1924 National Amateur Cup

The 1924 National Amateur Cup was the USFA's annual cup-tie competition exclusively for amateur soccer teams. It was the second attempt but the first to be completed successfully. There were 81 entries of which Fleisher Yarn emerged as victors. The incentive in the tournament was that the winners would get to represent the U.S. at the Paris Olympics and each game was designated as an official "Olympic Tryout". It was believed that sending the champion amateur team would provide a squad with better chemistry than that of an all-star selection and require considerably less time to gel as a unit. However as the tournament neared its final stages it became apparent that this idea might have to be reconsidered since the majority of the players on the remaining teams were foreign born and would not be eligible for the U.S. team. The only team with all American born players was the Union Electrics of St. Louis who had withdrawn at the quarterfinal stage. At the conclusion of the final game the eligible players on both the Fleisher Yarn and Swedish American teams were chosen while the remainder of the Olympic squad had to be selected from other amateur teams.