Former Boston Breakers (WPS) General Manager, Andy Crossley, runs a great site called Fun While It Lasted where I love to go to see the great history and information he digs up about minor league franchises that have come and gone in the American sports landscape. I especially enjoy anytime he posts something regarding soccer teams that once played in the D.

After reading Soccer Men, a compelling look at the personalities associated with the sport, I was positive that the next book in line (Soccer in a Football World: The Story of America's Forgotten Game by David Wangerin) would be different, maybe not in a positive way. I was even more certain after a flip through its pages revealed a wealth of dates and names.

While we're in the middle of all this talk about the US Open Cup, here's a little piece of history: a story from the Newark Sunday Call from October 5, 1924. What was then called the National Challenge Cup was just getting underway, but some of the country's top pro teams from the American Soccer League weren't competing because of a dispute over gate receipts "scheduling.