1924 National Amateur Cup
The 1924 National Amateur Cup was the USFA's annual cup-tie competition exclusively for amateur soccer teams. It was the second attempt but the first to be completed successfully. There were 81 entries of which Fleisher Yarn emerged as victors. The incentive in the tournament was that the winners would get to represent the U.S. at the Paris Olympics and each game was designated as an official "Olympic Tryout". It was believed that sending the champion amateur team would provide a squad with better chemistry than that of an all-star selection and require considerably less time to gel as a unit. However, as the tournament neared its final stages it became apparent that this idea might have to be reconsidered since the majority of the players on the remaining teams were foreign born and would not be eligible for the U.S. team. The only team with all American born players was the Union Electrics of St. Louis who had withdrawn at the quarterfinal stage.[1] At the conclusion of the final game the eligible players on both the Fleisher Yarn and Swedish American teams were chosen while the remainder of the Olympic squad had to be selected from other amateur teams.
| Country | United States |
|---|---|
| Dates | January 20 – April 20, 1924 |
| Champions | Fleisher Yarn |
| Runners-up | Swedish American |
| Goals scored | 62 |
← 1923 1925 → | |
Bracket
| Round of 16 | Quarterfinals | Semi-finals | Final | |||||||||||
| February 17 - Cleveland | ||||||||||||||
| Magyar American | 4 | |||||||||||||
| March 9 - Cleveland | ||||||||||||||
| Sons of St.George | 1 | |||||||||||||
| Magyar American | 3 | |||||||||||||
| February 10, 16 | ||||||||||||||
| Heidelberg | 2 | |||||||||||||
| Heidelberg | 3-4 | |||||||||||||
| March 30 - Cleveland | ||||||||||||||
| Jeannette | 3-2 | |||||||||||||
| Magyar American | 1 | |||||||||||||
| March 16 - Detroit | ||||||||||||||
| Swedish American | 2 | |||||||||||||
| Scarlet Runners | 2 | |||||||||||||
| Swedish American | 4 | |||||||||||||
| Swedish American | w/o | |||||||||||||
| January 20 - St. Louis | ||||||||||||||
| Union Electric | ||||||||||||||
| Union Electric | 7 | |||||||||||||
| April 20 - Chicago | ||||||||||||||
| Memphis K of C | 0 | |||||||||||||
| Swedish American | 0 | |||||||||||||
| February 2 - Roslindale, MA | ||||||||||||||
| Fleisher Yarn | 3 | |||||||||||||
| Boston Blues | 0 | |||||||||||||
| March 7 - Worcester, MA, March 22 - Boston | ||||||||||||||
| Clan Robertson | 4 | |||||||||||||
| Clan Robertson | 2-1 | |||||||||||||
| February 2 - Roxbury, MA | ||||||||||||||
| Worcester Rangers | 2-2 | |||||||||||||
| Roxbury | 0 | |||||||||||||
| April 5 - Shawsheen Village | ||||||||||||||
| Worcester Rangers | 2 | |||||||||||||
| Worcester Rangers | 0 | |||||||||||||
| February 9 - Philadelphia | ||||||||||||||
| Fleisher Yarn | 8 | |||||||||||||
| Fleisher Yarn | 3 | |||||||||||||
| March 1 - Philadelphia | ||||||||||||||
| American A.A. | 1 | |||||||||||||
| Fleisher Yarn | W | |||||||||||||
| January 27 - Queens, NY | ||||||||||||||
| Steinway FC | ||||||||||||||
| Steinway FC | 6 | |||||||||||||
| Calpe American | ||||||||||||||
Eastern Quarterfinals
| January 27, 1924 | Steinway FC | 6-1 | Calpe American | Queens, NY |
| Boyd (2), Cogan (2), McKinney (2) | Report | Costa | Stadium: Senator Oval |
| February 2, 1924 | Boston Blues | 0-4 | Clan Robertson (Dorchester, MA) | Roslingdale, MA |
| Sent Off - McShane 2H | Report | Maltman 1H 2H, Stirling 2H, McIntyre 2H Sent Off - Paul (GK) 2H | Stadium: J.J. Healy Playground Referee: Thomas Ritchie |
| February 2, 1924 | Roxbury | 0-2 | Worcester Rangers | Roxbury, MA |
| Sent Off - Davison 1H | Report | Campbell 2’, Reauch 80’ Sent Off - Napier (GK) 1H | Stadium: Connelly Playground Referee: W.R. Welch |
| February 9, 1924 | Fleischer Yarn (Phi.) | 3-1 | American A.A. (Newark) | Philadelphia, PA |
| Report | Stadium: Tenth & Butler St. Referee: James Walders | |||
| Note: American AA protest that referee James Walders ended the game 15 minutes early was denied. | ||||
Western Quarterfinals
| January 20, 1924 | Union Electric (St. L) | 7-0 | Memphis K of C (TN) | St. Louis, MO |
| Eddie Lyons 8’ 11’ (PK) 1H 1H 2H, Frank Leahy 2H, Dave Goldsmith 2H | Report | Stadium: Fairground Park Attendance: 300 Referee: J.H. Craddock |
| February 10, 1924 | Heidelberg (W. Pa.) | 3-3 (a.e.t.) | Jeanette (W. Pa.) | Heidelberg, PA |
| Stengel 1H, Broggi 2H (Jones), Savage 94’ | Report | Monstrolo 44’ (Jaap) 2H (Jaap) ET (Jaap) | Stadium: Heidelberg Field Attendance: 4,000 Referee: E.J. Donaghy |
| February 16, 1924 REPLAY | Jeanette | 2-4 | Heidelberg | Pittsburgh, PA |
| Schang 1H (Jaap), Johnny Jaap 1H | Report | Moreman 10’ (OG), Broggi 2H, Murphy ET (OG), Broggi ET | Stadium: Duquesne University Attendance: 1,500 Referee: Bloom |
| February 17, 1924 | Magyar Americans (Cle.) | 4-1 | Sons of St. George (Akron) | Cleveland, OH |
| L. Hoffman 2H 2H 2H, Molnar 1H | Report | Hardman 2H | Stadium: Luna PArk Referee: F.G. Protheroe |
| March 16, 1924 | Scarlet Runners (Det.) | 2-4 | Swedish American FC (Chi.) | Detroit, MI |
| Young 20’, Russell ET | Report | Brun 50’ 117’, Rundquist ET, Magnuson 120’ | Stadium: Packard Park Referee: W. Ferguson |
Eastern Semifinals
| March 1, 1924 | Fleischer Yarn | W-L | Steinway FC | Philadelphia, PA |
| Report | Stadium: Tenth & Butler St. Referee: James Walders |
| March 8, 1924 | Worcester Rangers | 2-2 (a.e.t.) | Clan Robertson | Worcester, MA |
| Hendry (2) | Report | Russell, Caroll | Referee: Kirkland |
| March 22, 1924 REPLAY | Clan Robertson | 1-2 | Worcester Rangers | Boston, MA |
| Carroll 2H | Report | Carlin 1H (PK), Hendry 1H | Stadium: Charlestown Playground |
Western Semifinals
| March 8, 1924 | Magyar American | 3-2 | Heidelberg | Cleveland, OH |
| N. Sziga 1H, A. Meywes 55’, L. Hoffman 80’ | Report | Andy Savage 1H, George Caraffi 1H | Stadium: Luna Park Referee: J.B. Storrie |
| Swedish American FC | w/o | Union Electric | Chicago, IL | |
| Report | ||||
| Note: Union Electric withdrew | ||||
Union Electric withdrawal
The original plan was for the 1924 Amateur Cup champion to serve as the United States team in the 1924 Olympic soccer tournament. As the tournament reached the Quarterfinals, it was realized many of the teams had foreign born players who would be ineligible for the Olympic team. The U.S.F.A. decided instead to fill out the roster with players from different teams across the country along with players from the two teams in the final.
Union Electric management felt that since their team was the only one with a 100% Olympic eligible roster, all other teams remaining should be disqualified and the championship should be awarded to Union. Union also claimed there was no plan to reimburse their travel expense to Chicago to play Swedish American FC. When the U.S.F.A. declined Union’s request to disqualify everyone else, they withdrew from the tournament.[2]
Eastern Final
| April 5, 1924 | Fleischer Yarn | 8-0 | Worcester Rangers | Shawsheen Village, MA |
| Andy Stradan 2H (Purvis) 2H 2H, Jim Purvis 1H 2H 2H, Duffy 2H, James McLaughlin 2H | Report | Stadium: Balmoral Park Referee: Pat Darcy |
Western Final
| March 30, 1924 | Magyar American | 1-2 | Swedish American FC | Cleveland, OH |
| Mavis 48' | Report | Johnson 15’ (Lundquist), Rundquist 1H | Stadium: Luna Park Attendance: 5,000 Referee: Tom Birks |
Final
| April 20, 1924 | Swedish American FC | 0-3 | Fleischer Yarn | Chicago, IL |
| Report | James McLaughlin 27’ (Stradan), Andy Stradan 59’ 2H (Galloway) Missed Penalty - Duffy 2H | Stadium: DePaul Field Attendance: 4,000 Referee: Tom Parks |
References
- "Olympic Soccer Plan Is Faulty". (March 19, 1924). St. Louis Post-Dispatch, p.22 col.7
- "23 Mar 1924, Page 10 - St. Louis Post-Dispatch at Newspapers.com". Newspapers.com. Retrieved 2020-11-21.