SLSL 1933-34 season

Feb. 8, 2022 |  Categories:  SLSL   St. Louis  

A number of changes occurred before the 1933-34 St. Louis Professional Soccer League season. Phil Kavanaugh's team, formerly Coca-Coal, found a new sponsor and played as the Minit-Rub Stars. Joe Hand, an outstanding fullback, replaced Johnny Marre as manager of the Anderson team. Willie Foley resigned as manager of the Ben Miller team and owner, George Miller, hired Eddie Croak to replace him.

Tate Brady stayed on as the manager for the powerhouse Stix, Baer & Fuller squad which brought back the superstar lineup from the prior season. Stix easily won the league title again.

The Andersons put up a stunning number in National Challenge Cup play. In the First Round they faced off against the Fitzpatrick Lumberjacks of Springfield, Illinois. Only 500 in attendance at Sportsman's Park saw Anderson completely dominate Springfield 13-0 on November 19, 1933. Anderson was knocked out in the Second Round by Ben Miller.

Stix again made a run at the NCC title. On February 18, 1934 they beat Curry A.C. from Pittsburgh 4-0 in the Western Semifinal before 2500 at Sportsman's Park. That put them in the three-game series for the Western Final against the Wieboldt Wonderbolts of Chicago (formerly known as the Bricklayers).

The first game was played March 11 at Sportsman's Park. It ended 3-3 at regulation time but Stix scored twice in the two 15-minute extra periods to win the match before the 3500 in attendance. The next week Wieboldt upset Stix 1-0 before 1000 at Kuppenheimer Stadium in Chicago to even the series. On March 25, at Sportsman's Park before 5700, Stix again won the Western Final blanking Wieboldt 2-0.

Stix, Baer & Fuller would face the Pawtucket Rangers of the reorganized American Soccer League, New England Division in the three-game series for the Grand Final. On April 1, Stix hosted Pawtucket at St. Louis University's Walsh Memorial Stadium. As with the Western Final, the first game was tied at the end of regulation, this time 2-2. But again, Stix scored twice in the two 15-minute extra periods to win the match.

The next Sunday, Stix, Baer & Fuller traveled to Coats Field in Pawtucket. The crowd of 4500 saw the Pawtucket Rangers beat Stix 3-2 to even the series. The final match was scheduled the following Sunday at Walsh Memorial Stadium. But, a postponement due to rain caused the match to be moved to the next day. It was another dominant performance by Stix who beat Pawtucket 5-0 before the crowd of 7675. Billy Gonsalves and Scotty Nilsen each scored a brace while Willie McLean scored the fifth. Stix had retained their NCC title.