Andy Auld

Auld began his organized soccer career with Scottish club Stevenston F.C. in 1911, when he was eleven years old. He stayed with the club until he entered the military. His service continued through World War I until Auld was discharged in 1919. When he left the military, he joined Ardeer Thistle in 1919. He remained with the club for three years, until he moved to Glasgow club Parkhead in 1921. In 1923, he immigrated to the United States to live in Gillespie, Illinois. Life in the U.S. did not suit Auld and he decided to return to Scotland; however, he stopped en route to visit his sister who lived in Niagara Falls, New York. While there, he played a game of pick-up soccer with the Niagara Falls MacKenzies, playing with his brother. During the game, a scout for the Providence Clam Diggers of the American Soccer League (ASL) saw him and after the game convinced Auld to sign with the Diggers. At the time, the ASL was one of the highest paying and most competitive soccer leagues in the world. Team owners used these qualities to draw many of the top European, especially English and Scottish, players to the U.S.