The Brooklyn Robins Dry Dock were an American soccer team which took its name from the workplace it represented. The dock was part of 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 S ...

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

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 (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

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 to form the American Soccer League. Robins did not join the ASL. Instead,

Todd Shipyards Todd or Todds may refer to: Places ;Australia: * Todd River, an ephemeral river ;United States: * Todd Valley, California, also known as Todd, an unincorporated community * Todd, Missouri, a ghost town * Todd, North Carolina, an unincorporated ...

, 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 Cup (also known as the American Football Association Cup and the American Federation Cup) was the first major U.S. soccer competition open to teams beyond a single league. It was first held in 1885. In the 1910s, it gradually dec ...

and the recently established National Challenge Cup. 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. St. Louis Scullin Steel was a U.S. soccer team established in St. Louis, Missouri in 1918. It spent seven seasons in the St. Louis Soccer League, winning three league titles and one National Challenge Cup. History In 1918, Scullin Steel of St. Lo ...

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