The Lewis Cup was an American soccer trophy established in 1914 as the championship trophy for the amateur Blue Mountain League, which was composed of clubs from the Lehigh Valley region of northeastern Pennsylvania. It was later awarded to the winners of the American Soccer League's League Cup. The last winner received the trophy in 1963 and it resides in the Museum of Sports Glory in Kiev, Ukraine.
History
editIn 1914, Horace Edgar Lewis donated a trophy to crown the champion of the newly established Blue Mountain League.[1] When the league disbanded, the trophy was stored in a jewelry store safe.[2] In December 1924, was brought out of storage in order to award to the winners of the 1925 American Soccer League cup. The league began to collapse in 1931 and did not hold a league cup. In 1933, the league disbanded. That year, a semi-professional league, the second American Soccer League, began operations. In 1940, the Lewis Cup was again brought out of storage and given to the winners of the league cup. In 1963, Newark Ukrainian Stich won the cup, the last season it was awarded. The team later donated the trophy to the Museum of Sports Glory in Kiev.[3]
Winners
editBlue Mountain League
edit| Year | Winner | Runner-up |
|---|---|---|
| 1915 | Bethlehem Reserves | Nativity Men's Club[4] |
| 1916 | Allentown YMCA[5] | – |
| 1917 | Allentown YMCA (2) | Nativity Men's Club[6][Note 1] |
| 1918 | North End F.C. | Victor F.C.[7] |
| 1919 | North End F.C. (2) | Saucon Cross Roads[8] |
- ^ The league was reduced from six to two teams half way through the season when most of the players were drafted into military service when the United States entered World War I. The remaining two teams, Victor FC and North End FC played three games to determine the Lewis Cup champion. North End won two of the three games.
American Soccer League I
edit| Year | Winner | Runner-up |
|---|---|---|
| 1925 Details | Boston Soccer Club | Fall River F.C. |
| 1926 Details | New Bedford Whalers | New York Giants |
| 1927 Details | Boston Soccer Club (2) | Brooklyn Wanderers |
| 1928 Details | Bethlehem Steel | Boston Soccer Club |
| 1929 Details | New York Nationals | New Bedford Whalers |
| 1930 Details | Fall River F.C. | Hakoah All-Stars |
| 1931-1933 | No competition |
American Soccer League II
edit| Year | Winner | Runner-up |
|---|---|---|
| 1934-1939 | No competition | |
| 1940 | Kearny Scots | Philadelphia German American |
| 1941 | Philadelphia German-American | Brookhattan |
| 1942 | Brookhattan | Kearny Irish |
| 1943 | Philadelphia Americans (2) | Kearny Irish |
| 1944 | Kearny Irish | Brooklyn Wanderers |
| 1945 | Brookhattan (2) | Brooklyn Wanderers |
| 1946 | Brooklyn Hispano | Baltimore Americans |
| 1947 | Baltimore Americans | Kearny Irish |
| 1948 | Kearny Scots (2) | Brookhattan |
| 1949 | Philadelphia Nationals | Kearny Irish |
| 1950 | New York Americans | Philadelphia Nationals |
| 1951 | Philadelphia Nationals (2) | New York Hakoah |
| 1952 | Philadelphia Nationals (3) | New York Americans |
| 1953 | Newark Portuguese | Philadelphia Nationals |
| 1954 | Newark Sport Club | S.C. Eintracht |
| 1955 | Uhrik Truckers (3) | Brookhattan |
| 1956 | No competition | |
| 1957 | Elizabeth Falcons | Newark Portuguese[9] |
| 1958 | Uhrik Truckers (4) | Ukrainian Nationals |
| 1959 | Ukrainian Nationals | New York Hakoah |
| 1960-1962 | No competition | |
| 1963 | Newark Ukrainian Sitch | Ukrainian Nationals |
By club
edit| Club | Appearances | Cups won | Runner-up | Years won | Years runner-up |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Uhrik Truckers# | 5 | 4 | 1 | 1941, 1943, 1955, 1958 | 1940 |
| Philadelphia Nationals | 5 | 3 | 2 | 1949, 1951, 1952 | 1950, 1953 |
| Brookhattan | 5 | 2 | 3 | 1942, 1945 | 1941, 1948, 1955 |
| Boston S.C. | 3 | 2 | 1 | 1925, 1927 | 1928 |
| Allentown YMCA | 2 | 2 | 0 | 1916, 1917 | – |
| North End F.C. | 2 | 2 | 0 | 1918, 1919 | – |
| Kearny Scots | 2 | 2 | 0 | 1940, 1948 | – |
| Kearny Irish | 5 | 1 | 4 | 1944 | 1942, 1943, 1947, 1949 |
| Ukrainian Nationals | 3 | 1 | 2 | 1959 | 1958, 1963 |
| Fall River F.C. | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1930 | 1925 |
| New Bedford Whalers | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1926 | 1929 |
| Baltimore Americans | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1947 | 1946 |
| New York Americans | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1950 | 1952 |
| Newark Portuguese | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1953 | 1957 |
| Bethlehem Reserves | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1915 | – |
| Bethlehem Steel | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1928 | – |
| New York Nationals | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1929 | – |
| Brooklyn Hispano | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1946 | – |
| Newark Sport Club | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1954 | – |
| Elizabeth Falcons | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1957 | – |
| Newark Ukrainian Sitch | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1963 | – |
| Nativity Men's Club | 2 | 0 | 2 | – | 1915, 1917 |
| Brooklyn Wanderers | 2 | 0 | 2 | – | 1944, 1945 |
| New York Hakoah II | 2 | 0 | 2 | – | 1951, 1959 |
| Victor F.C. | 1 | 0 | 1 | – | 1918 |
| Saucon Cross Roads | 1 | 0 | 1 | – | 1919 |
| New York Giants | 1 | 0 | 1 | – | 1926 |
| Brooklyn Wanderers | 1 | 0 | 1 | – | 1927 |
| Hakoah All-Stars | 1 | 0 | 1 | – | 1930 |
| S.C. Eintracht | 1 | 0 | 1 | – | 1954 |
#1941 known as Philadelphia German-American, 1943 as Philadelphia Americans
External links
editReferences
edit- ^ Blue Mountain League
- ^ Bringing Back the Cups; The Globe – Bethlehem; December 16, 1924
- ^ The Sports Sleuths
- ^ "Local Soccer League Celebrates At Banquet". The Morning Call (Allentown, PA). June 4, 1915. p. 13. Retrieved February 15, 2019.
- ^ "Soccer League Trophies Awarded". The Morning Call (Allentown, PA). June 10, 1916. p. 17. Retrieved February 15, 2019.
- ^ "Another For Allentown". The Philadelphia Inquirer. April 7, 1917. p. 16. Retrieved February 15, 2019.
- ^ "Cup For North Ends". The Philadelphia Inquirer. April 21, 1918. p. 23. Retrieved February 15, 2019.
- ^ "North Ends Wins Title By Dumping Saucon, 2-1". The Philadelphia Inquirer. March 16, 1919. p. 21. Retrieved February 15, 2019.
- ^ "Falcons Lose, 1-0, But Win Cup". New York Daily News. June 17, 1957. p. 53. Retrieved February 13, 2019.