Maccabee Athletic Club (, MAH-KAH-Bee) was an American athletic club based in
Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...
. The primary activity of the club was Maccabee Los Angeles Soccer Club, a team which competed professionally in the
Greater Los Angeles Soccer League. The soccer club is notable for appearing in the
US Open Cup
The Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup, commonly known as the U.S. Open Cup (USOC), is a knockout cup competition in men's soccer in the United States. It is the country's oldest ongoing national soccer competition. The competition was first held duri ...
final seven times in its eleven-year history, becoming one of only two teams to win the competition five times.
[The other team to win five National Challenge Cups was Bethlehem Steel F.C.]
History
Maccabee Los Angeles Soccer Club was formed by a group of
Israeli expatriates to serve as a recreational Sunday soccer team. 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
Greater Los Angeles is the most populous metropolitan area in the U.S. state of California, encompassing five counties in Southern California extending from Ventura County in the west to San Bernardino County and Riverside County in the east, ...
. While the club used the
Star of David
The Star of David (, , ) is a symbol generally recognized as representing both Jewish identity and Judaism. Its shape is that of a hexagram: the compound of two equilateral triangles.
A derivation of the Seal of Solomon was used for decora ...
and other Jewish symbols, the players came from various countries and many of them were not Jewish.
They won the Triple Crown twice in 1977 and 1978 by winning the
Greater Los Angeles Soccer League,
California State Cup and the
US Open Cup
The Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup, commonly known as the U.S. Open Cup (USOC), is a knockout cup competition in men's soccer in the United States. It is the country's oldest ongoing national soccer competition. The competition was first held duri ...
. They qualified for the
CONCACAF Champions Cup
The CONCACAF Champions Cup, formerly known as CONCACAF Champions League (2008–2023), is an international association football competition organized by CONCACAF as its top continental tournament for clubs from North America, Central America, a ...
in 1974 and 1978 but withdrew before competing both times.
Maccabee Los Angeles played
Bridgeport Vasco da Gama from Connecticut in the 1978
US Open Cup
The Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup, commonly known as the U.S. Open Cup (USOC), is a knockout cup competition in men's soccer in the United States. It is the country's oldest ongoing national soccer competition. The competition was first held duri ...
winning the
final at
Giants Stadium
Giants Stadium (sometimes referred to as Giants Stadium at the Meadowlands) was a stadium located in East Rutherford, New Jersey, in the Meadowlands Sports Complex. The venue was open from 1976 to 2010, and primarily hosted sporting events and ...
in
East Rutherford, New Jersey
East Rutherford is a Borough (New Jersey), borough in Bergen County, New Jersey, Bergen County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It is an inner suburb, inner-ring suburb of New York City, located west of Midtown Manhattan. As of the 2020 Unit ...
. The match was part of a double header with the
New York Cosmos New York Cosmos may refer to
* New York Cosmos (1970–1985), a team in the North American Soccer League (then the top-tier soccer league in the United States and Canada)
* New York Cosmos (2010), a team playing since 2020 in the National Indepen ...
and the
Tampa Bay Rowdies
The Tampa Bay Rowdies are an American professional soccer team based in St. Petersburg, Florida. The club was founded in 2008 and first took the pitch in 2010. Since 2017, the Rowdies have been members of the USL Championship in the second tie ...
of the
North American Soccer League
The North American Soccer League (NASL) was the top-level major professional soccer league in the United States and Canada that operated from 1968 to
1984. It is considered the first soccer league to be successful on a national scale in the ...
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.
Honors
*
US Open Cup
The Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup, commonly known as the U.S. Open Cup (USOC), is a knockout cup competition in men's soccer in the United States. It is the country's oldest ongoing national soccer competition. The competition was first held duri ...
**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
Past rosters
US Open Cup 1973
US Open Cup 1975
US Open Cup 1977
US Open Cup 1978
US Open Cup 1980
US Open Cup 1981
US Open Cup 1982
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)
References
Maccabee Los Angeles
Jewish organizations based in the United States
Soccer clubs in Los Angeles
Los Angeles
Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...
1971 establishments in California
1982 disestablishments in California
Association football clubs established in 1971
Association football clubs disestablished in 1982
Diaspora soccer clubs in the United States
U.S. clubs in CONCACAF Champions' Cup
U.S. Open Cup winners
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