NAFL 1917-18 season

June 29, 2021 |  Categories:  NAFL  

A new era for the NAFL began with the onset of the Great War. Dublin F.C., Ironsides A.F.C. and Splitdorf F.C. were all out of the league after only one season. But they were replaced by better and much more stable clubs. A newly organized Paterson F.C. joined and the league expanded into Eastern Pennsylvania by adding the great Bethlehem Steel F.C. and Disston A.A. from the Tacony neighborhood of Philadelphia.

The league was the most stable it had been in number of years with all the clubs. Bethlehem was the class of the league but a late loss to West Hudson kept Paterson in the running. Paterson protested an early loss to New York due to that club using a player from Clan MacDonald who had not been released from that club for the required seven days. The NAFL initially threw out the protest but Paterson appealed to the New Jersey State Football Association. That organization ordered the game replayed and the NAFL appealed that decision with the U.S.F.A. The protest process took mose of the season. Bethlehem beat Paterson on June 8 but a few days later the U.S.F.A. ruled in Paterson's favor and ordered the game against New York to be replayed. New York refused to replay the game and Paterson was awarded a forfeit on that game and the other pending match between the two clubs giving Paterson the championship over Bethlehem.