| American Cup | |
| Year: | 1896 |
| Country: | United States |
| Num Teams: | 13 |
| Winners: | True Blues |
| Count: | 1 |
| Second: | Olympics |
| Matches: | 16 |
| Goals: | 92 |
| Prev Season: | 1895 |
| Next Season: | 1897 |
The 1896 American Cup was the twelfth edition of the soccer tournament organized by the American Football Association. The 1894 Runners Up, Paterson True Blues, won the tournament after defeating the two-time champions Fall River Olympics in the final. This season the elected committee was James C. Potter of Pawtucket as president, James Turner of Paterson as vice president, William Robertson of Newark as Secretary, and Andrew Meiklejohn of Pawtucket as Treasurer.
| Circuit | State | City | Team |
|---|---|---|---|
| Western | New Jersey | Kearny | Kearny Caledonians |
| Kearny Rangers | |||
| Newark | Scottish-American (NAFBL) | ||
| Paterson | Paterson Thistle | ||
| Paterson True Blues | |||
| New York | New York | International A.C. (NAFBL) | |
| New York Thistle | |||
| Eastern | Connecticut | Taftville | Taftville |
| Massachusetts | Fall River | Fall River East Ends (NEL) | |
| Fall River Olympics (NEL) | |||
| Fall River Rovers (NEL) | |||
| Rhode Island | Pawtucket | Pawtucket Free Wanderers (NEL) | |
| Young Men's Christian Association (NEL) |
The first round draw took place at the AFA meeting at Newark, New Jersey on September 21, 1895. The True Blues had a bye. The Rover-East End match was ordered replayed because of unregistered players and it was played with 30 minute halves.
The Rovers drew a second round bye. The True Blue-Caledonian match was protested and ordered replayed.
The Olympics entered the final undefeated in all competitions up to that point with 68 goals scored to 10 against. They won the New England League as well as the Mayor's Cup series. The True Blues had only two losses in 21 games scoring 103 goals to 26 against.