The York Capitals of the AIF brings an exciting style of arena football back to York for the second season. Last year the Capitals went 5-3 in the 2013 regular season before losing to the eventual American Indoor Football Champion the Harrisburg Stampede in the semi-finals of the playoffs.
How did the York Capitals name come to be?
In the fall of 2012 the team held a name the team contest on the AIF website and fans responded immediately. The top 5 names with the most votes where chosen and fans then had a chance to select one of those five names to represent the York team.
Over 1,000 votes were cast and the Capitals earned an overwhelming victory, garnering 503 votes (49.2 percent).Patriots came in second with 227 votes (22.2 percent), followed by Renegades with 137 votes (13.4 percent), Independence with 99 votes (9.7 percent) and Colonials with 56 votes (5.5 percent). All of the names, except Renegades, played off York's colonial history, including the city's claim of being the nation's first capital.
As part of the contest the six fans who suggested the name Capitals won a pair of season tickets for the York Capitals home games for the 2013 season.
City of York - The First Capital of the United States
The Courthouse served as the meeting place for the Continental Congress from 1777-1778 and was the first U.S. Capital.The City of York, Pennsylvania - named for York, England - was part of the building of our nation. As locals know, their City was the birthplace of the Articles of Confederation and it was here that the words "The United States of America" were first spoken.
In September of 1777 the Continental Congress, under threat of the advancing British, moved the location of the colonies' central government from Philadelphia to Lancaster. Since the State of Pennsylvania's Government was also located in Lancaster, officials decided that a move across the Susquehanna would separate the two sufficiently and the Continental Congress set up shop in the Town of York.
It was in York that the Congress adopted the Articles of Confederation, proclaimed the first National Day of Thanksgiving, and signed the French Treaty of Alliance. All of these events occurred in the nine months York remained Capital of the United States - until June 27, 1778.
That is where The City of York made history for the United States.
Information gathered from the City of York, Pa. The drawing of wood engraving of the Courthouse from History of York County from Its Erection to the Present Time,1834 Library of Congress (W.C. Carter and A.J. Glossbrenner).