In the American Football Association Cup, Kearny Scots were the Cinderella squad of the tournament.  The amateur side from New Jersey upset the NAFL's Longtails in Detroit.  Then they upset the Philadelphia Libbies at the Baker Bowl.  In the quarterfinals, they triumphed at home over the Boston Gaelics.  They only fell when they faced Beantown's senior team, the Shipwrights.  It was a dismal day for the Scots as they were trounced 5-1.
For their part, the Shipwwrights had a surprisingly tough time in the first round against the amateur Pawtucket Olympics.  After that, Boston got in gear and walloped the Cincinnati Scarlets, and then they defeated the Chicago West Side Kicks.

On the other side of the bracket, the Milwaukee Brewmasters defeated the freshman New York Chieftains.  Next they face Kearny Arlington, an upset winner over Baltimore Chimney Swifts.  After dispatching the amateur squad 2-0, the Brewmasters faced the other New York side, and Milwaukee came out on top 3-2 over the Fomorians.  In a hard-fought semi-final, the Brewmasters scored in the waning minutes to secure a victory over the Pittsburgh Privateers.

The final featured a match of the Ultimate and Penultimate Division's champions.  Boston’s South End Grounds were packed for the match.  The Shipwrights were unfamiliar with the Brewmasters’ style of play, which centered upon the magical long ball skills of player/coach Pat O’Dea.  The Brewmaster counterattack was deadly when O’Dea had the ball.  His through balls led to numerous chances that Fritz Jaeger and Randy Hall capitalized upon on either side of the halftime whistle.  Shane Sunderland pulled one back for the Shipwrights in the 78th minute, but Boston could generate no more scoring opportunities after that.

As the minutes wound down to a Milwaukee victory, the Brewmasters' ethnic German backers chanted their joy in their native language to their "Braumeisters" club.

[i]Nur

1903-1904 Season Summary


The 1902-1903 Season champions, Pittsburgh Privateers, could only reach the third spot, 8 points off of the champions from Boston.  The Shipwrights outdistanced the New York Fomorians by 7 points.   Boston claimed the top spot in Week 14 and never relinquished it.

The Shipwrights had the league's leading scorer in Walter Sexton, with 12.  Boston dominated the spring season, going undefeated until the very last (and meaningless) game of the season.

Chicago's Chris Fry led the league in assists (15) and points (33).  His performance earned him the Golden Ball and a spot on the Top 11.  The Boston Shipwrights placed the most members (4) on the Top 11, including the aforementioned Sexton.

The league's two Ohio entries, Cincinnati Scarlets and Cleveland Longlegs, both shared the same ignominious distinction of being the first two teams to be relegated from the Ultimate Division.   With 15 and 12 points respectively, their fates were written well before the end of the season.




In the Penultimate Division, the happier distinction of being the first two teams to be promoted to the Ultimate Division was enjoyed by Milwaukee Brewmasters and Philadelphia Sports.

Strangely, Washington DCAC and New York Chieftains both ended the season winless at home.

1903-1904 Preseason

At AAAFL Headquarters in Philadelphia, President Irwin announced some changes for the upcoming season.  He unveiled a new logo for the All American Association Football League.   



He also announced that the league would now be a 2-division system.  The 12-team AAAFL would be the top division, rechristened as the Ultimate Division.  The 10-team NAFL would be the second division, rechristened as the Penultimate Division.  At the season's end, the bottom two teams from the Ultimate Division will be relegated and the top two teams from the Penultimate Division would be promoted.  President Irwin indicated that there are plans for further league expansion.  "Who knows," he opined.  "Perhaps someday soon we will have a third or even a fourth division.  It's a great big country, after all."

When baseball's Baltimore Orioles moved to New York to become the New York Highlanders, new owners  Frank J. Farrell and William S. Devery, decided to field a team in the All-American Association Football League.  Playing of the Highlanders nickname, and hoping to appeal to the Big Apple's Scottish immigrants, as opposed the Fomorians' Irish focus, they named the team the Chieftains.  The club will play in the Penultimate Division at Hilltop Park.


 

In the derbies, Cincinnati claimed the Carnation Cup to take an overall 4-3 lead.  The Brooklyn Bridegrooms captured their first Big Apple Trophy since 1897.  While the Libbies couldn't catch Pittsburgh in the league standings, they did get the better of the Privateers in their clashes to claim the Quaker Cup for the fourth consecutive year.=13pxThe Libbies' Sam Thompson and Jack Davis were the only players who had previously been named to the Top 11.  All the other 9 players were first timers.The ten goals for the Chimney Swifts' Alex Ireland has him as the AAAFL's all-time leading goalscorer with 62 goals.  Teammate Fred Davies is in 2nd place with 54.

1902-1903

The AAAFL crowned a new champion in the 1902-1903 season.  The Pittsburgh Privateers climbed into the top spot in Week 9 and never relinquished it.

The Cleveland Longlegs had another dismal year, finishing 21 points behind with a -24 goal difference.  While the Longlegs defense was adequate, the offense was anemic, only scoring 24 goals over the entire campaign.  It wasn't until Week 15 that Cleveland gained a point in the spring season.  Just when things started to look better, they ended the season on a 5-game losing streak.