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Fall River F.C. (1922–1931)

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Fall River Marksmen
Full nameFall River Marksmen
Founded1921
Dissolved1931
GroundMark's Stadium
North Tiverton, Rhode Island
Capacity15,000
ChairmanUnited States Sam Mark
LeagueAmerican Soccer League: 1921-1930

Fall River Marksmen were a United States soccer club, based in Fall River, Massachusetts. They originally played as Fall River United before being renamed the Marksmen after their owner, Sam Mark. During the 1920s and early 1930s they were one of the most successful soccer clubs in the United States, winning the American Soccer League on six occasions. They also won the National Challenge Cup four times. In 1924 they won the first ASL / Challenge Cup double and were subsequently the American soccer champions three times in succession. In 1930 they completed a treble, winning the ASL title, the Challenge Cup and the Lewis Cup. The same year they also toured Central Europe.

The Marksmen played their home games at Mark's Stadium, one of the earliest examples of a soccer-specific stadium in the United States [1]. In 1931 the franchise relocated and merged twice ! They first moved to New York, where they merged with New York Soccer Club and became the New York Yankees. The Yankees then moved to New Bedford, Massachusetts where they merged with Fall River F.C. to become the New Bedford Whalers.

History

Early Years

In 1921 the Southern New England Soccer League and the National Association Football League effectively merged to form the American Soccer League. As a result of this merger Fall River Rovers of the SNESL were disbanded and a new team Fall River United were formed to enter the ASL .[2]. During the inaugural season United struggled, finishing sixth out of eight, and were on the verge of folding. However in 1922 the club was taken over by Sam Mark and renamed the Fall River Marksmen

Mark’s was willing to invest in the club and one of his first moves was to build the team it’s own stadium. Mark's Stadium was based in North Tiverton, Rhode Island, just over the Massachusetts border from Fall River. As a result the club was now able to get round the Massachusetts Blue Laws and play on a Sunday. Crucially, Mark also managed to recruit Harold Brittan from Bethlehem Steel. During the 1922-23 season Brittan scored 19 goals in 23 games and subsequently went onto serve the Marksmen for nearly a decade as a player, coach and manager. Other notable signings included winger Tec White from Motherwell and fullback Charlie McGill from Third Lanark. White and McGill would remain regular Marksmen throughout the clubs short history [3][4][5][6]

Golden Era

The 1920s and early 1930s are sometimes described as the Golden Era of US soccer and it was the Fall River Marksmen that emerged as the era's dominant team. During the 1923-24 season the Marksmen, completely dominated the league. They eventually won their first league title, finishing 6 points clear of Bethlehem Steel. Harold Brittan again spearheaded the attack, scoring 15 goals. However the strength of the team lay in a strong defence which included Ned Tate and goalkeeper Findlay Kerr, who kept an incredible 14 clean sheets during the league season. The season also saw the Marksmen go on to complete the first ASL / National Challenge Cup double. In the semi-final of the Challenge Cup, the Marksmen defeated Steel 2-0 at Dexter Park in front of 20,000 fans. On March 20 1924 the final attracted 14,000 fans to the High School Field in St. Louis, Missouri were they witnessed the Marksmen defeat St. Louis Vesper Buick 4-2. The only disappointment for the Marksmen during the season came when they lost 1-0 to Steel in the final of the American Cup[7][8][9]

The Marksmen went onto win further ASL titles in 1924-25 and 1925-26, completing a three in a row sequence. They won it again in 1928-29 and they also won half-season titles in both 1929 and 1930. [10][11][12][13][14] On May 1 1927, the Marksmen also won their second National Challenge Cup defeating Detroit Holley Carburetors 7-0 before a crowd of 10,000 at the University of Detroit Stadium [15].

From the beginning the Marksmen regularly recruited Scottish Football League journeymen, sometimes directly from Scottish clubs but also from other ASL teams, most notably Bethlehem Steel. However two of their most notable players, Billy Gonsalves and Bert Patenaude, actually grew up in Fall River itself. Both players first established themselves at other ASL clubs - Gonsalves at Boston Wonder Workers and Patenaude at Philadelphia Field Club - before forming a formidable partnership at the Marksmen. In 1930 the duo played a major role in helping the Marksmen win a treble. During the 1930 Spring season, when the ASL played as the Atlantic Coast League, they scored 44 league goals in 26 games as the Marksmen won another league title. In the National Challenge Cup the Marksmen defeated Cleveland Bruell Insurance in a two-leg final. They just about finished off the Cleveland team when they won the opening leg, 7-2, on March 30 at the Polo Grounds. Jimmy McAuley and Werner Nilsen each scored a hat-trick while Alex McNab scored the other Fall River goal. On April 6 at Luna Park in Cleveland, Fall River took the second leg, 2-1, with further goals from McNab and Bob McAuley. They completed the treble when they won the Lewis Cup defeating Hakoah All-Stars 2-1 and 3-0 in another two-legged final. [16][17]

European Tours

Throughout their short history the Marksmen regularly provided opposition for touring European teams and, more often then not, they held their own. On July 21 1921 while still playing as Fall River United, a team that included Tommy McFarlane and Harry Ratican, held Third Lanark to a 2-2 draw. Ratican scored Fall River’s opening goal. Third Lanark featured many guest players from other Scottish teams and was virtually a Scottish League XI. They played 25 games during their North American tour, winning them all until they played Fall River in the final game [18][19]. On September 19 1926 the Marksmen beat Sparta Prague 3-2 [20]. On June 3 1928 at Mark's Stadium a capacity crowd of 15,000 saw goalkeeper Jimmy Douglas keep a clean sheet as the Marksmen held Rangers to a 0-0 draw [21][22]. Then on August 26 1928 at the same venue they beat an Italian League XI, playing as Palestra Italia, 4-2 [23]. In 1930 they played Rangers twice. On May 30 they lost 3-2 with Billy Gonsalves and Werner Nilsen scoring the Fall River goals. The goalkeeper that day was Johnny Reder who had previously played baseball with Boston Red Sox. However a few weeks later on June 22 they lost 6-1 at the Polo Grounds. Guest player Archie Stark scored the only goal for Fall River. In between these games they beat Kilmarnock 3-0 at Mark's Stadium on June 15. Stark scored the opening goal with Alex McNab and Bob McAuley adding the other two [24][25][26].

While teams from Europe regularly toured North America, it was rare for an ASL team to play overseas. However in August 1930 the Marksmen toured Central Europe, playing six games in Czechoslovakia, Austria and Hungary. The squad included, among others, Bill McPherson, Alex McNab, Jerry Best and Werner Nilsen as well as veterans Tec White and Charlie McGill and guest player Archie Stark. Both Billy Gonsalves and Bert Patenaude were playing with the United States at the 1930 FIFA World Cup and did travel. They opened the tour on August 20 with a 2-2 draw against Slavia Prague in front of a crowd of 18,000. This was the first of two games against Slavia. They lost the other 4-0 on August 28. They also played FK Austria Wien twice, losing the first game 6-0 on August 23 before winning the second 3-1 the following day. On August 30 they won their second game when they put three goals past ŠK Slovan Bratislava. The tour came to an end on August 31 when they lost 6-2 to Ferencvárosi TC. The tour ended early, and in dispute, with Fall River unhappy about their share of the gate receipts [27][28].

Year-by-year

Year Division League Reg. Season Playoffs U.S. Open Cup
1921/22 1 ASL 6th No playoff ?
1922/23 1 ASL 3rd No playoff ?
1923/24 1 ASL 1st Champion (no playoff) Champion
1924/25 1 ASL 1st Champion (no playoff) Did not enter
1925/26 1 ASL 1st Champion (no playoff) ?
1926/27 1 ASL 3rd No playoff Champion
1927/28 1 ASL 5th (1st half); 2nd (2nd half) Semifinals Quarterfinals
1928/29 1 ASL 1st (1st half); 1st (2nd half) Champion (no playoff) Did not enter
Fall 1929 1 ASL 1st Champion (no playoff) N/A
1930 1 ACL/ASL 1st (Spring); 1st (Fall) Champion (no playoff) Champion

Honors

Notable Players

see also Category:Fall River Marksmen players

Notable Managers

References

  1. ^ Soccer in a Football World - The Story of America’s Forgotten Game (2006) : David Wangerin [1]
  2. ^ Jose, Colin (1998). American Soccer League, 1921-1931. The Scarecrow Press. (ISBN 0-8108-3429-4). {{cite book}}: |format= requires |url= (help)
  3. ^ www.fairchallenge.com
  4. ^ The Year in American Soccer - 1922
  5. ^ The Year in American Soccer - 1923
  6. ^ Soccer in a Football World - The Story of America’s Forgotten Game (2006) : David Wangerin [2]
  7. ^ The Year in American Soccer - 1924
  8. ^ Soccer in a Football World - The Story of America’s Forgotten Game (2006) : David Wangerin [3]
  9. ^ www.fairchallenge.com
  10. ^ The Year in American Soccer - 1925
  11. ^ The Year in American Soccer - 1926
  12. ^ The Year in American Soccer - 1929
  13. ^ The Year in American Soccer - 1930
  14. ^ www.fairchallenge.com
  15. ^ The Year in American Soccer - 1927
  16. ^ Soccer in a Football World - The Story of America’s Forgotten Game (2006) : David Wangerin [4]
  17. ^ The Year in American Soccer - 1930
  18. ^ The Year in American Soccer - 1921
  19. ^ 1921 Scottish tour
  20. ^ The Year in American Soccer - 1926
  21. ^ Rangers tours
  22. ^ Rangers tours
  23. ^ The Year in American Soccer - 1928
  24. ^ Rangers tours
  25. ^ Kilmarnock tours
  26. ^ The Year in American Soccer - 1930
  27. ^ Soccer in a Football World - The Story of America’s Forgotten Game (2006) : David Wangerin [5]
  28. ^ The Year in American Soccer - 1930
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