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 The
oldest team sport trophy in the United States will be on display
at the NSCAA Convention in Baltimore, MD from January 13 through
January 15, the National Soccer Hall of Fame and the National
Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) confirmed today.
The Dewar Challenge Cup, the traditional trophy of the Lamar
Hunt U.S. Open Cup, has been in use since 1914. The Cup is
fashioned of sterling silver on a wood pedestal adorned with
engraved silver plates honoring every championship team from the
1914 Brooklyn Field Club to 2004 Kansas City Wizards.
Baltimore
Soccer Club holds a unique position in the history of the
tournament. In 1940 the two-leg final finished tied and a
deciding game was never played. Consequently, Baltimore SC was
declared co-champion with Chicago Sparta.
 “This Cup
captures a large portion of the history of soccer in the United
States,” Jack Huckel, Hall of Fame Director of Communications,
stated. “For the longest time this trophy represented the true
national champion, as leagues were regional and the only time
teams from the East played teams from St. Louis, Chicago or the
West Coast was the Open Cup Final. We are excited to bring this
art treasure to America’s soccer coaches and to the city of
Baltimore.”
“The Dewar
Challenge Cup adds to the NSCAA Annual Convention, which is the
largest meeting of soccer coaches in the world,” Craig Bohnert,
NSCAA Senior VP for Communications, said. “Our goal is to make
this annual convention exciting for our conventioneers. We
expect more than 6,000 people to join us in Baltimore. The Dewar
Challenge Cup will be a special treat for them.”
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About the National Soccer Hall
of Fame and Museum
 Located in
Oneonta, NY, the National Soccer Hall of Fame opened a 30,000
square foot, state-of-the-art museum in 1999. The Hall of Fame
tells the story of soccer in
America through artifacts, photographs, and video clips. The new
Hall features an extensive interactive, youth oriented Kicks
Zone where visitors have fun kicking,
heading and playing computer trivia stations and video
soccer games. The VideoWall portrays some of the greatest
moments and the greatest goals in history as well as live soccer
action with World Cup, MLS, and U.S. Soccer matches. Unique and
rare artifacts on exhibit range from the world’s oldest soccer
ball to the FIFA Women’s World Cup trophy won by the USA in
1999,
Pelé's and Mia Hamm’s uniforms, Kristine Lilly’s golden
shoes, NASL championship rings, the original MLS championship
trophy, MLS gallery - it’s all at the National Soccer Hall of
Fame. In addition to the interactive Museum, the National Soccer
Hall of Fame complex boasts the
Kicks
Zone Store,
a research library, four world-class soccer fields and
office/meeting facilities. The Hall plans to add a stadium, an
indoor soccer arena and housing facilities in the future.
The mission of
the National Soccer Hall of Fame is to celebrate the history,
honor the heroes, inspire the youth and preserve the legacy of
soccer in the United States.
The National
Soccer Hall of Fame is open every day of the year, except
Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year's. Admission is $9.00 for
adults, $8.00 for students, $6.50 for children 6 or older and
senior citizens. Children 5 and under are free.
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