[Ads-l] Earlier U.S. Citation for "Soccer" / "Socker"

[Shapiro, Fred]

Here is an earlier U.S. citation for "socker":

1894 Kansas City Times 7 Jan. 7/5 (Newspapers.com)  In England the Rugby game is known as the "Rugger" and the association game as the "Socker."

Fred Shapiro

________________________________
From: Shapiro, Fred <fred.shapiro at yale.edu>
Sent: Friday, June 19, 2026 4:59 PM
To: American Dialect Society <ads-l at listserv.uga.edu>
Subject: Earliest U.S. Citation for "Soccer" / "Socker"

The word "soccer" is usually thought of as an Americanism, but it actually originated in England.  The earliest known usage, discovered by me in 2021, is from an English school newspaper (Marlburian, Nov. 25, 1885).  Today I became curious about what was the earliest U.S. use.  In some cursory research, this is the oldest I have found:

1896 Rochester Democrat and Chronicle 27 June 19/3 (Newspapers.com)  A determined effort is being made to introduce the scientific and healthful association foot-ball game into Western New York. ... The most admirable characteristic of the "Socker" game is its complete freedom from that element of roughness which does so much to mar all exhibitions of the Inter-Collegiate and Rugby games.

Fred Shapiro

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