"New York" (the New Yorks or the New York Philadelphians) was a professional football team formed by promoter Tom O'Rouke for the

World Series of Football The World Series of Soccer was a series of club games hosted by Major League Soccer from 2005 to 2007. It was used by MLS to provide its teams with opportunities to compete against top international teams. Previous uses of name The term, World S ...

in 1902. The event was held in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

at Madison Square Garden. It featured five football teams from New York and

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...

: the Syracuse Athletic Club,

Orange Athletic Club The Orange Tornadoes and Newark Tornadoes were two manifestations of a long-lived professional American football franchise that existed in some form from 1887 to 1941 and from 1958 to 1970, having played in the American Amateur Football Union from ...

, Knickerbocker Athletic Club,

Warslow Athletic Club Warslow Athletic Club (also formally known as the Whitestone Warslows and the Warslow Indians) were an early amateur, and later professional, American football team. The club, based on Long Island, is best remembered for playing in the 1902 World ...

and "New York". The "New York" team was designed and heavily favored to win the tournament. However, they were defeated in the opening game by Syracuse.

Origins

The "New York" team comprised ex-players from the recently defunct Philadelphia Phillies and Philadelphia Athletics of the first National Football League – eight Phillies and four Athletics. It included

Charlie Gelbert Charles Magnus Gelbert (January 26, 1906 – January 13, 1967) was a professional baseball player. He played all or part of ten seasons in Major League Baseball for the St. Louis Cardinals (1929–32 and 1935–36), Cincinnati Reds (1937), Detroi ...

Blondy Wallace Charles Edgar "Blondy" Wallace (died March 5, 1937) was an early professional football player and later convicted criminal during the Prohibition Era. He was a 240-pound, former Walter Camp second-team All-American tackle from the University ...

, Walter E. Bachman and

Ben Roller Benjamin Franklin Roller (July 1, 1876 – April 19, 1933) was an American physician, a professional wrestler and a football player. Biography Early life Roller was born in Newman, Illinois. where he grew up on his family's farm. As a boy on t ...

. However, the team also featured some recognizable players from New York such as Curly Davidson. By putting together a team of all-stars calling them the "New York" team, O'Rourke expected to give his New York audience the pleasure of watching the "home team" win. The tournament was scheduled to last three nights starting on December 29 and ending on New Year's Eve. O'Rourke scheduled his tournament by considering the expected strengths of the teams. On opening night, he scheduled the "New York" team against Syracuse. By defeating Syracuse, the "New York" team, O'Rouke hoped, would then defeat the team that would probably bring the fewest fans into the Garden. Then on the second night, the Knickerbockers and Warlow would play to determine which team would be beaten by the "New York" team in the series' third game. O'Rourke anticipated this game as having the best attendance of the tourney. Finally in the fourth game, by holding out the Orange Athletic Club until the end, he predicted a New York versus New Jersey match-up in which New Jersey would lose a close game to one of the three New York teams.

Opening game vs. Syracuse

O'Rourke didn't realize how seriously the Syracuse team took the tournament. The team was put together by

Frank "Buck" O'Neill Frank J. "Buck" O'Neill (March 6, 1875 – April 21, 1958) was an American football player and coach. He served as head football coach at Colgate University (1902, 1904–1905), Williams College (1903), Syracuse University (1906–1907, 1913� ...

who conducted daily practices in preparation for the series. Syracuse defeated "New York" in what has been called the first indoor pro football game. The final score of the game was recorded as 6-0, but in reality it was 5-0, since touchdowns only counted for five points in 1902 and Syracuses' Glenn Scobey "Pop" Warner missed the extra point. Warner later suffered a head injury and was replaced by "New York's" Blondy Wallace. Syracuse would go on to win the Series with a 36-0 win over the Orange Athletic Club.

References

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:New York (World Series Of Football) 1902 establishments in New York City 1902 disestablishments in New York (state) Defunct American football teams in New York (state) Athletic Club football teams and seasons