Paterson True Blues

Paterson True Blues was a professional U.S. soccer team founded in the late 1800s and disestablished sometime after 1915. The True Blues, based out of Paterson, New Jersey are best known as one of the dominant soccer teams of its era and one of the first U.S. soccer dynasties.

History

The origins of the True Blues is unknown. However, in the late 1800s, the northern New Jersey area of Paterson, Kearny and Newark began producing dozens of talented teams which drew their rosters from the region's textile mills. The first record of the True Blues comes in the 1894 American Football Association’s American Cup. That year, Paterson went to the final before falling to the Pawtucket Olympics. Two years later, Paterson won its first Cup title. In 1897, Paterson joined the National Association Football League, the top professional league in the U.S. at the time. Paterson immediately established itself as the best in the league, taking the championship in its first season. Paterson won its second league title the next season, but at the turn of the century, soccer in the U.S. went into a brief decline. As a result, both the NAFBL and the American Cup where suspended. The Cup resumed play in 1905 and the NAFBL in 1907. Where Paterson played until then is unknown. However, they rejoined the NAFBL and remained in the league until 1915. In December 1913, Paterson travelled to St. Louis to match up against the best of the St. Louis Soccer League. They fell in their first game against an SLSL All Star team before defeated Columbian Athletic Club and tying St. Leo's, the city’s dominant team. [ [http://www.sover.net/~spectrum/year/1913.html U.S. Soccer History – 1913] ] After finishing the 1914-1915 NAFBL season at the bottom of the standings with an 0-14-2 record, Paterson withdrew from the league. Records for Paterson do not exist after 1915.

Year-by-year

Honors

American Cup:* Winner (3): 1896, 1909, 1913:* Runner Up (5): 1894, 1897, 1898, 1906, 1908

League Championship:* Winner (2): 1898, 1899:* Runner Up (1): 1913

Notable players

* Neil Clarke

External links

* [http://www.sover.net/~spectrum/nafbl.html National Association Football League standings]
* [http://www.sover.net/~spectrum/americancup.html American Cup results]

References