Same Old U.S. Soccer Song, Leagues Come and Go, The U.S. Open Cup Remains

Warm-ups or avante-garde dance performance? Bethlehem Steel players stay fit on their cross Atlantic voyage to Scandinavia.

In 1923, players from Bethlehem Steel FC stretched and ran through exercises on the deck of a ship as they crossed the Atlantic enroute to a tour of Scandinavia. A photograph captured the moment, complete with a giant fishing net hanging in the background—a surreal image of an American soccer team from a Pennsylvania steel town embarking on an overseas exhibition tour. While such a trip may seem improbable today, it made perfect sense for Bethlehem Steel FC. Initially founded to provide the company’s workers with physical activity and social opportunities, the team quickly evolved into a powerhouse in U.S. soccer, backed by one of the wealthiest steel companies in the world.

Bethlehem Steels dominance is a cornerstone of early U.S. soccer history.

Archie Stark held the single season goal scoring record for 87 years.  The record was broken in 2012 by a young Barcelona player named Lionel Messi.

The team shares the record for the most U.S. Open Cup championships—five titles between 1915 and 1926. Playing in the competitive American Soccer League (ASL), which consisted primarily of East Coast teams tied to companies, immigrant, and working-class communities. Bethlehem Steel used its resources to recruit top talent, paying players from around the world to come to Bethlehem and bolster its roster. Among their star players was Archie Stark, a Welsh immigrant who became a soccer legend in the U.S. Stark joined Bethlehem in 1924 and, in his first full season, achieved something extraordinary: scoring 67 goals in 44 games, a record unmatched for nearly 90 years.

Bethlehem Steel’s dominance, however, came to an abrupt end in 1930 as the club fell victim to the politics that plagued U.S. soccer. The "Soccer War" between the ASL and the United States Football Association (USFA) led to Bethlehem’s withdrawal from the 1929 Open Cup, as league clubs resisted USFA mandates to participate. This furthered financial strains and internal conflicts that weakened the league. In a survival attempt, Bethlehem briefly joined the Eastern Soccer League before returning to a reorganized ASL for one year and then folding. The political conflict surrounding the team’s demise is eerily similar to today's tensions between Major League Soccer (MLS) and U.S. Soccer over the Open Cup. This year, MLS nearly exited the tournament entirely, echoing the ASL's earlier resistance to federation mandates. Bethlehem’s story highlights the fragility of U.S. soccer's structure, where conflict between national federations and profit-focused leagues has repeatedly undermined the game in this country.

Maccabee Los Angeles emerged as another team to dominate the U.S. Open Cup.

On the West Coast, decades after Bethlehem’s decline, Maccabee Los Angeles emerged as another team to dominate the U.S. Open Cup, matching Bethlehem’s five titles between 1973 and 1981. Like Bethlehem, Maccabee had deep immigrant roots—founded by Jewish immigrants seeking to build pride and community through sport. However, the team’s success wasn’t limited to Jewish players, as Maccabee fielded a diverse group of amateur and semi-pro athletes. They dominated during a period when the North American Soccer League (NASL) refused to participate in the Open Cup, fearing the tournament’s unpredictability. One of Maccabee’s key players was Benny Binshtock, a versatile midfielder who turned down an opportunity to play in the 1970 World Cup with Israel’s national team and a contract with the famed New York Cosmos, as neither offered the stability of his job at Mattel. Binshtock’s decision reflected the challenges players faced at the time—juggling soccer with other careers as the sport lacked professional stability in the U.S.

Maccabee, or Maccabi, Los Angeles.  Zlatan did not play for them.

Like Bethlehem Steel, Maccabee’s dominance came during a time when the Open Cup faced structural challenges. Part of the reason the Maccabee’s were able to string together so many wins was because the youn National American Soccer League (NASL) refused to participate. The parallels to today’s issues are clear: just as NASL feared the randomness of a lower-tier team toppling their giants, MLS teams are often hesitant to prioritize the Open Cup, where unpredictable results could disrupt their controlled league narratives. Why risk seeing a superstar like Lionel Messi lose to an unknown player like Binshtock when millions in media deals are at stake?

MLS’ reluctance to support the Open Cup undermines the spirit of the game.

Kansas City Wizards celebrate their 2004 Open Cup victory. 

The open competition that allows for "David vs. Goliath" upsets, the same spirit that propelled clubs like Bethlehem and Maccabee to historical greatness. Ironically, Sporting Kansas City could soon become the first MLS side to match Bethlehem and Maccabee’s five Open Cup trophies. While the club understands the historical significance of this opportunity, MLS still appears ambivalent about the tournament’s future.

U.S. soccer’s most enduring legacy is the Open Cup, and attempts to marginalize or devalue it risk repeating the mistakes of the past. Just as Bethlehem Steel fell victim to internal conflicts and structural issues, MLS risks making the same missteps by ignoring the importance of a competition that has been the only constant in American soccer’s fractured history. The Open Cup is more than a trophy—it’s a bridge that connects the sport’s past, present, and future in the United States. If MLS doesn’t embrace this, it may find itself echoing the fate of leagues that came before it, which failed to appreciate the unique role the Cup plays in American soccer.

It’s also worth noting that the Fall River Marksmen are sometimes credited with winning five U.S. Open Cups, but their path was more complex. The team won four titles between 1924 and 1931, but during the 1931 Cup, while officially listed as Fall River, they played in the league as the New York Yankees. The following year, after relocating back to New Bedford, they competed as the New Bedford Whalers and won the 1932 Open Cup. Their multiple relocations and mergers complicate their legacy, unlike Bethlehem Steel and Maccabee Los Angeles, who won all their titles under one name, in one city and under one organization.

This distinction highlights the complexity of early U.S. soccer, where relocations and mergers impacted club identities—an issue still relevant today.