AFA: American Football Association

[Gass3268]

Chapter 5: Expansion and Growth

Tom Cahill knew that the Great War would be a blessing to the game of football. Cahill had become the President of the American Football Association in 1913 and he helped guide the game during the early growth after the death of American Football. At first it seemed that the First World War was going to kill the game while it was still in its infancy. The best league in the country, the National Association Foot Ball League (NAFBL), saw two teams fold (Jersey AC and Harrison Alley Boys) and two teams had to merge in order to survive (Paterson Ranges and Paterson True Blues became the Paterson True Blue Ranges). Yet, when the soldiers came the game experienced a popularity boom and Cahill wanted to take full advantage of it.

He realized that he needed the top football leagues in America to grow into new and larger markets.
The National Association Football League (NAFBL) was primarily centered around Northern New Jersey while the St. Louis Soccer League (SLSL) was exclusively in the city of St. Louis. There was also the issue that the NAFBL was still a semiprofessional league, which resulted in some imbalances and inequities in the league. Cahill desired to have it become fully professional like the SLSL. Through some work and backroom deals, Cahill was able to get two of his allies as commissioners of the two respective leagues in 1920. Andrew Brown, a Scotsman who had previously played for a precursor to Philadelphia City, became the commissioner of the NAFBL and Robert Miller, also a Scotsman who previously played in the St. Louis Soccer League during a break from Bethlehem Steel, became the commissioner of the SLSL. Together the three men helped men did more than anyone in the growth of football in America.

Birth of The Football League of America (FLA)

Robert Miller at first met some resistance in St. Louis to the idea of expanding the league outside the city. This resistance lasted three years until finally Miller, with the help of Cahill, convinced them that their league would fall behind if they did not continue to grow. Even still the league had to take baby steps at the beginning when they asked East St. Louis SC and Sporting Kansas City to join for the 1923-1924 season. The first two teams added to the league were very familiar to those in St Louis, as many exhibition games had taken place between the six clubs.

The next year saw even more change as four new clubs joined the league. They were the Chicago Bears, Chicago Spartans, Southside SC and the SV Milwaukee Badgers. This firmly moved the SLSL out of their comfort zone as many of these teams where foreign to the 4 original St. Louis clubs. Miller, realizing that non-St. Louis teams made up the majority of league, pushed through a vote that renamed the league The Football League of America (FLA). The St. Louis teams felt that their league was being taken away from them and some threatened to leave, but they were convinced by Miller that leaving would only result in them being left behind in the growing game.

League growth continued the next year as the Cincinnati Kicks, Ford Wolverines FC, Minneapolis Vikings FK and Western Reserve FC joined for the 1925-1926 season. Ford Wolverines FC, located in Detroit, prompted General Motors to form Chevy Coups FC as a rival competitor in the Motor City for the 1926-1927 season. The same happened in St Paul, Minnesota where the locals were not happy that Minneapolis got a team and they did not. This led to the creation of the St. Paul Swedes FF for the 1927-1928 season, effectively dividing the region by city and ethnicity. Also the Indianapolis Hoosiers FC and Louisville Colonels were added to bring the league up to 18 teams, which is the number they stuck to for the rest of the decade. They were generally considered the second best league in the United States.

League Teams for the start of the 1926-1927 Season:
Ben Millers, Chevrolet Coups FC, Chicago Bears, Chicago Spartans, Cincinnati Kicks, Ford Wolverines FC, East St. Louis SC, Indianapolis Hoosiers FC, Innisfails, Louisville Colonels, Naval Reserves, Minneapolis Vikings FK, St. Louis Screw (formerly St. Leo’s), St. Paul Swedes FF, Southside FC, Sporting Kansas City, SV Milwaukee Badgers and Western Reserve FC.

Changes in the NAFBL

The best league in the United States at the time was generally regarded to be the National Association Football League (NAFBL). This is not to say that the league did not have issues. One such issue was that the league was still semi-professional. Andrew Brown and many of the top teams in the league were able to change the league charter to require that all teams were fully professional by the 1921-1922 season. The other issue was that the league centered too much on Northern New Jersey.

This started when the league added the Fall River Marksmen, New Bedford Whalers and the Pawtucket Rangers for the 1921-1922 season. They were three of the better teams from the Southern New England Soccer League, which at the times was one of the better second tier leagues. The league was forced to fold after the next year after losing three of the best teams. The NAFBL continued expanding north into New England the next year when they added the Boston Minutemen and the Providence Patriots.

The next two years the league focused exclusively in the state of New York. For the 1924-1925 season they added two more teams in New York City, with Richmond 1898 (Staten Island) and Long Island City FC (Queens). The following year they added 4 teams to Upstate New York. The 4 teams were AC Albany, Buffalo Lakers, FC Rochester and Sporting Syracuse.

NAFBL concluded their expansion spree by moving to the south and to the west for the 1926-1927. They did this by adding the Baltimore Lords FC, Cleveland Comets, Pittsburgh Steelers and Washington Warriors FC. Yet by adding a club in Cleveland, they put themselves in direct competition with The Football League of America. This competition would define football in America for the remainer of the decade.

League Teams for the start of the 1926-1927 Season:
AC Albany, Baltimore Lords SC, Bethlehem Steel FC, Boston Minutemen, Brooklyn FC, Bronx United, Buffalo Lakers, Cleveland Comets, Fall River Marksmen, FC Rochester, Kearney Scots, Long Island City FC, New Bedford Whalers, New York FC, Newark Ironsides, Paterson True Blue Rangers, Pawtucket Rangers, Philadelphia City (formerly Philadelphia Merchant Ships), Pittsburgh Steelers, Providence Patriots, Richmond 1898, Sporting Syracuse, Washington Warriors FC and West Hudson AA.

Map of Both Leagues (NAFBL=Green / FLA = Purple)

 

[Expat]

TTL's a gas!

What are your thoughts on promotion/relegation? Is that where you're taking the different leagues, or is the concept just too alien to work in the US in your opinion?

Also, is the season still traditionally in the winter? If yes, and baseball owners start branching into football early on, you could see dual-use stadiums much earlier.

So no major sports that fit the big, beefy body type. Wonder what becomes of those guys?

 

[Unknown]

Who were the champions for those years (in both leagues)?

 

[Gass3268]

TTL's a gas!

What are your thoughts on promotion/relegation? Is that where you're taking the different leagues, or is the concept just too alien to work in the US in your opinion?

Also, is the season still traditionally in the winter? If yes, and baseball owners start branching into football early on, you could see dual-use stadiums much earlier.

So no major sports that fit the big, beefy body type. Wonder what becomes of those guys?

Promotion/relegation will happen in the United States and the impetus that brings it about is only a couple chapters away. The season is still traditionally in the winter, its not uncommon to have games in the middle of massive snowstorms. Some teams are owned by baseball owners and there are some that do play at baseball stadiums (Bronx United plays at Yankee Stadium, New York FC plays at the Polo Grounds, along with others that I still need to figure out). I don't know what exactly I'm going to do about larger guys. I am considering having the Supreme Court rule at some point (like the 50's or 60's) that it is unconstitutional to ban a sport and American football makes a comeback to be about as big as the MLS is right now with it being big in some pockets of the country. Also the Canadian Football League does not die, many Americans go up there to play and when football is legalize again in the US the CFL may expand into the US and be similar to the NHL.

Who were the champions for those years (in both leagues)?

That will be coming in the next update. This last one was only about the growth of the two leagues.

 

[Expat]

I don't know what exactly I'm going to do about larger guys. I am considering having the Supreme Court rule at some point (like the 50's or 60's) that it is unconstitutional to ban a sport and American football makes a comeback to be about as big as the MLS is right now with it being big in some pockets of the country. Also the Canadian Football League does not die, many Americans go up there to play and when football is legalize again in the US the CFL may expand into the US and be similar to the NHL.

Since IOTL almost all gridiron players (probably the closest to 100% of all the pro sports) became professionals by playing the sport in college, you have to look at what other sports they could play in college. As things stood at the time, not too many. Really just some of the field events and maybe boxing. Though pro boxing is still dominated by working class types, and it's hard to imagine that changing.

You've mentioned rugby several times and seem disinclined to bring it into the TL, but it might make some sense to have college club level rugby become bigger ITTL much earlier. It makes sense as a way to pander to the strictly college crowd that IOTL went for gridiron.

Meanwhile, gridiron develops off the grid (ha!) in working class areas as a street/field game. Kids were already playing pickup games by the time of the POD. It seems likely (and sorry, I know this is condescending) that the wealthier parents (who will send their kids to college) stop their kids from playing, while the poorer parents have less chance to influence what their kids play. So the poor kids keep playing gridiron while a fraction of the middle class and rich kids take up rugby in college.

So by the time gridiron is legalized, the leagues develop in poorer areas, maybe across the south, maybe on the "wrong side of the tracks" in larger cities, and the wealthy have been shunning the sport for a couple generations.

I'm thinking you have a "gridiron belt" that covers NASCAR territory, though maybe not complete overlap. And a "rugby belt" that covers basically the east coast, maybe into the Midwest. Kind of close to where lacrosse is "popular" today, and for similar reasons; maybe eventually with a rugby league that reaches similar popularity to OTL's lacrosse league (minimal popularity for viability, basically, but does serve as a small boost to US performance internationally.)

And then for flavor a northern US Canadian football belt that maybe spreads down the west coast (or not.)

Sorry, just an idea.

 

[Gass3268]

Since IOTL almost all gridiron players (probably the closest to 100% of all the pro sports) became professionals by playing the sport in college, you have to look at what other sports they could play in college. As things stood at the time, not too many. Really just some of the field events and maybe boxing. Though pro boxing is still dominated by working class types, and it's hard to imagine that changing.

You've mentioned rugby several times and seem disinclined to bring it into the TL, but it might make some sense to have college club level rugby become bigger ITTL much earlier. It makes sense as a way to pander to the strictly college crowd that IOTL went for gridiron.

Meanwhile, gridiron develops off the grid (ha!) in working class areas as a street/field game. Kids were already playing pickup games by the time of the POD. It seems likely (and sorry, I know this is condescending) that the wealthier parents (who will send their kids to college) stop their kids from playing, while the poorer parents have less chance to influence what their kids play. So the poor kids keep playing gridiron while a fraction of the middle class and rich kids take up rugby in college.

So by the time gridiron is legalized, the leagues develop in poorer areas, maybe across the south, maybe on the "wrong side of the tracks" in larger cities, and the wealthy have been shunning the sport for a couple generations.

I'm thinking you have a "gridiron belt" that covers NASCAR territory, though maybe not complete overlap. And a "rugby belt" that covers basically the east coast, maybe into the Midwest. Kind of close to where lacrosse is "popular" today, and for similar reasons; maybe eventually with a rugby league that reaches similar popularity to OTL's lacrosse league (minimal popularity for viability, basically, but does serve as a small boost to US performance internationally.)

And then for flavor a northern US Canadian football belt that maybe spreads down the west coast (or not.)

Sorry, just an idea.

Some great ideas in here! I think I'm going to have to do a couple chapters that look into what's going on in the other sports in the US. Baseball will still be king for a long time and by 2014 it will be a 3 way tie between Association Football, Baseball and Basketball in comparison to today were American Football is the undisputed king. Ice Hockey will be at a 2nd tier, but like today it will be at a 1st tier level in some locations in the US (New England, New York and Upper Midwest). American Football, Lacrosse and Ruby will be at a 3rd tier, with those sports continually getting bigger and closer to 2nd tier status. America in TTL will be a more diverse sporting nation which, as someone who loves all sports, is good thing.

 

[Unknown]

How about Association Football expansion into the West and South (especially the Southwest)?

I'm also interested in eventual minority participation in the AFA, especially given that, at this time, the clubs are likely segregated.

This probably changes after WWII (I highly doubt that the AFA formation would butterfly that away).

 

[Gass3268]

How about Association Football expansion into the West and South (especially the Southwest)?

I'm also interested in eventual minority participation in the AFA, especially given that, at this time, the clubs are likely segregated.

This probably changes after WWII (I highly doubt that the AFA formation would butterfly that away).

Expansion into the West and South will happen about at the same time it occurs in the MLB in the early 1960's. I will say that one of the early powerhouse teams in a small market will move to Los Angeles about the same time the Dodgers leave Brooklyn. 1932-1960 will be seen as the golden years of Association Football like the period of the original 6 in the NHL or when there were only 16 MLB teams in 10 cities from the 10's to the 50's.

Integration of football will be interesting and I will cover it, it will happen a little bit before Jackie Robinson in the MLB like it was for the NFL. Also I'm not doing to deal with that many political/world event butterflies. I want the focus of this timeline to be on sports.

 

[Expat]

A situation where rugby is considered the "classy" alternative to something would be especially funny, since in the UK I understand it is (or at least was for many decades) considered the preferred game of the working class, over soccer.

 

[Gass3268]

Preview for the next chapter:

Big thanks to Rubberduck3y6 for doing all of the graphic work for this timeline!

 

[Custard Cream Monster]

A situation where rugby is considered the "classy" alternative to something would be especially funny, since in the UK I understand it is (or at least was for many decades) considered the preferred game of the working class, over soccer.

Sort answer, in general, no. Rugby union is generally considered middle class in England (not so in Wales, mind), and no sport has more traction amongst the working classes than football (soccer). Rugby league is more regionalized than class based (think of a strsight line between Liverpool in the west and Hull in east).

 

[StateOfConfusion]

What will interest me is how this will affect the growth of collegiate and professional sports in the South, since it's so heavily oriented around gridiron football IOTL.

 

[SactoMan101]

What will interest me is how this will affect the growth of collegiate and professional sports in the South, since it's so heavily oriented around gridiron football IOTL.

With the effective banning of American football in this ATL, I wouldn't be surprised that association football takes off FAST in the southeastern USA as a competitive sport at the college level. Can you imagine Alabama versus Auburn on the soccer pitch (if the Americans adopt the circa beginning of September to early May season used in Europe) around four times per season? It could be just as big as Real Madrid versus FC Barcelona!

 

[Alstein]

In regards to the South, what about segregation, could you see Negro football leagues like how baseball had the Negro Leagues? For the US to become a power, it will need to tap into its lower classes (this is one of the issues with the national side today- it's largely an middle to upperclass sport in the US, contrary to the rest of the world)

One thing I could see in the South is professional teams based off the alumni of college clubs- you could have Raleigh FC (the Red Terrors) , Seminole FC, etc...

 

[SunDeep]

Preview for the next chapter:

Big thanks to Rubberduck3y6 for doing all of the graphic work for this timeline!

Well, that should be fun. Will NYFC be big from the outset, or will they grow to dominate the AFA later on, in a similar manner to Manchester United in the Premier Legue?

 

[SactoMan101]

In regards to the South, what about segregation, could you see Negro football leagues like how baseball had the Negro Leagues? For the US to become a power, it will need to tap into its lower classes (this is one of the issues with the national side today- it's largely an middle to upperclass sport in the US, contrary to the rest of the world)

But I think when Americans started to desegregate from the 1950's on, you will see mixed-race association football sides at least by the late 1960's. There may be a few holdouts, but the superiority of mixed-race teams will win out in the end.

I can just see by 2014 in this ATL, teams that have a strong presence of international players (e.g., the NBA's San Antonio Spurs in the OTL) would be the most wildly successful teams in the pro levels of the AFA. Teams from California, Texas and Florida--which would have access to the best players from Latin America--would totally dominate the AFA, in my humble opinion.

 

[Gass3268]

Chapter 6: Professional Football’s First Stars

The Kicking Indian

Charles Stoneham, the owner of the New York Giants baseball team, realized that big money was to be made in association football. After winning the 1921 World Series, he chose to celebrate by purchasing New York FC. Originally wanting to rename after his baseball Giants, but Commissioner Andrew Brown convinced him to keep the current name. He told Stoneham that the name invoked a sense of power and prestige. However, Stoneham did redesign the club’s logo and kit to match his Giants.

The only thing missing was winning. Every single championship in the National Association Football League (NAFBL) had come from a New Jersey team, except for Brooklyn FC in the 1913-1914. Stoneham wanted his club to be pinnacle of football in America. The hiring of Jim Thorpe as a player/manager in 1922 did just that.

Jim Thorpe began his athletic career in 1907, the year American Football was banned. He was a track and field star at Carlisle Indian Industrial School in Carlisle, Pennsylvania. Thorpe also competed in many other sports including baseball, lacrosse, ballroom dancing and association football. Pop Warner, the track and former American football coach, suggested that Thorpe try soccer now that he couldn’t play American Football. Thorpe was a natural and with very little practice was already the best player on the team. In 1911 he almost singlehandedly upset Harvard with a hat trick as Carlisle won 3-2 and went on to go 22-2 for the season. The next year the team went undefeated and won the collegiate national championship, with Thorpe scoring 32 goals in the 24 game season.

Also in 1912, Thorpe participated in the Summer Olympics in Stockholm, Sweden winning goals in both the Decathlon and Pentathlon. Yet later it was found that Thorpe had participated in professional minor league baseball between 1909 and 1910. The International Olympic Committee in turn striped his medals, which were not returned until 1983. After this Thorpe played professional baseball for a variety of teams including the New York Giants and Cincinnati Reds. Yet it was football were Thorpe shined.

Thorpe first played for Western Reserve FC in Cleveland, which was at the time a minor league team, for two seasons between 1913 and 1915. The club won their league title both years. For the 1915-1916 season, Thorpe signed with West Hudson AA. They were one of the powerhouse teams in the NAFBL having won 5 titles, the most of any club. It took some time for Thorpe to get used to the much faster and technical game in the NAFBL, but by the 1917-1918 season he was the undisputable best player in the league. West Hudson AA went on to win the next two titles and in 1921-1922.

After being signed to play and manage New York FC, the club went on to win three straight titles. They lost the 1925-1926 title by a single point to the Fall River Marksmen. They had become the top club in America, just as owner Charles Stoneham had desired. Thorpe announced that he was going to retire as a player after the 1926-1927 season to focus on managing the club. He ended his storied carrier has a champion.

NAFBL League Champions
1917-1918: West Hudson AA
1918-1919: West Hudson AA
1919-1920: Bethlehem Steel FC
1920-1921: Bethlehem Steel FC
1921-1922: West Hudson AA
1922-1923: New York FC
1923-1924: New York FC
1924-1925: New York FC
1925-1926: Fall River Marksmen
1926-1927: New York FC

Papa Bear and The Galloping Ghost

There were many men pivotal to growing the game of association football in the Midwest, but no one arguably was as important as George Halas. As a player for the Decatur Stanley’s, Halas was given control of the team in 1921 by their owner and namesake Augustus Stanley. The previous season had been successful on the field, but at a financial loss. Halas moved his team to Chicago and in 1922 he renamed the team the Bears. The Chicago Cubs baseball club had allowed Halas’ team to play at Wrigley Field, so the team was renamed to honor the Cubs. Two years later he was able to get his Bears moved into St. Louis Soccer League and he was instrumental in assisting Commissioner Robert Miller in many of this league reforms. This included renaming the league the Football League of America (FLA) and further league growth. Most importantly, it was his signing of Red Grange in 1925 that helped establish the FLA as near equals to the NAFBL.

Red Grange was a star footballer at the University of Illinois, scoring over 100 goals in his 4 year collegiate career and winning the 1923-1924 national championship. Grange was courted by every major professional football team in the country, including Jim Thorpe and the powerhouse New York FC. Yet he turned down them all to play with the Chicago Bears for the 1925-1926 season, which was close to his home in Wheaton. The Bears greatly improved that season, finishing only 3 points behind the champion St. Louis Screw. Not only did the play of the Bears improve, but ticket sales across the FLA exploded whenever the Bears were in town. Everyone wanted to see the Galloping Ghost. The Bears went on to win the title the next year and in so help establish the start of a dynasty which would last past the merger.

FLA League Champions
1917-1918: Ben Millers
1918-1919: St. Louis Screw
1919-1920: St. Louis Screw
1920-1921: Innisfails
1921-1922: St. Louis Screw
1922-1923: Naval Reserve
1923-1924: Ben Millers
1924-1925: Sporting Kansas City
1925-1926: St. Louis Screw
1926-1927: Chicago Bears

 

[Gass3268]

What will interest me is how this will affect the growth of collegiate and professional sports in the South, since it's so heavily oriented around gridiron football IOTL.

With the effective banning of American football in this ATL, I wouldn't be surprised that association football takes off FAST in the southeastern USA as a competitive sport at the college level. Can you imagine Alabama versus Auburn on the soccer pitch (if the Americans adopt the circa beginning of September to early May season used in Europe) around four times per season? It could be just as big as Real Madrid versus FC Barcelona!

Football will take off in the South. World War One greatly assisted in spreading the game to this region. Right now most of the clubs are at low minor league status, but they will get better as time goes on and eventually the big leagues will expand to the South and West. SactoMan101 is correct that it will first really take off at the college level, many of top players in the NAFBL and FLA will have gotten their start in a southern collegiate power like Alabama or Tennessee.

In regards to the South, what about segregation, could you see Negro football leagues like how baseball had the Negro Leagues? For the US to become a power, it will need to tap into its lower classes (this is one of the issues with the national side today- it's largely an middle to upperclass sport in the US, contrary to the rest of the world)

One thing I could see in the South is professional teams based off the alumni of college clubs- you could have Raleigh FC (the Red Terrors) , Seminole FC, etc...

There will be Negro football leagues, but they football in the north will segregate a couple years before the MLB does with Jackie Robinson. I'll probably have a chapter on it here in the future.

Well, that should be fun. Will NYFC be big from the outset, or will they grow to dominate the AFA later on, in a similar manner to Manchester United in the Premier Legue?

They will be an early powerhouse until at least the 1950's. Whether or not they move to San Francisco with the Giants is still to be seen!

But I think when Americans started to desegregate from the 1950's on, you will see mixed-race association football sides at least by the late 1960's. There may be a few holdouts, but the superiority of mixed-race teams will win out in the end.

I can just see by 2014 in this ATL, teams that have a strong presence of international players (e.g., the NBA's San Antonio Spurs in the OTL) would be the most wildly successful teams in the pro levels of the AFA. Teams from California, Texas and Florida--which would have access to the best players from Latin America--would totally dominate the AFA, in my humble opinion.

Totally agree, the league's strength is very much going to shift towards the south by the end of the 20th century and into the 21 century, but many of the traditional powers in the large Northeastern and Midwestern cities will still be strong to this day.

 

[Unknown]

I'm not surprised at the presence of Jim Thorpe (the medals shouldn't have been stripped from him, IMO). At least he'll be one of the first inductees in the AFA Hall of Fame.

WWII is going to make the game more popular in other areas of the country and around the world.

Heck, this is probably the TL where the US becomes a soccer powerhouse...

In any TL, Papa Bear Halas is successful, it seems.

Is soccer popular in high schools across the country?

 

[Gass3268]

Upcoming Chapters:
Chapter 7: Early International Play
Chapter 8: The College Game
Chapter 9: The Merger To Save The Game
Chapter 10: So Close in Italy
Chapter 11: Depression Era Stars
Chapter 12: Negro Football Leagues
Chapter 13: The Miracle in France
Chapter 14: Football Goes Back To War