Born in Glasgow, Scotland, John N. Young (1872-1958) served as a coach and then commissioner/coach to the OC soccer team for 30 years. He gave back the larger soccer community as part of the California Soccer Association, serving as a commissioner and member of the Executive Committee.
John began his soccer career in 1888 with the Dykebar Club, before graduating to the St. Mirren Club, one of the founders of the Scottish League. He emigrated to the U.S. in 1892 and settled in Sacramento, before a brief sojourn back to Scotland to resume his playing career. An injury sidelined him and he transitioned into a manager and coach. He moved back to California, became a referee for the League of Northern California, and then began coaching the McKinley Park Club of Sacramento – which captured the State Championship in 1922 over The Olympic Club.
Fellow Hall of Famer Edgar Pomeroy offered him a position because he wanted the Club to have “the very best coach obtainable.” John accepted and moved his family down to the Bay Area.
Under his guidance, the Winged O was a perpetual challenger for the San Francisco Football League and State Championship titles. The Club won league titles in 1923 (the first season of Young’s tenure), 1925, and 1926, and a state championship in 1924. The brightest spot was from 1930 to 1935 when his teams won five straight city championship titles and two state titles (1932 and 1933). He won his final state championship during the 1945-46 season, as many Olympians returned home from WWII. He was elected to the U.S. Soccer Hall of Fame in 1958.
