National Challenge Cup

With the first full month of league play in the books, the first weekend of November turned back to National Challenge Cup play. All eight ASL clubs had won their first round matches so league play in early November took a backseat to the cup competition.

The three Southern New England District clubs played their second round matches on Saturday, November 5th. On the Berkshire Street grounds in Holyoke, Falco F.C scored 7 goals in the first half and crushed Hartford F.C. 7-2. Fall River United blanked Rhode Island’s Lonsdale Mills F.C. 6-0 at the Fall River Athletic Grounds. And 1000 fans saw J. & P. Coats defeat their old Southern New England League rivals St. Michaels of Fall River 2-0 off a brace by Albert Mitchell at Coats Field in Pawtucket. Philadelphia F.C. also played on Saturday, defeating Marshall E. Smith 4-1 on Dobson Athletic Field at the Falls of Skoolkill.

The remaining ASL clubs played their cup matches the next day, Sunday, November 6th. And, for the first time, two of the pro clubs would face each other in National Challenge Cup play as Harrison S.C. traveled to face Celtic F.C. at the Jersey City Baseball Grounds. After only 10 minutes of play, Harrison got on the board first when Jimmie Wilson, future major league baseball player and manager, dribbled down the right wing then scored on a hard shot. John Heminsley put the visitors up by two goals after scoring off an assist by Davey Brown, then scored another in the second half to put Harrison up 3-0. The Celtics averted a shutout when Harrison’s Albert Blakey was called for a penalty for pushing a Jersey City player. William Gilfillan made the penalty shot and the game ended 3-1 in favor of Harrison. New York F.C. beat Fairhill F.C. of Philadelphia 5-1 before 2,000 at New York Oval and Todd Shipyard easily handled Yonkers Thistle F.C. 6-1 at Todd Field also in front of 2,000 in attendance.

Other Cups

While the National Cup was the biggest non-league competition, others impacted the league schedule. While the ASL itself was directly sanctioned by the U.S. Football Association, the clubs themselves also fell under the jurisdiction of their regional associations. While this multilayered hierarchy would regularly cause challenges and conflict, it also provided the opportunity for the ASL clubs to take part in cup tournaments organized by these regional associations. And, at this point in time, these cup competitions were generally more highly prized than and formally prioritized over league play. Holyoke’s Falco F.C. missed a second weekend of league play due to a cup-tie with Chicopee Rovers on Saturday, November 12. Both teams were members of the Northern Massachusetts and New Hampshire Football Association and were paired in the second round of that association’s state cup. Falco received a bye in the first round. Falco easily beat Chicopee 4-0 at Holyoke.

As a member of the Southern New England Association, Fall River United had signed up to take part in the Southern New England Association Cup. The competition was more commonly called the Times Cup after the donor of the trophy, the New Bedford Times newspaper. Unlike Falco, Fall River failed to play its quarterfinal match against Booth Mills F.C. on October 30 in order to play a league match. The Southern New England Association fined Fall River United $25 and gave Booth Mills a forfeit win.

Mid-November

As the ASL owners assembled at Hotel Astor in New York City on the afternoon of November 12, the league was doing unexpectedly well per the treasurer’s report. League officials would also adopt an amended schedule made necessary by various postponements of the early season. In addition, Jack Dunn, the owner of the Baltimore International League Ball Club was reportedly trying to get a berth in the league for the city and hoped to play the soccer team in Oriole Park. This wasn’t necessarily all good news for the ASL as rumors were that the Jersey City franchise might be available in the next year.

League play returned for most teams over the next couple of weeks of November. To help defray some of the lost costs due to National Cup play, New York hosted Philadelphia in a midweek intercity exhibition on Tuesday, November 8. The Phillies crushed New York 8-1 in front of 2500 at New York Oval and continued their winning ways by blanking Harrison S.C. 3-0 that Sunday and Fall River United 1-0 the following Saturday, November 19. Todd Shipyards attempted to keep pace but dropped out of first place when they lost their Sunday match 3-0 to New York F.C. Todd rebounded the next Sunday, November 20 beating Harrison 2-0 but were now behind league-league Philadelphia F.C.

A bigger disruption in November’s league play was the growing worry over the Jersey City franchise. Celtic F.C. was due to host league-leading Philadelphia on Sunday, November 20 but were forced to cancel because the club was unable to get possession of West Side Park. Thanksgiving day matches were traditionally a big draw for soccer matches and Harrison S.C. was scheduled to host Celtic F.C. in a league match at Harrison Field. The Celtics cancelled and were replaced with Philadelphia F.C for an exhibition match.

The final weekend of November was again taken up by third round National Challenge Cup play. On Saturday, November 26, Falco F.C beat the St. George Soccer Football Club of Bridgeport, Connecticut 5-2 off a hat trick by Brown on a snow-covered field in Holyoke. That same afternoon J. & P. Coats edged host Fall River United 2-1 thanks to a brace by Jack Kershaw. And Tommy Fleming’s hat trick paced Philadelphia F.C. to a 5-0 victory over that city’s Fleisher Yarn, champions of the International League. The next day Todd Shipyards was scheduled to host New York F.C. and Harrison S.C. was scheduled to host Newark’s Antler F.C. but both third round National Cup matches had to be postponed due to rain.

The Table

The month of November ended with a tight race at the top of the table. Philadelphia undefeated in 9 matches at 17 points with Todd just one point behind them but having played 2 more matches. New York sat third with 13 points.

Coats was fourth with 9 points. Harrison, Falco and Fall River United were clumped together with 6, 6 and five points respectively. And the struggling Celtic FC sat last with no points having still only played five matches.

Next month, December brings more cup match days, a heated battle for the top of the table, and the league is forced to deal with its first major challenge.