Holmesburg Athletic Club The Holmesburg Athletic Club was a professional football team from Philadelphia , Pennsylvania , that was in existence from around 1915 until 1923 . The team laid claim to the Philadelphia City Championship in 1919 and 1920 . Alumni . The 1915 Holmesburg lineup featured Lou Little , an college All - American from Penn . Little , at the time a freshman at Penn , played under the assumed name of " Lou Small " to protect his collegiate status . He later went on to play for the Buffalo All - Americans of the National Football League , the Union Club of Phoenixville , the Union Quakers of Philadelphia and the pre - NFL version of the Frankford Yellow Jackets before going on to a highly successful coaching career at both Georgetown and Columbia . Bert Yeabsley , a pinch hitter for the Philadelphia Phillies , and John B . Kelly , Sr . , a three time for sculling , played for the team in 1919 . In 1921 , Benny Boynton briefly played for Holmesburg for Thanksgiving Day game against the Union Quakers of Philadelphia . Stan Cofall also played for the team over its life span . Ghosts of the Gridiron . In the years following World War I the Holmesburg Athletic Club was a dominant force on the gridirons of Philadelphia . In addition to maintaining regular rivalries with such regional powers as the Frankford Athletic Association and Conshohocken Athletic Club , Holmesburg also competed against such far ranging teams as the Rex Athletic Club of Washington ( DC ) , and the Coaldale Big Green , a powerhouse eleven from the Pennsylvania coal region ' s Anthracite League . Perhaps Holmesburg ' s most successful season was 1919 . Widely acknowledged in the local press as the city champions of Philadelphia , that season ' s only defeat came at the hands of Conshohocken , a team generally recognized that season ' s Eastern professional champions . . . A Season Remembered . Heading into the 1919 season the Holmesburg Athletic Club was widely expected to field the strongest football team in the Philadelphia area . Manager Fred Gerker and Coach Henry Eavis had assembled a powerful lineup of collegiate stars that included team captain William " Doc " Morrison of Bucknell , Charlie MacKracken of Villanova , Kidder Caske y of Muhlenberg , former Swarthmore captain ? ? ? MacKissick and former Lafayette stars Dick Diamond , Johnny Scott and Dick Lake . That season ' s lineup also included Bert Yeabsley , a player with a well established reputation on the local gridirons who had also played for pro baseball ' s Philadelphia Phillies , and Jack Kelly , the legendary sculling champion who would go on to capture gold in two Olympics . The Northeast Philadelphia eleven opened its 1919 grid campaign on the second weekend in October , against West Philadelphia ' s Hobart AC . Johnny Scott led the charge , scoring four touchdowns and five extra - points , as the " Burg " rolled a 41 - 0 victory . A week later some 2 , 000 spectators were on hand at Holmesburg ' s Crystal Field to witness an even more overwhelming victory , this time over Camden New Jersey ' s Parkside AC . This game , which saw the first appearance of Bert Yeabsley in the lineup , was largely viewed as a wram - up for the upcoming tilt with Conshohocken . The late arrival of the New Jersey eleven delayed the start of the contest , . . . and briefly postponed the inevitable . Jack Kelly ' s three touchdowns in the first quarter set the tone for the afternoon , then Scott , Knauer , Caskey , Yeabsley and MacKissick made a few contributions of their own to the points total . By the time it was all over Parkside lay buried under the rubble of a 90 - 0 rout . With two solid victories under their belts , the Holmesburg squad made the trek out to Conshohocken the following weekend . There , playing before a crowd of about 14 , 000 , the heavily favored visitors got on the board early when Johnny Scott dashed fifty - three yards through the home team for a touchdown . From that point forward , however , Coach Nig Berry ' s " Conshy " eleven outplayed the Philadelphians in nearly every aspect of the game . Whitey Thomas , the former Penn State and Holmesburg standout , recovered a Bert Yeabsley fumble and dashed thirty yards to endzone for Conshohocken ' s first touchdown of the game . Then a Johnny Scott fumble gave Conshohocken the ball on the Holmesburg 13 - yard line . A few plays later Earl Potteiger took the ball into the endzone , giving Conshy a 13 - 7 lead heading into halftime . Little changed in the second half . Another Holmesburg error , this time a muffed punt , was combined with a thirty - five yard pass play to give Conshohocken the ball near the Holmesburg goal line . On the very next play Potteiger took it up the middle on a one yard dive for another touchdown , as Conshohocken walked away with a 19 - 7 upset victory . Eager to rebound from the disappointing performance against Conshohocken , the Holmesburg eleven anxiously awaited the first club on their November schedule : the Vincome AA . Unfortunately the wait was just a little longer than anticipated , as an unexpected cancellation on the morning of the game sent Manager Fred Gerker scrambling to find another opponent . After a few quick phone calls the Bluejackets of the USS Michigan were on their way up to the Northeast from their ship ' s berth in the South Philly . Then , behind the strong play and scoring of Johnny Scott , Dick Diamond and Bert Yeabsley , the Berg - men outclassed the sailors in a 32 - 0 shutout . A week later Holmesburg headed down to Browns Field for a clash with the Frankford Yellow Jackets . Up to this point in the season the only blemish on Frankford ' s record was a scoreless draw with the Ewing AA . Both Frankford and Holmesburg believed that the outcome of this game would settle the question of which team could claim the bragging rights as champions of Philadelphia . The game was a struggle throughout , with both teams ' defenses holding fast . A Johnny Scott field goal from the 20 - yard line was the only scoring play of the afternoon , giving Holmesburg a 3 - 0 shutout victory . The final three games on the schedule were against strong clubs from of outside the immediate Philadelphia area . In the first of these Holmesburg welcomed the Rex AC to Crystal Field . Rex , touted as the champions of Washington ( DC ) , was composed mostly of former Georgetown and Catholic University players . Undefeated over four seasons , the only blemish of this club ' s current campaign was a scoreless tie against the Ewing AA , of Philadelphia , just a few weeks earlier . Holmesburg was playing without the services of Johnny Scott , who was still recovering from injuries suffered during the Frankford game . It as a fierce contest throughout , with few scoring opportunities and plenty of injuries for both clubs . The first real scoring chance didn ' t come until the fourth quarter , when a MacKissick field goal attempt for Holmesburg went wide . A little while later Kidder Caskey made three rushes up the middle to take the ball from the 10 - yard line for the only touchdown of the game , providing Holmesburg a 7 - 0 victory . The next game on the schedule was against Casey Gildea ' s Coaldale Big Green , one of the finest teams from the Pennsylvania coal region . The Big Green made the trip down to Philadelphia on the weekend before Thanksgiving , accompanied by some 1 , 000 supporters . Holmesburg out - played the visitors in every aspect of a game that featured numerous interceptions by Johnny Scott , Dick Diamond and Doc Morrison . The visitors ' only points of the game came off a Gildea field goal late in the first quarter . This gave Coaldale a 3 - 0 lead , but Holmesburg moved ahead late in the second quarter on a short pass from MacKissick to Dick Diamond at mid - field , which Diamond then carried forty - five yards through the entire Coaldale team for a touchdown . Second half touchdowns by MacKissick and Morrison put the game out of reach for the up - state eleven , as Holmesburg went on to win , 19 - 3 . Finally , on Thanksgiving Day , Holmesburg closed out the season at Crystal Field against the Thomas AC . Thomas , touted as the champions of Bethlehem ( PA ) , forced another tough defensive game . The only points of the game came off a Holmesburg drive that started on their own 35 - yard line . A series of runs , that included long gains of twenty - five and eighteen yards , brought the ball to the Thomas 3 - yard line . Then Dick Diamond took the ball wide around the wing and into the endzone . MacKissick followed with a successful kick . Both defenses clamped down hard for the remainder of the game , and at the final whistle Holmesburg took a 7 - 0 decision . The Philadelphia press began referring to Holmesburg as the city champions of 1919 following the victory over Frankford . This view was cemented by its victories against quality teams from outside the region in the final three games of the season , giving Holmesburg a 7 - 1 - 0 record for its championship season . Outstanding Players From Other Seasons . The above photo of the 1915 Holmesburg Athletic Club football eleven appeared along with an article on the Holmesburg football team in the July 19 , 1943 , edition of the Frankford Times . The 1915 lineup featured University of Pennsylvania All - American Lou Little . Little , at the time a freshman at Penn , played under the assumed name of " Lou Small " to protect his collegiate status . He later went on to play for the Buffalo All - Americans of the APFA / NFL , the Union Club of Phoenixville , the Union Quakers and the ( pre - NFL ) Frankford Yellow Jackets before going on to a highly successful coaching career at both Georgetown and Columbia . Over the years the Holmesburg roster featured some other NFL veterans as well , including Stan Cofall and local product Howard " Nig " Berry . In 1921 the team enlisted the services of Benny Boynton as a hired gun for Thanksgiving Day game against the Union Club . Boynton , who also played that season with both the APFA ' s Buffalo All - Americans and Washington Pros , was selected a first team APFA all - pro by the Buffalo Evening News . By the Numbers . Holmesburg Athletic Club Season Summaries