1931 National Challenge Cup

The 1931 National Challenge Cup was the annual open cup held by the United States Football Association now known as the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup.

History

By the spring of 1931, the twin ravages of the Great Depression and the "Soccer Wars" had taken their toll on the American Soccer League. As a result, Sam Mark moved his Fall River Marksmen to New York, hoping that a new market there would be more lucrative. Once there he merged the club with New York Soccer Club and renamed them the New York Yankees. Before the merger was finalised, however, Fall River Marksmen had entered the National Challenge Cup and Mark was unable to re-register them as the Yankees. As a result, the Spring 1931 season saw them continue to play in the Challenge Cup as the Fall River Marksmen while at the same time playing as the New York Yankees in the ASL. While the Yankees only managed to finish third in the ASL, the Marksmen won the cup. Largely on the goalscoring strength of Billy Gonsalves, with 9, and Bert Patenaude, with 13, they reached the final where they eventually beat Chicago Bricklayers in a final played as a three-game series. The last of these three games is officially regarded as the last game the Marksmen ever played. The first leg of the final was played on April 5 at the Polo Grounds, where the Marksmen won 6–2, and seemingly established a clear lead. Patenaude scored five goals in that game while Bill McPherson added the other. A week later at Mills Stadium in Chicago, the Bricklayers kept the series alive by earning a 1–1 draw. This time Gonsalves got on the score sheet. Sparta Stadium in Chicago attracted 4,500 for the deciding game on April 19. The Marksmen could only field 10 players after their captain, Alex McNab, broke his arm in a midweek friendly and the club had neglected to bring along any reserves. Despite this they still managed to win 2–0 with goals from Patenaude and Gordon Burness.[1][2][3][4]

The Marksmen were not the only club to relocate, merge or disappear. This has made it difficult to follow the teams as they progressed through this year's competition. To muddy the waters more, the Providence Gold Bugs had been bought by a group of Fall River businessmen and moved to that city to replace the Marksmen. The Gold Bugs were then renamed Fall River F.C. Furthermore, after the Gold Bugs had moved to Fall River to become Fall River F.C., it merged with the New Bedford Whalers. As these teams had all played initial Challenge Cup games, the results become difficult to follow.

Eastern Division
 
First roundSecond roundSemi-finalsFinal
 
              
 
January 10 - February 1
 
 
Fall River Marksmen1st
 
 
 
Providence Gold Bugs2nd
 
Fall River Marksmen
 
 
 
Won Round Robin
 
New Bedford Whalers3rd
 
February 23 - New Bedford
 
Pawtucket Rangers4th
 
Fall River Marksmen6
 
January 11 - Rochester
 
New York Galicia2
 
Rochester Celtic2
 
January 25 - Quincy
 
Fore River3
 
Fore River2
 
January 11 - New York
 
New York Galicia5
 
New York Galicia2
 
March 22 - New York
 
Tappen Post1
 
Fall River Marksmen6
 
January 11 - February 15
 
Newark Americans1
 
Hakoah All-Stars1st
 
 
 
New York Giants2nd
 
Hakoah All-Stars
 
 
 
Won Round Robin
 
New York Soccer Club3rd
 
February 22/March 15
 
Brooklyn Wanderers4th
 
Hakoah All-Stars1-0
 
January 11 - Newark
 
Newark Americans2-2
 
Newark Americans3
 
January 25 - Newark
 
Newark Portuguese0
 
Newark Americans6
 
January 11 - Dundalk
 
BS Baltimore1
 
BS Baltimore7
 
 
Trenton Highlanders1
 

Western Division
 
First roundSecond roundSemi-finalsFinal
 
              
 
January 11 - St. Louis
 
 
Ben Millers5
 
February 8 - St. Louis
 
Tablers3
 
Ben Millers2
 
January 31 - St. Louis
 
Kavanaughs1
 
Kavanaughs8
 
March 1 - St. Louis
 
Hellrungs and Grimm2
 
Ben Millers2
 
January 25 - Cleveland
 
Cleveland Slavia1
 
Cleveland Slavia3
 
February 22 - Cleveland
 
Bruell Hungarian2
 
Cleveland Slavia2
 
February 16 - Cleveland
 
Morgan F.C.1
 
Cleveland Shamrock1
 
March 8, 15
 
Morgan F.C.3
 
Ben Millers2-0
 
February 8 - Chicago
 
Chicago Bricklayers7-1
 
Chicago Bricklayers3
 
February 15 - Chicago
 
Olympia F.C.0
 
Chicago Bricklayers2
 
February 8 - Chicago
 
Sparta ABA1
 
Sparta ABA4
 
March 1 - Chicago
 
Maccabee All-Stars0
 
Chicago Bricklayers4
 
February 8 - Chicago
 
Swedish Americans1
 
Swedish Americans4
 
February 15, 22 - Chicago
 
Norwegian Americans0
 
Swedish Americans4-2
 
February 1 - Detroit
 
Workers A.C.4-1
 
Liberty F.C.0
 
 
Workers A.C.2
 

Round Robin groups for Quarterfinal qualifying.

New York Pts Pld W L T GF GA GD
Hakoah All-Stars 8642079-2
New York Giants 763211713+4
New York Soccer Club 562311312+1
Brooklyn Wanderers 462401116-5
New England Pts Pld W L T GF GA GD
Fall River Marksmen 106402197+12
Providence Gold Bugs 66222119+2
New Bedford Whalers 662221113-2
Pawtucket Rangers 26042921-12

Final

First game
Fall River Marksmen (MA)6–2Chicago Bricklayers (IL)
Patenaude , , , ,
McPherson 		Report Cuthbert
Greenlees
Attendance: 12,000
Referee: Charles Creighton, New York (USA)

Second game
Chicago Bricklayers (IL)1–1Fall River Marksmen (MA)
Gregg  57' (pen.) Gonsalves  40'
Mills Stadium, Chicago, Illinois
Attendance: 8,000
Referee: Jack Johnstone (USA)

Second game (replay)
Chicago Bricklayers (IL)0–2Fall River Marksmen (MA)
Patenaude
Burness  (pen.)
Sparta Field, Chicago, Illinois
Attendance: 4,500
Referee: Harry Pithie, Detroit, (USA)

Sources
  • Jose, Colin (1998). American Soccer League, 1921-1931 (Hardback). The Scarecrow Press. (ISBN 0-8108-3429-4).
  • 1931 U.S. Open Cup Results

References
  1. www.rsssf.com Archived 2010-12-24 at WebCite
  2. "American Soccer - 1931". Archived from the original on 2008-06-16. Retrieved 2008-04-30.
  3. "www.sover.net". Archived from the original on 2009-08-20. Retrieved 2008-04-30.
  4. Wangerin, David (May 12, 2006). Soccer in a football world. London, England: WSC Books, Ltd. ISBN 0954013476.
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