March 26 (1933)

Stix, Baer and Fuller overcomes the mud, spectacular goalkeeping, and a last-second near-equalizer to defeat Sparta of Chicago 1-0 to reach the finals of the National Challenge Cup (today’s Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup). Stix had won the opener of the best-of-three Western final 7-2 in St. Louis. Game two, played at Sparta Field in Chicago before a paid crowd of 2,017, is a far different affair. The mud gives Sparta, a team reliant on short passing, an advantage over Stix, which emphasizes crosses driven through the air to switch fields, according to the next day’s account of the match by Herman Wecke in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Nevertheless, Stix scores just six minutes into the game after clearing a Sparta corner kick to Billy Gonsalves. Gonsalves and Werner Nilsen team to advance the ball to the edge of the penalty area. Covered tightly by Sparta’s defense, they send the ball to St. Louis native Jimmy Roe (shown at above right), who drives a hard shot from outside the penalty area past Sparta goalkeeper Paul Baer. Baer is unbeatable the rest of the game despite Stix holding a 27-10 shot advantage. Sparta almost draws even at the game’s last breath when Dickie Vidano dribbles from the wing to the center for an open shot. “He delayed too long, however, and when forced by (Stix fullback) Jimmy Roe . . . his shot went wide of the mark,” writes Wecke, who was at the game. Stix’s trip to the Cup final will mark the ninth appearance by a St. Louis team since St. Louis clubs first entered Cup competition in the 1919-20 season. Stix will win the Cup, beating the New York Americans two games to none in the best-of-three finals. It will be the first of three consecutive Cup titles for the team, sponsored by Stix through the 1933-34 season and Central Brewers in the 1934-35 season. The quality of the players can be judged by the fact that four of the Stix starting lineup against Sparta will be inducted into the U.S. Soccer Hall of Fame: Roe, Gonsalves, Nilsen and Alec McNab.