EP 32: Rachel Allison, Jen Cooper, and Tom McCabe discuss the 1985ers

On Friday, October 3, 2025, Rachel Allison, Jen Cooper, and Tom McCabe discussed the first US Women’s National Team, otherwise known as the 1985ers.  Tom began the session with a discussion of the “Little Earthquakes” episode from the new soccer history podcast series, AN AMERICAN GAME. The subject of the episode is the Mundialito, the “little World Cup” women’s tournament played in Jesolo, Italy in 1985. Give the episode a listen here: https://anamericangame.buzzsprout.com/2519329/episodes/17739961-little-earthquakes-the-first-women-s-national-team Then Rachel and Jen reflected on the legacy of the 1985 US Women’s National Team and its players. The team just celebrated part of that legacy in Seattle last month, on the 40th anniversary of the first official games ever played by a US Women’s National Team. Rachel is an associate professor of sociology at Mississippi State; Jen is a women’s soccer historian and NWSL stats manager; and Tom teaches history at the University of Notre Dame (London). All are current or former SASH board members. SASH president Kevin Tallec Marston hosted the session. Podcast produced by Brian Quarstad. Music created by LiteSaturation and found at Pixabay. View the video of the session at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i6cCsZCxPAo Visit the SASH website at https://www.ussoccerhistory.org/ Join SASH at https://www.ussoccerhistory.org/store/sash-membership-one-year/