October 30, 1998: The Chicago Fire beat the Columbus Crew, 2-1 at Soldier Field in Chicago, to win the U.S. Open Cup. Following their win in the MLS Cup Final 5 days earlier, this gives them the American version of the Premier League and the FA Cup: They have "done The Double."
It is only their 1st season.
Chicago Sparta, a team of Czech-Americans, had won the Open Cup in 1938 and 1940; the Chicago Vikings, a Scandinavian team, had won it in 1946; the Chicago Falcons, a Polish team, had won it in 1953; and the Chicago Sting had won the North American Soccer League Championship in 1981 and 1984 (the League's last season).
Despite Soldier Field being one of the venues for the 1994 World Cup, and the city's history as one of America's great multiethnic centers and one of its great sports cities, Chicago did not get a charter franchise in Major League Soccer. The team, officially named Chicago Fire Football Club (to match the "F.C." names of so many British teams) was founded on October 8, 1997, the Anniversary of the Great Chicago Fire in 1871. Their logo, or "badge," as British clubs would call it, matched that of the city's Fire Department.
They began regular-season play on March 21, 1998, beating the Miami Fusion, 2-0 at Lockhart Stadium in the Miami suburb of Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Their 1st home game was also a 2-0 win over a Florida team that would be folded after the 2001 season, the Tampa Bay Mutiny. A crowd of 36,444 attended at Soldier Field.
They lost their next 5 games, but won their next 11. Then they lost their next 5, but won their next 4 of their next 5, before losing their regular-season finale.
The U.S. Open Cup works the same way the FA Cup works in England: It runs concurrent with the League season. As an MLS team, the Fire got a bye into the 3rd Round, and ended up playing another area team, the Chicago Stingers, sort-of named for the former NASL team. They were based in the United Soccer League (USL), then the 2nd tier of U.S. soccer, and hosted the July 6 game in Arlington Heights, Illinois. The Fire didn't have to try too hard to win, and did so, 3-1.
On July 22, the played the San Jose Clash in the Quarterfinals, on neutral ground, at the Cotton Bowl in Dallas. It ended in a 1-1 draw, but the Fire advanced on penalties, 4-3. The Semifinal would be against the Dallas Burn (the team now known as FC Dallas), but it wouldn't be in Dallas or Chicago. Instead, this one was also at neutral ground, at Zephyr Field in Metairie, Louisiana, home of the minor-league baseball team representing New Orleans. The Fire won, 3-2, and advanced to the Final, which they would host.
In the MLS Cup Playoffs, they needed a shootout to beat the Denver-area team, the Colorado Rapids, at home, 3-2 after a 1-1 draw on October 1; then beat them 1-0 away on October 5. In the Western Conference Finals, they beat the Los Angeles Galaxy, 1-0 at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena on October 10; but, on October 16, at Soldier Field, again, they could only manage a 1-1 draw, before winning 2-1 in a shootout.
That set up the MLS Cup Final on October 25, on neutral ground, again at the Rose Bowl, against D.C. United, the Washington-based team that had won the 1st 2 league titles, including "The Double" in 1996. Attendance was listed at 51,350, but that left the old bowl nearly half-empty.
Despite D.C. having such talents as John Harkes, Jeff Agoos, Eddie Pope, Roy Lassiter, Marco Etcheverry and Jamie Moreno, it was the Fire who emerged victorious. Polish striker Jerzy Podbrożny scored in the 29th minute. Colombian midfielder Diego Gutiérrez added another just before the half. Another Pole, Chicago's Captain Piotr Nowak, was named Man of the Match, much to the delight of the large Polish rooting section among the Fire's ultra support, known as Section 8.
Zach Thornton kept a clean sheet in goal. Manager Bob Bradley could also count among his starting lineup Jesse Marsch, later to manage the New York Red Bulls to 2 Supporters' Shields.
Five days later, at home at Soldier Field, the Fire faced the Columbus Crew. The Fire tended to wear white, with red and blue trim, similar to the City flag, but, on this occasion, wore white with black trim. By a weird coincidence, the Crew wore black and gold, which, given the "insect" theme, were the usual colors of the Fire's NASL predecessors, the Chicago Sting.
A much smaller crowd of 18,615 saw the Fire awarded a penalty just before halftime, converted by Podbrożny. Stern John -- apparently, the Trinidadian forward's full birth name -- scored for the Crew in the 53rd minute.
The game went to extra time, and, in the 99th minute -- no "Golden Goal" in this tournament -- Fotios "Frank" Klopas, a Greek forward who came on at the start of extra time, scored the goal that gave the Fire The Double.
The Fire have since won the Open Cup again in 2000, 2003 and 2006, losing the Final in 2004 and 2011; and the Supporters' Shield, the MLS regular-season title, in 2003. But they have never again won the MLS Cup, losing the Final in 2000 for a just-missed-Double and 2003 for a runner-up-Double.
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October 30, 1998 was a Friday. Baseball season had ended 9 days earlier, when the New York Yankees completed a 4-game World Series sweep over the San Diego Padres. The NBA's team owners had locked the players out, and so the season started late. There were 7 games in the NHL:
* The New York Rangers beat the Carolina Hurricanes, 1-0 at Madison Square Garden.
* The Buffalo Sabres beat their arch-rivals, the Toronto Maple Leafs, 4-1 at the Marine Midland Arena (now the KeyBank Center) in Buffalo.
* The Florida Panthers beat the Chicago Blackhawks, 7-3 at the United Center in Chicago.
* The Dallas Stars and the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim played to a tie, 3-3 at the Reunion Arena in Dallas.
* The Washington Capitals and the Calgary Flames played to a tie, 0-0 at the Saddledome in Calgary.
* The Tampa Bay Lightning beat the Los Angeles Kings, 3-0 at The Forum outside Los Angeles in Inglewood, California.
* And the Pittsburgh Penguins and the Vancouver Canucks played to a tie, 2-2 at General Motors Place (now the Rogers Arena) in Vancouver.
The NFL and the NCAA had no football games scheduled. But in New Jersey high school football, my Alma Mater, East Brunswick, beat South Brunswick, 36-10 at Mike Elko Stadium in South Brunswick.
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