The Tacony Community Development Corporation has partnered with Philadelphia Parks and Rec to create the Tacony Soccer Club. Two volunteer coaches and more than twenty children attended the first meeting on Monday, October 7th. The Soccer Club will continue to meet weekly on Mondays at 6 p.m. at Roosevelt Playground until December, we would love for more kids to participate every week, just stop by and join in on the fun for free!
The idea behind the Tacony Soccer Club came from the Environmental Action Plan that was drafted for the Tacony CDC by five students from Temple University’s Masters of Science in City and Regional Planning program this past Spring. The Club was established as a way to take advantage of the underused green spaces in our neighborhood as well as to pay homage to Tacony’s historic victories in sports. One of our other inspirations for this program is the Tacony Sawmakers, who won the 1910 American Cup.
The Tacony Soccer team was known by multiple names over the years, but the name that always stuck was “The Sawmakers.” The 1909-1910 American Cup, created by the American Football Association in 1885, was their year to win it all. In the semi-final round, the Philadelphia Inquirer, described Tacony’s team as playing “classy ball,” as being “superior at all points of the game” and “in the front rank as being one of the best soccer teams in the country.” On April 24, 1910, Tacony faced the Scottish-Americans in the American Cup final after battling in a tough, dirty game previously against the Fall River Rovers. Tacony was at a disadvantage being on the Scottish-Americans home field in Newark, New Jersey. There was a crowd of some 700 spectators, including 500 people from Philadelphia who came to support the Sawmakers. Tacony quickly showed their superiority once the game started, both sides pressing furiously throughout playing time, but the Scottish-Americans could not penetrate Tacony’s defense. The final score was Tacony: 2, Scottish-Americans: 1. For the first time since 1897, a Philadelphia team was the winner of the American Cup. The 1910 Spalding Official Soccer Foot Ball Guide, then the official record of the American game said, “It cannot be denied that Tacony was the team of the year.”
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