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American boys did not begin playing soccer to any extent until the 1960s. Growing up in the 1950s, I never saw boys playing soccer. We all played baseball in the summer and football (American gridiron) in the Fall. Little League baseball was popular and I don't recall ever seeing soccer leagues. This all began changing in the 1960s. American children now play soccer more than baseball and this includes girls. While girls occassionally play baseball, large numbers plat soccer. American boys began to wear soccer shorts for casual and school wear starting in the mid to late 70s. The popularity of soccer appears to have been a factor in making short pants more popular with Ametican boys. American boys in the 1950s and early 60s mostly wire long pants to primary (elementary) school. This began to change at about the same time that soccr began to become popular. Elementary and Junior High (Middle) schoolboys especially liked to wear Addias brand nylon soccer shorts, but would wear the regular cotton ones as well. At the time these were quite short and they stayed that way into the early 90s. In the mid-70s to mid-80s, boys would wear long tube socks with color bands that matched their shorts (and frequently) shirt colors to school. As styles of soccer and other shorts got longer in the late 90s, wearing soccer shorts to school kind of faded out although some die-hard players will still do so. Boys in high school will wear long nylon shorts to school, but these resemble basketball uniforms more than soccer ones. As far as game uniforms go, cotton shorts, mesh-reversible shirts and long tube-style socks have given way to stylish nylon shirts, shorts and turn-over soccer socks. Teams seem to compete at times to see who has the flashiest uniforms. The newer long shorts/baggy shirts remind you of uniforms worn in the 40s and 50s. It's a much sloppier look than the trimmer uniforms of the 70s through 90s. Now, boys would not be caught dead in the shorter shorts of that period. Many boys now see the shorter cut shorts as "girls' shorts". FIFA rules prohibit wearing shirts untucked and socks pushed down which creates a better appearance on the field. After games, boys will wear their soccer shorts with ankle socks or sandals instead of their soccer socks and t-shirts in place of their jerseys.
American boys did not begin playing soccer to any extent until the 1960s. Growing up in the 1950s, I never saw boys playing soccer. We all played baseball in the summer and football (American gridiron) in the Fall. Little League baseball was popular and I don't recall ever seeing soccer leagues. This all began changing in the 1960s. I'm not sure why soccer began to become popular at this time. A HBC reader writes, "I think it was organizations like the American Youth Soccer Organization (AYSO) made a huge effort to make soccer accessible for kids. The North American Soccer League introduced professional soccer to the United States in the late 60s and that helped to some extent. I think that once younger kids got a taste of the game and the saw how that even weaker players could immediately contribute (as opposed to baseball, football, and basketball), the game really caught on. The other thing may have been that soccer wisely chose to be a fall sport (as it is world wide) in the U.S. which gave many more kids a chance to keep playing sports at time of year few had to opportunity to do so. Lastly, uniforms and equipment were much cheaper to obtain that baseball or football equipment and the fact that boys were starting to casually wear shorts also helped the sport's cause. In fact, soccer may be one of the biggest reason that American boys all over the U.S. became comfortable wearing shorts for play, casual and school wear." American children now play soccer more than baseball and this includes girls.
Soccer was virtually unknown to American boyds in the 1950s. This began to change in the 1960s. Some PE programs included soccer. We also note soccer being played at colleges. My small college in West Virginia during the early 1960s had a soccer team that played other colleges. There was, however, no soccer in the intrmural program. It wasn't until the 1970s, however, that soccer explded. Schools began forming soccoer teams and soccer leagues were formed along the lines of Little League baseball.
While girls occassionally play baseball, large numbers plat soccer. Often boys and girls play together, especiall the younger age groups. Older children more commonly play in separate leagues. The uniforms are the same for both boys and girls.
American boys began to wear soccer shorts for casual and school wear starting in the mid to late 70s. The popularity of soccer appears to have been a factor in making short pants more popular with Ametican boys. Our reader above reaches a similar conclusion. Here we believe that not only soccer, but the increasing popularity of basketball were a major factor in making short pants acceotable to American boys. American boys in the 1950s and early 60s mostly wore long pants to primary (elementary) school. This began to change at about the same time that soccr began to become popular. Elementary and Junior High (Middle) schoolboys especially liked to wear Addias brand nylon soccer shorts, but would wear the regular cotton ones as well. At the time these were quite short and they stayed that way into the early 90s. In the mid-70s to mid-80s, boys would wear long tube socks with color bands that matched their shorts (and frequently) shirt colors to school. As styles of soccer and other shorts got longer in the late 90s, wearing soccer shorts to school kind of faded out although some die-hard players will still do so. Boys in high school will wear long nylon shorts to school, but these resemble basketball uniforms more than soccer ones.
As far as game uniforms go, cotton shorts, mesh-reversible shirts and long tube-style socks have given way to stylish nylon shirts, shorts and turn-over soccer socks. Teams seem to compete at times to see who has the flashiest uniforms. The newer long shorts/baggy shirts remind you of uniforms worn in the 40s and 50s. It's a much sloppier look than the trimmer uniforms of the 70s through 90s. Now, boys would not be caught dead in the shorter shorts of that period. Many boys now see the shorter cut shorts as "girls shorts". FIFA rules prohibit wearing shirts untucked and socks pushed down which creates a better appearance on the field. After games, boys will wear their soccer shorts with ankle socks or sandals instead of their soccer socks and t-shirts in place of their jerseys.
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