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. [ [http://www.rsssf.com/tablesu/usacuphist.html#det www.rsssf.com] ] [ [http://www.sover.net/~spectrum/year/1931.html American Soccer - 1931] ] [ [http://www.sover.net/~spectrum/asl.html www.sover.net] ] ["Soccer in a Football World - The Story of America’s Forgotten Game" (2006) : David Wangerin [http://www.amazon.com/dp/0954013476] ]

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. Several records of this Challenge Cup incorrectly refer to the winning team as Fall River F.C., confusing it with the Fall River Marksmen. 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.

Open Cup Bracket

"Home teams listed on top of bracket"32TeamBracket | RD1=First Round
RD2=Second Round
RD3=Quarterfinals
RD4=Semifinals
RD5=Final
April 5-19

RD1-seed01=MO
RD1-team01=Ben Millers
RD1-score01=5
RD1-seed02=MO
RD1-team02=Tablers
RD1-score02=3

RD1-seed03=MO
RD1-team03= Kavanaughs
RD1-score03=8
RD1-seed04=MO
RD1-team04=Hellrungs and Grimm
RD1-score04=2

RD1-seed05=PA
RD1-team05=Morgan F.C.
RD1-score05=
RD1-seed06=OH
RD1-team06=Cleveland Shamrock
RD1-score06=

RD1-seed07=OH
RD1-team07= Cleveland Slavia
RD1-score07=
RD1-seed08=OH
RD1-team08=Bruell Hungarian
RD1-score08=

RD1-seed09=IL
RD1-team09=Chicago Bricklayers
RD1-score09=3
RD1-seed10=IL
RD1-team10=Olympia F.C.
RD1-score10=0

RD1-seed11=IL
RD1-team11=Chicago Sparta
RD1-score11=4
RD1-seed12=IL
RD1-team12=Maccabee All-Stars
RD1-score12=0

RD1-seed13=MI
RD1-team13=Albions
RD1-score13=
RD1-seed14=MI
RD1-team14=Detroit Workers
RD1-score14=

RD1-seed15=IL
RD1-team15=Norwegian Americans
RD1-score15=0
RD1-seed16=IL
RD1-team16=Swedish Americans
RD1-score16=4

RD1-seed17=NJ
RD1-team17=Newark Americans
RD1-score17=3
RD1-seed18=NJ
RD1-team18=Newark Portuguese
RD1-score18=0

RD1-seed19=MD
RD1-team19=BS Baltimore
RD1-score19=
RD1-seed20=NJ
RD1-team20=Trenton Highlanders
RD1-score20=

RD1-seed21=NY
RD1-team21=Hakoah All-Stars
RD1-score21=1st
RD1-seed22=NY
RD1-team22=New York Giants
RD1-score22=2nd

RD1-seed23=NY
RD1-team23=New York Soccer Club
RD1-score23=3rd
RD1-seed24=NY
RD1-team24=Brooklyn Wanderers
RD1-score24=4th

RD1-seed25=MA
RD1-team25=Fall River Marksmen
RD1-score25=1st
RD1-seed26=RI
RD1-team26=Providence Gold Bugs
RD1-score26=2nd

RD1-seed27=MA
RD1-team27=New Bedford Whalers
RD1-score27=3rd
RD1-seed28=RI
RD1-team28=Pawtucket Rangers
RD1-score28=4th

RD1-seed29=NY
RD1-team29=New York Galicia
RD1-score29=
RD1-seed30=NY
RD1-team30=Tappen Post
RD1-score30=

RD1-seed31=MA
RD1-team31=Fore River
RD1-score31=3
RD1-seed32=NY
RD1-team32=Rochester Celtic
RD1-score32=2

RD2-seed01=MO
RD2-team01=Ben Millers
RD2-score01=2
RD2-seed02=MO
RD2-team02=Kavanaughs
RD2-score02=1

RD2-seed03=OH
RD2-team03=Cleveland Slavia
RD2-score03=
RD2-seed04=
RD2-team04=
RD2-score04=

RD2-seed05=IL
RD2-team05=Chicago Bricklayers
RD2-score05=2
RD2-seed06=IL
RD2-team06=Chicago Sparta
RD2-score06=1

RD2-seed07=MI
RD2-team07=Detroit Workers
RD2-score07=4-1
RD2-seed08=IL
RD2-team08=Swedish Americans
RD2-score08=4-2

RD2-seed09=NJ
RD2-team09=Newark Americans
RD2-score09=6
RD2-seed10=MD
RD2-team10=BS Baltimore
RD2-score10=1

RD2-seed11=NY
RD2-team11=Hakoah All-Stars
RD2-score11=
RD2-seed12=
RD2-team12=Won Round Robin
RD2-score12=

RD2-seed13=MA
RD2-team13=Fall River Marksmen
RD2-score13=
RD2-seed14=
RD2-team14=Won Round Robin
RD2-score14=

RD2-seed15=NY
RD2-team15=New York Galicia
RD2-score15=
RD2-seed16=MA
RD2-team16=Fore River
RD2-score16=

RD3-seed01=MO
RD3-team01=Ben Millers
RD3-score01=2
RD3-seed02=OH
RD3-team02=Cleveland Slavia
RD3-score02=1

RD3-seed03=IL
RD3-team03=Chicago Bricklayers
RD3-score03=4
RD3-seed04=IL
RD3-team04=Swedish Americans
RD3-score04=1

RD3-seed05=NJ
RD3-team05=Newark Americans
RD3-score05=2
RD3-seed06=NY
RD3-team06=Hakoah All-Stars
RD3-score06=0

RD3-seed07=MA
RD3-team07=Fall River Marksmen
RD3-score07=6
RD3-seed08=NY
RD3-team08=New York Galicia
RD3-score08=2

RD4-seed01=MO
RD4-team01=Ben Millers
RD4-score01=2-0
RD4-seed02=IL
RD4-team02=Chicago Bricklayers
RD4-score02=7-1

RD4-seed03=NJ
RD4-team03=Newark Americans
RD4-score03=1
RD4-seed04=MA
RD4-team04=Fall River Marksmen
RD4-score04=6

RD5-seed01=IL
RD5-team01=Chicago Bricklayers
RD5-score01=2-1-0
RD5-seed02=MA
RD5-team02=Fall River Marksmen
RD5-score02=6-1-2

(*): replay after tied match
w/o: walkover/forfeit victory awarded

Round Robin groups for Quarterfinal qualifying.

Final

First game

footballbox
date = April 5, 1931
team1 = Fall River Marksmen (MA)
goals1 = Patenaude (5)
McPherson
goals2 = Cuthbert
Greenlees
score = 6–2
report =
team2 = Chicago Bricklayers (IL)
stadium = Polo Grounds; New York, New York
Attendance: 12,000
Referee: Charles Creighton, New York (USA)

econd game

footballbox
date = April 12, 1931
team1 = Chicago Bricklayers (IL)
goals1 = Gregg
goals2 = Gonsalves
score = 1–1
report =
team2 = Fall River Marksmen (MA)
stadium = Mills Stadium; Chicago, Illinois
Attendance: 8,000
Referee: Jack Johnstone, (USA)

econd game (replay)

footballbox
date = April 19, 1931
team1 = Chicago Bricklayers (IL)
goals1 =
goals2 = Patenaude
Burness
score = 0–2
report =
team2 = Fall River Marksmen (MA)
stadium = Sparta Field; Chicago, Illinois
Attendance: 4,500
Referee: Harry Pithie Detroit, (USA)

ource

*cite book | last = Jose | first = Colin | title = American Soccer League, 1921-1931 | format = Hardback | publisher = The Scarecrow Press | year = 1998 | id = (ISBN 0-8108-3429-4)
* [http://www.usopencup.com/1432/1931/index_E.html 1931 U.S. Open Cup Results]

References