In mid-February, I received email from the staff at Oregon Adult Soccer Association.  Anne Braghero, a longtime friend and soccer player, let me know that a woman had left materials she had found in her uncle Eric Nelson's effects while cleaning out his house after his passing.  Becca, the OASA Office Manager, had talked with her and had agreed to take them.  The photos and paper documents were brief snapshots from the Vikings soccer team which had played in the Portland Soccer League beginning in the 1920s. 

I was very excited to see this material. I knew of the team from the Cameron Cup championship lists and news clippings, but I had never seen anything with more detail.  The photo above is a team photo, likely from 1928.  The woman's uncle, Eric Nelson, is standing, second from left. I am struck by the very makeshift appearance of the goal around them.  Also notable is that some of the players have a beverage in hand--some things don't change.  And I wonder if the small item on the ground on the right might be a trophy?  Or just another bottle.  

Another item was a hand drawn 'game program' from Sunday October 7, 1928.  It is entitled Jays Soccer Sheet and pictures  a Viking facing a Scotsman on the cover with "Welcome Vikings" as a title and a subscript reading "worthy foemen".  The Longview Lumber Barons were hosting the Vikings side.

Players and positions on the roster sheet to the left also include captions and comments from the writer.  Two hand drawn ads-one from a jeweler and one from a plumber adorn the inside cover.  The flavor with which it is done reminds me very much of the 'home made' character of my early years in the Portland soccer league.  

Also included in the materials were several Viking Soccer Club membership cards for the year 1929 signed by president Arthur Harold.  I note that his name doesn't appear on the player roster nor are there substitutes listed.  The  Timber Barons were the Cameron Cup winners from the 1925-26 season until the 1928-29 season when they were bested by the German Sport Club for a year.  The Vikings came back to take the cup in 1931-32.  They made their last appearance as Cup winners in 1955-56.

The "season" for the Portland Soccer League appears to have been the one we started with in the late 70s.  September - March with a break over the holidays. Of course, all games were played on grass fields which had little grass by the end of the season. Other notable teams during these years included the Camerons (Judge Cameron's select side), Sellwood ( for whom Hugh Templeton played), Germania, Clan Macleay, Peninsula, National FC, Pacific Dept Store, Portland Scottish.   There were also Rosebuds who may have hailed from Olympia and White Heathers.   

I began to look for material documenting the period of soccer in Portland before the '75 Timbers somewhere back in the 80s.  As a history fan I was sure the game must have been played.  Thus these materials on Eric Nelson and Vikings. 

Silent No More

I have been happily busy for the past few years with playing soccer myself,  working at Leach Botanical Garden, a job I am privileged to have and enjoy, and practicing the art of being a Grampa. Along with many other activities. 

Recently, however, I was contacted by the Oregon Adult Soccer Association staff to let me know that a woman had dropped off ephemeral artifacts from the Vikings Soccer Club which had been active in the sport since the 1920s, a hundred years ago. I was also contacted in regard to the transfer of the Cameron and Bennett trophies to the Oregon Historical Society by the family of Roger Hamilton, a longtime champion of the sport. These two legendary cups in Portland's soccer history had turned up through Roger's efforts in 2010.  I was privileged at the time to meet with him as he had them examined for authenticity by an expert. 

These two events reminded me that the historical part of the game deserves documentation as we march further into the era of MLS and the Portland Timbers.  I dusted off my log-in file and resolved to get back to posting about that distant past.   Excellent and knowledgeable writers are already covering the sport at the professional level and the game is thriving as participation grows in weekly pickup games by the dozen around the city.  (I am a participant in "kickarounds" each week which draw between twenty and forty players most of whom are over the age of 60. 

So here it is--a rejuvenated Sodden Pitch, a virtual square of white space upon which I can write anything I desire.  I promise to stay on topic and hope to provide interest and value for those who believe that institutions need roots and traditions and talismans.  

FC77 Older Nicks - O65 Division 2021