The Paterson Armory and Walter Pericciuoli

While soccer fell behind other sports for popularity after the Great Depression, Paterson remained a hotbed for the sport as it continued to welcome waves of immigrants, such as the Germans who formed Saxonia FA in the early 1930s.

The son of Italian immigrants, Walter Pericciuoli (aka Wally Peters or Walt Perry), played and coached for the Paterson Dovers, an amateur dynasty from the 1930s through 1960s. In 1966, he coached Paterson Roma SC to the American Soccer League title. Pericciuoli also organized the Schaefer Indoor tournament at the Paterson Armory – the place to be on a Friday night in the winter for soccer fans in the late 1960s and early 1970s.