National Association Football League

The NAFBL was formed in January 1885{{cite news |author= |date=January 9, 1895 |title=Telegraphic Notes of Sport |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/chicago-tribune-nafbl-2/148445662/ |work=Chicago Tribune |access-date=May 31, 2024 |via=Newspapers.com}} and by April 1895, the NAFBL began operation as the third significant U.S. soccer league. It drew its teams primarily from northern New Jersey and New York City. Few records exist for the league, but the teams and standings for four of the five seasons do exist.{{cite web |url=https://www.ussoccerhistory.org/ASHA/ASHA/nafbl.html |title=National Association Foot Ball League |last=Litterer |first=David |date=February 20, 2005 |website=USSoccerHistory.org |publisher=USA Soccer History |access-date=May 28, 2024}} After its first spring-summer season in 1895, the NAFBL moved to a winter schedule in the fall of 1895.

On December 16, 1895, the NAFBL opened its second season with a game pitting the Kearny Scottish-Americans and the International Athletic Club.{{cite news |author=|date=December 16, 1895 |title=Association Football Games |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-new-york-times-nafbl-1/147978079/ |work=The New York Times |access-date=May 24, 2024 |via=newspapers.com}} In 1899, a deep recession, accompanied by the Spanish–American War led to the collapse of several athletic leagues and teams, among them the NAFBL. On August 14, 1906, the league was revived and continued in operation until 1921.{{cite web |url=https://www.scotsfootballworldwide.scot/thegreatgame |title=Found and Lost - A Land of Opportunity |website=ScotsFootballWorldWide.scot |publisher=Scots Football World Wild |access-date=May 28, 2024}} That year, several of the top NAFBL teams, frustrated by the amateur/semi-professional nature of the league, joined with other top North Atlantic U.S. teams to form the first fully professional U.S. soccer league, the American Soccer League.

File:Kearny afc champions team 1896.jpg

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• Americus A. A. (1895)
• Bayonne Bayside (1898–1899)
• Brooklyn Wanderers (1895–1899)
• Centreville A.C. (1895–1899)
• International A.C. (1895–1896)
• Kearny AC (1897–1898)
• Kearny Arlington (1897–1899)
• Kearny Cedars (1898–1899)
• Kearny Scots (1895–1899)
• Newark Caledonians (1895–1896)
• New York Thistle (1895–1896)
• Paterson Crescent (1897–1898)
• Paterson True Blues (1897–1988)

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• Babcock & Wilcox (1915–1919, 1920–1921)
• Bethlehem Steel F.C. (1917–1921)
• Bronx United (1910–1915)
• Brooklyn Field Club (1909–1916)
• Brooklyn Morse Dry Dock (1919–1920)
• Brooklyn Robins Dry Dock (1918–1921)
• Bunker Hill F.C. (1920)
• Dublin F.C. (1916–1917)
• Clark A.A. (East Newark Clark A.A.) (1906–1907, 1908–1909)
• Essex County F.C. (1906–1907)
• Gorden Rangers (1906)
• Haledon Thistles (1915–1916)
• Harrison Alley Boys (1915–1916)
• Hollywood Inn F.C. (1907–1908)
• Jersey A.C. (1907–1908, 1909–1918)
• Kearny A.C. (1906–1907)
• Erie A.A. (1919–1921)
• Kearny Scots (Scots-Americans or Scottish-Americans) (1906–1918)
• Kearny Federal Ship (1919–1921)
• Kearny Stars (1906–1907)
• Newark Caledonians (1912–1914)
• Newark FC (1906–1911, 1912–1915)
• Newark Hearts (1906–1908)
• Newark Ironsides (1916–1917)
• New York Clan MacDonald (1907–1908, 1913–1915)
• New York F.C. (1916–1921)
• New York IRT (1919)
• Paterson F.C. (1917–1920)
• Paterson Rangers (1906–1915)
• Paterson True Blues (1906–1915)
• Paterson Wilberforce (1909–1914)
• Disston A.A. (Tacony Disston or Philadelphia Disston) (1917–1918, 1919–1921)
• Philadelphia Merchant Ship (1918–1920)
• St. George F.C. (1913–1914)
• West Hudson A.A. (1906–1907, 1908–1918)
• West New York Burns Club (1906–1907)

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Source:[https://www.rsssf.org/usadave/nafbl.html NATIONAL ASSOCIATION FOOT BALL LEAGUE - Results] by David A. Litterer on the RSSSF

;Notes

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Category:Defunct soccer leagues in the United States

Category:Sports leagues established in 1895

Category:Sports leagues disestablished in 1921

Category:1895 establishments in the United States

Category:1921 disestablishments in the United States