93 years ago, Fort Wayne Sport Club in Fort Wayne, Indiana was founded by German immigrants who had previously been playing for teams organized by their employers: General Electric, the Pennsylvania Railroad and International Harvester. On March 18, 1927, “These young men met… at the Männerchor (Men’s Choir) Hall on Main Street, and organized the Club for “the Promotion of Soccer Football and German culture.” In the 1930’s they purchased land in the name of their club and joined the National Soccer League. As with other parts of the country, patterns of immigration changed and in order to continue to exist, the club onboarded players from all sorts of backgrounds, adding Mexican and South American players.

The rich history of Fort Wayne Sport Club cannot be fully expressed in this article, but we’ve included a link at the bottom which takes you to their page to let them tell you more about their “Golden Age” during the 1950’s and how the club managed growth from the 1970’s to 2000’s. To learn more about how the club currently operates, we teamed up with the President of the club, Dan Kruse, and the Director, David Bennett, to answer a few questions for this week’s Under the Lights.

Was your club really founded in 1927!? What is the story and have there ever been times when the club was not operating?
(Dan) Yes, the club was founded March 18, 1927. There was a period from the early 1940’s to about 1951 when activities were drastically curtailed but we have always been “operating”.

What league does 1927 Fort Wayne SC currently play in and what other leagues have you been in? Have you ever been in any iteration of the Open Cup?
(Dan) I think Dave can answer the question better of what league his “First Team” is playing in. The rest of the adult teams (Over 40’s, Over 50’s and Over 60’s) currently play friendlies and tournaments.

(Dave) We play in our local league- FWASL- Fort Wayne Adult Soccer League. 10 years ago, we were part of the original MSL with Dayton Dynamo and FC Indiana. This was the precursor to the PLA and now MWPL. FWSC has competed in Amateur Cup many times but not since approx.. 2000. For the last 6 years we have been testing the waters by playing 4-5 friendlies with NPSL, USL and UPSL teams. Last year,2019, we won the region II Tournament of Champions and went to Baltimore for nationals. (Werner Fricker Cup)

TOC (Tournament of Champions) Winners, Fort Wayne Sports Club

Some clubs sell scarves and kits, some clubs land big sponsors; how do you keep the lights on? How does your membership work?
(Dan) Dave does sell jersey’s and scarves for the First Team. He also finds sponsors. The “Club” funds itself by memberships, fish fries, game nights, an active recreational soccer program that also sponsors three 6 vs 6 tournaments and we have a large Over 40/Over 50/Over 60 tournament in the fall. This year’s tournament attracted 17 teams from Chicago, Indianapolis and Cincinnati. The clubhouse has a wide variety of beers on tap and we also sponsor once a month cultural nights. Because we have first generation members from more than 40 countries groups of countries will serve food from the native country. Finally, we are one of four local German clubs that sponsor the local Germanfest.

What's your most proud moment as an organization? Have you ever played a "big" team or against a player or coach who might have moved on to a bigger league?
(Dan) It's hard to define our most proud moment as a club. We have had several elite undefeated teams beginning with our 1933 team. The book that was sent to you indicates eight members in the State Soccer Association Hall of Fame but we added a ninth this year. Many of our members are referees and coaches.

(Dave) My proudest moment was winning the 2019 TOC. We could never get over the hump but it all came together last year. We were disappointed not to be able to defend our title this year. In my time I can’t say we’ve ever played a big team or player but our professional claim to fame would be that Damarcus Beasley played for our youth club for a bit before taking off for IMG Academy

93 years f of winning trophies at every level of soccer

Does the club still own its own ground? If so, how many teams call it home? Does it help fund operations?
(Dan) The membership process has varied over the years but currently to be a member a prospect must be sponsored by two current members. The prospective member and sponsors must attend a general meeting where the prospective member’s application is read and the prospective member is then given a chance to speak telling the membership why they want to be a member. The sponsors then get up and say a few words and the members are voted on. Once you become a member the annual dues are $100.00 and everyone is expected to contribute to the benefit of the club, volunteer for the above activities.

Is there anything I missed which is really important? What are your plans for 2021?
(Dan) Every year at the beginning of the year we hold a short term, mid-range and long term planning session. As of right now, like everyone else, we are in a holding pattern until the Corona Virus/Covid 19 is brought under control.

(Dave) For 2021 soccerwise, we will be on pretty much the same path, however we are looking at options to play in a regional league. We have a great relationship with the new NPSL team Fort Wayne FC. The idea for Fort Wayne FC came from this team as I have been trying to figure out how to get that done for 6 plus years. Once Erik Magner and I got to talking and found that we had common visions we got together and Erik got it done. We found that a Fort Wayne Sport Club team would not be completely accepted by the soccer community so we decided the team needed to be club agnostic. It has thus far worked beautifully and we seem to have the entire soccer community behind it. Fort Wayne Sport Club has a great relationship with FWFC and we look to make a mutually beneficial partnership

Follow Fort Wayne Sport Club HERE
More Club History HERE
Wanna play for them? Register HERE