Fall River F.C. (1922–1931)

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Fall River Marksmen
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Fall River F.C.
Full nameFall River Football Club
Nickname(s)Marksmen, Mark's men
Founded1922
Dissolved1931; 93 years ago (1931)
Stadium
American Soccer League
19313rd

Fall River F.C. was an American

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

Fall River F.C. to become the New Bedford Whalers
.

History

Early years

In 1921 the

American Soccer League. 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. After the first ASL season United could not agree to terms on a lease for their playing grounds for the following season. Subsequently a joint bid with United and the Fall River Rovers to continue in the ASL was denied while Sam Mark's bid was accepted by the league. He built a new stadium at Tiverton, RI to host his new team Fall River F.C.[3]

Mark was willing to invest in the club and one of his first moves was to build the team its own stadium.

Third Lanark and wing-half Bill McPherson from Beith. Together with goalkeeper Findlay Kerr, who joined the following season, White, McGill and McPherson would become the backbone of the 'Marksmen' team throughout its short history.[1][4][5][6]

Golden Era

Fall River F.C. squad in 1923.

The 1920s and early 1930s are sometimes described as the Golden Era of U.S. soccer and it was Fall River F.C. that emerged as the era's dominant team. During the

St. Louis, Missouri, where they witnessed the 'Marksmen' defeat St. Louis Vesper Buick 4–2.[7] The only disappointment for the Marksmen during the season came when they lost 1–0 to the 'Steelmen' in the final of the American Cup.[8]

The 'Marksmen' went on to win further ASL titles in

Fall 1930
seasons. [9][10][11][12][13] On May 1, 1927, the Marksmen also won their second National Challenge Cup, defeating Holley Carburetor F.C. 7–0 before a crowd of 10,000 at the University of Detroit Stadium.[14]

From the beginning the 'Marksmen' regularly recruited

1930 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, no relation to Jimmy. They completed the treble when they won the Lewis Cup defeating Hakoah All-Stars 2–1 and 3–0 in another two-legged final.[1][15]

European Tours

Throughout their short history the Marksmen regularly provided opposition for touring European teams and, more often than not, they held their own. On September 19, 1926, the Marksmen beat

Italian League XI, playing as Palestra Italia, 4–2.[18] 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 later 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.[19]

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

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.[1][20]

Fall River/Yankees

The 'Marksmen' returned from their European tour, and started the

Chicago Bricklayers in a final played as a three-game series. The last of these three games is officially regarded as the last game the 'Marksmen' ever played. The first leg of the final was played on April 5 at the Polo Grounds, where the 'Marksmen' won 6–2, and seemingly established a clear lead. Patenaude scored five goals in that game while Bill McPherson added the other. A week later at Mills Stadium in Chicago, the Bricklayers kept the series alive by earning a 1–1 tie. This time Gonsalves got on the score sheet. Sparta Stadium in Chicago attracted 4,500 for the deciding game on April 19. The 'Marksmen' could only field 10 players after their captain, Alex McNab, broke his arm in a midweek friendly and the club had neglected to bring along any reserves. Despite this they still managed to win 2–0 with goals from Patenaude and Gordon Burness.[1][21][22][23]

Year-by-year

Year Division League Reg. Season Playoffs National Challenge Cup American Cup
1922–23
 1 ASL 3rd did not enter Second round did not enter
1923–24 1 ASL 1st Champion Champion Runner-up
1924–25
 1 ASL 1st Champion did not enter N/A
1925–26
 1 ASL 1st Champion Second round N/A
1926–27
 1 ASL 3rd Champion N/A
1927–28
 1 ASL 5th (1st half); 2nd (2nd half) Semifinals Quarterfinals N/A
1928–29
 1 ASL 1st (1st half); 1st (2nd half) Champion did not enter N/A
1929 1 ASL 1st Champion N/A N/A
1930 1 ACL/ASL 1st Champion Champion N/A
1931
 1 ASL 3rd (NY Yankees) did not qualify Champion (Fall River) N/A

Honors

Notable players

See also: Category:Fall River F.C. (1922–1931) players

Notable coaches

References

  1. ^
    ISBN 978-1-5921-3885-2
    . ().
  2. ^ "Soccer Notes". (June 15, 1921). The Evening Herald, p.9 col.5
  3. ^ "United-Rovers F.C. Is Refused A Franchise". (September 11, 1922). Daily Evening News, p.8 col.1-2
  4. ^ "Sam Mark Has Leased New Field". (July 29, 1922). The Evening Herald, p.6 col.3
  5. ^ "Initial Soccer Game Sunday". (September 23, 1922). Fall River Globe, p.11 col.7-8
  6. ^ "Fall River Outplays Coats In Opener". (September 4, 1923). The Evening Herald, p.12 col.1-2
  7. ^ "Fall River Defeats Vespers". (March 31, 1924). St. Louis Star, p.19 col.1-2
  8. ^ "Bethlehem Eleven Win American Football Cup". (May 12, 1924). Newark Evening News, p.17 col.2
  9. ^ "Champions Set Mark For Goals". (May 11, 1925). Fall River Globe, p.8 col.7-8
  10. ^ "Fall River Team To Visit Canada". (June 5, 1926). Fall River Globe, p.14 col.4-5
  11. ^ "Whittalls Play Morgans Again". (May 16, 1929). Boston Globe, p.16 col.3
  12. ^ "Four Goals For Bert Patenaude". (October 21, 1929). Fall River Herald News, p.17 col.2
  13. ^ "Shots At The Uprights". (May 19, 1930). Boston Globe, p.20 col.3
  14. ^ "Soccer Title Is Won Easily By Fall River". (May 2, 1927). Detroit Free Press, p.12 col.6
  15. ^ "5,000 See Fall River Defeat Hakoah, 2 To 1". (May 28, 1930). New York Times, p.18 col.6
  16. ^ "Prague Eleven Drops First Game". (September 20, 1926). Fall River Herald News, p.11 col.1-2
  17. ^ Rangers tours Archived December 30, 2007, at the Wayback Machine
  18. ^ "Scores Four Goals To Defeat Brescia". (August 27, 1928). Fall River Herald News, p.13 col.1-2
  19. ^ "Fall River Shuts Out Kilmarnock F.C., 3-0". (June 16, 1930). Boston Globe, p.8 col.7-8
  20. ^ "Soccer Team Quits". (September 4, 1930). New Britain Herald, p.11 col.1
  21. ^ "Soccer Yanks Win National Cup Game". (April 6, 1931). New York Times, p.29 col.1
  22. ^ "Brickies Fight Yanks To 1-1 Tie In Title Series". (April 13, 1931). Chicago Tribune, p.25 col.6
  23. ^ "Brickies Lose; Soccer Title To New York". (April 20, 1931). Chicago Tribune, p.27 col.7
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