1911-1912 Penultimate Division

With the continuing policy to fill out the ultimate division, four club qualified for promotion once again this season.  The Detroit Longtails took the top spot, edging out the Baltimore Chimney Swifts.  It would mark a return for both those clubs (Baltimore being an inaugural member) along with the Boston Gaelics.  Akron Vulcanites punched their first ticket to the top division on the basis of better goal difference than the Louisville Lieutenant Colonels and Chicago West Side Kicks, two other inaugural clubs hoping to return to the upper echelons.  Both Boston and Baltimore’s exile from the top division had only been a year.

The Richmond Railers had the best season of the newly promoted squads, finishing in 7th but only 4 points from the top spot.  United Kansas Cities and Canton Rivers finished in the middle of the pack to extend their stay in the Penultimate.  Even with a horrendous -15 goal difference, Trenton Cannons managed to remain in the Penultimate by finishing in 15th place.

Inaugural AAAFL member and original champion Brooklyn Bridegrooms had another disappointing season, avoiding demotion by only 4 points.
 

Last edited by Goldengoose05 (11/30/2020 1:33 pm)

1911-1912 Mid-American Regional Division

The Indianapolis Speedsters showed their pride in their new identity and raced to the top of the Mid-American Regional Division for the third time.  The rest of the field was left in the dust, with the Chicago Southsiders punching a return ticket to the Penultimate Division in second place, 7 points behind.  Diel’s FC of St. Louis failed in their bid to return to the Penultimate, and owner Gus Diel has been in conversation with some local groups to sell the club. Pullman Motor is also looking at selling the club after a last place finish.  Newly promoted Bloomington Evergreen and Flint Spark Plugs fell in the tightly packed middle of the table.

Last edited by Goldengoose05 (7/27/2020 12:44 pm)

1912 American Football Association Cup
The defending champion Baltimore Bannerets made a surprising exit in the second round to the Detroit United Albions. The Albions had suffered a disastrous season and demotion in the Penultimate, but when it came to Cup play, they seemed to do everything right.  Beginning with the Brooklyn Bridegrooms, who edged the Albions out for the right to stay in the Penultimate, the Albions then went on to upset the Bannerets and then the other Baltimore squad in the Chimney Swifts.  Then it was a victory in the quarterfinal match against the equally surprising Rock Island Freebooters out of Illinois.  Now they will have the face the historic Philadelphia Libbies in the semi-finals.

On the other side of the bracket, the New York Fomorians were the only Ultimate Division club to make it to the semi-finals, winning out in a close match against the rebranded United Kansas Cities.  The lower half of this side of the bracket provided another surprising story as the Mid-American Regional’s Louisville Racehorses won a first round derby match against the Lieutenant Colonels, and then they kept on running.  They took out newly promoted fellow Mid-American club Bloomington Evergreen and then eked out a massive upset of the powerhouse Milwaukee Brewmasters.  In the quarter-finals, they ran all over Philadephia Sports Club to secure a spot on the semi-finals.

AFA Cup Semi-Final

Burns Park in Detroit, home of both United Albions and the Longtails, was the host of the first AFA Cup semifinal.  The local fans were eager for another United Albions win after suffering through a poor regular season.

The game began with an unprecedented flurry of goals.  The score was 2-2 after only 10 minutes.  Bobby McIntosh led off the scoring for the home team off of the opening kickoff, weaving his way through the heart of the Libbies’ defense.  The lead was short-lived, as Philadelphia knotted things up in the 5th  minute, with a Valentin Ingram header off of a Deegan Hill corner kick.  Ellis Williams then gave the Libbies a momentary lead with a free kick to the upper left corner.  He didn’t have much time to celebrate, because Joseph Adams snuck behind the Libbies’ defenders on a lofted ball from Victor Glover and curved the ball around the sprawling Cannon Duffy, the Libbies goaltender.

Things settled down after that as both teams looked to shore up the defenses.  Tentative play marked the next 20 minutes, until a bad giveaway by Libbies defender Toby Kelly gifted McIntosh with a golden opportunity 10 yards from the goal.  McIntosh made no mistake and blasted it past Duffy, to the delight of the local crowd.  The rest of the game had virtually no action in front of the goals, but the Albion faithful were ecstatic that their lads were headed to the AFA Cup Final.
 

Sorry for the layoff.  



​American Football Association Final


The Polo Grounds in New York City were the scene of the 1912 edition of the American Football Association final.  The park was full at 34,000 fans - the largest crowd ever for an AFA Final.  The local Fomorians were confident after their semi-final victory over the Louisville Racehorses, and the vast majority of the full house were in their corner for this game.  The United Albions were feeling that destiny was on their side as they made their surprising run through the tournament, but winning against the formidable Fomorians was going to be a difficult feat.

New York opened the scoring with a well-driven shot from outside left Micah McPherson in the 12th minute.  The lead was increased when McPherson struck again, this time drilling a crossed ball from Josh Sweeney past Albion goalkeeper John Rose.  The crowd grew ever boisterous, but on the stroke of halftime, Detroit’s Victor Glover threaded his way through the Fomorian defense to pull one back.

Nerves showed on the part of the Fomorians and their fans as the second half began.  Tentative play led to hopeful long balls being played into the Albion penalty area.  On once such ball, Albion defender Charles Frye collided with Fomorian center forward Cannon Owen and a penalty kick was awarded.  Keegan Rivers buried the kick to increase the lead to two again.

Detroit was not finished, though.  Increasing their intensity and attacking with all players, a through ball in the 59th minute from Lucas Odom found Glover who notched his second goal.  Glover returned the favor four minutes later, and Odom tied the game at 3:3.  Hope was brimming on the part of Detroit, but it was not to last.  In the 72nd minute, with all of Detroit drawn to towards McPherson on the left, a long diagonal ball to the opposite side found Chris McKenzie with an open path to goal.  He deftly dribbled around the onrushing Rose to tap the ball into the net.  After that, the Fomorians dropped back to secure their lead, and the United Albions could not find any openings before the final whistle.  With the victory, the New York Fomorians added another entry to their banner.