The NAFBL was a league which operated between 1895 and 1921 in the coastal
area of the US between Philadelphia and New York City in the years before
the advent of the ASL I. The league suspended operations in 1898 but was
revived in Kearny, NJ in 1906. This was the second professional soccer
league to be formed in the country, and was the top circuit in the country
before the inauguration of the first American Soccer League in 1921.
This material was gathered from a number of sources. It was all provided
by Mark Pollak (mpollak0@counsel.com), and Roger Allaway, who gathered it
from a number of sources, including the Spalding Soccer Guides, Newark Advertiser
Philadelphia Inquirer, New York Times, and other newspaper archives.
Scoring system: 2 points for a win, 1 for a draw, 0 for a loss.
1895
GP W L T Pts
Bayonne Centerville 12 9 1 2 20
Kearny Scots 11 6 4 1 13
Brooklyn Wanderers 12 5 6 1 11
Americus A. A. (W.Hoboken)10 2 7 1 5
New Rochelle FC (did not start the season)
1895-96
(standings not available)
1896-97
GP W L T Pts
Bayonne Centreville
Brooklyn Wanderers
Kearny Scots
Newark Caledonians
1897-98
GP W L T Pts
Paterson True Blues 13 11 1 1 23
Kearny Scots 14 10 2 2 22
Kearny Arlington 14 8 5 2 18
Bayonne Centerville 13 8 4 1 17
Kearny AC 13 6 6 1 13
Brooklyn Wanderers 14 6 8 0 12
Paterson Crescent 13 2 11 0 4
1898-99
Bayonne Bayside
Bayonne Centreville
Brooklyn Wanderers
Kearney Arlington
Kearny Scots
Kearny Cedars
Paterson True Blues
Champions: Paterson True Blues
(Kearney Arlington came in 2nd place, was tied with Paterson,
going into the last game of the season).
[The league was suspended 1899-1906.]
1906/07
GP W L T Pts
West Hudson A.A. 23 19 3 1 39
Kearny Scots 23 17 2 4 37
Paterson True Blues 20 14 2 4 32
Newark F.C. 20 14 2 4 32
East Newark Clark A.A. 21 13 7 1 27
Paterson Rangers 19 10 6 3 23
Kearny A.C. 20 8 12 0 16
West New York Burns Club 16 8 8 0 16
Newark Hearts 19 7 12 0 14
Essex County F.C. 10 2 7 1 5 (dropped out 1/28/07)
Kearny Stars 7 1 5 1 3 (dropped out 1/7/07)
Gorden Rangers 3 0 3 0 0 (Dropped out early)
Kearny Scots were known at the time as the Scots-Americans or Scottish-Americans.
Gordon withdrew early in season. Kearny stars withdrew 1/7/1907.
Essex County withdrew 1/28/1907. After the season, Kearny A.C., and
West New York withdrew.
1907/08
Before the season, Bayonne Jersey F.C., New York and Yonkers were added.
West Hudson and East Newark did not play this season.
GP W L T Pts
Newark F.C. 13 9 2 2 20
Paterson Rangers 14 9 3 1 19
Kearny Scots 13 6 6 1 13
Paterson True Blues 8 4 1 3 11
Bayonne Jersey F.C. 11 1 8 2 4
New York Clan MacDonald 9 3 5 1 7
Yonkers Hollywood Inn 9 3 5 1 7
Newark Hearts 9 1 7 1 3
After the season, Bayonne, New York, Yonkers and Newark Hearts withdrew.
1908/09
GP W L T Pts
East Newark Clark A.A. 10 9 1 0 18
West Hudson A.A. 10 9 1 0 18
Newark F.C. 9 2 6 1 5
Paterson True Blues 10 4 5 1 9
Kearny Scots 9 1 5 3 5
Paterson Rangers 9 1 7 1 3
East Newark Clark A.A. and West Hudson A.A. were declared league co-champions.
After the season, East Newark Clark A.A. withdrew.
1909/10
Before the season, Paterson Wilberforce, Jersey F.C. and Brooklyn F.C. were added.
GP W L T Pts
West Hudson A.A. 10 10 0 0 20
Jersey F.C. 13 9 4 0 18
Brooklyn F.C. 10 5 4 1 11
Kearny Scots 12 4 6 2 10
Paterson True Blues 10 4 6 0 8
Newark F.C. 10 3 5 2 8
Paterson Rangers 10 2 6 2 6
Paterson Wilberforce 7 0 6 1 1
Newark withdrew during the season and was replaced by Bronx United who
withdrew at the end of the season.
1910/11
Before the season, Newark F.C. returned to the league.
GP W L T Pts
Jersey A.C. 13 8 2 3 19
Paterson Wilberforce 14 8 4 2 18
Paterson Rangers 14 6 3 5 17
West Hudson A.A. 14 6 6 2 14
Newark F.C. 14 6 6 2 14
Paterson True Blues 11 4 5 2 10
Brooklyn F.C. 10 1 6 3 5
Kearny Scots 12 2 9 1 5
After the season, Newark F.C. withdrew.
1911/12
Before the season, Bronx United was added.
GP W L T Pts
West Hudson A.A. 13 9 2 2 20
Paterson Wilberforce 12 6 2 4 16
Paterson True Blues 11 5 3 3 13
Paterson Rangers 12 5 4 3 13
Jersey A.C. 14 4 6 3 11
Brooklyn F.C. 11 4 5 2 10
Bronx United 11 2 5 4 8
Kearny Scots 12 2 9 1 5
1912/13
Before the season, Newark Caledonians were added
GP W L T Pts
West Hudson A.A. 18 13 3 2 28
Paterson True Blues 19 13 3 3 29
Paterson Wilberforce 19 2 4 3 27
Jersey A.C. 18 10 5 3 23
Kearny Scots 17 7 8 2 16
Newark Caledonians 18 6 9 3 15
Bronx United 17 7 10 0 14
Paterson Rangers 17 5 10 2 12
Newark F.C. 13 3 8 2 8
Brooklyn F.C. 16 2 14 0 4
Newark F.C. replaced Brooklyn Wanderers, which disbanded and merged
into Brooklyn F.C. on 12/23/1912 after 6 games
1913/14
Before the season, St. George was added, and New York Clan MacDonald
rejoined the league.
GP W L T Pts
Brooklyn F.C. 14 12 0 2 26
West Hudson A.A. 16 11 2 3 25
New York Clan McDonald 16 9 5 2 20
Newark F.C. 15 5 5 5 15
Paterson Rangers 14 5 5 4 14
Jersey A.C. 10 3 2 5 11
Kearny Scots 11 3 5 3 9
Paterson True Blues 8 3 3 2 8
Newark Caledonians 13 1 9 3 5
Bronx United 12 2 9 1 5
St.George F.C. (S.I.) 13 1 11 1 3
Paterson Wilberforce 11 2 8 1 5
Paterson Wilberforce withdrew in January. After the season,
St. George withdrew.
1914/15
GP W L T Pts
West Hudson A.A. 16 14 2 0 28
Jersey A.C. 16 13 2 1 27
Kearny Scots 16 8 3 5 21
Bronx United 14 7 7 0 14
New York Clan MacDonald 14 5 5 4 14
Brooklyn F.C. 14 5 6 3 13
Paterson Rangers 14 4 6 4 12
Newark F.C. 16 2 13 1 5
Paterson True Blues 16 0 14 2 2
Newark Caledonians withdrew before the start of the season.
After the season, Bronx United, Paterson Rangers, Paterson
True Blues and Newark F.C. withdrew.
1915/16
Before the season, Harrison and Bayonne were added.
GP W L T Pts
Harrison Alley Boys 8 5 2 1 11
Kearny Scots 7 4 2 1 9
Bayonne Babcock & Wilcox 5 3 0 2 8
West Hudson A.A. 3 1 0 2 4
Brooklyn F.C. 3 1 2 0 2
Jersey A.C. 4 0 4 0 0
Haledon Thistles (withdrew during season)
New York Clan MacDonald (withdrew before start of season)
After the season, Harrison withdrew.
1916/17
Before the season, Dublin, New York, and Newark were added.
GP W L T Pts
Jersey A.C. 12 8 1 3 19
Kearny Scots 12 7 3 2 16
Bayonne Babcock & Wilcox 11 7 4 0 14
New York F.C. 11 4 3 4 12
West Hudson A A 12 1 6 5 7
Dublin F.C. (Paterson) 10 2 7 1 5
Newark Ironsides 9 1 6 2 4
Brooklyn F.C. 1 0 1 0 0
Splitdorf F.C. 0 0 0 0 0
Brooklyn F. C. disbanded after their first game and were replaced
by Splitsdorf F. C. who disbanded before playing their first game.
After the season, Dublin, and Newark withdrew.
1917/18
Before the season, Bethlehem Steel, Paterson and Tacony were added.
GP W L T Pts
Paterson F.C. 14 12 1 1 25
Bethlehem Steel F.C. 14 11 2 1 23
West Hudson A.A. 14 7 6 1 15
Kearny Scots 14 6 6 2 14
Tacony (PA) Disston A.A. 14 5 7 2 12
Bayonne Babcock & Wilcox 14 4 7 3 11
New York F.C. 14 4 7 3 11
Jersey A.C. 14 0 13 1 1
After the season, West Hudson, Kearny, Tacony, and Jersey withdrew.
1918/19
Before the season, Philadelphia and Brooklyn were added.
GP W L T GF GA Pts
Bethlehem Steel 10 9 1 0 37 4 19
Philadelphia Merchant Ship10 4 3 3 19 14 11
Paterson F.C. 10 5 1 4 19 17 11
Brooklyn Robins Dry Dock 10 3 2 5 17 20 8
New York F.C. 10 2 3 5 13 21 7
Bayonne Babcock & Wilcox 10 1 2 7 14 33 4
After the season, Bayonne Babcock & Wilcox withdrew.
1919/20
Before the season, Brooklyn Morse dry dock, Kearny Erie,
Kearny Federal Ship, Philadelphia Disston, and New York IRT were added.
GP W L T GF GA Pts
Bethlehem Steel 15 12 1 2 34 9 25
Harrison Erie S. C. 16 11 2 3 37 21 24
Brooklyn Robins Dry Dock 14 1O 2 2 33 22 22
Paterson F.C. 15 7 1 7 23 29 15
New York F.C. 14 4 4 6 17 24 12
Brooklyn Morse Dry Dock 14 4 3 7 22 2O 11
Philadelphia Disston 12 2 2 8 16 19 6
Kearny Federal Ship 11 2 2 7 19 28 6
Philadelphia Merchant Ship13 O 3 1O 7 36 3
New York IRT 5 0 0 5 4 19 0
League champion: Bethlehem Steel
New York IRT withdrew early in the season. After the season,
Brooklyn Morse Dry Dock, and Philadelphia Merchant Ship withdrew.
1920/21
Before the season, Bayonne rejoined the league.
GP W L T Pts
Bethlehem Steel 12 11 0 1 23
New York F.C. 11 8 2 1 17
Brooklyn Robins Dry Dock 12 5 5 2 12
Kearny Federal Ship 10 3 4 3 9
Harrison Erie S. C. 9 3 4 2 8
Bayonne Babcock & Wilcox 12 2 9 1 5
Philadelphia Disston 9 1 6 2 4
Bunker Hill F.C. 3 0 3 0 0
Paterson F.C. withdrew early in the season and was replaced by
Bunker Hill F.C.
The league folded at the end of the season, but the lext season,
the ASL I started off and led US Soccer to new heights.