Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup

Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup

The U.S. Open Cup, the national championship of the United States, began in 1914 and is the oldest annual team tournament in U.S. sports. Modeled after England's famous FA Cup, the Open Cup is open to all senior division teams, amateur and professional registered with the United States Soccer Federation (USSF).

The oldest trophy in the United States team sports history was donated to the American Amateur Football Association in 1912 by Sir Thomas R. Dewar, a British distiller, sportsman and philanthropist during a AAFA (now known as United States Amateur Soccer Association) visit to London prior to the 1912 Olympics.

U.S. Open Cup History & Information
2005 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup | U.S. Open Cup Champions | U.S. Open Cup Championship Results | Most U.S. Open Cup Medal Winners

The trophy was originally purchased for $500 and given in the hope of promoting soccer in the United States and in the name of Anglo-American friendship. The cup was first awarded to the Yonkers Football Club (NY) in 1912 after they defeated the Hollywood Inn Football Club (NY) at the Lennox Oval in New York City. The trophy was officially adopted as the U.S. Open Cup trophy prior to the Brooklyn Field Club's inaugural championship in 1914 in Pawtucket, Rhode Island. The trophy was retired in 1979, but was refurbished by the USASA in 1997 and was presented to the 1997 and 1998 Open Cup winners, before permanently retiring to the National Soccer Hall of Fame in Oneonta, New York.

The great Bethlehem Steel teams appeared in six of the first seven finals, winning the trophy five times. In the the 1920's the competition was divided with an eastern and western final, with the winners meeting in the grand final. Teams from the professional American Soccer League (ASL) dominated, and in 1924 the ASL's Fall River Marksmen became the first to win the 'The Double' - the professional league championship and the U.S. Open Cup. In 1929, a record crowd of 20,000 packed Dexter Park in Brooklyn for the final between New York Hakoah SC and St. Louis Madison Kennel, with New York Hakoah SC winning the match 3-0.

Although it is now a single-elimination tournament, between 1928 and 1968 the U.S. Open Cup Final could be a two match (home and an away), or even a best-of-three. Regardless of the format, the competition lost its glamour over time, particularly when teams from the North American Soccer League (NASL) declined to participate. But in recent years, the U.S. Open Cup has returned to the public attention as teams from Major League Soccer (MLS) have vied for the historic trophy.