Jim Purvis
Encyclopedia
Jim Purvis was a former Scottish football inside forward
who played professionally in the American Soccer League
.
Purvis played for several youth teams, but never played professionally in Scotland before moving the United States and settling in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
. In 1922, he joined Fleisher Yarn
which played in the Allied Amateur League of Philadelphia. Fleisher moved up to the American Soccer League
in 1924 and Purvis scored seventeen goals in thirty-five league games and another two goals in two league cup games. On July 29, 1925, Purvis signed with Bethlehem Steel F.C.
Purvis scored twenty-one goals in twenty-two games before suffering a season ending ankle injury in April l926. Bethlehem sent him to Indiana Flooring
at the end of the season. He played one season with Indiana before moving to the New York Nationals for the 1927-1928 season. He moved again, beginning the 1928-1929 season with Philadelphia F.C. and finishing it with the Brooklyn Wanderers
. He moved to the Bridgeport Bears in the fall of 1929, but when the team experienced significant financial difficulties with the onset of the Great Depression
, the team merged with Philadelphia where Purvis finished his professional career.
In August 1935, Philadelphia United German-Hungarians
hired Purvis to manage the team.
Inside forward
In football, the position of inside forward was popularly used in the late nineteenth and first half of the 20th centuries. The inside forwards would support the centre forwards, running and making space in the opposition defence, and, as the passing game developed, supporting him with passes...
who played professionally in the American Soccer League
American Soccer League
The American Soccer League has been a name used by three different professional soccer leagues in the United States. The first American Soccer League was established in 1921 by the merger of teams from the National Association Football League and the Southern New England Soccer League. For...
.
Purvis played for several youth teams, but never played professionally in Scotland before moving the United States and settling in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Philadelphia is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Philadelphia County, with which it is coterminous. The city is located in the Northeastern United States along the Delaware and Schuylkill rivers. It is the fifth-most-populous city in the United States,...
. In 1922, he joined Fleisher Yarn
Fleisher Yarn
Fleisher Yarn began as an amateur company soccer club of the SB & BW Fleisher Manufacturing Company in Philadelphia and quickly became a national amateur soccer power...
which played in the Allied Amateur League of Philadelphia. Fleisher moved up to the American Soccer League
American Soccer League
The American Soccer League has been a name used by three different professional soccer leagues in the United States. The first American Soccer League was established in 1921 by the merger of teams from the National Association Football League and the Southern New England Soccer League. For...
in 1924 and Purvis scored seventeen goals in thirty-five league games and another two goals in two league cup games. On July 29, 1925, Purvis signed with Bethlehem Steel F.C.
Bethlehem Steel F.C.
Bethlehem Steel Football Club was one of the most successful early American soccer clubs. Known as the Bethlehem Football Club from 1911 until 1915 when it became the Bethlehem Steel Football Club, the team was sponsored by the Bethlehem Steel corporation and played their home games first at East...
Purvis scored twenty-one goals in twenty-two games before suffering a season ending ankle injury in April l926. Bethlehem sent him to Indiana Flooring
Indiana Flooring
Indiana Flooring were a New York soccer team that played in the American Soccer League between 1924 and 1927. They replaced New York Field Club. Before joining the ASL, the team had played in various state leagues....
at the end of the season. He played one season with Indiana before moving to the New York Nationals for the 1927-1928 season. He moved again, beginning the 1928-1929 season with Philadelphia F.C. and finishing it with the Brooklyn Wanderers
Brooklyn Wanderers
The Brooklyn Wanderers was a U.S. soccer team which was a founding member of the National Association Football League in the late nineteenth century. It later joined the American Soccer League.-History:...
. He moved to the Bridgeport Bears in the fall of 1929, but when the team experienced significant financial difficulties with the onset of the Great Depression
Great Depression
The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression in the decade preceding World War II. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, but in most countries it started in about 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s or early 1940s...
, the team merged with Philadelphia where Purvis finished his professional career.
In August 1935, Philadelphia United German-Hungarians
Philadelphia United German-Hungarians
-Flag:The current flag of the German Hungarians was purchased and blessed, in 1994. It was purchased from a company in Germany and created according to the specifications of the club. Emily Fricker served as "Fahnenmutter" for the flag.-Design:...
hired Purvis to manage the team.