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1906-1907 Western Regional Division Teams
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The Boston Shipwrights claimed their 3rd title, outdistancing the Milwaukee Brewmasters by three points. The Shipwrights were atop the table from the very first week, albeit only a goal difference until week five. The standings were tight throughout most of the season. The West Side Kicks kept pace through most of the fall season; in the spring, Chicago faltered and ended up in eighth place. Their Windy City counterparts, who had gained promotion for this season, finished in 11th place and thus the Southsiders will return to the Penultimate Division for the 1907-1908 season. Joining them in demotion was AAAFL founding club Washington Insiders.
The Brooklyn Bridegrooms, who returned from a one year stay in the Penultimate Division, put together a strong season, finishing in 3rd place, 4 points behind the champions.
Reigning champions Baltimore Chimney Swifts put 4 players on the Top 11 - Bennett Blevins, Alexander Hobart, Giovanni Long, and Golden Ball winner Chance McGee – but they finished a disappointing 4th.
The Bannerets almost outpaced their crosstown rivals as they finished a point behind the Chimney Swifts in 5th place. Their record was marred by poor performance away from Oriole Park.
The reigning AFA Cup Champions, the Philadelphia Libbies, never could escape the middle of the table and ended up in 6th place.
The Boston Gaelics were in jeopardy of being demoted, but they gained 3 points in their last 2 games to secure their spot in the top division.
The awards for the season were:
Forwards
Richie Zerbel Milwaukee Brewmasters
Jack McConnell Chicago Southsiders
Bennett Blevins Baltimore Chimney Swifts
Alexander Hobart Baltimore Chimney Swifts
Giovanni Long Baltimore Chimney Swifts
Halfbacks
Chance Mcgee Baltimore Chimney Swifts
Alex Ireland Baltimore Chimney Swifts
Fullbacks
Willi Franz Milwaukee Brewmasters
Harry Lehfeldt Milwaukee Brewmasters
Myles Reilly Boston Gaelics
Goalkeeper
Will Maddox Pittsburgh Privateers
Awards
Most Goals 15, Misael Roberts, Brooklyn Bridegrooms
Most Assists 12, Chance McGee, Baltimore Chimney Swifts
Most Points 35, Misael Roberts, Brooklyn Bridegrooms
Golden Ball Chance McGee, Baltimore Chimney Swifts
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Cleveland Forest and Detroit Longtails ended up tied on points at the top of the Penultimate Division. Cleveland Forest had the better goal difference, so they claimed the title. Cincinnati Scarlets finished one point behind. A Week 21 loss to bottom-dwelling Indianapolis had dropped the Scarlets one point behind Forest and the Longtails. With all three contenders winning in the final week of play, Cincinnati was denied in their attempt to return to the top flight.
Indianapolis and Providence, who had been promoted into the Penultimate for the season, were in the bottom two spots, so they will return to the Mid-American and Eastern Regional Divisions, respectively. Indianapolis had a chance to overtake the surprisingly poor Philadelphia Sports Club, but PSC’s win over Paterson and Indianapolis’ loss to Cleveland Longlegs put Philadelphia 1 point clear of relegation.
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Washington DCAC made sure that their stay in the Eastern Regional was a short one. DCAC took the top spot easily, 6 points ahead of the other squad qualifying for promotion, the Pawtucket Millwheels.
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The two clubs from the Twin Cities battled for supremacy in the Mid-American Regional. In the end, it was Minneapolis Millstones who seized the divisional championship over the St. Paul Boreads. The Millstones also won the derby series with the Boreads (3:3 & 4:3), enabling them to fly their flag at Fort Snelling for the next year.
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Alameda Vampires eked out a 1 point lead at season’s end over their longtime rivals, Oakland Hornets. The title bestowed upon the Vampires the right to host and participate in the Columbia Challenge.
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The lowest-seeded Trenton Cannons almost pulled off the miracle run of the tournament with their potent goal-scoring attack. The eventual Ultimate Division champion Shipwrights took the Cannons too lightly, and Boston fell in the first round 5-3. Trenton then hosted both Cleveland outfits, downing the Longlegs 6-3 and then Forest 2-1. It was another Ohio team for an opponent in the semi-finals. The Cannons proved victorious with a 5-2 win over the Cincinnati Scarlets.
On the other side of the bracket, the Milwaukee Brewmasters squeaked by their visiting opponents by a single goal in each round. Their first victory was a 4-3 win over the Eastern Division’s Fall River Spindles. Then it was a 2-1 triumph over Penultimate Division’s Louisville Lt. Colonels. Then it was as 2-1 defeat of the Minneapolis Millstones. In the semifinals, they stopped the surprising run by the KC Fountains with a 2-1 victory.
The title game was a wide-open affair. Richie Zerbel started the scoring in the 22nd minute with a header off of a “patent-pending” longball from the immortal Pat O’Dea. The Australian played Randy Hall just after halftime to put the Brewmasters up by 2. Six minutes later, Pat O’Dea launched a screaming shot from 40 yards that the Cannon keeper John Washington could only watch go in the goal. In the 78th minute, the Cannons cut the lead to 1 with a Toby Jones penalty kick after a foul by Maurice Webster. Robby Garrison scored again for Trenton on a free kick 2 minutes before the end that beat a napping Oskar Feil to the near post. The Brewmaster defense solidified for the last few moments, and the Cannons had no more scoring opportunities. The Brewmasters were the 3-2 victors, and they claimed a second American Football Association Cup.
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Oak Park was the scene of the first Columbia Challenge to feature the winner of the Western Regional Division. The Alameda Vampires acquitted themselves well against the Ultimate Division Champions from Boston, the Shipwrights. With all the scoring happening in the first half, the Shipwrights jumped out to a 2:0 lead. Novak pulled one back for the Vampires two minutes later. Baker padded the lead for Boston in the 33rd minute. Alameda narrowed the lead to one on a fantastic header from Christopher, but that is how the scoring ended.
In the other semifinal, the AFA Cup Champion Milwaukee Brewmasters had an easy time against the Penultimate Champion Cleveland Forest. Again, all the scoring came in the first half. After that, Milwaukee relented on pressuring the Cleveland goal, and trusted in the defense led by the indefatigable Pat O'Dea.
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In the third place game, the host Alameda squad got off to a quick start from goals by Novak and Harper. After that, Forest found their rhythm and answered wih a Higgins goal in the 25th minute. Cleveland was then aided by the deaperture of Alameda's Hobbs, who earned a red card for a brutal foul on Tyson Day.
After that, the flow of the game was almost exclusively at the Forest goal. Joyce tied the game shortly before halftime, and then put Forest in the lead with a powerful volley in the 60th. Jason Sanders completed the scoring in the 72. Despite the two losses, it was the common consensus that the Westerners were up to par with their eastern counterparts.
In the final, the Milwaukee Brewmasters seemed to have an answer to everything that the Boston Shipwrights had to hurl at them. Pat O'Dea seemed to be everywhere - he squelched attacks, he ran down through balls, and he initiated Brewmaster attacks with his patented precise longballs. In the 24th minute the Shipwright defense cracked under the rapid counterattacks and surrendered a breakaway to Orlando Weber. Ten minutes later, Hy padded the lead off of a give-and-go with Auld.
After that, Milwaukee played the possession game, and the Shipwrights were hard-pressed to even get a touch of the ball. Boston did manage to get one goal back off of a Vance French free attack. After that, the Shipwrights lacked any further opportunities. Milwaukee held the ball for minutes at a time, making the Shipwrights run themselves ragged in vain attempts to reacquire possession. When the final whistle sounded, the Brewmasters had a second piece of hardware to go with the AFA Cup.
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At the Football World Championship in Italy, the Shipwrights could not assuage their disappointment from losing in the Columbia Challenge Trophy tourney. Boston lost all three of their matches to the English, German, and Dutch entries. They only managed to score a single goal. The hosts from Milan advanced on goal difference over Madrid FC, and then they captured the title in a thrilling 3:2 victory over Newcastle United of England.
Here are the results of the Derbies.
Finally, the minor leagues results. The four sectional league winners in each Region, Midwest and Atlantic, advanced by random draw to one-game playoffs. Two team winners from each Region earned promotion to their respective Regional Division.
The two teams promoted to the Mid-American Regional Division are St. Louis All-Saints and Waukesha Town 1866.
The two teams promoted to the Eastern Regional Division are Scranton City Electric and Carnelian FC.