In their first year in Penultimate Division, the Philadelphia Libbies claimed the top spot and earned their way back to the Ultimate Division.  The relatively young Old Nassau 1869 club also punched a ticket to the Ultimate Division.  Cleveland Forest was 4 points and 3 goals short of getting back to the Ultimate Division.
 
At the bottom of the table were Washington DC Athletic Club and the New York Chieftains.  DCAC was a goal worse than Detroit United Albions on goal difference to be sentenced to relegation.

With the Libbies' promotion, there wouldn't be 3 teams from the City of Brotherly Love in the Penultimate.  Reigning American Football Association Cup winners Brooklyn Bridegrooms had hoped to capitalize on that success but a slew of injuries put them in the lower half of the table.
 

Last edited by Goldengoose05 (5/17/2020 10:12 am)

Kansas City Fountains were the big surprise of the season, capturing first place in the Mid-American Regional Division.  Operating on a shoestring budget, the Fountains managed to pull ahead at the tightly stacked top of the table.  The Fountains fared poorly at home, despite their enthusiastic fans.  The management is uncertain if they will be able to finance operations in the Penultimate Division next season.  Canton Rovers fought off a number of contenders for the second spot. 

The three demoted teams did not fare well in Regional Division play.  The biggest disappointment were the St. Louis All-Saints, who had progress upwards so quickly but this year finished out of the bottom two by 2 points.  The Regional Divisions don’t have relegation yet, but that day will be coming soon.  As has tended to be the case, the newly promoted squads were hard-pressed to earn points in the Regional Division, with Covington and Gary finishing at the bottom.  They do show promise for next season;  Bavarians, in particular, were a .500 squad at home, although rather poor on the road.

The defending champions Brooklyn Bridegrooms did not advance very far in defense of their title.  After surprising the Cincinnati Scarlets, they fell to the up-and-coming Old Nassau 1869 in the second round.  Once again, Ultimate Division squads were dominant, claiming three of the final four spots.  Only the Penultimate’s Cleveland Forest was part of the final quartet.   Three-time champion Milwaukee Brewmasters fell in the quarterfinals, but cross-town rivals Cream City FC made it to the semi-finals.

Stickman wrote:

Nice to see this is back on track to where things left off!  Looks like my Shipwrights barely avoided relegation, that'd have been crazy to go from champs to relegation!  Actually, it really does look like there was a lot of traffic at the bottom of the standings for the Ultimate Division, that'd have been fun to follow in real life for sure!  

Curious to know, (because I'm sure it wouldn't have been feasible back in the day travel wise), but do you have an idea of when you will be allowing teams in the Western Regional Division to be eligible to promote up to the top 2 divisions?

I don't think I could realistically have the Western (and the soon-to-be Souther) Regional Division teams play in the upper divisions until the 1930s.  However, they soon will play in the American Football Association Cup, and the Columbia Challenge Cup will probably change its format again to get more inter-regional play.

Now if I could only get my simulation spreadsheet to actually do all the things that I have mind for automation of graphics. 

In the AFA Final Cup, the ever-deadly Michael Poole opened the scoring for the Bannerets in the 11th minute, weaving his way past Massey and Kramer and then being Underwood with a rocket just inside the left post.  Baltimore added to its lead twenty minutes when Poole found Alexander wide open on the other side of the penalty, the Cream City defense having overcommitted to stopping Poole.  Alexander danced past Underwood and then smashed the ball into the empty net.  Ten minutes later, Cantrell launched a flighted ball in the general direction of Poole.  As has happened many times prior, the ball carried longer than intended, longer than GK Underwood had expected, and the ball ended up in the net.
 
In the second half, Milwaukee Cream City came out with unbridled effort.  They were quickly rewarded when Hobbs managed to ricochet a ball through traffic past the stunned GK Harmon.  The Cream City pressure continued and once again delivered results.  This time, a well-placed pass from Lowe allowed Hobbs to get behind the Banneret defense.  He dribbled straight at Harmon, and the ball trickled in after a painful collision.  Both benches cried foul, and Hobbs was crying from a broken ankle.  Playing a man short for the rest of the match, Cream City could not find the equalizer, and so the Bannerets added an American Association Football Cup to their trophy case.