The American Cup

Association Football in the United States developed in industrialised areas in the East. The blue collar sector of East Coast society included a significant percentage of European workers.The influence of the textile industry in New Jersey was particularly important, as were the connections that a number of the leading manufacturers (Clark Thread Company of Paisley, Michael Nairn & Company of Kirkcaldy) had with Scotland. Paterson was noted for silk production, which also attracted a great deal of experienced Scottish labour.

As we have seen in previous posts one of the biggest problems that American soccer has faced during its history has been the power struggles between rival governing bodies and  associations. The American Football Association, founded in 1884, was the United States' first Association Football Governing body, and it was under the auspices of this Association that the first 'cross league' competition was played.
The tournament is usually referred to simply as The American Cup. Here is a list of the finals, up until the 8 year hiatus that saw the tournament lose it's prestige.

1885	Clark O.N.T.	1	0	New York
1886	Clark O.N.T.	3	1	Kearny Rangers
1887	Clark O.N.T.	3	2	Kearny Rangers
1888	Fall River Rovers	5	1	Newark Almas
1889	Fall River Rovers	4	0	Newark Caledonian
1890	Fall River Olympics	4	3	Kearny Rovers
1891	Fall River East Ends	3	1	Brooklyn Longfellows
1892	Fall River East Ends	5	2	New York Thistle
1893	Pawtucket Free Wanderers	3	1	New York Thistle
1894	Pawtucket Olympics	4	1	Paterson True Blues
1895	Newark Caledonian	4	0	Pawtucket Free Wanderers
1896	Paterson True Blues	7	2	Fall River Olympics
1897	Philadelphia Mainz	5	2	Paterson True Blues
	Replay following a 2-2 draw.
1898	Kearny Arlington	4	2	Paterson True Blues

The first edition attracted 6 entrants (some sources state 13 but this appears to confuse the event with later editions).

The entrants were:
Caledonian Thistle Club (Paterson)- whose name leaves no doubt about their Scottish origins.
Clark O.N.T. (Kearney) -sponsored by the Clark Thread Company ONT was short for Our New Thread, Clark’s latest product.
Domestic (Newark)- backed by a well known sewing machine manufacturer.
Kearny Rangers
New York F.B.C.
Paterson F.B.C.

First Round
25.10.84	Clark O.N.T.	2	0	Domestic	ONT AA Grounds Kearney
01.11.84	Kearny Rangers	3	2	Caledonian Thistle	Domestic Baseball Grounds Newark
01.11.84	New York	5	0	Paterson	Hoboken
Semi Final
A draw was made that gave Clark O.N.T a bye into the final.
27.11.84	Kearny Rangers	0	4	New York	Domestic Baseball Grounds Newark
FINAL
14.02.85	Clark O.N.T.	2	1	New York	Emmet Street Grounds Newark
The match was played in snow. New York protested that not all the ONT players were genuine members of the club and that the goal posts were not regulation size. The AFA ordered a replay.
25.04.85	Clark O.N.T.	1	0	New York	Olympic Grounds Paterson

As well as a handsome trophy the winners received prize money of $150.

Football in the USA

The wealth and complexity of the history of the Association game in the United States of America is often overlooked.
Claims for the earliest 'soccer' team in the United States actually pre date Association Football, and seem to refer to a rather ramshackle game combining collision style tackling, handling and certain elements of kicking based football.
1884- The first governing body in US football, the American Football Association (AFA) , formed.
1885 - The American Cup (also known as the American Football Association Cup and the American Federation Cup)  first held. Clark O.N.T. (Newark, NJ) were the winners of the first 3 editions.

Harry Holden, Clark O.N.T

1885-1886 - The AFA holds representative matches against the Canadian league.
1904- Two American High School teams compete in the three team Olympic tournament, retrospectively recorded by the IOC as silver and bronze medal wins for the USA.
1911-The American Amateur Football Association (AAFA) was created in direct opposition to the AFA. The  AAFA  spread beyond  the traditional Northeastern football heartlands and created its own cup in 1912, the American Amateur Football Association Cup. 
There followed a period of competition between these governing bodies, both of which applied to FIFA for membership.
1913- A number of clubs shift alliegance from the AFA to the AAFA.
1913- The AAFA becomes the United States Football Association, presently known as the United States Soccer Federation. This led to the establishment of the National Challenge Cup which  overshadowed the American Cup. (both cups were played simultaneously for the next ten years).

1919 - Bethlehem Steel (Pa.) become the first American professional team to play in Europe when they tour Sweden.
1921- The American Soccer League founded .
1924 -The National Amateur Cup founded by the USFA  ( the  American Cup was finally killed off by this rival competition).
1924- In the Olympics USA lost to Uruguay in round 2.
The latter portion of the 1920s saw a period of political infighting between the sports' governing bodies  known as the American Soccer Wars.
In 1927, the issue intensified as ASL clubs were accused by FIFA for signing European players who were already under contract to European clubs.
1928 - In the Olympics USA are knocked out in the first round, blitzed 11-2 by Argentina.
1930 - In the first World Cup, the U.S. finish third, losing to Argentina in the semi-final.


Incredible amount of info on the game in the USA here:
http://homepages.sover.net/~spectrum/index.html