Sept. 13 (1913)

The professional St. Louis Soccer League welcomes new officers and teams for the 1913-14 campaign at the league’s preseason meeting. Perhaps the most important piece of business is somewhat overlooked in the report in the next day’s St. Louis Post-Dispatch: The league will affiliate with the new U.S. Football Association, founded the previous April 5, largely through the efforts of former St. Louis resident Tom Cahill. Affiliation with the U.S. Football Association, today’s U.S. Soccer Federation, will allow the league to “co-operate with the leading Eastern teams in promoting holiday and special inter-sectional matches,” according to the Post-Dispatch. The St. Louis Football League, founded in 1907, welcomes a new team for 1913-14 that will become a national soccer champion: Ben Miller, sponsored by the Ben Miller Hat Co. The team will win St. Louis’ first national championship when it captures the National Challenge Cup (today’s Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup) in 1920.