Although he is not a soccer fan by any means and can at times be sarcastic and caustic, I always like reading Frank Fitzpatrick's columns in the Inquirer. He is close to my age and often writes (very well I might add) about Philadelphia sports history that I am old enough to remember - to a point.
In today's paper Fitzpatrick writes about the fabled Lighthouse Boys Club in Kensington, home of seven Hall of Famers. (Fitzpatrick mentions one of the seven, Walt Bahr, but does not say that he assisted on the most famous goal in U.S. Soccer history in a 1-0 upset of England in the 1950 World Cup.)
Having played against and with numerous Lighthouse alumni myself, that aspect of the article was of great interest and will be to anyone who grew up playing in the Philadelphia area. But what was even more fascinating was the latter half of the column about the American League of Professional Football, founded by Major League baseball owners in 1894. Most of the seven teams took the names of their baseball counterparts, an exception being the Brooklyn Bridegrooms.
As Fitzpatrick points out, "These owners lacked any useful knowledge of soccer." As an example, he cites the selection of Phillies baseball manager, Arthur Irwin, a Canadian, as league president. He was also coach of the soccer Phillies. And so it was that on October 6, 1894 an estimated 500 fans paid 25 cents each at the Baker Bowl on Broad Street to watch the New York Giants beat the Phillies, 5-0.
The league folded after the Phillies had played nine games - more than any other team. They finished just above the last place Washington Senators. Not much better on the soccer pitch than their current day namesake is on the baseball field, the soccer Phillies won two and lost seven, and were outscored 37-15.
The more things change, the more they stay the same.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment