At the bottom of the Ultimate Division table, at the end of Week 36, it was the two newly promoted clubs – inaugural member Baltimore Chimney Swifts and Canton Rovers. Inaugural member Chicago West Side Kicks were only head of Canton on goal difference. In Week 37, Chicago managed a draw against Mound City to stay one point above relegation. Baltimore’s upset of Old Nassau 1869 put them even on points with Canton at 28 and ahead on goal difference, after the Rovers’ loss against instate rival Akron Vulcanites. In Week 38, the Chimney Swifts defeated New York Fomorians to put them to 30 points. Meanwhile, the West Side Kicks and the Rovers faced off at League Field in Canton with everything on the line. Chicago needed a win, while Canton needed a big win to catch up to the Chimney Swifts. With the raucous support of the home crowd, the Rovers triumphed with a 4:2 victory but it wasn’t enough to maintain their presence in the Ultimate Division. The West Side Kicks were demoted for the second time, this stint in the top division only lasting 3 years.
Penultimate Division
Kearny Caledonians took the top spot in the Penultimate Division to earn their first promotion to the Ultimate Division. Washington Insiders and Bethlehem Steelworkers had been duking it out at the top of the table, the former hoping for an immediate return to the Ultimate Division, the latter hope for their first elevation to the top flight. It all came down to goal difference at the end of Round 38. Washington’s +13 put them ahead of Bethlehem’s +11, and so the Insiders, an inaugural AAAFL club, would ascend to the Ultimate Division again.
At the bottom of the table, Buffalo Bruisers couldn’t keep pace with newly promoted United Kansas Cities and finished in a relegation spot. It would end the Brusiers’ five year stay in the Penultimate. The bottom-dwelling Paterson Blue Boys also ended a five-year run in the Penultimate, and they would be joining Buffalo in the Eastern Regional Division next year.
Last edited by Goldengoose05 (5/26/2022 1:31 pm)