1936 National Challenge Cup
The 1936 National Challenge Cup was the annual open cup held by the United States Football Association now known as the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup. This edition featured the fifth of six consecutive final appearances for Alex McNab's team. The Shamrocks not participating in their local league that year were playing inter city matches with top competition primarily from Cleveland, Chicago and Detroit. One of their only losses during the season was to Heidelberg, eventual Western Final opponents of the Shamrocks. Early in the season Heidelberg took the first game of a three-game set, the second match ended in a draw and McNab's men evened up the series by pulling out a victory in the third game. Both teams eventually made their way to the Western Final, Heidelberg led by the lone scorer for the USA at the 1934 World Cup Aldo Donelli. The Shamrocks with their World Cup veterans including William Lehman, Billy Gonsalves, Werner Nilsen, and Bert Patenaude overcame the Pennsylvanians with a 3-2 aggregate over two games. The final showcased still further US nationals. The Philadelphia German-Americans roster boasted a quartet of their own including Bill Fiedler, Al Harker, Peter Pietras, and Francis Ryan. After a two all draw in the first leg of the final in St. Louis, Philly took home the trophy by blanking the Shamrocks 3–0 in the second leg.
Eastern Division
| First round | Quarter-finals | Semi-finals | Final | |||||||||||
| March 7 - New York | ||||||||||||||
| New York Americans | 2 | |||||||||||||
| March 22 - New York | ||||||||||||||
| Brooklyn St. Mary's Celtic | 3 | |||||||||||||
| St. Mary's Celtic | 4 | |||||||||||||
| March 1 - Fall River | ||||||||||||||
| Santo Christos | 1 | |||||||||||||
| Liberal A.C. | 0 | |||||||||||||
| March 29 - New York | ||||||||||||||
| Santo Christo | 2 | |||||||||||||
| St. Mary's Celtic | 2 | |||||||||||||
| March 1,8,15 - New York | ||||||||||||||
| Brookhattan | 1 | |||||||||||||
| Brookhattan | 9 a | |||||||||||||
| March 22 - New York | ||||||||||||||
| Brooklyn Hispano | 8 | |||||||||||||
| Brookhattan | 2 | |||||||||||||
| February 2 - New York | ||||||||||||||
| German Hungarians | 0 | |||||||||||||
| Hatikvoh | 1 | |||||||||||||
| April 12, 19 | ||||||||||||||
| German Hungarians | 2 | |||||||||||||
| St. Mary's Celtic | 0-1 | |||||||||||||
| February 23/March 1 - Newark | ||||||||||||||
| German-Americans | 2-0 | |||||||||||||
| Scots Americans | 0-2 | |||||||||||||
| March 22 - Newark | ||||||||||||||
| Trenton Highlanders | 0-0 | |||||||||||||
| Scots Americans | 2 | |||||||||||||
| February 2 - Newark | ||||||||||||||
| Irish-Americans | 0 | |||||||||||||
| Irish Americans | 2 | |||||||||||||
| April 5 - Newark | ||||||||||||||
| Newark Germans | 1 | |||||||||||||
| Scots Americans | 0 | |||||||||||||
| March 1 - Philadelphia | ||||||||||||||
| German-Americans | 1 | |||||||||||||
| German-Americans | 5 | |||||||||||||
| March 15 - Philadelphia | ||||||||||||||
| Budd AA | 0 | |||||||||||||
| German-Americans | 3 | |||||||||||||
| February 16 - Baltimore | ||||||||||||||
| Baltimore Canton | 2 | |||||||||||||
| Baltimore Canton | 5 | |||||||||||||
| Stonewall Democratic | 3 | |||||||||||||
Western Division
| First round | Quarter-finals | Semi-finals | Final | |||||||||||
| January 19/February 2 - St. Louis | ||||||||||||||
| Shamrocks | 0-6 | |||||||||||||
| March 1 - St. Louis | ||||||||||||||
| Hellrung & Grimm | 0-1 | |||||||||||||
| Shamrocks | 4 | |||||||||||||
| January 19 - Cleveland | ||||||||||||||
| Slavia Bartunek | 3 | |||||||||||||
| Slavia Bartunek | 2 | |||||||||||||
| March 22 - St. Louis | ||||||||||||||
| Highland Park Chryslers | 1 | |||||||||||||
| Shamrocks | 2 | |||||||||||||
| January 12 - St. Louis | ||||||||||||||
| Marres | 1 | |||||||||||||
| Marres | 4 | |||||||||||||
| March 15 - St. Louis | ||||||||||||||
| Burke's Undertakers | 2 | |||||||||||||
| Marres | 6 | |||||||||||||
| March 8 - Milwaukee | ||||||||||||||
| Vienna IAC | 3 | |||||||||||||
| Vienna IAC | 5 | |||||||||||||
| March 29, April 5 | ||||||||||||||
| Bayern Schlitz | 4 | |||||||||||||
| Shamrocks | 1-2 | |||||||||||||
| February 23 - Chicago | ||||||||||||||
| Heidelberg | 1-1 | |||||||||||||
| Sparta Garden City | 6 | |||||||||||||
| March 1 - Chicago | ||||||||||||||
| Ben Millers | 0 | |||||||||||||
| Sparta Garden City | 2 | |||||||||||||
| January 19 - Chicago | ||||||||||||||
| Olympia | 1 | |||||||||||||
| Olympia | 3 | |||||||||||||
| March 22 - Chicago | ||||||||||||||
| Maccabee | 2 | |||||||||||||
| Sparta Garden City | 1 | |||||||||||||
| February 2 - Pittsburgh | ||||||||||||||
| Heidelberg | 2 | |||||||||||||
| Heidelberg | 4 | |||||||||||||
| February 23 - Pittsburgh | ||||||||||||||
| Curry Silver Tops | 0 | |||||||||||||
| Heidelberg | 4 | |||||||||||||
| January 26 - Rochester | ||||||||||||||
| Kodak Park | 1 | |||||||||||||
| Rochester Celtics | 0 | |||||||||||||
| Kodak Park | 4 | |||||||||||||
a) aggregate after three games
Final
First game
| St. Louis Shamrocks (MO) | 2–2 | Philadelphia German-Americans (PA) |
|---|---|---|
Nilsen  8', 68' (Patenaude) |
Richards 10' Fiedler 89' (Regan) |
Second game
| Philadelphia German-Americans (PA) | 3–0 | St. Louis Shamrocks (MO) |
|---|---|---|
| Nemchik 25', 34' Richards 69' |
Sources
- St. Louis Post-Dispatch