Philadelphia was central to the formation of the first two pro soccer leagues in the US, the National League baseball-backed American League of Professional Football, and the American Association of Professional Football, which played its first games before, and outlived, the ALPF.
Our series on the origins of soccer in Philadelphia concludes.
After the quick demise of the Philadelphia Phillies pro soccer team in 1894, Philadelphia’s other pro team would return to the amateur ranks before going on to win Philadelphia’s first national soccer championship in 1897.
Steve Holroyd looks at the history of the North American Soccer Football League, which existed for two short years right after the Second World War and featured the talents of Gil Heron.
A look at Christmas soccer in Philadelphia in the 1890s, the beginning of organized league play in the city.
With the approach of the opening of the Major League Baseball and the recent debut of the Philadelphia Union, the PSP takes a look at the connection between baseball and soccer in Philadelphia soccer history and recounts the story of the Philadelphia Phillies’ short-lived soccer team of 1894.