1922 American Cup

The 1922 American Cup was not held. The American Football Association in accordance with new rules passed by the USFA did not conduct a tournament for the 1921-22 season. The hiatus was brief however, with the tournament resuming the following season.

History

On previous occasions the tournament was either diminished or not held. The period from 1899-1905, the tournament was not held on account the AFA had disbanded for mostly economic reasons. The opportunity arose for re-establishment in 1905 and the tournament therefore resumed. The tournament was next affected in the 1916-17 season by rules adopted in the Southern New England FA. With Massachusetts teams forced to choose between one out of state tournament most chose the National Challenge Cup. The 1917 edition went on as planned, however the AFA suffered a financial loss from the withdrawals of the Massachusetts squads.[1]

Ruling

The situation in 1922 was far more serious. The USFA established a new rule that allowed only for State Cup competitions with the exception of the National Cup. With the AFA operating out of New Jersey, the new ruling would not allow for the other major districts (NE, NY, and E.Pa.) that took part regularly in the American Cup to compete. New Jersey would be the only district left to conduct the American Cup. Thus, with an insufficient number of entries to conduct a viable tournament the AFA was forced to abandon the 1922 edition.[2]

Holders

The Robins Dry Dock squad of Brooklyn had won the two previous editions of the tournament, the second of the two partnered with a National Challenge Cup win to complete 'the double'. Robins had merged with the Tebo Yacht Basin team to become the Todd Shipyards which finished runner-up in the 1922 National Cup giving credence to the fact they could have repeated as American Cup champions had they been able to defend their title. Many of the Todds players made their way to Paterson F.C. for the 1922/23 season strengthening them sufficiently to win the National Cup however they fell shy of the American Cup losing out in the semifinals.

See also

References

  1. ↑ Carswell, Duncan (1917). "Annual Report Of President", Official Soccer Football Guide, 59.
  2. ↑ Wilcox, Levi (1922-01-22), "Would Have Soccer Cup Tourney Revived", Philadelphia Inquirer, p.9 col.3-6