Posted by Goldengoose05  5/17/2020 9:26 am | #141 |
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)
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Posted by Goldengoose05 5/17/2020 9:32 am | #142 |
Claiming the top spot in the Eastern Regional Division by healthy margin were the Trenton Cannons. Richmond Railers came in second, fending off Cantabrigian FC and Union Newark for the other promotion spot to the Penultimate. Fall River, demoted after the previous season, couldn’t earn their way back up, but their late season success leaves them a strong contender for promotion next season. Once again, newly promoted Sectional Division squads – Green-White Hannover and Bethlehem Steelworkers – had a difficult time in the upper ranks. They finished at the bottom of the table, though Hannover was only 2 points out of 14th place.
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Posted by Goldengoose05 5/17/2020 9:33 am | #143 |
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.
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Posted by Goldengoose05 5/17/2020 9:34 am | #144 |
The San Francisco Barbary Pirates staked their claim as the power in the West by claiming their first Western Regional Division title. Defending champion Golden West challenged them for the title but finished three points behind. Alameda Vampires, a perennial powerhouse, finished a disappointing fifth. With the title, San Francisco will host the Columbia Challenge Cup.
The expansion squads had mixed result. Denver Snowcaps finished in the middle of the pack while FC Salt Lake City was third from the bottom.
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Posted by Goldengoose05 5/17/2020 9:44 am | #145 |
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.
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Posted by Stickman 5/17/2020 9:53 am | #146 |
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?
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Posted by Goldengoose05 5/17/2020 1:22 pm | #147 |
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. 
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Posted by Goldengoose05 5/21/2020 7:13 am | #148 |
In the AFA Cup semi-finals, Boston Shipwrights squared off against Milwaukee Cream City FC. Cream City’s George Hunter took advantage of Shipwright goalkeeper Wade Logan acknowledging the fans’ adulation and scored in the first minute from midfield after receiving the opening kickoff. Lowery equalized in the 11th minute with an exquisitely taken free kick from twenty yards out. Hobbs reclaimed the lead for Cream City when a long diagonal ball from Hart found his head and then looped over Logan. Brice Ward equalized for Boston after some dazzling passing between him and Neil Francis. Casey Leach secured the game winning goal 5 minutes from halftime with a resounding volley served up by a Connor Massey corner kick. The second half was goalless and lifeless. Milwaukee dropped back, leaving only Hobbs up top. Boston couldn’t find a way to crack the Cream City defense despite repeated attacks, and Milwaukee survived until the final whistle.
In the other semi-final, it was only the fantastic play of Forest’s goalkeeper Brandon Potts that kept Cleveland from being completely humiliated. The Bannerets attacked with impunity and Forest’s defenders seemed incapable of stopping Baltimore from shooting. On the afternoon, Potts must have stopped a ball with every part of his body. His cap even deflected one attempt just wide. Despite his amazing play, Potts couldn’t keep everything out. The Bannerets’ Cantrell finally broke through with might generously be called a long range shot, or perhaps less charitably as a sh-t long ball in search of Center Forward Poole. Seven minutes later, Poole was on the receiving end of another long ball from Cantrell. This time, he was able to tap it over on an onrushing Potts. Baltimore continued to attack but with less urgency. Cleveland had trouble connecting more than 3 consecutive passes, and the Banneret swarming defense quickly won the ball back. With very little possession, Forest had no chance.
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Posted by Goldengoose05 5/21/2020 1:30 pm | #149 |
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.
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Posted by Goldengoose05 5/25/2020 10:46 am | #150 |
Football World Championship
The Football World Championship was held in Hungary, at the newly opened Stadion Albert Flórián of the Hungarian champion, Ferencváros. The AAAFL champion Milwaukee Brewmasters were in Group A along with Celtic of Scotland and Internazionale of Italy. All three teams split their games and ended, but the Brewmasters advanced on having scored the most goals. Their reward was to face the hosts in the semifinals. Inspired play by AAAFL Golden Ball winner, assists, and points leader Omar Turner led to two goals by goalscoring champion Maurice Webster and led to an upset over the hosts.
The Brewmasters met their match however against the German champion Karlsruher FV. The Germans were too fit and too clinical in their play to allow the Brewmasters any time to create anything on offense. A single goal was all that Karlsruher needed to secure the victory and the Globe – the trophy for winning the Football World Championship.
