Philadelphia’s connection to soccer can be traced back to the late 19th century, when the sport was introduced by European immigrants laboring in factories in Fishtown, Kensington, and other surrounding neighborhoods. Early teams were associated with the players’ neighborhoods, ethnicities, or athletic clubs — such as Lighthouse Boys Club, which was established in 1897.
The nation’s first shot at establishing a professional soccer league in the U.S. began in 1894. And it’s all thanks to the sport most associated with America: baseball.
When professionalism was legalized in England, allowing players to profit from their work rather than play for the love of the game, players began ditching friendlies for higher-paying matches. In response, England’s Football League founder William McGregor created a league competition that would guarantee a specific number of home and away games for member clubs. There are claims that McGregor took inspiration from baseball’s system, although he was more likely copying the structure of cricket. The system was adopted, marking the sport's transition into a professional business.
Witnessing the success of soccer leagues abroad and the sport’s growth in the States, National League team owners saw a new way to make money during baseball's offseason.
Owners of baseball teams in Philadelphia, Boston, New York, Brooklyn, Baltimore, and Washington, D.C., established the American League of Professional Football in 1894. The soccer teams would take the names of their baseball counterparts. The group selected Phillies manager Arthur Irwin as the ALPF’s president, and he also coached the soccer version of the Phillies. The inaugural game was played in Philadelphia against New York (Phillies lost 0-5).
Not everyone was happy with this, namely the American Football Association (AFA), the first organizing soccer body in the U.S., which attempted to standardize the sport's procedures. It banned league players from participating in AFA-sanctioned matches as the AFA favored amateurism over professionalism. Attendance was slim, likely because games were scheduled on weekday afternoons. The owners soon found the soccer league distracting when rumors swirled of a rival upstart baseball league forming in the Midwest.
The ALPF lasted only one season, with Philadelphia finishing in fifth place.
