James Francis “Soup” Campbell was born on December 24, 1897, in Homestead, Pennsylvania. He likely learned to play basketball at the Homestead YMCA under the guidance of Sandy Shields, a star of the 23rd Street Wanderers. Fellow Homestead natives Jackie Adams and Roy Steele were also trained by Shields, and together, they developed one of the most advanced offensive systems of early professional basketball, based on quick ball movement and intricate short passing.
When Adams retired in 1918, Steele took over as Camden's offensive leader and formed a new partnership with Soup Campbell, a young and talented player from Homestead. Their collaboration became one of the most formidable scoring duos in the league. Camden thrived after World War I, winning the 1919-20 Eastern Basketball League (EBL) championship and compiling an impressive 112-37 record over three and a half seasons before the league dissolved in January 1923.
Campbell joined Camden’s basketball team, known variously as the Alphas, Skeeters, and Camden Crusaders, at the start of the 1919-1920 season. The team was owned by Camden veterinarian Dr. Charles B. Helm and former Camden County Sheriff W. Penn Corson. Other key players included Neil and Rich Deighan, Eddie Ferat, Sam Lennox, Roy Steele, Dave Kerr, and Joe Hyde.
During the early 1920s, Campbell was one of professional basketball’s top offensive stars. Though he was a strong set shooter, his real strengths lay in his speed, agility, and mastery of two-handed dribbling. He quickly rose to prominence, leading Camden to an EBL championship in his first full professional season and finishing as the league's top scorer. He went on to win two more EBL scoring titles in 1922 and 1923. After the EBL, Campbell played three seasons in the Metropolitan League before moving to the American Basketball League (ABL) in 1925. Over the next four seasons, he played for five different ABL teams. Though his scoring declined in the later years of his career, he remained a valuable floor leader and strategist.
In 1924, Campbell married Gladys Frick, and their first child, James F. Campbell Jr., was born in Camden on February 25, 1925. By 1930, the couple had two more children, William A. Campbell and Shirley E. Campbell. The April 1930 Census recorded the family living at 111 Terrace Avenue in East Camden. Around this time, Campbell entered the business world, operating a bar at 28 Haddon Avenue with Neil Deighan, as listed in the 1928 and 1929 city directories. By 1931, he had become the proprietor of a restaurant, the Marmon Café, located at 821 Market Street.
However, Campbell's basketball career came to a sudden end on July 25, 1930, when he was involved in an automobile accident on Admiral Wilson Boulevard in Pennsauken, New Jersey. Both of his sons were also injured in the crash. In June 1932, he was awarded $15,000 in damages, later reduced to $12,000. Although he attempted a brief return to basketball, playing in three games during the 1932-1933 season, injuries had taken their toll, and he was unable to continue his career.
Unfortunately, Campbell's personal and financial struggles mounted during the 1930s. He and Gladys divorced, and his business ventures outside of basketball did not appear to be successful. The 1940 Census shows that Gladys was living with her children and mother at 229 Ivins Avenue in Delaware Township (now Cherry Hill), New Jersey, while James was renting a room in Camden at the home of Charles J. and Lydia Davidson at 319 North 2nd Street. Ironically, he was working in a cannery at Campbell Soup.
James “Soup” Campbell passed away on March 5, 1942, in Camden, New Jersey.
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Basketball States: James F. Campbell
Name: James F. “Soup” Campbell Height: 5′ 9″ Weight: 160 lbs College: None Born: 1896 Died: March 4, 1942 Hometown: Homestead, PA. YearTeamLeagueGAFGMFTMFTAPCTASTPTSAVG1914-1915Homestead ShippersIndep1915-1916Tower City (Pa)Indep268601726.61916-1917PitcairnIBLWP177691619.51917-1918PitcairnIBLWP7241633.485649.11917-1918GreystockEBC1918-1919Wilmerding AirbrakesICL1919-1920CamdenEBL379193146.637382757.41919-1920NanticokePSL36712.5830196.31920-1921CamdenEBL2625763108.583301776.81920-1921NanticokePSL213735181095.21920-1921EasthamptonIL386227.31921-1922CamdenEBL441371404149.41922-1923CamdenEBL235979139.568471978.61922-1923Brooklyn Pros – YonkersMBL3177722267.31922-1923CohoesNYSL5915336.61922-1923Tri-CouncilPBL1837901649.11923-1924Trenton – KingstonMBL1848421387.71923-1924Tri-CouncilPBL40711442867.21923-1924Pottsville Big-5Indep1924-1925Passaic/Kingston –TrentonMBL3160481685.41924-1925Tri-CouncilPBL3260932136.71924-1925Hazleton ProfessionalsAnBL797253.61925-1926Camden–PottsvilleEBL71439679.61925-1926Perth AmboyMBL101214383.81925-1926ChicagoABL212739934.41926-1927PhiladelphiaABL3966501824.71927-1928Philadelphia – Detroit – ClevelandABL2941311133.91927-1928SalemSJL71319456.41928-1929TrentonABL223312783.51928-1929Salem-MillvilleSJL2043371236.21929-1930CamdenEBL163527976.11932-1933Philadelphia WPENEBL43392.3Major League Totals464953111530216.5Regular season basketball statistics for Joseph F. “Soup” Campbell
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James F. “Soup” Campbell
James Francis “Soup” Campbell was born on December 24, 1897, in Homestead, Pennsylvania. He likely learned to play basketball at the Homestead YMCA under the guidance of Sandy Shields, a star of the 23rd Street Wanderers. Fellow Homestead natives Jackie Adams and Roy Steele were also trained by Shields, and together, they developed one of…
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Cager Dies at Camden
The Evening News, Harrisburg, PA – March 6, 1942 CAMDEN, N. J., March B. — James (Soup) Campbell, known in pro basketball in Pennsylvania and New Jersey for more than ten years, died in a hospital here yesterday. Campbell, 44, and a native of Homestead, Pa., was a star in the old Eastern Professional League.
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