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What If?: the American Soccer League


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1951 League Table

ASL Champion: Boston Bears (3rd)

Archie Stark Trophy: Bethlehem Steel F.C. (65 PTS)

U.S. Open Cup: Bethlehem Steel F.C. (2nd) over Queens City Club

-- 65 PTS Bethlehem Steel F.C. (Bethlehem, PA)

-- 63 PTS New York Giants (Manhattan, NY)

-- 59 PTS Boston Bears (Boston, MA)

47 PTS Fall River F.C. (Fall River, MA)

39 PTS Queens City Club (Queens, NY)

36 PTS Scottish Rose F.C. (Kearny, NJ)

28 PTS Buffalo F.C. (Buffalo, NY)

24 PTS Brooklyn St. Mary's Celtic (Brooklyn, NY)

18 PTS Philadelphia United (Philadelphia, PA)

-- 05 PTS Baltimore F.C. (Baltimore, MD)

PLAYOFFS

(1) Bethlehem Steel F.C. vs. (4) Fall River F.C.

+ FRV 4 : 2 BFC

+ BFC 3 : 2 FRV

+= BFC 5 : 6 FRV aggregate

(2) New York Giants vs. (3) Boston Bears

+ BOS 2 : 2 NYG

+ NYG 2 : 3 BOS

+= NYG 4 : 5 BOS aggregate

FINALS: Boston Bears vs. Fall River F.C.

+ FRV 0 : 0 BOS

+ BOS 2 : 2 FRV

+ FRV 0 : 1 BOS

After their first season, Buffalo. F.C. was forced to reconsider their sweaters, which were essentially rip-offs of the legendary New York Giants kit, , substituting the colors for a darker black and a brighter yellow-orange color. This made their match-ups with the Giants very annoying for fans who had a tough time telling the difference apart (seemingly only the newer fans had trouble.) But new fans were what the sport needed, the league had to realize where the opportunities were. Thus were born Buffalo's classic gold jersey's, their earliest edition featuring a black 'B' for the city name, similar to the classic Bethlehem kit. The roster that the time also voted on getting rid of the collared jerseys, instead electing on the slim rounded-collar around their neck, which didn't agitate as much during matches.

It was in 1951 that Fall River F.C. also introduced their classic green-and-white striped jerseys, the classic kit the club is known for. The team decided to change their kit design, dropping the simple collared shirt with the letters 'F R' stitched on the front, with ownership feeling the look was "too collegiate". So the team adopted the new side-striped jersey design, but decided to keep a black 'F R' on the front (this would only stay for a few years through the 50's), while changing the back letter to black and switching their type of sock.

Boston was able to capture their second franchise title, taking down the Giants 4:5 on aggregate in the opening round, and would follow up in the finals with a slim victory over the fourth seeded Fall River F.C., who were also able to suppress the superiority of the Archie Stark Trophy winning Bethlehem Steel. Both of the first two games of the finals would go to draw, with no goals in the first and two a piece in the second. Things culminated on a cold night in Massachusetts, which saw a fairly snowy field and one goal victory by the Bears, scoring off a free kick given in a great crossing position. The goalie's hands were just too slippery, but everyone's feet were slipping even more. Thankfully, this problem would be solved for the time being thanks to the introduction of Adidas cleats in the coming 1954 World Cup.

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1952 League Table

ASL Champion: New York Giants (2nd)

Archie Stark Trophy: Bethlehem Steel F.C. (71 PTS) (5th)

U.S. Open Cup: Boston Bears (1st) over Queens City Club

-- 71 PTS Bethlehem Steel F.C. (Bethlehem, PA)

70 PTS Boston Bears (Boston, MA)

62 PTS New York Giants (Manhattan, NY)

-- 54 PTS Fall River F.C. (Fall River, MA)

-- 49 PTS Queens City Club (Queens, NY)

-- 47 PTS Scottish Rose F.C. (Kearny, NJ)

35 PTS Brooklyn St. Mary's Celtic (Brooklyn, NY)

19 PTS Buffalo F.C. (Buffalo, NY)

-- 12 PTS Philadelphia United (Philadelphia, PA)

-- 07 PTS Baltimore F.C. (Baltimore, MD)

1952 Playoffs

(1) Bethlehem Steel F.C. vs. (4) Fall River F.C.

+ FRV 0 : 3 BFC

+ BFC 6: 1 FRV

+= BFC 9 : 1 FRV aggregate

(2) Boston Bears vs. (3) New York Giants

+ NYG 3: 2 BOS

+ BOS 1 : 1 NYG

+= BOS 3 : 4 NYG aggregate

Final Round: Bethlehem Steel F.C. vs. New York Giants

+ BFC 2 : 2 NYG

+ NYG 4 : 2 BFC

+ BFC 2 : 3 NYG

The 1952 playoffs saw a complete re-match from last season, however with a complete opposite result. Instead, Bethlehem Steel, winning the Archie Stark Trophy for the fifth time, would lay a 9:1 beat down on Fall River F.C. by aggregate. In the other round, the Giants would do what Boston did to them, winning 3:4 by aggregate mostly thanks to an impressive 1:1 result in the second leg of the opening round, not allowing a dominating Boston offense who had 21 shots on goal to allow more than one goal. Not surprisingly, goalie 'Chief' Daniel McLauren was proclaimed the hero next day in the press, but was the subject of much criticism when he gave up a 90th minute goal to Bethlehem in the opening game of the final round, allowing them to tie it up at 2:2 in the first game. Thankfully, his offense was able to save face and score four goals in the second game, as Bethlehem was barely able to get their second goal until late in the game, and didn't stand a chance with the Giants produced their final goal on the 87' mark. Things culminated in a hostile Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, which saw their beloved franchise give up a 2:3 loss at home, as McLauren and the Giants took home their second ASL Championship.

The rest of the action remained stable as ever, with the standings only seeing a switch in position between Brooklyn St. Mary's Celtic, who continued to struggle as one of the older franchises, and hasn't been able to find their way out of the gutter. They would move up only one slot, while Buffalo F.C. fell one after a disappointing season in spite of a fair amount of hype from the Buffalo area media (how much of that was propagated by the franchise itself remains unclear.)

As for the kits themselves, no changes were made between '51 and '52.

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  • 2 months later...

1953 League Table

ASL Champion: Boston Bears (4th)

Archie Stark Trophy: Boston Bears (62 PTS) (1st)

U.S. Open Cup: New York Giants (3rd) over Bethlehem Steel F.C.

62 PTS Boston Bears (Boston, MA)

57 PTS New York Giants (Manhattan, NY)

54 PTS Bethlehem Steel F.C. (Bethlehem, PA)

-- 46 PTS Fall River F.C. (Fall River, MA)

43 PTS Scottish Rose F.C. (Kearny, NJ)

41 PTS Queens City Club (Queens, NY)

34 PTS Buffalo F.C. (Buffalo, NY)

29 PTS Brooklyn St. Mary's Celtic (Brooklyn, NY)

-- 26 PTS Philadelphia United (Philadelphia, PA)

-- 17 PTS Baltimore F.C. (Baltimore, MD)

1953 Playoffs

(1) Boston Bears vs. (4) Fall River F.C.

+ FRV 1 : 2 BOS

+ BOS 2: 1 FRV

+= BOS 4 : 2 FRV aggregate

(2) New York Giants vs. (3) Bethlehem Steel F.C.

+ BFC 4 : 1 NYG

+ NYG 2 : 1 BFC

+= NYG 3 : 5 BFC aggregate

Final Round: Boston Bears vs. Bethlehem Steel F.C.

+ BOS 3 : 1 BFC

+ BFC 2 : 1 BOS

+ BOS 4 : 3 BFC

+= BOS 8 : 6 BFC aggregate

Much like 1952, the kits for the season of 1953 did not see any new kits brought on to the field. However, financially the team was lifting off as the economy was boosting, and a new pro-European sentiment inspired a relation between Americans and the world game of soccer. Following World War II, the game was used through sports to heal the wounds of the greatest war man had ever witnessed. Soccer was rising in local popularity nearly as fast as the game of baseball was, although Major League Baseball was still on another level with its main stream coverage throughout national media, and its high profile of stars to market around.

The American Soccer League was lacking real American stars, as other sports had really developed. The best players were all foreign, and hard to market real popularity around. While it wouldn't be another 20 years until real American stars were to flourish, along with the game of soccer, the league was relying on older English players such as Dennis Westcott, Joe Mercer and Scottish men such as Willie Woodburn and Allan Brown to keep the league's legitimacy at hand. American Soccer League teams also began establishing their first real scouting networks, in order to build their franchises from the ground up for a long term duration, just like other major soccer associations permitted. Mexico and Central America soon became hotspots for scouts looking for brilliant Latin American players who seemed to have more of a natural niche for the game unlike Americans and Canadians. Following World War II and throughout the 1950's the game would feature its heaviest influence from European players, more seemingly refugees of their country looking to play the game of soccer in a nation of prosperity and not destruction.

1953 would see the Boston Bears clinch their 4th league title, with quite the offensive series against Bethlehem Steel F.C. Boston was the favorites throughout the playoffs, finishing with the Archie Stark Trophy as well with 62 points, their first in franchise history. Bethlehem was looking for their eighth title in franchise history, led by Gino Pariani, a member of the 1950 World Cup team which defeated the English national team. Pariani was one of the league's bigger stars, playing at the most prestigious franchise in the league, and really setting his mark on the league finishing the season as the league' top scorer at 25. However, the rest of Bethlehem's strikers were fairly weak, and a lack of effective substitutes while coping with grueling injuries, gave Bethlehem only a third-place finish, their lowest in 10-years since the 1943-44 season. And they looked good heading into the playoffs, finishing with four straight victories, and going on to defeat the New York Giants by 5 : 3 aggregate, although losing their game in New York. Boston went on to defeat Fall River F.C., the fourth-place seed by a score of 1 : 2 in Fall River, while they would head across state to the shore where Boston would win another one at home, 2 : 1. This led to a three-game series clash between presumably the two best teams that season, as Boston was able to secure a game one victory, 3 : 1, thanks to two goals from their third-string striker, Langford Sheffield. Given that, Boston didn't look too strong despite the late goals and game one victory, while they would go into Bethlehem and give up game two, 2 : 1. this led to an important game three, as Boston led by one goal, but would shut rabid local reporters up with an impressive 4 : 3 performance to win the title in Boston, as the team scored all four goals before Bethlehem had their second. Boston would be declared ASL Champions for the fourth time in franchise history, by a score of 8 : 6 aggregate.

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ASL Champion: Bethlehem Steel F.C. (8th)

Archie Stark Trophy: New York Giants (54 PTS) (2nd)

U.S. Open Cup: New York Giants (4th) over St. Louis Blues

54 PTS New York Giants (Manhattan, NY)

50 PTS Fall River F.C. (Fall River, MA)

-- 48 PTS Bethlehem Steel F.C. (Bethlehem, PA)

47 PTS Boston Bears (Boston, MA)

-- 39 PTS Scottish Rose F.C. (Kearny, NJ)

-- 33 PTS St. Louis Blues (St. Louis, MO)

-- 31 PTS Buffalo F.C. (Buffalo, NY)

29 PTS Queens City Club (Queens, NY)

-- 27 PTS Philadelphia United (Philadelphia, PA)

17 PTS Brooklyn St. Mary's Celtic (Brooklyn, NY)

-- 15 PTS Second City F.C. (Chicago, IL)

9 PTS Baltimore F.C. (Baltimore, MD)

Most Valuable Player: John O'Connell (NYG) (3rd MVP Award, Most in league history)

Top Scorer of 1954: Cyril Hannaby (FRV) (26 goals)

1954 Playoffs!

(1) New York Giants vs. (4) Boston Bears

+ BOS 4 : 1 NYG

+ NYG 2: 2 BOS

+= NYG 3 : 6 BOS aggregate

(2) Fall River F.C. vs. (3) Bethlehem Steel F.C.

+ BFC 3 : 3 FRV

+ FRV 1 : 2 BFC

+= FRV 4 : 5 BFC aggregate

Final Round: Bethlehem Steel F.C. vs. Boston Bears

+ BFC 3 : 1 BOS

+ BOS 3 : 2 BFC

+ BFC 2 : 0 BOS

+= BFC 7 : 4 BOS aggregate

The year of 1954 saw Bethlehem Steel F.C. reaffirm themselves as the best built franchise in all of ASL's history, securing the eighth title in their history, fittingly in the year of the league's 25th anniversary season. By the '54, Bethlehem had won 32% of the league's titles throughout its history, and by this point were considered the most dominant team in American history, not to mention the most popular and hated. If you weren't a Bethlehem fan, or could at least stand to respect their accomplishments, you either weren't a fan of the league, or a fan of a team with historical disappointments against the storied franchise. Having won half of the league's titles since starting up play once again in 1941, Bethlehem has become the number one franchise associated with American football. By 1954, Bethlehem had a kit as classic as to the success and parity of dislike and appreciation New York Yankees and their pinstripe uniforms.

Boston would lose a prospective second league title in a row, as Bethlehem would successfully master revenge against the team which defeated them 8 : 6 last year in the final series of the playoffs. Bethlehem would take game one, dropping game two, but would epically defeat Boston in game three, 2 : 0 at home, thanks to a goal at '34 from Frank Willington off a pass Fabiano Capprini, giving them the lead throughout until the final nail would put in at '88 thanks to a successful header from Gino Pariani. Even though he wouldn't lead the league in scoring for a second year in a row, Pariani was finally able to secure another league title giving the young player a grand total of three at the age of 26. Although the striker was receiving offers from over-seas, specifically from both France and Scotland, Pariani enjoyed his success in his home-land of America, having become a near child-hood hero throughout the mid-50's.

Once again the New York Giants and Fall River F.C. would fail in their attempts in the playoffs, while the Giants would drop as the number one seed to Bethlehem, who finished in third place for a second year in a row, although their campaign would end with the ultimate success. The Giants, however, would continue their success in their campaigns for the U.S. Open Cup, defeating the upstart St. Louis Blues in the final, 3 : 1 at home, for their fourth Cup win since winning its inaugural in 1948, making it the most successful franchise thus far in the Cup's short history. St. Louis' success was surprising, but in years to come, revealed to be a truly appreciated time in the league's history. In the Blues' inaugural season they would finish sixth with 33 points, way ahead of fellow start-up organization, Second City F.C. out of Chicago, who finished second to last with a poor 15 points.

The 1954 FIFA World Cup was held in throughout six different venues in Switzerland, whom was awarded the tournament unopposed in 1946, as one of the few European countries to come out of World War II with an enact and mostly unaffected government, civil system, and infrastructure. The United States Men's National Team began qualification apart of Group 12, alongside Mexico and Haiti. Rules stated each team would play each other twice, allowing two games at home for each team. Qualifying was nearly a year long process, as things began in July of 1953 with Mexico defeating Haiti in Mexico City, by a romping 8-0 margin. Six months later in late December, the Haitian team had a chance at revenge in Port au-Prince, but wise men would know Mexico had an easy victory coming, this time 0-4. But just 14 days later, the USMNT had their first chance at Mexico, as the two team's squared off at the Polo Grounds in Manhattan, New York City. A capacity crowd gave way for the USMNT to do battle with the Mexico National Team, headlined by C.D. Guadalajara player Tomás Balcázar, and Jose Luis Lamadrid, who would score four goals for Mexico throughout qualification, while Balcázar led the team with five. On the U.S. side, captain John O'Connell led the men's team in front of his home New York crowd, who was soon to be in the middle of an MVP season. He was alongside players such as Bill Looby of Buffalo F.C., who was just beginning his Hall of Fame career, as well as Walter Bahr of 1950's World Cup fame and of the Boston Bears, and their goalie Frank Borghi and of 1950's fame as well in the net of the USMNT. Gino Pariani, the son of Italian immigrants of St. Louis, MO, headlined the team's scoring options, as one of the ASL's headline stars of the Bethlehem Steel.

They would come in with not much expectations, but enough support from the fans and city, in order to draw out the Mexicans to a 2-2 result. This was a big result for the U.S., who knew the Mexican team and its players were of superior talents. But now another game was to be played a week away, this time in Mexico City, while the USMNT would pull off another miracle-esque win, this time 2-1, as Mexico's offense continued to stall after performing so well against a very weak Haitian team. This time, legend was made of Bill Looby, who would give the Americans victory with a goal in the 89th minute, a set piece header from the foot of midfielder Walter Bahr. The few Americans on site, mostly behind the American bench, celebrated like never before as the entire squad was ecstatic with what just went down. And with three minutes of extra time, were able to hold off a Mexican squad, seriously disappointed with the outcome.

Ferenc-Puskas-fires-home--006.jpg

At this point, the Mexicans understood they would finish with five points, while the United States already had three. They just need to defeat Haiti in their next and final games of qualifying. And they would do just that, with an impressive 4-2 victory in the US in Boston, while going on the road to win 0-3 to a heckling Haitian crowd, two-fifths large with local and traveling American supporters. Those two final victories, but more importantly the draw and late-winner against Mexico, would give the United States seven points to when Group 12 and successfully qualify for another FIFA World Cup appearance.

Format in 1954 saw four pots of seeded teams, including the United States Men's National Team in Pot 4, alongside Belgium, South Korea, and Scotland. Of these four pots, one team from each would be drawn and placed into the four World Cup groups. This time, the US was drawn into Group 1, featuring the likes of Brazil, Yugoslavia, and France. America appeared to be seriously outmatched, losing their first game in Geneva to the Brazilian men's team, 5-0. A couple of days later, the team would take on France, in a game which proved useless considering Brazil and Yugoslavia were already atop the table with three points apiece. With two needless points on the line, France would defeat the Americans, 3-2.

And while the Americans and their supporters were satisfied just to qualify for the World Cup, they understood there needed and would be a time to come when the American national team would be respected and feared throughout the international scene, and come to a point where qualifying is not only expected, but demanded.

The Knockout stage saw eight finals teams featuring Austria, Swizterland, Yugoslavia, West Germany, Uruguay, England, Brazil, and Hungary. Eventually, England, Brazil, Yugoslavia, and the host team, Switzerland, would find themselves already knocked out after just one game. This led to a final four of Hungary pitted against Uruguay and West Germany against Austria. The battle of Hungary and Uruguay would go down in spectacular fashion, as the Uruguayans would make it a 2-2 bout with a tying goal in the '86 minute. But Hungary would take things over in extra time, as Sandor Kocsis would score two goals in the '111 and '116 minutes of play to put his team in the finals. The Germans would easily defeat Austria, 6-1.

This would lead to a final in 1954 to be known as "The Miracle of Bern", a game covered in the article for reading below...

Every country has those stories that help build its collective national consciousness. Some' date=' of course, have receded into the mists of time only to be kept alive by a collection of monuments or statues. The grizzled looking horseback warriors in Budapest provide a particularly intimidating example -- Attila and his gang don't look terribly pleasant modelled in marble. In the United States, on the other hand, no school child makes it long without learning of the heroic American colonists like Paul Revere shaking off the imperial British forces seeking to oppress them during in the Revolutionary War. And Germany? Germany has the World Cup. Specifically, the global football championship of 1954 held in Switzerland. The Miracle of Bern. In one 90 minute match against Hungary, modern-day Germany was born.

By now, of course, you're become accustomed to callous overstatement by the Germany Survival Bible and you may be wondering how something as trivial as a football match could midwife a nation. But consider the following: after World War II, the country of Germany essentially ceased to exist. It was occupied and divided into four zones. On top of that, it was split between those who supported the Nazi party and those who didn't. By the early 1950s, the split between the children too young to fight in the war and their parents was likewise beginning to make itself felt.

In short, Germany was divided and defeated in so many different ways that people were no longer keen to identified with being German anymore.

Until the evening of July 4, 1954 when the final whistle blew with West Germany holding a 3-2 lead over a team that, at the time, was just as feared as Brazil is now. An entire nation went berserk.

"People didn't say that the national team players were world champions," recalled Horst Eckel, right forward for the championship team, in a recent conversation with SPIEGEL ONLINE. "They said: 'We are world champions.' The feeling of togetherness of the Germans was suddenly there again."

But going into the final, the German team was a hopeless underdog. Indeed, just a few days earlier in the group phase, Germany had lost to Hungary by the embarrassing score of 8-3. Of course, that first result might have been a sneaky ploy by German coach Sepp Herberger, who actually held out many of his star players during the match. But underdog sneakery doesn't really fit with being a national founding myth. And the fact remains that Hungary hadn't lost in 30 international matches until that fateful final.

It looked bad for the Germans at the beginning. It took the Hungarians little time to shred the German defense for two early goals. But the game quickly turned with Germany scoring two goals before the half -- the second on a corner by team star Fritz Walter onto the foot of Helmut Rahn who drilled it into the back of the net.

The second half was a rainy, muddy battle with the Hungarians mounting attack after attack on the German goal. Until just six minutes before time when it was finally the Germans turn. Radio commentator Herbert Zimmerman captured the action in the most famous play-by-play ever uttered in Germany: "Headball! Blocked! Rahn has to shoot from the background. Rahn shoots! Goooaall! Goooaall! Goooaall! Left-footed shot from Rahn! Schäfer pushed his way past Bozsik. 3-2 for Germany … You may think I'm crazy! You may think I've cracked! But even football players should have a heart!"

But what did it mean?

"We really had no idea how important it was or what was waiting for us back in Germany," reports Eckel. "We only realized when we returned to Germany -- as soon as we crossed the border."

The team was mobbed. The train could hardly continue after the first stop after the border with so many people on the tracks cheering the players. In Munich, hundreds of thousands turned out for a gigantic party on the central square. The same frenzy repeated itself over and over until the team finally managed to make it to Berlin for the biggest party of them all.

Soon after the Miracle of Bern, Germany found its economic footing and the so-called Economic Miracle got underway. Many today see a direct connection between the two. And even between 1954 and the success modern, democratic Germany has since become.

"We can still see how important it is today," says Eckel. "It's now 52 years after the Micracle of Bern and people hardly talk about the championships from 1974 and 1990" -- which Germany also won. "All the attention is still focused on 1954 -- that tournament was a very important event in German history."[/quote']

WorldCup1954logo.jpg

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VICTORS: WEST GERMANY

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Nice. I know you didn't make the logos for Bethlehem or the Giants, but did you make all the rest of these logos?

I'm very poor at making logos, with no real talents or idea of what I'm doing in Illustrator (such a shame, someone link me to lessons, I'm willing to pay real moneys). The Giants logo is obviously just the old New York Giants logo of the baseball team, which in this alternate history, never moves from New York as the owner keeps a hold of both baseball and soccer franchises, which both turn into major sports franchises. Their logo will never change, for the better. Fall River F.C.'s logo is one of some odd-foreign football team which I edited around to create a logo for Fall River. I'd love to have great logos made in the future, but for now my crappy logo-creating skills serve this time-period well. Boston Bears I found somewhere...Scottish Rose was one that I changed the text in...don't know if I'll ever change that one. It's pretty sexy. The Blues I created while borrowing the real St. Louis Blues logo in the crest and the Cardinals' classic STL letters in their jersey. Buffalo F.C. was easy to make, and love the simplicity in it. Queens City Club is probably my favorite, and easy to make as well. That logo will probably never change. Philadelphia United really shows off how bad I am at logos, while I think I found that stupid anchor and sea somewhere on Google. Brooklyn St. Mary's Celtic I was able to put together, Second City F.C. might have been a take off the Chicago Fire logo, my recollection is kinda blurry, while Baltimore's is an edit of a logo I found somewhere like many others.

Basically, my logo creating skills suck, and I am interested if anyone wants to do logos in the future or can teach me or link me to Illustrator lessons.

EDIT: By the way, I re-updated the history of the 1954 World Cup, so everyone check out those final few paragraphs added to the 1954 post above!

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ASL Champion: St. Louis Blues (1st)

Archie Stark Trophy: Boston Bears (64 PTS) (2nd)

U.S. Open Cup: Boston Bears (2nd) over Bethlehem Steel F.C.

64 PTS Boston Bears (Boston, MA)

56 PTS Bethlehem Steel F.C. (Bethlehem, PA)

51 PTS New York Giants (Manhattan, NY)

47 PTS St. Louis Blues (St. Louis, MO)

45 PTS Fall River F.C. (Fall River, MA)

36 PTS Buffalo F.C. (Buffalo, NY)

33 PTS Scottish Rose F.C. (Kearny, NJ)

-- 27 PTS Queens City Club (Queens, NY)

26 PTS Second City F.C. (Chicago, IL)

-- 20 PTS Brooklyn St. Mary's Celtic (Brooklyn, NY)

16 PTS Philadelphia United (Philadelphia, PA)

-- 11 PTS Baltimore F.C. (Baltimore, MD)

Most Valuable Player: Walter Bahr (BOS) (1st MVP Award)

Top Scorer of 1955: Frankie Molinelli (BOS) (21 goals)

1955 Playoffs!

(1) Boston Bears vs. (4) St. Louis Blues

+ STL 3 : 3 BOS

+ BOS 1 : 2 STL

+= BOS 4 : 5 STL aggregate

(2) Bethlehem Steel F.C. vs. (3) New York Giants

+ NYG 4 : 3 BFC

+ BFC 2 : 3 NYG

+= BFC 5 : 7 NYG aggregate

Final Round: New York Giants vs. St. Louis Blues

+ NYG 3 : 6 STL

+ STL 6 : 5 NYG

+ NYG 1 : 5 STL

+= NYG 9 : 17 STL aggregate

1955 was a year of second's for the Boston Bears. Throughout the entire regular season, the Bears had the looks of the strongest team in the American Soccer League, and would prove it in the end winning the Archie Stark Trophy, awarded to the points leader at the end of the year, for the second time in franchise history, while also going on to defeat Bethlehem Steel F.C. to grab a hold of their second U.S. Open Cup win in their history.

The Bears decided to change up their kit, with a seemingly reversal of their current get-up. The Bears would sport for their first time, a brown jersey instead of their usual golden sweaters with the brown strip. Now featured a yellow strip, and the word Boston was to be embroidered in brown instead of white. The shorts were also switched up from brown to gold, while the socks undertook a minor change. The switch was made in order to avoid difficulties related to match-ups with Buffalo F.C., the only other club to feature primarily a yellow kit. This kind of clash led to proposals of a home and away kit for games, but that idea wouldn't be undertook for another ten years.

Scottish Rose also decided to adjust their kits, this year adding a rose patch on their left shoulder, particularly because fans were whispering of the lack of uniqueness to the Scots' kit, especially since the Blues of St. Louis joined the league. But whispers would continue as the season went on, as supporters asked for even more flare added to their team's kits.

Unfortunately for either of those teams, the story of the year did not revolve around Boston's Archie Stark Trophy season or U.S. Open Cup victory, neither SRFC's measly addition of a rose patch. The story of the season, and for years to come, would revolve around the immaculate championship series performance against the third seeded New York Giants, whom also defeated their higher seed opponents. St. Louis was able to take care of the Boston Bears, the supposed best team in the ASL. The first game would be drawn out to three goals, while the second game saw St. Louis striker Hugh Ryan score the game-winning goal in the '91 minute to steal the game in Boston to an absolutely stunned crowd, whom watched their team's hard work and hopes flush down the drain in one split-second of quick footwork. New York on the other side, would take down the defending champion Bethlehem Steel F.C., who would drop their game in Pennsylvania by a goal, while losing in New York in the first game by one as well.

This set up for the sophomore year St. Louis Blues, a team built with nearly all St. Louis natives, taking on one of the most successful and covered teams in ASL's history in the New York Giants. Game One would be live in front of 55,000+ committed Giants supporters, who were, much like Boston fans, stunned to leave the game with a 3-6 result, at the hands of a Blues team which found a will to score every time, while the media attacked Giants' goalie Harold Ackerman. Fans were wishing they still had retired defender Joe Maca still on the pitch, and were deservedly nervous for their team's travels to St. Louis. 30,500+ would pack Sportsman's Park on North Grand Boulevard, to witness another incredible offensive showcase. The first ten minutes saw three goals, two for St. Louis, one for New York. As the second game continued, each team would end up trading off goals, until the second half began with a score of 3-2, New York. Fans were jittery about a rally, and were even more nervous after the Giants scored the first goal of the second thanks to a zinger from forward Charles Freidman. Down two goals at the '63 mark, Blues fans finally started rallying their team back ten minutes later with another Blues goal, this time coming from the always underappreciated midfielder, Daniel McLauren. But as things looked impossible three minutes later, as the Giants would score their fifth goal of the game to go up once again.

But with seventeen minutes left, plus the two tacked on in extra time, St. Louis was able to create one of the city's most memorable sports moments, which began with a tying goal from the great shooter, Hugh Ryan. Time would continue to tick as the Giants played a defensive style, seemingly playing not to lose, while the Blues were hungry to finish their final game of the season in St. Louis with a victory. As the ninetieth minute ticked on the timekeeper's clock, the Blues were in motion for another undermanned attack. But a series of fantastic and timely passes from the Blues attacking formation would prop up a solid strike from Ryan once again, but a poor block from Giants' goalie Ackerman would lead to a rebound where defenseman George Harbler, who hadn't scored a goal all season, would finish with his only on the year to put the Blues up 6-5 after a strike from the outline of the box. Harbler was seemingly playing poor football, positioned so close to the attack, but would ironically be in the right place at the perfect time, to give the 28-year old a fair 15 minutes of fame throughout the town. Now up 12-8 on aggregate, the Blues were pretty much guaranteed the title heading back to Manhattan, but that wouldn't hold them back from scoring another five goals, as the Giants came back up worn out and lacking morale and efficient leadership.

The St. Louis Blues, on the other hand, would signal the beginning of a new era in American soccer, as the old guard of American football saw their first glimpse of their soon to be fall from grace. In 1955, the Blues would become the first expansion team to win the American Soccer League championship, setting up for their own run at a number of titles with a team consisting of what would be known as "the Crew from Saint Lou" throughout the media and American soccer history.

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The original American Soccer League (ASL), operating between 1921 and 1933, was the first significant, viable, professional soccer league in the United States.

I beg to differ.

The St. Louis Soccer League preceded the ASL by 14 years and outlasted it by another 4 years.

At it's creation, it was the only fully professional soccer league in the United States.

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ASL Champion: St. Louis Blues (2nd)

Archie Stark Trophy: St. Louis Blues (60 PTS) (1st)

U.S. Open Cup: New York Giants (2nd) over St. Louis Blues

60 PTS St. Louis Blues (St. Louis, MO)

59 PTS New York Giants (Manhattan, NY)

53 PTS Boston Bears (Boston, MA)

50 PTS Bethlehem Steel F.C. (Bethlehem, PA)

38 PTS Scottish Rose F.C. (Kearny, NJ)

36 PTS Fall River F.C. (Fall River, MA)

35 PTS Buffalo F.C. (Buffalo, NY)

27 PTS Second City F.C. (Chicago, IL)

-- 23 PTS Queens City Club (Queens, NY)

19 PTS Philadelphia United (Philadelphia, PA)

-- 15 PTS Brooklyn St. Mary's Celtic (Brooklyn, NY)

-- 08 PTS Baltimore F.C. (Baltimore, MD)

Most Valuable Player: Tudor Corneliu (STL) (1st MVP Award)

Top Scorer of 1956: Hugh Ryan (STL) (29 goals)

1956 Playoffs!

(1) St. Louis Blues vs. (4) Bethlehem Steel F.C.

+ BFC 3: 2 STL

+ STL 3: 2 BFC

+ STL 3 : 1 BFC

+= STL 9 : 7 BFC aggregate

(2) New York Giants vs. (3) Boston Bears

+ BOS 4 : 2 NYG

+ NYG 4 : 0 BOS

+= NYG 6 : 4 BOS aggregate

Final Round: St. Louis Blues vs. New York Giants

+ STL 2 : 5 NYG

+ NYG 4 : 3 STL

+ STL 4 : 0 NYG

+ STL 1 : 0 NYG

+= STL 10 : 9 NYG aggregate

It was only natural that the same four teams as the year before would make the playoffs once again, but this time with roles shaken up, as the surprising defending champion St. Louis Blues now entered as a one seed, against the most successful franchise in ASL history, Bethlehem Steel F.C., who would finish in their lowest placing in modern history, but having secured at least the fourth seed well before the playoffs would begin. But they would fall short of reaching the final round for a second year in a row, despite winning game one at home by a goal. Their second game would go down in history, forcing the first replay, game three in ASL playoffs history. The Blues would defend their home pitch with a 3 : 2 outing of their own, but this would tie things at 5 : 5 aggregate after extra time, where no goal was scored and both teams were depleted. The referees called the match and a third game would be played a few days later in St. Louis. Game three would decide the series for the Blues, who would win fair by two goals with a score of 3 : 1.

New York would have to deal with Boston, in what would be a series the papers were having a hard time deciding, given you weren't reading a paper from New York or Boston. Both supporting sides were strong in their two-three seed match-up. The Bears fans would really boast their prospects of a championship after winning game one 4 : 2 at home, but game two would explain the home-pitch advantage for teams entering the second game with an idea of what is needed for absolute victory. And a clean sheet was provided for by their goalie, Rodrigo Xoán, and a much improved defense from last season. A 4 : 0 win in game two would give the Giants a 6 : 4 win over aggregate, placing them in the final round once again facing the St. Louis Blues, certainly hungry for revenge against the young team.

The 1956 Final Round was remembered by the eldest American association football fans who were lucky enough to grace the period, as one of the most exciting stories in sports, especially as a young man growing up in St. Louis, Missouri. Mound City had soccer fever once the Blues was able to capture the ASL Championship in only their second season of playing. Soccer was always popular throughout St. Louis, but now their team was the best in America's most prestigious league, and that was a proud thing to say. But massive disappointment would sweep the area first, when the Blues dropped game one at home, 2 : 5. Now with a three point deficit by aggregate, the team was forced to play in New York, where the crowd would erupt to a 4 : 3 victory, led by a finishing goal from Giants striker, substitute Teague Callaghan. Now up four on aggregate, the Blues would head home to do the impossible. The "Crew from St. Lou" would make their legend, accounting for all four goals in game three: two from Hugh Ryan, one from his partner in striking, Carl McLaren, and a final from the team's biggest anchor in the midfield, Tudor Corneliu, ASL's MVP for the season of 1956.

Their four goals would account for enough to cover the aggregate, which would force the American Soccer League's for game four in the final round, as St. Louis, by way of seeding, would host a fourth and final match to decide the series' victor. And both teams were hungry, as the game would go tied for an entire 84-minutes, until Hugh Ryan would snap a beautiful curved shot into the right back corner of the net, as Rodrigo Xoán would give his best go at a swat at the ball, only to fall face first to a riotous applause from the nutty St. Louis crowd. He would slam his fists on the grass and shake his head in grievance, all while the Blues sideline were dancing around like little boys and the men of the field were expression their happiest of feelings. A party atmosphere would overcome Sportsman's Park and the surrounding blocks for the rest of the game, until the referee blew the final whistle, the champions were crowned, and the town partied into the night.

The only kit changes the league would see would be another from Scottish Rose F.C., who attempted to add some flare to their uniforms last season with the addition of a rose patch on the left arm. A year later, supporters wanted a bit more, and the decision was made to add the now classic "SR" to represent the club right over the heart.

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