Danish immigrants started the Vikings in 1922. A century later it is the oldest soccer club in San Francisco, and the youth program it began in 1939 helped shape soccer across the city.
1920sFormed in April 1922 and champions of the University and Club League by its second season
1930sFirst California State Cup in 1936, and a youth academy in 1939
1940s–50sThe academy's postwar “Mighty Vikings”
1960sErnst Feibusch, a Vikings player for 20 years, returns as coach in 1966
1970s–80sAcademy players reach the NASL and girls join the club, while the senior team struggles
2020sA centenary, a club Hall of Fame and a city proclamation
A piece of home
The club was formed in April 1922 by Danish immigrants, who took the Vikings name from their roots and played in red and white striped shirts. In its second season, with Arthur Andersen in goal, it won the University and Club League.1,2 It became one of the oldest clubs in the San Francisco Soccer Football League, which dates to 1902.2,3
The first big trophy came in 1936, the California State Cup. That squad included Gus Donoghue, a future U.S. international and University of San Francisco coach.1
The Zylkers and the academy
In 1937 a former Dutch international goalkeeper, Derk Zylker, became president. Two years later he started the youth program that would define the club.1 His son Hommo Zylker came through the postwar generation known as the “Mighty Vikings,” narrowly missed U.S. Olympic selection and later served as president himself.1 A third generation, Jim Zylker, played for the Vikings and then for the San Jose Earthquakes and San Antonio Thunder in the NASL in 1975 and 1976.5
Berlin-born Ernst Feibusch moved to San Francisco as a boy and played for the Vikings for 20 years, retiring in 1955.6,7 He was league president from 1955 to 1959 and began coaching the Vikings in 1966, at the same time as he coached Lowell High School. He entered the National Soccer Hall of Fame in 1984.6
Graduates move on
The academy kept producing players in the 1970s. Besides Zylker, it developed Otey “Boom Boom” Cannon, who played in the NASL for Dallas and Seattle and was the league's first Black American player.1,4,8 The club also expanded into girls' soccer and helped lay the groundwork for the San Francisco Nighthawks.1
That success had a cost. Through the 1970s and 1980s the senior team struggled as its graduates joined other local clubs.1 The club's own history says many clubs and coaches in the city started with a Vikings badge.9
One hundred years
For the 2022 centenary, San Francisco proclaimed June 4 as Vikings Soccer Club Day. The club still marks it each year and raises money for its scholarship fund.2,4 It also started a Hall of Fame that year.4
| Year | Inductees |
|---|---|
| 2022 | Ernst Feibusch, Dirk de Ruiter Zylker, Eljito “Hommo” de Ruiter Zylker, Ric Olivas, Otey “Boom Boom” Cannon, Arthur Armand Maehl Andersen, Elizabeth “Libby” Rappolt |
| 2023 | Cindy Quan, Steve Valdespino, Dick Cross |
| 2024 | Giorgio Piccagli, Michael Shaughnessy |
| 2025 | Sean McGeever, Mike Keohane |
| 2026 | Fernando Picazo, Toby Rappolt |
In 2024 the club introduced a new crest, the Viking Shield, in red, black and grey. It now serves over 5,000 children through its Microsoccer and club programs, about 250 of them in the competitive teams, and its men's team plays in the San Francisco Soccer Football League at Boxer Stadium.2 The current season is on the club page.
Sources
- “San Francisco Vikings Soccer Club.” Wikipedia, including its citation of Douglas Zimmerman, “SF Vikings transformed soccer into an American pastime,” SFGate, June 11, 2022.
- Duder, Joshua. “Who Are Ya”: SF Vikings SC. Protagonist Soccer, August 17, 2026.
- “San Francisco Soccer Football League.” Wikipedia.
- Vikings Day. San Francisco Vikings Soccer Club.
- “Jim Zylker.” Wikipedia.
- Ernst Feibusch. National Soccer Hall of Fame.
- Obituary of Ernst Feibusch. San Francisco Chronicle, May 24, 2020.
- “Otey Cannon.” Wikipedia.
- Philosophy & Methodology. San Francisco Vikings Soccer Club.