Ebony City Soccer Club collection
Scope and Contents
This collection is organized in four (4) series:
Series 1: Administrative Records - Contains Constitution and By-Laws, brief history of soccer club; meeting agendas and minutes; correspondence, financial documents; grant application, soccer team applications, parent surveys, and thank you letters written by the Lil' Peles.
Series 2: Soccer Teams and Coaches - Contains documents on the Lil Peles (boys under 10 years old); Pelettes (girls under 10 years old); Lady Peles (girls under 12 years old); Pele Mosquitoes (boys under 14 years old); Pele Parrots (under 10 years old); and Lion Kings (under 8 years old). Holds handbook, Lil Peles cheers, team rosters, player evaluations, event programs and flyers, summer soccer training camps information, newspaper clippings Also contains information on their coaches; local and state soccer associations and clubs.
Series 3: Newspaper Clippings and Newsletters - Holds photocopied newspaper articles from Charleston papers (Post and Courier and The Charleston Chronicle) mostly regarding the "Lil Peles" soccer team.
Series 4: Photographic Images - Holds group photos in various sizes, mostly in color; several photocopied, of the various Ebony City Soccer Club teams. Includes the teams: The Lil Peles, The Pelettes, The Lady Peles, Pele Mosquitoes, Pele Parrots, and Lion Kings.
Dates
- Creation: 1981-1996
Creator
- Ebony City Soccer Club (Charleston, S.C.) (Organization)
Access Restrictions
No restrictions.
Copyright Notice
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The materials from our collections are made available for use in research, teaching, and private study, pursuant to U.S. copyright law. The user must assume full responsibility for any use of the materials, including but not limited to, infringement of copyright and publication rights of reproduced materials. Any materials used for academic research or otherwise should be fully credited with the source.
Historical Note
The Ebony City Soccer Club (ECSC) was formed in 1981 in response to a request from the Robert Mill Manor Housing Project Tenants Association, in Charleston, South Carolina. Community leaders, Jerome Smalls, Eugene "Big Gene" Jenkins, and Lethia Mae Simmons asked Osei Chandler and Jorge "Cito" Lindsay to create a program to provide identity, purpose and direction for adults and children. The group established the soccer club known as the Li'l Peles, with seventeen (17) players, two coaches/coordinators, and a treasurer. At the time of its inception, the Ebony City Soccer Club was the only African American soccer club from Maine to Miami, as stated by founder Osei Chandler.
Of significance, the founders all had backgrounds in the Civil Rights and Black Power movements from the 1960s and 1970s. The Ebony City Soccer Club is part of the legacy of member's times and efforts.
The ECSC is governed by the Council of Elders (Bolozi Wazee) as prescribed by their Constitution and By-Laws. The Council of Elders preside over both youth and adult division activities.
Youth teams are called "Lil Peles," in deference to the greatest player of soccer, Edson Arantes do Nascimento, a Black Brazillian better known as "Pele."
In their first season of Fall 1981, the Li'l Peles only lost one game to the Charleston Apollos. By the Spring of 1982, the team expanded to incorporate the following: Li'l Peles (under age 12); Lil Peles II (under 14); and Li'l Peles III (under age 10). The girls who previously served as cheerleaders for the boys only club, wanted a team of their own, thereby organized in 1982-1983 to win their first state championship.
The soccer teams are comprised of the Lil Peles (boys under 10 years old); Pelettes (girls under 10 years old); Lady Peles (girls under 12 years old); Pele Mosquitoes (boys under 14 years old); Pele Parrots (under 10 years old); and The Lion Kings (under 8 years old).
The Lil Peles are affiliated with the Trident Area Youth Soccer Association, the South Carolina Youth Soccer Association, and the United States Youth Soccer Association. Most ECSC youth coaches are licensed by the United States Soccer Federation.
Extent
2.5 linear feet (5 archival boxes)
Language of Materials
English
Abstract
The Ebony City Soccer Club collection highlights the victories and defeats of the Lil' Pele's team in Charleston, South Carolina, from 1981-1996. Osei Chandler, founder and president, among several community members were inspired by soccer great, Euston Arantes Do Nascimento, known as "Pele," to physically and mentally inspire inner-city youth. The collection holds newspaper articles, playing rosters, game plays, budgets, event programs, summer camp documents, thank you letters written by the players, and other correspondence and photographs.
Collection Arrangement
The Ebony City Soccer Club is arranged in four (4) series:
Series 1: Administrative Records
Series 2: Soccer Teams and Coaches
Series 3: Newspaper Clippings and Newsletters
Series 4: Photographic Images
Processing Information
Processed by Georgette Mayo, 2022
Subject
- Pelé, 1940- (Person)
- Lil' Peles (Charleston, S.C.) (Organization)
- Chandler, Osei Terry (Person)
- Ebony City Soccer Club (Charleston, S.C.) (Organization)
- Title
- Inventory of Ebony City Soccer Club collection
- Status
- Completed
- Author
- By Georgette Mayo
- Date
- August 2022
- Description rules
- Dacs
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin
- Language of description note
- Description is in English
Repository Details
Part of the Avery Research Center for African American History and Culture Repository
125 Bull Street
Charleston South Carolina 29424 United States
843-953-7608
averyresearchcenter@cofc.edu