“Celtic” Competed For First U.S. Open Cup

By: Matt | September 1st, 2009

Tomorrow night, D.C United and the Seattle Sounders, both of the MLS, will meet in the finals of the U.S. Open Cup. For those that do not know, the U.S. Open Cup is similar to the Scottish Cup or F.A. Cup of England, where all of the professional teams in the United States compete for the cup. Since many MLS teams focus on their season, the U.S. Open Cup often sees a lot of upsets that the Scottish Cup and FA Cup’s are famous for as well. Believe it or not, the U.S. Open Cup has been contested since 1914. In 1914, 10 teams competed for the inaugural cup. For that first cup, believe it or not, a team playing under the “Celtic” name made it to the finals of the first U.S. Open Cup! Brooklyn Celtic was the name of the team and they were made up of numerous ex-pats who clearly were Celtic supporters. Going into the semi-finals, these Celts took on a familiar foe, matching up with Niagra Falls Rangers. These Bhoys were able to easily dispatch of their Waterfall loving blue nosed New York neighbors, coming out on top 6-2 (a scoreline of a Celtic-Rangers game that sounds somewhat familiar…).

The Celts met their city rivals, the Brooklyn Field Club, in the finals. The championship match was played on May 16, 1914 at Coates Field in Pawtucket, RI. Despite the distance, the Brooklyn Celts brought a good traveling away support, much like the Bhoys in Scotland today. With hundreds supporting the New York Bhoys, there was a total attendance of 10,000 at the Championship match (A number some MLS clubs only get today). Unfortunately, Celtic was missing one of their top forwards for the match. Without this key player, the Bhoys went down to their city rivals Brooklyn Field Club 2-1. However, despite the loss, the name Celtic has been associated in North American soccer since it’s inception. It is clear that Celtic has such a connection to immigrants world wide. Not just in the inception of the club, but all over the world at all periods of history. Once again, we will see Celtic’s connection tomorrow when the Bhoys take on Benfica at BMO field in Toronto.

You can see all the results of the first U.S. Open Cup at their website here! A rundown of the tournament, including the final featuring Brooklyn Celtic can be read here.

Special thanks to reader Kirk for letting me know about this cool story about Celtic. Cheers Kirk!