Pullman F.C. was one of the dominant American

soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 Football player, players who almost exclusively use their feet to propel a Ball (association football), ball around a rectangular f ...

teams of the early twentieth century. Established in 1883 as the

Pullman Company The Pullman Company, founded by George Pullman, was a manufacturer of railroad cars in the mid-to-late 19th century through the first half of the 20th century, during the boom of railroads in the United States. Through rapid late-19th century d ...

team, it was an inaugural member of the Chicago League of Association Football before moving to the Association Football League. It dominated the

Peel Cup The Peter J. Peel Challenge Cup, better known as the Peel Cup, was an open soccer competition that crowned the Illinois state champion until it was replaced by the Illinois Governor’s Cup in 1971. History Origins Peter Peel was born in 1866 in ...

during the 1910s and early 1920s.

History

In 1883, Pullman F.C. played the 39th Street Wanderers at Pullman’s

Lake Calumet Lake Calumet is the largest body of water within the city of Chicago. Formerly a shallow, postglacial lake draining into Lake Michigan, it was transformed into an industrial harbor during the 20th century. Parts of the lake have been dredged, an ...

athletic field complex in the first official

association football Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 Football player, players who almost exclusively use their feet to propel a Ball (association football), ball around a rectangular f ...

game in

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

, opening the inaugural season of the seven team Chicago League of Association Football (CLAF). Over the years, the Pullman Company sponsored numerous soccer teams, including teams for women, but the senior team remained in the CLAF for decades, competing for both the league championship, known as the Spalding Cup, and league cup, known as the Jackson Challenge Cup. Starting in 1901, Pullman also competed in a regional

Midwestern The Midwestern United States (also referred to as the Midwest, the Heartland or the American Midwest) is one of the four census regions defined by the United States Census Bureau. It occupies the northern central part of the United States. It ...

professional soccer circuit, founded by

Charles Comiskey Charles Albert Comiskey (August 15, 1859 – October 26, 1931), nicknamed "Commy" or "the Old Roman", was an American Major League Baseball player, manager, and team owner. He was a key person in the formation of the American League and was als ...

in 1901 to take advantage of the popularity of the sport. The circuit included teams from Chicago,

Milwaukee Milwaukee is the List of cities in Wisconsin, most populous city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. Located on the western shore of Lake Michigan, it is the List of United States cities by population, 31st-most populous city in the United States ...

St. Louis St. Louis ( , sometimes referred to as St. Louis City, Saint Louis or STL) is an independent city in the U.S. state of Missouri. It lies near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a populatio ...

, and

Detroit Detroit ( , ) is the List of municipalities in Michigan, most populous city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is situated on the bank of the Detroit River across from Windsor, Ontario. It had a population of 639,111 at the 2020 United State ...

. It folded however in 1904. In 1904, a new Chicago league, the Association Football League (AFA), was created as a rival to the CLAF. Pullman soon jumped leagues as the CLAF faded into obscurity to be replaced by the AFA as the city’s dominant league. In 1912, Pullman built a soccer stadium for its team at 104th and Corliss. In 1913, the AFA collapsed, but was quickly replaced by the Chicago and District League, better known as the Chicago Soccer League. In 1917, Pullman disbanded its senior team. In 1920, the team was re-established. In the early twenties, Pullman moved to the Chicago Major Soccer League. It disbanded permanently in 1929.

Year-by-year

Honors

:* Winner (8): 1912, 1913, 1914, 1915, 1921, 1923, 1925, 1926 :* Runner Up (1): 1922 Jackson Cup (League Cup) :* Winner (2): 1912, 1913, 1914, 1915 League Championship :* Winner (5): 1912, 1913, 1914, 1915, 1916 :* Runner Up (2): 1910, 1922

References

External links

Encyclopedia of Chicago: Soccer

Defunct soccer clubs in Illinois Soccer clubs in Chicago 1893 establishments in Illinois Pullman Company Association football clubs established in 1893 1929 disestablishments in Illinois Association football clubs disestablished in 1929 {{Illinois-footyclub-stub