Our Story

Founded in 1951 by 6 sports enthusiasts of German descent to support all sporting activities in the city, but especially to grow the game of soccer (football) in the US. The original name of the club was the L.A. Kickers; which paid homage to the Stuttgart Kickers in Germany. 

In that very same year, the club opened its first clubhouse at 5255 S. Broadway. By 1954 the club was already one of the strongest in California. That year, to help grow the game’s popularity, the Board of Directors contracted and sponsored Borussia Dortmund (Germany) and Plymouth Argyles (England) to come to play in Los Angeles in which Dortmund came away 3-1 victors.

1955 brought the club its first State Championship. By the late ’50s, the club was the most dominant in the country winning its first National Championship in 1958. Another trip to the National Final 4 in 1959 ultimately ended in an overtime defeat in the National Final. 

The next 4 years brought the club 4 straight State Championships. In 1963, the First Team went on a World Tour, traveling to Hawaii, Fiji, New Zealand, Hong Kong, Australia, Iran, and Germany playing 9 friendlies along the way. They ended the tour 3-3-3 after playing teams with such pedigree as Bundesliga regulars Eintracht Frankfurt and Preussen Munster as well as both New Zealand and Iran National Teams. 

Those dominant years all culminated in another National Championship in 1964. Played across 2 legs, the latter of which was played at the old home of the Los Angeles Dodgers, Wrigley Field.

In 1974, the club moved into its current clubhouse on Chandler Blvd aka “Chandler Inn”. The clubhouse has since played host to a great number of victory parties and other club celebrations. It is still the home of LASC and is available to all members.

Through the years the club has been home to many great players. Former Sporting Director Albert Zerhusen played for the US National Team from 1956-1965 and was inducted into the US Soccer Hall of Fame in 1978. He was also part of the organizing committee for the 1994 World Cup. Over the years, there has been a number of soccer-loving celebrities, like Rod Stewart, who has also played in the club.

1997 brought the First Team back to the National Final 4. Unfortunately, their journey ended in defeat in the National Semi-Final. Since then the club has continued to be a home for several high-level amateur and Semi-pro teams and won many more titles and tournament trophies. The most recent of which came in the early part of 2020 when the First Team won the Los Angeles Metro League Cup.

In 2001, the club celebrated its 50th anniversary. So great was the influence of Los Angeles Soccer Club in the history of US Soccer that the club received personal commendations from some of the most influential people and organizations in soccer. 

Gary Davis - Governor of California
James Hahn - Mayor of Los Angeles 
Josef Beck - German Consul General  
Peter Launsky-Tieffenthal - Austrian Consul General 
Luis Maria Kreckler - Argentine Consul General
George Nakano - California Assemblyman 
Gerhard Meyer-Vorfelder  - German Football Federation President 
Dr. S. Robert Contiguglia  - US Soccer President 
Franz Beckenbauer - FC Bayern Munich President 

In 2020, we launched the Los Angeles Soccer Club youth program. 50+ boys and girls teams of all ages, across Los Angeles and the San Gabriel Valley, with hubs in Downtown LA, Pasadena, Duarte, Covina, and Pomona. In the youth club’s first full season we were able to have incredible success. Our U-19 boys won a National Championship and our U-18 girls lost in the National Semi-final. We cannot tell you how excited we are to continue this success and how proud we are to have such an incredible history behind us.