Manhattan United

"They could have kept Jeffery Mack is if they paid him fairly, sadly they did not think we would paid him unfairly when they failed too. "

― John F Davis (Manager 1920)

There no club with as deep a winning tradition as Manhattan United. Davis Field is were the stars come to play. Minutes way from Wall street and Central park in the heart of New York is the Lions of Manhattan, the power of Manhattan is ingrained in the culture of the Club. Rarely short on cash to sign players, they have never been scared to unsettled a player if they wanted him.

They have one a league title in every decade since founding of the competition, on a continental level they have won the most champion league cups with a total of nine. It is said there trophy room would make the pope jealous.

## **Founding and History**

### **Description of Founding**

In the early days of the club they were found as a meager of two of New York cities less successful neighborhoods sides in the Hell's 9th Ave gang and the Midtown Murrays. In the days of neighborhood ball it was every common for sides to make deals like this for short time periods but from the start both sides treated like this was going to be a permanent move. They would sell their two smaller parks to buy the rights to land near 43st and 5th ave and build Bryant east field. By the 1890s they had started to play under the name Manhattan United. While the Chairman of the club was against joining the professional league that was forming in 1891, he would change his toon after learning that chief rivals at the time Queens Forest would take one of the New York City slots if he did not get on board. In this decade they would settle in as the bridesmaid gang until they finally beat Boston city to the title in 1898

### **Early history(1900-1945)**

The success of the 1890s would start to fade by 1908 when they where relegated to the 2nd tier, while they would come back up the following year and shock most by winning the cup in the same year this would all be little more then a one off with them turning into also rans for the next few years. There would be a change in fortunes with the hiring of John Davis in 1916. He would the lions to becoming one of the most exciting sides in the world. His tenure at the club would come to an end in 1938 with him leaving as one of the most successful sides in the growing history of the game.

The Club would suffer greatly in the post davis years with there being only two trophies won from 39 to 44 with those being the usa cup in 41 and the regional cup in 44. While there was little success on the field off it there was important happening with the club leading the way in total war bonds sold by an club. As the war came to an end the tides started to turn Manhattan's way again.

## **Club legend**

John F Davis was one of the first mega managers in the North American game. In Manhattan he led his Lions to four league titles, four regional cup wins, and two USA cup wins. He changed the structures of player contracts from being taken from the pool of money earned from ticket sales to the modern weekly pay check model. This would lead to many of the early games greats playing in their prime to later years in Manhattan. On the field he made his mark in changing his style of play based on the opponent they were facing. This happened because he sent out scouts to watch the games of upcoming opponent even if it was an amateur side in a cup. Without the years of stability under Davis there would be little chance that Manhattan would be the super club they are today. Later in his life the Bryant Park Stadium would be renamed in his honor to Davis Field.

Barn Beret started to play for the Lions in the mid table years of the mid to late 1960s, no one would have thought he would go on to be the captain of the Prideful 70s. In this period the undersized Midfielder would control the tempo in a changing game. While in the 1960's physical era he was often injured and ran over when he was even able to play, in the 1970s his natural flare was able to open up a defense even as he entered into his 30s. The term "aging like beret" would enter the vocabulary of the fan to describe a older player reaching a peak in the twilight of his careers because of him. On the grass he would lead the Central Park Predators to their most trophy filled decade since the era of Davis ball in the 20s. While he would retire after the cup double season of 1977, he would be a midfield coach for the world super teams of the mid 1980s under his midfield partner Axel Gabriel in the early 1970s teams. Barn beret would pass away in his Yonkers home later in the mid 1990's.

While there was many competitions won by the club in the 1970s, there was not a lot of continual support for managers by the front office. This would change in 1979 when the club appointed former midfielder Axel Gabriel to the manager's chair after his success in Omaha winning double of the league and the America league in that season. While he would only win one northeast super league in five season at the club, he would lead them into becoming a continental power for the first time since the early 1970s. In his era at the club they would many times rest players on the weekend to have them fresh for the big mid week ties in the champions league. There were many who said his sides were some of the prettiest fourth place finish in the history of the game. Even as many outside of Manhattan question why the biggest club in the nation fell in love with the man called the little cup coach, he is still held in high regards, with fans still singing about Axel's magic.

## **Statistics and Trophy Cabinet**

### League

Northeast Super League

* Winner(24) - 1898, 1904, 1918, 1924, 1930, 1937, 1945, 1949, 1958, 1968, 1970, 1973, 1976, 1979, 1982,1992, 1995, 1997, 2002, 2003, 2014, 2015, 2018, 2020

* 2nd Place(29) - 1892, 1895, 1896, 1902, 1903, 1917, 1925, 1936, 1938, 1941, 1942, 1946, 1947, 1950, 1954, 1957, 1966, 1969, 1977, 1978, 1990, 1996, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2004, 2013, 2017, 2019
* 3rd Place(19) - 1893, 1901, 1905, 1906, 1916, 1920, 1933, 1940, 1943, 1948, 1951, 1955, 1956, 1965, 1989, 1993, 1994, 2001, 2007

### Regional Cup

Northeast Regional Cup

* Winner (14) - 1897, 1909, 1918, 1926, 1927, 1930, 1944, 1957, 1963, 1968, 1975, 1977, 1994, 2005
* 2nd Place (17) - 1894, 1900, 1914, 1924, 1934, 1949, 1950, 1953, 1959, 1972, 1982, 1991, 1992, 1993, 2001, 2006, 2013

### Continental

American Champions League

* Winner (9) - 1962, 1967, 1970, 1974, 1983, 1994, 2006, 2013, 2014

America League

* Winner (2) - 1984, 1997

Usa Cup

* Winner (6) - 1921, 1931, 1941, 1954, 1977, 2018

### Super Cup

North American Super Cup

* Winner (5) - 1963, 1968, 1975, 1995, 2007
* Runner Up (6) - 1971, 1984, 1985, 1998, 2014, 2015

Usa and Can Super Cup

* Winner (3) - 1922, 1932, 1942
* Runner up (3) - 1955, 1978, 2019

Northeast Super Cup

* Winner (10) - 1946,1959, 1978, 1983, 1995, 1996, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2019
* Runner Up (15) - 1950, 1951, 1958, 1964, 1969, 1971, 1974, 1976, 1977, 1980, 1993, 1998, 2006, 2015, 2016

Mason Dixon Super Cup

* Winner (12) - 1919, 1931, 1938, 1950, 1969, 1971, 1977, 1983, 1993, 2003, 2015, 2016
* Runner Up (8) - 1925, 1946, 1959, 1974, 1980, 1996, 1998, 2004