March 21 (1915)

Innisfails unseats 10-time defending St. Louis city champion St. Leo’s, 4-2, in the second game of the city title series before 1,700 fans who fill Kulage Park, North Newstead and Bessie avenues. The first game had ended in a 2-2 tie. The third game never will be played, leaving Innisfails as the new city champion. Innisfails’ top players include Matt Diedrichsen, who will play on what is recognized as the first U.S. Men’s National Team in 1916. He will earn one cap on the team’s Scandinavian tour. Innisfails’ victory ends an era when St. Leo’s not only dominated local soccer, but was considered one of the best teams in the United States. St. Leo’s tied or defeated some of the top teams from the East who visited St. Louis at a time when there was no true national soccer championship until the start of the National Challenge Cup (today’s Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup) in the 1913-14 season. Travel limitations will deter St. Louis clubs from entering Cup competition until the 1919-20 season, when a St. Louis team sponsored by the Ben Miller Hat Co. will win the championship. St. Leo’s manager, Billy Klosterman, will resign after the loss to Innisfails in the city championship series. St. Leo’s will nosedive to last place in the professional St. Louis League in the 1915-16 season and never will win another championship.