Interborough Rapid Transit Rangers, better known as the IRT Rangers, was an early twentieth century U.S. soccer team sponsored by the New York City Interborough Rapid Transit Company

Interborough Rapid Transit Company

The Interborough Rapid Transit Company was the private operator of the original underground New York City Subway line that opened in 1904, as well as earlier elevated railways and additional rapid transit lines in New York City. The IRT was purchased by the City in June 1940...

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History

In the mid-1920s the Rangers were an amateur team in the Southern New York Soccer Association (SNYSA). In 1928, the professional American Soccer League

American Soccer League

The American Soccer League has been a name used by three different professional soccer leagues in the United States. The first American Soccer League was established in 1921 by the merger of teams from the National Association Football League and the Southern New England Soccer League. For...

 boycotted the National Challenge Cup. Three teams defied the boycott and were suspended by the league. This led the United States Soccer Federation

United States Soccer Federation

The United States Soccer Federation is the official governing body of the sport of soccer in the United States. Its headquarters are located in Chicago, Illinois. It is a member of FIFA and is responsible for governing amateur and professional soccer, including the men's, women's, youth, futsal...

 (USFA) to declare the ASL an “outlaw league”. The USFA also bankrolled the creation of a league to rival the ASL. Named the Eastern Professional Soccer League, or Eastern Soccer League for short, the ESL was formed around the three suspended ASL teams and several teams, including the IRT Rangers, pulled from the SNYSSA. The ESL existed for one and a half seasons, beginning in the fall of 1928. Building on the core of several ex-ASL players, Rangers placed fourth the first season but was at the bottom of the standings after the first half of the 1929-1930 season. During the mid-season break, the ASL capitulated to USFA and the ESL and ASL merged to created the Atlantic Coast Conference. The Rangers did not make the move to the new league. However, they did go to the third round of the 1930 National Challenge Cup

1930 National Challenge Cup

The 1929–30 National Challenge Cup was the annual open cup held by the United States Football Association now known as the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup.-Eastern Division:-Western Division:a) aggregate after 3 games-Final:-Source:*...

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Homefield

During their short existence as a professional team, the Rangers held their home games at several fields, including Dyckman Oval, New York and McGoldrick Field, Greenpoint.

Year-by-year

Year	League	Reg. Season	Challenge Cup
1928-29 1928-29 Eastern Professional Soccer League 1928-29 Eastern Professional Soccer League. The season ran from Fall 1928 to Spring 1929 with a mid winter break. By the end of the first half, only the New York Giants and New York Hakoah had played all eighteen games. New York Celtic had dropped out after eight games and the rest of the teams...	ESL	4th	First round
1929 1929 Eastern Professional Soccer League 1929 Eastern Professional Soccer League. The season began on September 2, 1929. By this time, the financial loses suffered by the American Soccer League, SNYSA and ESL had begun to mount. With the stock market crash a month later, the corporate sponsorship on which many of the teams depended...	ESL	8th	N/A