The 1924–25 National Challenge Cup was the annual open cup held by the

United States Football Association The United States Soccer Federation (USSF), commonly referred to as U.S. Soccer, is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization and the official governing body of soccer in the United States. It is a full member of FIFA and governs American soccer at ...

now known as the

Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup The Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup, commonly known as the U.S. Open Cup (USOC), is a knockout cup competition in men's soccer in the United States. It is the country's oldest ongoing national soccer competition. The competition was first held duri ...

History

Teams from the American Soccer League and

St. Louis Soccer League The St. Louis Soccer League was a professional soccer league in St. Louis, Missouri. Founded in 1915 With four teams drawn from two amateur leagues, it was at the time the country's only pro soccer league. It folded in 1938. History The league ...

had won the previous several Challenge Cups, but dissatisfaction with the financial arrangements led the two leagues to boycott this year's cup. While the United States Football Association gained its operating income from annual dues by member teams, most of its income came from its annual challenge cup. On the other hand, the owners of the top professional teams saw the challenge cup as a money losing competition as they were forced to play obscure amateur teams which tended to have smaller crowds and therefore gate receipts. After USFA took its cut, the amount distributed to the teams frequently did not cover the travel expenses. Therefore, the SLSL proposed, and the ASL agreed to, the creation of an American Professional Soccer Championship. That game series took place in April 1925 at University Field in

St. Louis, Missouri St. Louis ( , sometimes referred to as St. Louis City, Saint Louis or STL) is an Independent city (United States), independent city in the U.S. state of Missouri. It lies near the confluence of the Mississippi River, Mississippi and the Miss ...

. Over the three games, the

Boston Soccer Club The Boston Soccer Club was a member of the American Soccer League. They were renamed the Boston Bears for the Fall 1929 ASL season. In 1925, the ASL and the St. Louis Soccer League (SLSL) boycotted the National Challenge Cup, now known as t ...

defeated the

Ben Millers Ben Millers was a U.S. soccer club sponsored by the Ben W. Miller Hat Company of St. Louis, Missouri. Founded in 1913, it entered the St. Louis Soccer League two years later, winning seven league titles and one National Challenge Cup before its d ...

in front of an average crowd of over 10,000 spectators per game. In contrast, the National Challenge Cup final between the Shawsheen Indians and Chicago Canadian Club, played at the usually high drawing

Mark's Stadium Mark's Stadium is a former football (soccer), soccer stadium located in North Tiverton, Rhode Island. During the 1920s and early 1930s it was the home of Fall River F.C. (1922–1931), Fall River F.C., one of the era’s most successful soccer te ...

, saw only 2,500 spectators, down from the 18,000 who watched the 1924 final. At a May 1925 meeting, USFA agreed to reduce their percentage of the gate receipts from 33.3% to 15%. This diffused the ASL and SLSL hostility to the challenge cup leading to their re-entering the competition for 1926.

Eastern Division

Western Division

a) aggregate after 3 games

Final

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:1924-25 National Challenge Cup U.S. Open Cup National Challenge Cup, 1925 1924–25 domestic association football cups