Who Were The Conshoshocken Athletic Club?

The Conshohocken Athletic Club was a professional football team based in Conshohocken, Pennsylvania from 1914 until 1920, when the club's financial problems made it impossible to field a team. In the fall of 1921, the newly established Conshohocken Athletic Association took over sponsorship of the team. The new Association was formed as a community-based organization with the purpose of promoting and supporting outdoor athletics and had the full support of Conshohocken Athletic Club.

Conshohocken won the mythical Schuylkill County championship in 1914, 1915 and 1916, before laying claim to the eastern Pennsylvania championship in 1919. Conshohocken had an annual Thanksgiving rivalry with the Norristown Billikens of Norristown, Pennsylvania; from 1914 to 1916, Conshohocken beat the Billikens in all three games. The team played home games at Conshoshocken Community Field.

Conshoshocken had two notable players. One was William Earl Potteiger was an American football, baseball, and basketball player and coach. He played professionally in both baseball and football and coached professionally in basketball, baseball and football. Potteiger was player-coach for the New York Giants when they won their first National Football League championship in 1927. He also played minor league baseball from 1913 to 1917, in 1919, and from 1926 to 1927. He managed in the minors from 1926 to 1927 and in 1932. The other notable player was Robert Watkins "Bert" Yeabsley was a professional baseball player. Yeabsley played in Major League Baseball for Philadelphia Phillies in the 1919 season. He only played in three games in his one-year major league career. In 1916, Yeabsley played minor league baseball for the Raleigh Capitals as an outfielder. He made his major league debut on May 28, 1919. He pinch-hit for pitcher Elmer Jacobs in the 9th inning and drew a walk off Jimmy Ring of the Cincinnati Reds. Over the next two weeks, he appeared in two more games as a pinch runner, and never played professional baseball afterwards. Yeabsley also played professional football from 1914 until 1919 for the Conshohocken Athletic Club. In 1919, he played football for the Holmesburg Athletic Club.