St. Louis City SC in the Open Cup final, with a deep cup history in the city

St. Louis City SC is playing in its first Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup final. The opponent is Columbus Crew. The match will be broadcast on Wednesday at 8:00 p.m. ET on Paramount+ and CBS Sports Network.

The region's cup history goes back much further than MLS. St. Louis saw its first final in 1920, and Busch Seniors last won the cup in 1988. Thirty-eight years have passed since then. St. Louis City SC, by contrast, was founded in 2019 and began playing in the league in 2023.

Busch Seniors goalkeeper Jeff Robben said he did not think such an achievement would be repeated once MLS and USL teams entered the cup. Joe Olwig, the head coach at the time, explained that soccer spread in the city because it was cheap to play. Teams built around church congregations and immigrant families of Irish, Scottish, German and Italian origin gave the game a European flavor. Players from St. Louis were also on the U.S. roster at the 1950 World Cup.

St. Louis Kutis SC won the cup in 1986. Two years later, Busch Seniors became champions by beating San Francisco Greek Americans. The team then beat Chivas Guadalajara at home in the Concacaf Champions' Cup. Some players could not get time off work and missed the return match in Mexico, which ended in a heavy defeat.