's Ironbound District" will strike just as Portugal and Brazil meet their World Cup matches in mid-June.

Class loyalties are divided when it comes to the World Cup. Student Lisa wrote, "Every four years I put on my Portugal jersey, sing along to the national anthem, cross my fingers, and hope. That's one of the great emotions that comes with the World Cup, the excitement and hope everyone has for their country." Likewise, McCabe has high hopes for the United States team in its Saturday match with England. "This could be our year," he notes. McCabe will be watching several World Cup matches around the area, choosing neighborhood venues whose culture reflects the teams on the field. "That's a great thing about where we live," he explains.

As far as the World Cup winner, McCabe predicts Brazil, which he jokingly describes as "everybody's second team," due to its large and global following. Still, McCabe quotes Sepp Herberger, former manager of West Germany, who once commented, "The ball is round. The game lasts 90 minutes. This much is fact. Everything else is theory.

While the World Cup is—so far—anybody's game, McCabe and his class are learning that soccer itself is everybody's game.

Tom McCabe's history of St. Benedict's Preparatory School, a Catholic prep school in Newark, will be published this fall by Fordham University Press.