Anthracite iron were their principle businesses. The Franklin Institute, in 1830, offered a gold medal to the manufacturer of the greatest quantity of anthracite iron, and Nicholas Biddle and his associates offered a prize of $5,000 to the first individual to smelt a certain quantity of iron ore within a given time, using anthracite. The Lehigh Coal & Navigation, by then an industrial giant of the times, also offered free water power and discount rates on coal and shipping to encourage the development of the process. The first key breakthrough occurred in 1828-29, when Scotsman James Beaumont Neilson patented the hot blast
Anthracite League professional football, an eligible player list was a non-issue. The teams further contended that if an eligible list is made and the club must be held to that, then the players get the upper hand on the management and can demand almost any price for a game. Gildea was unable to make the other managers of the AFL agree with his ideas, as a result Coaldale team quit the newly formed league. However Gildea stated that the team would still abide by the league schedule which was earlier arranged with all of the region teams. Several teams in the Anthracite