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1905-1906 Penultimate Division Results
The Brooklyn Bridegrooms took the top spot in the Penultimate to ensure their return to the top flight. Chicago Southsiders edged Philadelphia Sports and Cleveland Forest on goal difference to take the second promotion spot. Sports manager Connie Mack vowed that his club would make it back to the Ultimate Division next year.
St. Louis Big Deals and Washington DCAC finished at the bottom of the Penultimate. The Big Deals could have staved off relegation, but they dropped their last three games. Owner Gus Diel vowed that changes would be made for the 1906-1907 season in the Mid-American Regional Division. This could spell the end of the partnership with General Manager Thomas Cahill. Rumors abound that the other St. Louis club want Cahill to revitalize the Mounds.
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1905-1906 Regional Division Results
In the desire to balance the table sizes, President Irwin declared that two teams from each of the Regional Divisions would be granted promotion. In the Mid-American Regional, it was Indianapolis Circle City and Louisville Racehorses. The Louisville promotion will set up in-season derby matches between the Racehorses and the Lieutenant Colonels.
In the Eastern Regional, it was Paterson True Blues and Providence Silversmiths that claimed the top two spots and earned promotion to the Penultimate Division.
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Nice job with the new teams! I am new member but i was lurking around the sight as guest prior.
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1905-1906 American Football Association Cup
The 32 spots in the American Football Association Cup were filled by the entire slates from the Ultimate and Penultimate Divisions, along with the top 5 teams at the fall break from the Mid-American and Eastern Regional Divisions.
The St. Paul Boreads were one of the Cinderella stories, defeating the 2nd division's Boston Gaelics and Philadelphia Sports. Their second round win dashed the Quaker City’s hopes of a repeat of the famous 1903 matchup of the Philadelphia clubs.
The Boreads crosstown rivals also advanced to the quarterfinals, downing the Baltimore Bannerets and the Toledo Glassmakers. The Toledo squad had scored one of the biggest upsets with their defeat of NY Fomorians.
Paterson True Blues were another bright spot in the tournament. They knocked off the Pittsburgh Privateers and the KC Fountains before bowing to the Chicago West Side Kicks.
The Milwaukee Brewmasters had to face the two Chicago sides in succession. The Boys in Blue overwhelmed the Southsiders in the quarterfinals but fell to the West Side Kicks in the semifinal.
The Baker Bowl in Philadelphia was the venue for the 1905-1906 American Football Association Cup Final. The Libbies had edged their way into the final, garnering 1-goal victories at home in all of their games. The West Side Kicks had an easier time in their string of victories at West Side Park.
Ricky Cohen got the Libbies on the board in the 21st minute, from some snappy combination play with Deegan Hill and Roger Ryan. Cameron McGuire doubled the lead shortly after halftime on a floated cross from Reegan Holland. McGuire returned the favor in the 72nd minute by threading a through ball for Holland to run onto and shoot past West Side Kicks keeper Bennett Blevins.
After a long solo run, Anton McDaniel pulled one back for the West Side Kicks 2 minutes from the final whistle. There was no time to complete the comeback. When time was expired, the Libbies stood as AFA Cup champions for the second time.
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1905-1906 Football World Cup
In the Football World Cup, the AAAFL’s Baltimore Chimney Swifts were drawn with Juventus and Celtic of Scotland. After a disappointing draw with Juventus, the Swifts faced a must-win game against Celtic to advance. Trusty Inside Left James Holden scored in the 89th minute to garner the victory for Baltimore.
In the other group, Union 92 Berlin was faced with the same situation against Madrid FC of Spain. The Germans had an easier time in posting a 4:2 victory over the Spaniards.
In the final, the Chimney Swifts came charging out of the gate, scoring three goals in the first 15 minutes. Holden, Hobart, and Blevins all tallied. The Germans made a game of it by responding with two goals before halftime.
In the second half, things settled down and the Chimney Swifts adopted a more defensive posture. Baltimore absorbed the Berlin attacks and launched repeated counterattacks. Holden scored on one of the counterattacks in the 73rd minute to seal the match. With the victory, the Baltimore Chimney Swifts were Football World Champions.
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1905-1906 Columbia Challenge Trophy
The inaugural Columbia Challenge Cup featured the champions of all four divisions of the AAAFL playing at the South End Grounds in Boston. The Ultimate Division and newly crowned Football World Champions, the Baltimore Chimney Swifts, advanced with a convincing 4-2 win over the Midwest Regional champion, Indianapolis CIrcle City. The Brooklyn Bridegrooms edged the Eastern Regional champion from Paterson with a late goal.
In the Consolation Match, the two Regional Division Champions squared off. McKinstry opened the scoring with a free kick in the 15th minute. Larsen answered for Indianapolis with a left-footed volley off of a cross from Bridges. A poorly cleared ball in the Circle City penalty area allowed Jensen to sneak a low shot past Fletcher. Paterson tied the game in the 68th minute after a melee in front of the True Blues’ goal. The ball eventually landed at the feet of Chambers who tapped it in. Bridges won the game for Circle City.
In the Championship game, two longtime rivals squared off. Brooklyn, by taking first in the Penultimate Division, would be returning to the top flight in 1906. The Chimney Swifts had obviously claimed the Ultimate Division title, but they had also been crowned Football World Champions. With that big target on Baltimore’s back, the Bridegrooms came out strong. Patterson played a long diagonal ball behind the Chimney Swift defense for Glass to run onto. The left halfback dribbled by goalkeeper Ray for the first goal.
The setback seemed to awaken the Chimney Swifts, who pressed forward furiously. Their efforts were rewarded a scant nine minutes later when McGee took a quick shot from the top of the penalty arc, beating a surprised Coffey in goal.
The Bridegroom defense fell into disarray, and Baltimore took advantage of it. They left Inside Left Long open for Edwards to push through for a breakaway. Long deftly maneuvered around Coffey to put Baltimore in the lead. After that the vaunted Chimney Swift defense closed down every Bridegroom attack. Baltimore was content to protect their lead, and Brooklyn never threatened again. When the final whistle blew, Baltimore claimed the inaugural Columbia Challenge Trophy to add to their Ultimate Division title and Football World Championship.
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1906-1907 Preseason Announcements
AAAFL President Irwin gave his traditional preseason speech in Philadelphia to a packed crowd of newspapermen. Irwin noted that the drawn-out plans for a Western Regional Division had finally borne fruit. “We will have a Western Regional Division this year. There will be six teams for this initial season, but we are in communication with many potential clubs up and down the coast.” It is undecided if the Western Regional teams will participate in the American Football Association Cup, based on the prodigious travel distances involved. Irwin did mention, however, that the West will be the site of this year’s Columbia Challenge Trophy. “The Western champion will be the host. The invitees will be the Ultimate, Penultimate, and AFA Cup winners. It will be a showcase for our fans on the coast.”
Irwin also announced that there will be expansion in the Regional Divisions. “We have three new teams in both the Eastern and Mid-American Regional Divisions. We have four new cities being represented. Two of the cities are already represented, but we will the fan interest is there to support another club in each of them.”
With regard to further expansion, Irwin laid out the following plans. “We are working towards having 20 teams in each division. We’ll get the Penultimate Division to 20 before we fill out the Ultimate. We need to make sure that we have the best quality there. And we will do it with the assistance of our friends in the American Football Association.”
AFA President Harold then took the stage. “The AFA is now in the position to truly be the national body of association football. We have worked with associations across the country to solidify a true nationwide system. The AFA will be overseeing Sectional Divisions that will feed into the AAAFL’s Regional Divisions. That will be the mechanism for teams to progress up the ladder, potentially to the Ultimate Division. We’ll soon be releasing the details of the Sectional Divisions and what the promotion opportunities will be.”
Harold also mentioned that the AFA was in discussions with national associations around the world to form an official body to govern world football. “We have had very productive interactions with the associations of England, Scotland, Italy, Germany, and Spain in the operation of the Football World Championship. We have secured the cooperation of France and the Netherlands for this operation, but we all see the need to have an official organization to oversee these types of endeavors. We, of course, would love to have the United States be the seat of such a united football organization.”
President Irwin returned to the podium to discuss the topic of derbies. “Since the AAAFL’s earliest days, a number of derbies were marked with trophies between the competitors. As the league as a whole has grown, those teams might not face each other during the regular season, owing to being in different divisions. Additionally, we have clubs in neighboring locales that would be ideal for derbies. As such, the AAAFL is instituting a program of ‘Derby Days.’ These will occur immediately after the conclusion of the regular season. It will give more clubs the opportunity to end the association football year on a winning note.”
Irwin listed the longstanding derby competitions already extant.
Carnation Cup: Cincinnati Scarlets lead the series 7-3 over Cleveland Longlegs
Big Apple Trophy: New York Fomorians lead the series 6-4 over Brooklyn Bridegrooms
Quaker Cup: Philadelphia Libbies lead the series 8-2 over Pittsburgh Privateers
Irwin then introduced the new derby fixtures:
Big Mug: Donated by breweries of Milwaukee, it is to be awarded to the winner of Milwaukee Brewmasters and Milwaukee Cream City FC.
Big Pig: Donated by the slaughterhouses of Chicago, it is to be awarded to the winner of Chicago Southsiders and Chicago West Side Kicks.
Capitol Cup: Donated by Sons of the American Revolution, it is to be awarded to the winner of Washington Insiders and Washington DCAC.
Clam Chowder Cup: Donated by Irish Charitable Society, it is to be awarded to the winner of Boston Shipwrights and Boston Gaelics.
Derby Derby: Donated by Churchill Downs, a hat-wearing horse trophy is to be awarded to the winner of Louisville Lt. Colonels and Louisville Racehorses.
Fly the Fort Flag: The winner of Minneapolis Millstones and St. Paul Boreads will be allowed to fly their team flag from Fort Snelling for a year, allowing all those who travel by it on the Mississippi River to see which club dominates Twin Cities football.
Gateway Cup: Donated by Anheuser-Busch Brewery, it is to be awarded to the winner of St. Louis Mounds and St. Louis Big Deals.
Liberty Ball: Donated by Pennsylvania Railroad Company, it is to be awarded to the winner of Philadelphia Libbies and Philadelphia Sports Club.
Sixth City Cup: Donated by local business community, it is to be awarded to the winner of Cleveland Longlegs and Cleveland Forest.
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1906-1907 New Eastern Regional Division Teams
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1906-1907 New Mid-American Regional Division Teams
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1906-1907 Developments in St. Louis