The century-old US Open Cup tournament is ripe with unique and quirky stories from its lengthy history.
Vice Sports recently detailed one story of the semi-pro club Maccabi Los Angeles, which won a remarkable five championships in what was then called the National Challenge Cup and reached the final two other times from 1973-82.
Although defunct, Maccabi remain one of three teams with five Open Cup titles to their name, along with Bethlehem Steel and the Fall River Marksmen.
The Vice article details the ethnic taunts Maccabi players sometimes faced, how NASL teams (who did not participate in the National Challenge Cup) didn’t want to play them and the history of a five-year run of dominance that included 35 straight wins in 1976-77 on the way to city, state and national titles.
Maccabi fell short of a sixth title in 1982, falling in extra time to the still-active New York Pancyprian-Freedoms, and disbanded soon thereafter.
