The Clifton Heights Orange and Black was a professional football team from Clifton Heights, Pennsylvania

Clifton Heights, Pennsylvania

Clifton Heights is a borough in Delaware County, Pennsylvania, six miles west of downtown Philadelphia and on Darby Creek. The population was at 2,330 in 1900, and 3,155 in 1910...

, a town located just to the southwest of Philadelphia

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Philadelphia is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Philadelphia County, with which it is coterminous. The city is located in the Northeastern United States along the Delaware and Schuylkill rivers. It is the fifth-most-populous city in the United States,...

, from 1921 until around 1932. The team was operated by the Clifton Heights Athletic Association to compete against the other towns of Delaware County

Delaware County, Pennsylvania

Delaware County is a county located in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. As of 2010, the population was 558,979, making it Pennsylvania's fifth most populous county, behind Philadelphia, Allegheny, Montgomery, and Bucks counties....

. The team was managed by James E. Gallagher and coached by Rusty Yarnell, who also played with the team for a number of years. The Orange and Black consistently fielded strong teams that drew the attention of competitive clubs from neighboring Philadelphia, New Jersey

New Jersey

New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...

 and Delaware

Delaware

Delaware is a U.S. state located on the Atlantic Coast in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It is bordered to the south and west by Maryland, and to the north by Pennsylvania...

. The Orange & Black even played the Frankford Yellow Jackets

Frankford Yellow Jackets

The Frankford Yellow Jackets were a professional American football team, part of the National Football League from 1924 to 1931, though its origin dates back to as early as 1899 with the Frankford Athletic Association. The Yellow Jackets won the NFL championship in 1926...

 and Pottsville Maroons

Pottsville Maroons

The Pottsville Maroons were an American football team based in Pottsville, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1920, they went on to play in the National Football League for four seasons, from 1925–1928...

 of the early National Football League

National Football League

The National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...

.

In 1926 Clifton Heights joined the newly formed Eastern League of Professional Football

Eastern League of Professional Football

The Eastern League of Professional Football was a football league formed in 1926 by independent clubs from Pennsylvania and New Jersey. The Eastern League was a regional minor league that never intended to challenge either the National Football League or even Red Grange's new American Football...

. However the team soon dropped out of the league on October 13, 1926 due to a $1500 debt incurred during a span of just three weeks from their association with the league. Soon after the Orange and Black returned to the independent ranks until around 1932 when the team is thought to have folded. The pro football archives show no data for the Orange and Black after their 1932 season.

The Orange and Black won Delaware County Titles in 1922 and 1923.