St. Louis Soccer Football League

Last updated
St. Louis Soccer Football League
Founded1907;115 years ago (1907)
Abolished1915;107 years ago (1915)
Region St. Louis, Missouri
Most successful club(s) St. Leo's (4 titles)

The St. Louis Soccer Football League was a professional soccer league featuring teams from St. Louis, Missouri. The league ended in 1915 when the top two teams from league and the top two teams from the rival Federal Park Soccer League joined to form the new St. Louis Soccer League. [1]

Contents

History

The St. Louis soccer scene did not have a professional league during the 1906–07 season. [2] The St. Louis Soccer Football League was organized to fill that void before the 1907–08 season. [3] Dr. Alexander Murray was founding president [4] and Thomas W. Cahill founding secretary of the league. [5]

The city champions, [6] St. Leo's, jumped from the defunct Association Football League of St. Louis to the St. Louis Soccer Football League prior to the 1908–09 season. [7] St. Leo's continued their local dynasty winning four straight league titles along with defending their title as city champions.

In January 1913, in the middle of the 1912–13 season, St. Leo's withdrew from the St. Louis Soccer Football League. [8] During the subsequent offseason, William J. Klosterman, manager of St. Leo's, claimed to have reorganized the St. Louis Soccer Football League with Winton E. Barker as its president. [9] In actuality, this was a breakaway organization formed by Klosterman to compete with the already-established St. Louis Soccer Football League. [10] [11]

The new league had taken a lease to play its matches at the Athletic Park where the old league had played since its founding. As such, the old St. Louis Soccer Football League moved to Robison Field for the 1913–14 season. [10] Confusion was caused by both leagues calling themselves by the exact same name and the new league moving into the old league's venue. As such, the old league was more commonly referred to as the Robison Field Soccer League while the new league was more commonly referred to as the Athletic Park Soccer League. The Athletic Park League affiliated with the newly sanctioned United States Football Association which left the older Robison Field League as an outlaw organization. [12]

Prior to the 1914–15 season, the newer league moved into Federal League Park and renamed itself as the Federal Park Soccer League. [13] Even after this name change, the older St. Louis Soccer Football League continued to be commonly called the Robison Field League.

Negotiations to end the warring between the leagues went on throughout the 1914–15 season until a plan was finalized near the end of March 1915. The plan called for the top two teams of the St. Louis Soccer Football league, Innisfails and Columbus Club, to be admitted to the U.S.F.A. and those teams to join the top two teams in the Federal Park League, St. Leo's and Ben Millers, to form a new, stronger organization, the St. Louis Soccer League. [14] [15]

Past winners

St. Louis Soccer Football League winners
SeasonWinnerRunner-up
1907–08 Innisfails St. Matthew's
1908–09 St. Leo's St. Teresa's
1909–10 St. Leo's St. Teresa's
1910–11 St. Leo's Columbus Club
1911–12 St. Leo's Innisfails
1912–13 Innisfails Business Men's A.C.
1913–14 Columbus Club Innisfails
1914–15 Innisfails Columbus Club

Performances

St. Louis Soccer Football League winners by teams
TeamWinnersRunners-upYears wonYears runner-up
St. Leo's 401908–09, 1909–10, 1910–11, 1911–12
Innisfails 321907–08, 1912–13, 1914–151911–12, 1913–14
Columbus Club 121913–141910–11, 1914–15
St. Teresa's 021908–09, 1909–10
St. Matthew's 011907–08
Business Men's A.C. 011912–13

Teams

→ as Thistles 1907–08 through 1908–09
→ as Irish American A.C. 1911–12
→ as West Ends 1908–09

Notes

  1. ↑ Becomes Missouri Naval Reserves upon moving to the St. Louis Soccer League for the 1915–16 season.
  2. ↑ Team replaces St. Leo's in January 1913.
  3. ↑ Team is sponsored by Innisfail but made up of players from Benld, Illinois.
  4. ↑ This is a separate team sponsored by Innisfail (beginning with the 1909–10 season) from the one that competed during the 1907–08 season.
  5. ↑ Team joins St. Louis Soccer League for the 1915–16 season.
  6. ↑ Team withdraws from league in January 1913 and is replaced by Compton Hill A.C.
  7. ↑ This is a different team from the one that competed as St. Teresa's from 1907 through 1910.

See also

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References

  1. ↑ "Soccer Men Will Form Professional League at Next Meeting". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. 1915-03-24. Retrieved 2022-02-02.
  2. ↑ "Socker Game Is Closing Season". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. 1907-03-17. Retrieved 2022-02-03.
  3. ↑ "St. Mathews in Socker League". St. Louis Daily Globe-Democrat. 1907-10-25. Retrieved 2022-02-03.
  4. ↑ "Chicago Soccer Clubs Will Play In St. Louis". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. 1907-11-17. Retrieved 2022-02-03.
  5. ↑ "Chicago Soccer Teams May Play Game Here". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. 1907-12-05. Retrieved 2022-02-03.
  6. ↑ "Soccer Elevens Meet in Battles for City Title". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. 1911-03-12. Retrieved 2022-02-03.
  7. ↑ "Soccer League Elects Officers for Season". St. Louis Daily Globe-Democrat. 1908-10-13. Retrieved 2022-02-03.
  8. ↑ O'Connor, W. J. (1913-01-22). "St. Leo's, Out of League, Planning Eastern Invasion". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Retrieved 2022-02-03.
  9. ↑ "Winton Barker to Lead Soccer Lads Coming Campaign". The St. Louis Star. 1913-09-16. Retrieved 2022-02-03.
  10. 1 2 "St. Louis Soccer League in Shape". St. Louis Daily Globe-Democrat. 1913-09-19. Retrieved 2022-02-03.
  11. ↑ "Klosterman Takes Stand on Warpath". The St. Louis Star. 1913-09-22. Retrieved 2022-02-03.
  12. ↑ Lloyd, Clarence F. (1913-09-14). "Phil Kavanaugh is Named Referee in Soccer League". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Retrieved 2022-02-03.
  13. ↑ "St. Leos to Play at Federal Park, Klosterman Says". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. 1914-10-18. Retrieved 2022-02-03.
  14. ↑ "Soccer War Ends; Klosterman and Finnegan Resign". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. 1915-03-21. Retrieved 2022-02-03.
  15. ↑ "Soccer Men Will Form Four-Club Professional League at Next Meeting". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. 1915-03-24. Retrieved 2022-02-03.
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