The St. Petersburg Kickers began with Kurt Herbach recruiting pick-up games in the Port of Tampa in the 1950s, and by 1989, they became the first Florida team to win the US Open Cup.
US Open Cup History
San Francisco Bay Seals, the ‘amateur’ pro team that reached 1997 US Open Cup Semifinals
One of the most overlooked and dramatic runs in the history of the US Open Cup occurred in 1997. That year, the San Francisco Bay Seals, who competed in the USISL’s D-3 Pro League, upset two MLS teams and the defending A-League champions to earn a spot in the Semifinals.
Vasco De Gama’s journey from Connecticut to 1978 US Open Cup Final as Pele’s opening act at Giants Stadium
The National Challenge Cup lived a separate existence from the glitz and glamour of the country’s top domestic league, the NASL, but the two did briefly cross paths on July 30, 1978.
1938-1939 National Challenge Cup: The first time the US Open Cup was invite-only
The 2021 US Open Cup is expected to be reduced to 24 teams and few may know this will mark the second time in the tournament’s history that the entire field was selected by invitation only instead of individual club entry.
American soccer’s greatest modern underdog story: Rochester Raging Rhinos win 1999 US Open Cup
Every sport has its go-to underdog story. For American soccer, it’s the 1999 Rochester Raging Rhinos
Spanish Flu, severe weather, Olympic Games: 2020 US Open Cup isn’t first tournament to be delayed
This is not the first, or longest, the US Open Cup has been delayed in its 106-year history. The start of the 1919 competition was set back nearly a month when the Spanish Flu pandemic swept through the country and there were many delays in the 1940s because of the weather and the Summer Olympics.
1918/1919 National Challenge Cup Semifinals & Final: Bethlehem Steel earn back-to-back shutouts to win 4th title
For the fifth year in a row, the juggernaut Bethlehem Steel had rumbled through the tournament and were once again in the Final. Standing in their way were fellow National Association Football League members Paterson FC.
1918/1919 National Challenge Cup Quarterfinals: Bethlehem Steel flattens Goodyear’s tires as snow causes problems elsewhere
Six inches of snow greeted Paterson FC when they arrived in Quincy, Mass. on Feb. 22 for their Quarterfinal encounter with Fore River FC.
1918/1919 National Challenge Cup Round 3: Protests produce controversy, World War I hands Bethlehem Steel free pass
The Eastern bracket’s third round schedule kicked off on Dec. 21 in Pawtucket, RI as J & P Coats played host to Fore River FC.
1918/1919 National Challenge Cup Round 2: After Spanish Flu, tourney resumes with controversy, promises of gold watches
With the Spanish Influenza threat cleared, the Second Round of the 1918/1919 National Challenge Cup got under way in November of 1918.