The Brooklyn Robins Dry Dock were an 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 ...

team which took its name from the workplace it represented, the

Robins Dry Dock and Repair Company Erie Basin dry dock (est. 1866) was a graving dock facility located at Erie Basin, Brooklyn, Erie Basin, in Red Hook, Brooklyn, New York City. There were at least two docks built, although only one remained into the 21st century. The dock con ...

. The dock was owned by the

Todd Pacific Shipyards Vigor Shipyards is the current entity operating the former Todd Shipyards after its acquisition in 2011. Todd Shipyards was founded in 1916, which owned and operated shipyards on the West Coast of the United States, East Coast of the United St ...

Red Hook, Brooklyn Red Hook is a neighborhood in western Brooklyn, New York City, United States, within the area once known as South Brooklyn. It is located on a peninsula projecting into the Upper New York Bay and is bounded by the Gowanus Expressway and the Ca ...

, who formed the professional soccer club in 1918 to play in the

National Association Football League The National Association Football League (also spelled ''National Association Foot Ball League'') (NAFBL) was a semi-professional U.S. soccer league which operated between 1895 and 1898. The league was reconstituted in 1906 and continued to oper ...

. Robins played until the league folded in 1921. Robins best finish was third in 1920 and 1921, but won the 1921 National Challenge Cup.

League

In 1918, the entry of the United States into

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

had led to a drain on players due to military service. The loss of players impacted most league, including the NAFBL. While most teams in the league were able to find enough players to begin the season, three teams were forced to sit out the season. A fourth, the East Newark Scots-Americans, began the season but folded after five games. In order to maintain enough teams to stage a competitive season, the NAFBL brought in the Robins Dry Dock which assumed the Scots-Americans record. While Robins was unable to finish higher than third in its three seasons in the NAFBL, it quickly became dominant in national competitions. In 1921, the top teams of the NAFBL collapsed when the league’s top teams joined with the top teams of the

Southern New England Soccer League The Southern New England Soccer League was a semi-professional soccer league based in New England which was established in 1914 and collapsed in 1921. During its short existence, it featured some of the top teams in the northeast United States. D ...

to form the American Soccer League. Robins did not join the ASL. Instead, Todd Shipyards, the parent company of Robins Dry Dock, as well as Tebo Yacht Basin which sponsored the Tebo Yacht Basin F.C. of the SENSL, entered its own team in the new league.

Cup winner

At the time there were two national cups, the long running

American Cup The American Football Association Challenge Cup (also known as the American Association Cup or simply American Cup) was the first major U.S. soccer competition open to teams beyond a single league. It was first held in 1884, and organised by t ...

and the recently established

National Challenge Cup The Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup, commonly known as the U.S. Open Cup (USOC), is a knockout cup competition in men's soccer in the United States. It is the country's oldest ongoing national soccer competition. The competition was first held duri ...

. In March 1919, Robins went to the semifinals of the American Cup, falling to Bethlehem Steel F.C. In 1920, Robins took its revenge on Bethlehem when it defeated the Steelmen in the American Cup final. Robins repeated as cup champions the next year as well, defeating Fore River. In the 1920 National Challenge Cup, Robins lost to Fore River in the semifinals. The next year, Robins took the Challenge Cup in a 4-3 victory over St. Louis Scullin Steel F.C.April 20, 1921 New York Times
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Year-by-year

External links

References

{{USSoccer 1918 establishments in New York City Defunct soccer clubs in New York City National Association Football League teams Sports in Brooklyn 1921 disestablishments in New York (state) Association football clubs established in 1918 Association football clubs disestablished in 1921 Works soccer clubs in the United States U.S. Open Cup winners