American soccer writing, history & data.
The same teams returned for the 1923-24 St. Louis Soccer League season. The only organizational change was that Harry Ratican took over as player-manager of the Ben Millers. As Ratican had again been hired as the soccer coach for the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, his brother, William, directed affairs at Ben Miller for the first two months of the season. The league returned to the tradition...
The offseason prior to the 1922-23 St. Louis Soccer League again brought team name changes. While the teams and managers again stayed the same, two clubs changed their names in late September. After only one season as the De Andreis team, Willie Foley was compelled to change the team's name due to the supreme body of the Knights of Columbus having voted to prohibit the use of council names in prof...
With Cardinal Park no longer available, the St. Louis Soccer League played at High School Field, the renamed old Federal League Park, for the 1921-22 season. The four SLSL clubs drew first round National Challenge Cup byes and the inter-league NCC matches again counted in the league standings. While the same teams continued from prior seasons, the Innisfails underwent a name change. In late Sep...
In early July, 1920 a team of 12 St. Louis and six eastern players, including captain Harry Ratican, sailed from Montreal for a Scandinavian tour. The tour delayed the opening of the 1920-21 St. Louis Soccer League season. The players returned on September 30 and the league opened its schedule on Sunday, October 10 with doubleheaders at Cardinal Park. The St. Louis Cardinals baseball club had left...
The 1919-20 St. Louis Soccer League was the first full season since the end of the Great War and could arguably be seen as the greatest season of soccer in St. Louis up to that point. In early July, league president Winton Barker announced that the four SLSL clubs would enter the National Challenge Cup that season instead of one picked organization representing St. Louis in the competition. It was...
Although an estimated 65% of players from the prior season were now in some branch of service, president Winton Barker announced in early August that the St. Louis Soccer League would open its 1918-19 schedule as usual. The same teams and managers returned from the previous season but with two major changes. The first was the loss of the St. Leo's name from the ranks of professional soccer. At ...
Little changed internally for the 1917-18 St. Louis Soccer League season, but external factors had an impact on the organization. The United States' entry into the Great War put the country on a war footing and the draft meant many of the SLSL players left the league due to military service. St. Leo's player-manager "Bull" Brannigan was drafted into the army so Harry McCarthy took over the team...
The 1916-17 season of the St. Louis Soccer League was the picture of stability as all four clubs and managers returned from the prior season. The league again played Sunday doubleheaders at Robison Field and all the officers were re-elected during the offseason. That returned results at the turnstiles as 3000 attended the opening doubleheader on October 15, 1916. On Christmas Day, 6000 were on ...
The rival factions of the St. Louis Soccer League (the Robison Field league) and the Federal Park Soccer League ended their war after the 1914-15 season and, in the spring, organized a new St. Louis Soccer League made up of the best two clubs from each league. Ben Miller (managed by Pete Ratican) and St. Leo's (under new manager Billy Monahan) joined from the FPSL while Columbus Club (managed by ...
After a financially dismal 1913-14 season, both professional soccer leagues in St. Louis began moves towards peace. Each league had two strong teams and two weak teams. The common wisdom was to create a peace plan where the leagues would be reorganized into one league with the two best teams from each current league joining. To help its situation the Athletic Park league needed to acquire a lea...
During the offseason after the 1912-13 season, Bill Klosterman returned as manager of St. Leo's. In mid-September of 1913, Klosterman reorganized the St. Louis Soccer Football League, under the direction of Tim Cavanaugh, owner of Athleic Park, who allied himself with Klosterman after the disruption last winter and refused to allow the SLSFL managers from the prior season to renew their lease on t...
Internal problems during prior season continued to build during the 1912-13 St. Louis Soccer Football League season. Prior to the start of the season, the four managers could not agree on a venue for the coming season. Willie Foley of the Innisfails and Billy Klosterman of St. Leo's voted to stay at Athletic Park but "King" Finnegan of Columbus Club and Ed Houlihan of the Irish-Americans voted to ...
The Blue Bells withdrew and were replaced by the Irish-American A.C. prior to the 1911-12 St. Louis Football League season. Dr. Alexander Murray was again re-elected president of the league - a position he had held since the SLSFL's organization. The league paid its players on the cooperative plan with the winning squad receiving 60% of the gate receipts and the losers 40%. Each player received...
Prior to the St. Louis Soccer Football League 1910-11 season, Phil Riley, manager of St. Teresa's, changed the name of the team to the Grand-Athletic Soccer Football Club. But, two weeks before the start of the season, internal strife led to the league officially dropping the Grand Athletics from membership. The Columbus Club, representing a team of Knights of Columbus players and managed by John ...
The St. Louis Soccer League continued as the top professional league in St. Louis for the 1909-10 season. The four teams remained the same from the prior season with only a couple of minor changes. The Thistles were renamed the Blue Bells and the West Ends, managed by Dan Broderick, became a new Innisfails team. St. Teresa's almost withdrew from the league in late January due to manager Phil Riley...
The old Association Football League of St. Louis disbanded following the 1907-08 season. City champions, St. Leo's, jumped from that league to the professional St. Louis Soccer Football League. Both of these changed made the SLSFL the top soccer league in St. Louis. In the offseason, Thomas Cahill left the SLSFL and helped organize another professional league, the St. Louis Soccer League. Innis...
St. Louis did not have a fully professional league during the 1906-07 season. The St. Louis Soccer Football League was organized for the 1907-08 to fill that void. Dr. Alexander Murray was elected president and Thomas Cahill was secretary of the new league. Cahill did not desire peace with the top league at that team, the Association Football League of St. Louis, and was no shy in inducing players...
During the offseason, Phil Kavanaugh, former St. Louis soccer star and long-time referee, took over the management of Kulage's Park. He led the organization of a new St. Louis Soccer Football Association for the 1912-13 season which played doubleheaders at the renamed Pastime Park. The venue's grand stand and bleachers were overhauled and modernized and a new dressing room was installed. Winton...
Following the demise of the St. Louis University Soccer League and the St. Louis Association Football League, a new league playing matches at Kulage's Park, the American Soccer Football League, organized to compete against the now-dominant St. Louis Soccer Football League. The teams involved were St. Teresa's (from the St. Louis University League), New Cathedral (from the Triple A League), O'Leary...
After the St. Louis University Park stadium was completed in 1910, the St. Louis University Soccer Football League was organized to play doubleheaders every Sunday for the 1910-11 season. Teams in the league were the St. Teresa junior squad (champions of the amateur league the prior season), St. James, Immaculate Conception (from the Hibernian League), and Duwell A.C. (from the prior season's defu...
When the St. Louis Soccer Football League decided to drop the Grand Athletics (formerly the St. Teresas) after the 1909-10 season, manager Phil Riley moved to organized a new league to play at Kulage's Park along with Hibernian A.C.. The Grand Athletics disbanded before the season started but the St. Louis Association Football League was organized with the Hibernians, O'Learys (formerly the Kinloc...
When the St. Louis Soccer League ended after a single season, Henry Kulage organized a new Association Football League of St. Louis to play doubleheaders at Kulage's Park. Buck Chapman was elected president and Thomas Cahill as secretary. The four teams admitted as members were Holy Name, Knights of Father Matthew, Keen Kutters (previously in the Saturday Afternoon League), and Duwell Athletic Clu...
With the demise of the Association Football League of St. Louis, Thomas Cahill left the St. Louis Soccer Football League and organized the St. Louis Soccer League for the 1908-09 season. Cahill was elected to his traditional position of secretary and Winton E. Barker was named president. The league would play Sunday doubleheaders at Kulage's Park. Teams included the New Tariffs (virtually the SLSF...
The Association Football Soccer League of St. Louis returned for the 1907-08 season but had a new competitor for the top league in the city in the newly-organized St. Louis Soccer Football League. St. Leo's was the only team to return from the previous season. The champions were joined by Kinloch (formed from most of the Parish League champions St. Matthew's), Shamrocks (mostly the Nugent players ...
Prior to the 1906-07 season, the Amateur Association Football League was renamed as the Association Football League of St. Louis. During the prior season, unlike most St. Louis leagues, the AAFL played out its schedule and fulfilled its obligations. The only noticeable change other than the name was the league eliminated the A.A.U. from its affairs due to the difficulty in finding players that fit...
Many changes occurred for the 1905-06 Amateur Association Football League season. C.B.C. sold its lower campus which meant the school wouldn't allow the AAFL to play there any longer. C.B.C. dropped out of the league and the priests of the various parishes prohibited the names of churches to be used on the AAFL teams since the games would not be at C.B.C. As such, the league went through a reor...
The Parish League of St. Louis became the Amateur Association Football League before the 1904-05 season. St. Ann's, C.B.C. and St. Rose's returned with St. Alphonsus replacing Holy Name. Games where again played on the C.B.C. campus. The first matches where held on November 13, but league play was put on hiatus to enable C.B.C. and St. Rose to take part in the St. Louis Olympics. Galt F.C. from...
Brother Elzear, director of athletics at Christian Brothers College, headed up the organization of the Parish Association Football League for the 1903-04 season. Clubs from eight St. Louis parishes joined the strictly amateur competition. Games were played on the C.B.C. campus starting in early November. By mid-January only four teams remained in the league: St. Rose's; St. Ann's; Holy Name; a...
With the disbanding of the Association Football League of St. Louis, the St. Louis Football Association was the sole professional soccer league operating in the city for the 1905-06 season. Four clubs made up the league as the schedule opened on October 29th: North End A.C.; Shamrocks; South Ends; and West End A.C. The league split matches each Sunday at South Side Park and Sportsman's Park. Cycli...
The St. Louis Football Association was launched for the 1904-05 season as a rival professional league to the more established Association Football League of St. Louis. Four clubs made up the league: Cornets; Leacocks; Rawlings; and Sportsmans. The league played doubleheaders each Sunday at Sportsman's Park. After eight weeks, the league had a month's worth of postponed matches due to cold weath...
A new Association Football League of St. Louis was organized for the 1904-05 due to the unpleasant ending of the former professional league at the end of the 1903-04 season. The four-teams league would play doubleheaders every Sunday at Kulage's Park. The league's opening matches were on November 6, 1904 and the clubs taking part were Ben Miller, Diels, Woman's Magazine, and Thistles. The latte...
C.B.C. and Diels resigned as members of the St. Louis Association Football League prior to the 1903-04 season. Rawlings and Spaldings, managed by Thomas W. Cahill, were selected to fill the vacancies. The league season began October 18, 1903 with double-headers held every Sunday at Sportsman's Park. After the January 10th gameday, the franchise held by the Sportsmans was transferred to the R. J...
On November 16, 1902, soccer enthusiasts met late in the soccer season at Christian Brothers College to permanently organize the St. Louis Association Football League. The competition replaced the prior soccer league in hopes of cutting back on rowdy play and spreading the better players among the teams rather than being concentrated on one or two. Four teams, C.B.C., Diels, Kern's and Sportsmans,...
While the Baltimore Major Soccer League hoped to expand to eight to ten teams for the 1951-52 season the league only had four teams return when Kelly Buick dropped out in the offseason. The league extended invitations to two teams each from the Pen-Mark League and the Washington Suburban league to attend their off-season organizational meetings but none of those clubs ended up joining the BMSL. Wr...
Prior to the 1950-51 season, the Baltimore Major Soccer League was down to five teams. Antlitz Seafood and Locust Point had combined to form Wroten's Cafe, and Combined Taverns had dropped out. Sugar Radio of Washington, D.C. was supposed to be the sixth BMSL team but did not reorganize for the season. Santa Maria became Conkling P.C. prior to the season. During the offseason, the BMSL consider...
For the 1950-51 Baltimore Major Soccer League season, Combined Taverns, Kelly Buick (coached by Cal Ermer who was also the coach of University of Baltimore), and Pompei replaced Serra's Cafe, Esso, and Reisterstown which dropped out at the conclusion of the prior season. This kept the league at the desired roster of eight clubs. Pompei was the biggest addition to the BMSL. Formed in 1940 and or...
A new Baltimore Major Soccer League emerged for the 1948-49 season. Eight teams formerly associated with Baltimore's city Department of Recreation branched out in hopes of making a higher-level semi-pro league. The league included three teams from Patterson Park (Serra's Cafe, Esso & Santa Maria), two from Clifton Park (Parkville Tavern & Davis Tavern), two from Latrobe Park (Antlitz Seafood & Loc...
The Maryland State and D.C. Soccer Association again made plans to operate the War Industrial Soccer League and Baltimore Major Soccer League for the 1944-45 season. The BMSL had been dormant the prior season due to the lack of players able to fill clubs and the same again happened the 1944-45 season as only the WISL carried on as the top-level amateur league in the area. The WISL dropped down ...
The Maryland State and D.C. Soccer Association decided to operate a soccer league made up of various area defense plants along with the Catholic Soccer League, the Baltimore Major Soccer League, and several junior leagues for the 1943-44 season. But, due to the number of players working at war plants and in military service, the BMSL went dormant and was replaced by the War Industrial Soccer Leagu...
The Baltimore Major Soccer League returned for the 1942-43 season after a year's hiatus. Only Hasslinger returned from the earlier season with five new teams joining: Dundalk A.C. (also called Baltimore County A.C.); Catonsville A.C.; Fox S.C.; Rustless Iron and Steel Corp.; and Stemmers Run. The race was as tight as almost possible with both halves ending tied between the top two teams with Du...
Big changes to the roster occurred in the Baltimore Major Soccer League offseason as only Ashton and Wingfoot returned for the 1940-41 season. A Maryland Germans team returned after a hiatus and two new Baltimore clubs, John Hasslinger S.C. and Morstein S.C. (sponsored by Morstein Jewelry Co.) joined. And, for the first time, clubs outside of Baltimore took part in the competition as Victor Hosier...
While the double-round robin single table format had been used in the first two seasons, a new format was implemented for the third Baltimore Major Soccer League season. Beginning in 1939-40, a split season was implemented in all Baltimore amateur leagues including the BMSL. The winners of each half would meet in a two-game total goals series to settle the BMSL title. M. Shaivitz left the leagu...
In the offseason, the U.S.F.A. approved a request by the Maryland State Soccer Association to widen its scope to include the D.C. territory. As such, the body was renamed the Maryland State and District of Columbia Soccer Association. Another big offseason move was the German Sports Club's acquisition of a franchise in the American Soccer League. The team was named the Baltimore Germans and was pr...
The Baltimore Major Soccer League was created as a higher-level men's amateur league embracing the stronger teams from the Southeastern and Maryland leagues. Eight clubs took part in the inaugural season: Bethlehem S.C. from Dundalk; Colonial S.C.; German Sports Club; Maryland-Germans (a second team from the German Sports Club); Parkville; St. Gerard Y.M.A.; M. Shaivitz; and Wingfoot S.C. Parkvill...
After being inactive for the 1921-22 season, the Southern New England League met in the summer of 1923 to organize for the 1923-24 season. Officials decided to rename the league as the New England Soccer League in order to avoid confusion with the Southern New England Football Association. Seven clubs entered the league. Sayles returned after winning the Pawtucket and District League. Fore Rive...
The Southern New England League went down to only four clubs for the 1921-22 season. In the offseason, J. & P. Coats F.C. left to join the major league American Soccer League and Crompton F.C. left to join a local Rhode Island League. St. Michael's of Fall River returned to join Fall River Rovers, Fore River F.C. of Quincy, and Saylesville F.C. of Rhode Island. The Rovers had been considered to...
During the summer of 1920, a proposed fully professional east coast league was seriously floated. J. & P. Coats F.C, Fall River Rovers and Fore River F.C. were all in line to join. With the Rovers on the fence, Fore River and Coats declined the opportunity and the league never came to fruition. Prior to the 1920-21 Southern New England League season, the Sayles Finishing Plant F.C. of Saylesvil...
In the summer of 1919, after a season away, the Southern New England League made tentative plans to operate for the 1919-20 soccer season. Six clubs returned from the 1918-19 season: Fall River Rovers; New Bedford F.C.; New Bedford Celtics; J. & P. Coats F.C.; Fore River F.C.; and Crompton F.C. Two new clubs were added to bring the league up to eight members. The General Electric F.C. from Lynn...
The Southern New England League expected to enter the 1917-18 season with the same eight clubs from the prior season, but the Howard & Bullough club withdrew and disbanded just before the season began in September. Previously that summer, the U.S.F.A. had ruled that the Southern New England FA could not limit its clubs to only two cup competitions. A faction of the SNEFA pushed to leave the organi...
All seven clubs from the prior season returned for the 1916-17 Southern New England League season. The league originally awarded a franchise to a newly organized Providence Grays team. But, when that club was deemed unable to compete, Providence was dropped and the franchise was awarded to Crompton F.C. from Rhode Island. The Crompton club had won the championship of the Rhode Island league three ...
Along with Taunton City F.C. (which left the league at the late May annual meeting), Pawtucket F.C. dropped out of the Southern New England League before the 1915-16 season. Those two clubs were replaced by four others: Fall River Rovers; Fore River F.C. of Quincy, Mass.; Howard & Bullough F.C. of Pawtucket, R.I.; and Pan-American F.C. of Fall River. The latter was a reorganized version of a club ...
In its second season as an organization, the Southern New England Football Association organized the Southern New England League during the summer of 1914. Seven clubs joined the league: J. & P. Coats F.C. from Pawtucket; New Bedford F.C.; Pawtucket F.C.; Taunton City F.C.; the Young Men's Catholic Total Abstinence Society F.C. of New Bedford; Fall River Rovers and Greystone from North Providence....
During the offseason, rumblings began to be heard about the possibility of a new Eastern League to be made up of the best of the Eastern clubs. This included clubs such as Bethlehem Steel, Robins Dry Dock, New York F.C., and Paterson F.C from the NAFL as well as Fall River Rovers and J. & P. Coats from New England. The Eastern League didn't materialize for the 1920-21 season, but the seeds were pl...
Babcock & Wilcox dropped out of the league in the offseason but the league doubled to 10 teams with the addition of five clubs. Disston A.A. returned after a year's hiatus. Bolstered by former Scottish-American & Bethlehem Steel player, Archie Stark, Erie A.A. of Harrison joined and made an immediate impact. Other clubs that joined were Morse Dry Dock from Brooklyn, Federal Ship from Kearny, and N...
In the offseason, Disston, West Hudson and Jersey A.C. all dropped out of the league due to lack of available players because of the war effort. The Merchant Shipbuilding Corporation's soccer club out of Harriman, Penn. joined the league to bring the number of members to six. While Merchant Ship's first team became a member of the NAFL, their B team took part in the Delaware River Shipyard Soccer ...
A new era for the NAFL began with the onset of the Great War. Dublin F.C., Ironsides A.F.C. and Splitdorf F.C. were all out of the league after only one season. But they were replaced by better and much more stable clubs. A newly organized Paterson F.C. joined and the league expanded into Eastern Pennsylvania by adding the great Bethlehem Steel F.C. and Disston A.A. from the Tacony neighborhood o...
During the summer offseason, the U.S.F.A. ruled that all soccer teams in New Jersey, including those in the NAFL, must be affiliated with the New Jersey State Football Association. There was general concern that the NAFL which had been directly affiliated with the U.S.F.A. since its absorption of the A.F.A. may try to fight the ruling. At the beginning of the 1916-17 season, four NAFL clubs, We...
The NAFL was in trouble during the 1915-16 season. Newark, Paterson Rangers, True Blues and Bronx United all were suspended then ultimately dropped due to the inability to meet the financial needs of playing in the league. Two of the strongest amateur teams in New Jersey made the jump to the pro ranks and joined the NAFL. The Alley Boys F.C. of Harrison and Bayonne's Babcock & Wilcox F.C. were for...
During the offseason the league felt 12 teams was too many and formally dropped Wilberforce FC. & St. George F.C. The Newark Caledonians also dropped out right before the season started leaving the league to carry on as a 9-team concern. The Brooklyn Celtics would have been the Caledonians replacement in the NAFL if the Newark club had given their resignation in more time. The Scottish-American...
Prior to the 1913-14 season, both the American Football Association and the American Amateur Football Association filed for sanctioning with FIFA as the country's governing body. With broader support, the AAFA had the upper hand over the AFA which was older but only centered in the US northeast. To strengthen its position, the leaders of the AAFA formally dissolved that organization and replaced i...
The league brought in two extra teams, Caledonians of Newark and a newly-organized Brooklyn Wanderers, to bring the number up to 10. Having trouble finding grounds, the Wanderers merged into Brooklyn F.C. in late December after losing all 6 games they played. The Wanderers were replaced by Newark F.C. who dropped out of the New York State Amateur Association Football League mid-season to return to...
Turmoil and change was the order for the 1911-12 soccer season. Prior to the season, the American Amateur Football Association, a new national organization controlling amateur soccer in the US, was formed. The core of the formation was the New York State Football Association but a number of associations across the country soon affiliated with it. The AAFA was a direct competitor of the American F...
Stability was the name of the game for the 1910-11 season with all eight teams returning. Prior to the season, Wilberforce F.C. formed a stock company, secured some of the best players in the area, and ran independently from the Sons of St. George Lodge....
Clark A.A. withdrew before the 1909-10 season and the league grew to eight clubs with the return of Jersey A.C. and the additions of Wilberforce F.C. and Brooklyn F.C. (aka Brooklyn Field Club). The former was the football team for the Wilberforce Lodge of the Sons of St. George in Paterson, N.J....
Only half of the eight clubs returned from the 1907-08 season. West Hudson and Clark rejoined to make a six-team league. Those two clubs were tied at the end of the schedule and were declared co-champions. Again, results haven't been fully verified....
The league dropped down to eight clubs in its second season with Robert Burns club not returning. But, a week before the season started, West Hudson and Clark A.A. dropped out after the league's refusal to drop the division of gate receipts to the visiting team from 50% down to 25%. Hollywood Inn and Jersey A.C. were admitted to take their place. As with the prior season, full results have not bee...
A new National Association Football League was formed starting with the 1906-07 season. The league would be the home to most of the best New Jersey, as well as New York metro, clubs. While we have final standings, all results of those games have not been verified. Teams were scheduled to play a 22-game series, but the Scots and West Hudson played a final "special match" at the end of the season t...
I've stripped down the database and started rebuilding it from scratch. There are currently two main areas: clubs and leagues. Clubs Clubs are "containers" for an organization's teams. Teams are individual, well, teams that played for a club. A club can field different teams at the same time. For example, the Chattanooga FC club has both women's and men's teams. A club can also field the sa...
I've been interested in the history of US soccer for as long as I can remember. When I built the original Soccer Almanac website as a place to compile soccer stats for the major US pro leagues, there were very little resources for that info. But, with the explosion of data analytics, that work is now better done by leagues and their media partners. And, while stats are an important part of the gam...
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