Philadelphia Phillies manager Arthur Irwin organized and served as manager of the league.[1]
The 1894 schedule included six teams sponsored by National League teams that played a total of 23 games.
The league's inaugural game was played at Philadelphia Ball Park on October 6, 1894. 500 fans saw New York defeat Philadelphia 5 to 0.[2]
Although the club owners encouraged attendance by setting ticket prices low, typically 25 cents, the turn out was light, averaging about 500 spectators. By comparison, average crowds in the National League that year ranged from as much as about 6,000 to as few as about 600.[3] Baltimore Orioles F.C. regularly attracted crowds as large as 8,000 for some matches. However, other club owners accused Baltimore of illegally employing British players, and U.S. immigration officials soon began to investigate the allegations.
At the same time, with rumors circulating that a new baseball league was being formed, the club owners became convinced that the soccer league was a distraction from the serious business of possible competition from a new, rival league. This was combined with a move by the American Football Association to ban players from the ALPF from playing in the AFA. This came as the AFA saw the ALPF encroaching on its territory.[4] The combination of these new competitive pressures and the ongoing immigration investigation scuppered the planned 1895 season and the League itself.
