Maccabee Los Angeles
Maccabee Athletic Club (Hebrew: מכבי לוס אנג'לס, MAH-KAH-Bee) was an American Athletic Club based in Los Angeles, California. The primary activity of the club was Maccabee Los Angeles Soccer Club the team competed professionally in the Greater Los Angeles Soccer League, the CONCACAF Champions League (CONCACAF Champions Cup), including appearing in the Lamar Hunt US Open Cup (National Challenge Cup) final seven times in their eleven-year history most notably becoming only one of two teams along with Bethlehem Steel to win the competition five times.[1]
Full name | Maccabee Los Angeles מכבי לוס אנג'לס | |
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Nickname(s) | Maccabees | |
Founded | 1971 (competitive) | |
Dissolved | 1982 | |
Ground | Jackie Robinson Field | |
Capacity | 10,820 | |
League | Greater Los Angeles Soccer League | |
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History
Maccabee Los Angeles Soccer Club was formed by a group of Israeli expatriates to serve as a recreational Sunday soccer team. [2] The team began playing competitively in 1971 as part of the Greater Los Angeles Soccer League, with the addition of former Israeli national team players who had recently immigrated to the Los Angeles area. While the club used the Star of David and other Jewish symbols, several players came from other backgrounds.[3] They won the Triple Crown (Association Football) twice in 1977 and 1978 by winning the Greater Los Angeles Soccer League, California State Cup and the U.S. Open Cup. They participated in the CONCACAF Champions Cup in 1978 but did not advance from the first round.[4] Maccabee Los Angeles played Bridgeport Vasco da Gama from Connecticut in the 1978 US Open Cup winning the final at Giants Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey. The match was part of a double header with the New York Cosmos and the Tampa Bay Rowdies of the North American Soccer League in front of 30,000 fans. Maccabee Los Angeles ceased operations after the 1982 season but Maccabee Athletic Club is still in existence for youth players.[3]
Honors
- Lamar Hunt US Open Cup (National Challenge Cup)
- Winner (5): 1973, 1975, 1977, 1978, 1981
- Finalist (2): 1980, 1982
- Triple Crown Winners: (2): 1977, 1978
- Greater Los Angeles Soccer League
- Winner (7): 1973, 1975, 1977, 1978, 1980, 1981, 1982
- CONCACAF Champions Cup: 1974, 1978 (Did not advance).
Past rosters
US Open Cup 1973
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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US Open Cup 1975
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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US Open Cup 1977
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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US Open Cup 1978
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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US Open Cup 1980
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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US Open Cup 1981
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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US Open Cup 1982
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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US Open Cup results
- 1973 Maccabee Los Angeles 5 vs Cleveland Inter Italian 3
- 1975 Maccabee Los Angeles 1 vs New York Inter Giuliana 0
- 1977 Maccabee Los Angeles 5 vs Philadelphia German-Hungarians 1
- 1978 Maccabee Los Angeles 2 vs Bridgeport Vasco da Gama 0 (OT)
- 1980 New York Pancyprian-Freedoms 3 vs Maccabee Los Angeles 2
- 1981 Maccabee Los Angeles 5 vs Brooklyn Dodgers 1
- 1982 New York Pancyprian-Freedoms 4 vs Maccabee Los Angeles 3 (OT)[1]
References
- "US Open Cup, National Challenge Cup history: Year-by-year - TheCup.us - Full Coverage of US Open Cup Soccer". thecup.us. Retrieved 17 September 2017.
- "The 1971–81 Maccabee Los Angeles Soccer Team". SoCal Jewish Sports Hall of Fame. 1998. Retrieved 9 August 2012.
- Baxter, Kevin (August 30, 2019). "How Holocaust survivors, immigrants and a soap opera star formed a soccer powerhouse". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved August 30, 2019.
- "The Year in American Soccer - 1978". homepages.sover.net. Archived from the original on 17 February 2015. Retrieved 17 September 2017.