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 His
mother brought him to the United States when he was quite young, grew up in
Harlem and began playing soccer in the streets when he was nine.
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Personal Information |
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Class of 1971 |
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Born:
October 5, 1890
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Amsterdam, Holland |
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Died:
April 21, 1989
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Tucson, AZ |
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He left school at 13 and worked as an office clerk studying
languages at evening classes. At 15 he organized his first team, Concordia,
and at 16 received his first assignment as a referee. Moving back to
Amsterdam at 19, with his mother, he became a steamship clerk with the
Holland Steamship Company. Steelink returned to the United States in 1912,
landing in Seattle, then moved on to Spokane, San Francisco, and on February
7, 1914, to Los Angeles. There he was instrumental in forming the California
Soccer League, contributed to various soccer periodicals and even published
his own, the Cosmopolitan Soccer News.
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