PART 5: THE NORTH AMERICAN LEAGUES
AMERICAN SOCCER LEAGUE
1921-1922: New York city FC
1922-1923: Bethlehem steel FC
1923-1924: Fall river marksmen
1924-1925: Chicago sparta
1925-1926: FC St. leo's
1926-1927: Bethlehem steel FC
1927-1928: Boston minutemen
1928-1929: Boston minutemen
1929-1930: Fall river marksmen
1930-1931: Chicago Sparta
CONFERENCE/PLAYOFFS ERA
1931-1932: Hakoah FC
1932-1933: Pawtucket rangers
1933-1934: Chicago Sparta
1934-1935: Pawtucket rangers
1935-1936: Bethlehem steel FC
1936-1937: Saint Louis shamrocks
1937-1938: Brooklyn wanderers
1938-1939: New York city FC
1939-1940: Boston minutemen
NATIONAL CHALLENGE CUP
1921-1922: Chicago sparta (1)
1922-1923: Chicago sparta (2)
1923-1924: Fall river marksmen (1)
1924-1925: Boston minutemen
1925-1926: Bethlehem steel
1926-1927: Fall river marksmen (2)
1927-1928: New York city FC
1928-1929: hakoah FC (1)
1929-1930: Ben miller's
1930-1931: Fall river marksmen (3)
1931-1932: New bedford whalers
1932-1933: St. leo's (1)
1933-1934: St. leo's (2)
1934-1935: Pawtucket rangers
1935-1936: Bethlehem steel
1936-1937: Saint Louis shamrocks
1937-1938: Chicago Sparta (3)
1938-1939: New York city FC
1939-1940: Baltimore SC (1)
CANADIAN CHAMPIONSHIP
contested between the champions of the Canadian FA and the western Canada FA
1930-1931: Ottawa south shore 2-0 FC Edmonton
1931-1932: FC Edmonton 4-1 ottawa south shore FC
1932-1933: Galt FC 2-3 Victoria seagulls
1933-1934: Galt FC 2-1 Cavalry FC
1934-1935: Ottawa south shore FC 5-2 Regina royal F
1935-1936: Ottawa south shore 3-1 Cavalry FC
1936-1937: Saint john's FC 2-0 FC Edmonton
1937-1938: Ottawa south shore 1-0 Vancouver Racing club
1938-1939: Ottawa south shore 2-1 FC Edmonton
1939-1940: Cavalry FC 3-1 toronto FC
the 30s saw a big shift in structure for the American soccer league. faced with the ever increasing number of clubs entering administration due to the great depression, the US soccer federation drastically changed the ASL's format. gone is the traditional league play that was used from the beginning, replaced by a two conference system inspired by Major league baseball. the ASL was divided between the American and national conferences, with the 16 top flight teams split evenly and the schedules arranged so as to have the least amount of distance traveled between the northeast and the great lakes, further helping the clubs's finances. at the end of the seasons, the champions of both conferences will play a championship game to decide the ASL's champion, while the bottom two of each 8-team conferences will be relegated to division 2, with the top 4 of division 2 being promoted in their place and placed in a conference according to geographical location.
aside from that, the majority of the decade saw new names such as brooklyn clubs hakoah FC and wanderers as well as saint Louis shamrock and those island's Pawtucket rangers put their names on the winners list, while traditional powerhouses Chicago Sparta, Bethlehem steel and Boston minutemen continue winning titles, while new York city FC finally ended their long drought by a achieving the double in 1938-1939.
meanwhile, in Canada, the dominant club was Ottawa south shore, winning 6 eastern provinces league titles and 5 Canadian championships. the end of the decade, however, would witness the debut of two young men who would become cornerstones of the Canadian national team in the 40s and 50s: Toronto fc's attacking midfielder Herb carnegie and FC montreal right winger Maurice Richard.
The future is here for canada
UP NEXT: the 1940 and 1941 continental cups.