Philadelphia was central to the formation of the first two pro soccer leagues in the US, the National League baseball-backed American League of Professional Football, and the American Association of Professional Football, which played its first games before, and outlived, the ALPF.
After the quick demise of the Philadelphia Phillies pro soccer team in 1894, Philadelphia’s other pro team would return to the amateur ranks before going on to win Philadelphia’s first national soccer championship in 1897.
Philadelphia’s first organized soccer league continued to grow in its second and third seasons with more teams, rising attendance, and intercity games.
A look at Christmas soccer in Philadelphia in the 1890s, the beginning of organized league play in the city.