Interborough Rapid Transit Rangers, better known as the IRT Rangers, were an early twentieth century U.S.

soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...

team sponsored by the New York City

Interborough Rapid Transit Company The Interborough Rapid Transit Company (IRT) was the private operator of New York City's original underground subway line that opened in 1904, as well as earlier elevated railways and additional rapid transit lines in New York City. The IRT w ...

History

In the mid-1920s the Rangers were an amateur team in the Southern New York Soccer Association (SNYSA). In 1928, the professional American Soccer League boycotted the

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 of America. It is the oldest ongoing national soccer competition in that country. The 2023 U.S. O ...

. Three teams defied the boycott and were suspended by the league. This led the

United States Football Association The United States Soccer Federation (USSF), commonly referred to as U.S. Soccer, is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization and the official governing body of the sport of soccer in the United States. Headquartered in Chicago, the federation is a ...

(USFA; now USSF) to declare the ASL an “outlaw league”. The USFA also bankrolled the creation of a league to rival the ASL. Named the

Eastern Professional Soccer League Eastern may refer to: Transportation *China Eastern Airlines, a current Chinese airline based in Shanghai *Eastern Air, former name of Zambia Skyways *Eastern Air Lines, a defunct American airline that operated from 1926 to 1991 *Eastern Air Li ...

, or Eastern Soccer League for short, the ESL was formed around the three suspended ASL teams and several teams, including the IRT Rangers, pulled from the SNYSSA. The ESL existed for one and a half seasons, beginning in the fall of 1928. Building on the core of several ex-ASL players, Rangers placed fourth in the first season but was at the bottom of the standings after the first half of the 1929-1930 season. During the mid-season break, the ASL capitulated to USFA and the ESL and ASL merged to create the Atlantic Coast Conference. The Rangers did not make the move to the new league. However, they did go to the third round of the 1930 National Challenge Cup.

Homefield

During their short existence as a professional team, the Rangers held their home games at several fields, including Dyckman Oval, New York and McGoldrick Field, Greenpoint.August 30, 1929 The Globe
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Year-by-year

External links

References

Defunct soccer clubs in New York City Men's soccer clubs in New York (state) Eastern Professional Soccer League (1928–29) teams {{NewYork-footyclub-stub