Former Chelsea center forward Harold Brittan scored two goals as the Fall River Marksmen blanked the Brooklyn Wanderers at the recently-opened Mark’s Stadium. [Read more…] about Dec. 17, 1922 – Fall River 5:0 Brooklyn Wanderers at Mark’s Stadium. “Soccer On The Ice”
Archie Stark scored one of his 49 goals (in 43 matches) of the 1927-28 ASL season as Bethlehem Steel blanked the Fall River Marksmen. Stark set a record with 67 regular-season goals for Bethlehem Steel in the 1924-25 season. [Read more…] about Nov. 27, 1927 – Fall River Marksmen 0:1 Bethlehem Steel, Mark’s Stadium (Att.: 5,149)
The Boston Globe’s George Collins reported a crowd of 16,000: “All records for attendances at soccer games in this country were smashed here today …” for a National Challenge Cup (U.S. Open Cup) match. [Read more…] about Nov. 18, 1923 – Fall River Marksmen 4:0 J&P Coats, National Challenge Cup replay at Mark’s Stadium (Att.: 14,375)
The Marksmen started the season with a 16-match (10-0-6) unbeaten streak on the way to winning both halves of the ASL season. Fall River did not lose again until late December, playing to a 0-0 draw at Philadelphia on Nov. 10, 1928, then winning four successive times. In the second half standings, Fall River (28 points) finished 1 point ahead of Providence after the teams played to a 2-2 draw on April 21, 1929. [Read more…] about Nov. 4, 1928 – Providence Gold Bugs 2:1 Fall River Marksmen. Fall River’s first loss of season
Billy Gonsalves scored twice and Arnie Oliver once for the Marksmen, whose goalkeeper was future Boston Red Sox first baseman Johnny Reder. Gonsalves (b. Aug. 10, 1908 in Portsmouth, R.I.) and Oliver (b. May 22, 1907 in New Bedford, Mass.) were members of the U.S. national team that reached the semifinals of the 1930 World Cup in Uruguay. The U.S. team also included forwards James Brown, 21, who would go on to play and coach in Connecticut and Fall River’s Bert Patenaude, 20, the first player to complete a hat trick in the World Cup, plus team captain Tom Florie of Providence. [Read more…] about Oct. 23, 1930 – Hakoah All-Stars 0:3 (1:5 aggregate) Fall River Marksmen. Lewis Cup final at Polo Grounds (Att.: 2,500)
A women’s professional soccer team played in New England for first time. The team, sponsored by Dick, Kerr Ltd. Electric of Preston, England, competed against men’s teams on a nine-game (3W-3L-3D) tour. [Read more…] about Sept. 30, 1922 – J&P Coats 4:4 Dick, Kerr Ladies at Coats Field, Pawtucket, R.I. (Att.: 8,500)
The Fall River FC Marksmen lived up to their reputation as one of the top teams in the U.S. with a victory over Sparta Prague, which had a 12W-2L-3D record on a tour covering Sept. 6-Nov. 3, 1926. Before the match, the Boston Globe’s George M. Collins wrote: [Read more…] about Sept. 19, 1926 – Fall River FC 3:2 Sparta Prague/ Fall River FC 4:0 Springfield FC, ASL game at Mark’s Stadium (Att.: 6,139)
Billy Gonsalves and Bert Patenaude scored twice and Bill McPherson added a penalty kick for the Marksmen in an ASL match under the lights.
The first night soccer game in history was contested in Sheffield, England, on Oct. 14, 1878. [Read more…] about Sept. 5, 1929 – Fall River Marksmen 5:2 Brooklyn Hakoah All Stars, ASL match “first night game in the history of the game here”
The Scots were setting footballing standards with their precision short passing game in the 1920s. The Scotland national team had destroyed England, 5-1, in the British Home Championship at Wembley March 31, 1928. After the match, Alex James said “we could have had 10,” and the team was nicknamed “The Wizards of Wembley,” the performance so commanding it remains a symbol of the excellence of Scottish soccer. [Read more…] about June 3, 1928 – Fall River Marksmen 0:0 Glasgow Rangers at Mark’s Stadium (Att.: 15,500)
Dave McEachren and Tec White scored twice as the Marksmen took a 7-0 win over Holley Carburetors for their second National Challenge Cup (U.S. Open Cup) title “before a 10,000 crowd, including a special trainload from Fall River, led by Mayor Harry Monks,” according to The Boston Globe. Trailing, 3-0, the Detroit team had a chance to cut the deficit, but Dutch international Gerrit Visser had a late first-half penalty kick saved by Blair. [Read more…] about May 1, 1927 – Fall River Marksmen win U.S. Open Cup – “Red fire was burned in large quantities”