March 12 (1933)

With a trip to the semifinals of the National Challenge Cup (today’s Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup) on the line, Stix Baer & Fuller defeats the Andersons, 4-1, before 8,000 (6,883 paid) fans at Sportsman’s Park. The game is a replay of a controversial 2-2 deadlock between the two St. Louis teams on Feb. 26. A late tying goal by Stix’s Willie McLean was ruled offside, but Stix wins a protest that the Andersons’ goalkeeper, Sam Dueker, was the last to touch the ball before McLean’s shot, thus nullifying the offsides. The Andersons, a team of players from St. Louis, score first in the rematch in the 14th minute, but can’t keep up with the talent-filled Stix eleven. Stix is heavily laden with top players who fled the eastern United States, where the Depression had hurt the sport badly. Stix and the Andersons had been closely matched earlier in the season, with the teams tying three times, Stix winning twice and the Andersons once. However, on March 12, “the combination play [of Stix] . . .was so well executed that the Anderson defenders looked bad,” Herman Wecke will write in the next day’s St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Future U.S. Soccer Hall of Fame Billy Gonsalves ties the game in the 15th minute, and McLean scores his first of two goals in the 32nd minute. Another future U.S. Soccer Hall of Famer, Alec McNab, scores the game’s final goal. Stix will go on to win the National Challenge Cup championship by beating Sparta of Chicago 7-3 and 1-0 in the semifinals, and the New York Americans 1-0 and 2-1 in the finals.