Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup
http://www.soccerhall.org/US_Open_Cup.htm
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The U.S. Open Cup, the national championship of the United States,
began in 1914 and is the oldest annual team tournament in U.S.
sports. Modeled after England's famous FA Cup, the Open Cup is open
to all senior division teams, amateur and professional registered
with the United States Soccer Federation (USSF).

The oldest trophy in the United States team sports history was
donated to the American Amateur Football Association in 1912 by Sir
Thomas R. Dewar, a British distiller, sportsman and philanthropist
during a AAFA (now known as United States Amateur Soccer
Association) visit to London prior to the 1912 Olympics.

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The trophy was originally purchased for $500 and given in the hope
of promoting soccer in the United States and in the name of Anglo-
American friendship. The cup was first awarded to the Yonkers
Football Club (NY) in 1912 after they defeated the Hollywood Inn
Football Club (NY) at the Lennox Oval in New York City. The trophy
was officially adopted as the U.S. Open Cup trophy prior to the
Brooklyn Field Club's inaugural championship in 1914 in Pawtucket,
Rhode Island. The trophy was retired in 1979, but was refurbished by
the USASA in 1997 and was presented to the 1997 and 1998 Open Cup
winners, before permanently retiring to the National Soccer Hall of
Fame in Oneonta, New York.

The great Bethlehem Steel teams appeared in six of the first seven
finals, winning the trophy five times. In the the 1920's the
competition was divided with an eastern and western final, with the
winners meeting in the grand final. Teams from the professional
American Soccer League (ASL) dominated, and in 1924 the ASL's Fall
River Marksmen became the first to win the 'The Double' - the
professional league championship and the U.S. Open Cup. In 1929, a
record crowd of 20,000 packed Dexter Park in Brooklyn for the final
between New York Hakoah SC and St. Louis Madison Kennel, with New
York Hakoah SC winning the match 3-0.

Although it is now a single-elimination tournament, between 1928 and
1968 the U.S. Open Cup Final could be a two match (home and an
away), or even a best-of-three. Regardless of the format, the
competition lost its glamour over time, particularly when teams from
the North American Soccer League (NASL) declined to participate. But
in recent years, the U.S. Open Cup has returned to the public
attention as teams from Major League Soccer (MLS) have vied for the
historic trophy.