Francis Ryan

{{about||the American Medal of Honor recipient|Francis T. Ryan|the American zoologist|Francis J. Ryan|the British journalist and author|Frances Ryan}}

{{Infobox football biography

| name= Hun Ryan

| fullname = Francis J. Ryan

| image = Francis Ryan (1928).jpg

| birth_date = {{birth date |1908|1|10}}

| birth_place = Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States

| death_date = {{death date and age|1977|10|14|1908|1|10}}

| death_place = Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States

| height = {{height|ft=5|in=6}}

| position = Forward / Midfielder

| youthyears1 =

| youthclubs1 = Lighthouse Boys Club

| years1 = 1929–1930

| years2 = 1930–1931

| years3 = 1931–1936

| clubs1 = New York Galicia

| clubs2 = Lighthouse Boys Club

| clubs3 = Philadelphia German-Americans

| caps1 =

| goals1 =

| nationalyears1 = 1928–1936

| nationalteam1 = United States

| nationalcaps1 = 4

| nationalgoals1 = 1

}}

Francis J. “Hun” Ryan (January 10, 1908 – October 14, 1977) was an American soccer midfielder. He earned three caps, scoring one goal, with the U.S. men's national team between 1928 and 1936. He was also a member of the U.S. teams at the 1928 Summer Olympics, 1936 Summer Olympics,{{cite web|url=https://www.olympedia.org/athletes/27813 |title=Francis Ryan |work=Olympedia |access-date=September 16, 2021}} and the 1934 FIFA World Cup. Ryan was inducted into the National Soccer Hall of Fame in 1958.

Playing career

Ryan grew up in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, where he played soccer with Frankford High School. He also played for the Lighthouse Boys Club team. He maintained his amateur status which led to his selection to the national team at the 1928 Summer Olympics. In 1929, he signed with New York Galicia. After one season, he moved back to Lighthouse Boys Club. Once again, he spent only one season with Lighthouse before moving to the Philadelphia German-Americans in 1931. He continued with the team until at least 1936. In 1933, Philadelphia joined the American Soccer League (ASL). The German-Americans won the 1934-1935 ASL championship and the 1936 National Challenge Cup. Ryan served with the Custer Division in the U.S. Army from 1942 to 1945. Upon is return to Philadelphia, he played with the Philadelphia Nationals, leading the team to the ASL Lewis Cup in 1948-49 and 1951–52. Ryan also played with the Pennsylvania All Stars in May 1931 against Glasgow Celtic during the Scottish team's first North American tour.

National team

Ryan earned his first cap on May 28, 1928, in 11–2 loss to Argentina at the 1928 Summer Olympics. Scored ten days later in a 3–3 tie with Poland in Warsaw. He did not play for the U.S. again until the 1934 FIFA World Cup when he was part of the 7–1 loss to Italy.[https://www.rsssf.org/tablesu/usa-intres-det69.html USA - Details of International Matches 1885-1969] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100113210650/http://rsssf.com/tablesu/usa-intres-det69.html |date=January 13, 2010}} He finished his national team career at the 1936 Summer Olympics.[https://web.archive.org/web/20080622193408/http://fifa.com/worldfootball/statisticsandrecords/players/player=198094/index.html FIFA Tournament Records]

In 1958, Ryan was inducted into the National Soccer Hall of Fame.{{Cite web |title=Francis Ryan - 1958 Inductee {{!}} National Soccer Hall of Fame |url=http://www.nationalsoccerhof.com/players/francis-ryan.html |access-date=2023-12-19 |website=Francis Ryan - 1958 Inductee {{!}} National Soccer Hall of Fame |language=en}}