Your Daily Guide

Reading Terminal Market Opens Plaza for World Cup

The 1100 block of Filbert Street will be closed to traffic to make room for outdoor seating, pop-up shops, lawn games, and live music taking over the street. The market is also extending its hours on several days this summer to align with Philly’s World Cup matches. [Philly Voice]

• Related: Philadelphia Soccer 2026 CEO Meg Kane explains why this month’s tournament will be a game-changer for Philly. [🎧 City Cast Philly]

City Council To Crack Down on Smoke Shops

A new bill passed by City Council defines kratom and hemp-based THC as “intoxicating substances,” demanding that retailers obtain a special permit to sell these products. Another related bill targets landlords renting space to smoke shops operating without a proper license. [🔒 The Inquirer]

• Related: Unregulated psychedelics can be easily bought over the counter in local smoke shops. [🎧 City Cast Philly]

School Staff Positions Won’t Be Saved Despite One-Time Allocation

After City Council scrapped plans to fund the district with a rideshare tax, Superintendent Tony Watlington told lawmakers in a memo that the one-time funding wouldn't be enough to restore eliminated positions. [Chalkbeat]

• Related: Education chair Councilmember Isaiah Thomas, who has been especially outspoken about school closures, called the letter “offensive and disrespectful.” [🎧 City Cast Philly]

Get a Rare Look at van Gogh’s “Sunflowers” Side by Side

Two versions of Vincent van Gogh’s “Sunflowers” are on display at the Philadelphia Museum of Art now through October. The yellow version crossed the Atlantic for the first time from London, as a rare loan to the PMA. [The Art Newspaper]

• Related: Check out more of van Gogh’s work at the Barnes Foundation, or visit one of Philly’s other art museums. [📝City Cast Philly]

Chilly Spring Hits PA Crops Hard

Farmers are experiencing devastating losses after an unexpected freeze damaged an estimated 70% to 90% of fruit yields. Popular crops such as apples, peaches, and cherries were hit hard, alongside nurseries and Christmas tree farms. [Penn State University]

• Related: Support local farmers directly by shopping at your neighborhood farmers market. [📝City Cast Philly]

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.