Fall River Rovers played in a jersey that displayed a shirt sponsor in 1887.
Massachusetts
A perfect 10
Not too many teams have played shorthanded for the full 90 minutes and not only won but collected a trophy, too.
The enterprising Sam Mark
While not a dedicated champion of the game like Tom Cahill or Edgar Lewis, Sam Mark built one of the great American soccer teams, the Fall River Marksmen.
Who scored the first professional goals in US soccer history?
Who scored the first goals in the earliest US professional leagues? Brian Bunk looks at the available evidence.
That second leg is a killer
Roger looks back to the 1931 ASL championship to show how second-leg games can result in surprises.
Marksmen celebrate a century: The history of a storied American club
Derek Gonsalves reviews the history of the Fall River Marksmen, arguably the preeminent US club of its day, to mark the 100th anniversary of its founding.
Sailor lads, jolly tars, and rovers of the briny deep: International ship-crew soccer matches in the US, 1890-1905, part 2
Ed Farnsworth’s review of matches between US clubs and British ship crew teams between 1890 and 1905 continues with a look at games played in Massachusetts and Rhode Island.
The rise and fall: Fall River and Pawtucket soccer, 1883-1896
In the decade after the founding of the Fall River’s East End team, Fall River and Pawtucket rose to be perhaps the preeminent center of soccer in the United States. Then, over the course of three seasons, organized soccer in the cities collapsed. Ed Farnsworth looks at the rise and fall.
“Talented but Tainted”: Henry “Harry” Boyd in the US, 1891-92
Ed Farnsworth and Kurt Rausch look at the season Scottish-born Henry “Harry” Boyd spent in the US in 1891-92 during which he played for Chicago Thistle, Fall River Olympics, and also Fall River East End, the latter with whom he won the American Cup. Boyd’s playing career in England and Scotland included stints at Sunderland Albion, Burnley, West Bromwich Albion, Third Lanark, Woolwich Arsenal, and Newton Heath.
Gentlemen of Color: Oliver and Fred Watson, the earliest known African American soccer players in the United States
Ed Farnsworth and Brian Bunk on Oliver “Allie” Watson and Fred Watson, two brothers from Rhode Island who between them from 1894 to 1901 were the first African Americans to play in a senior soccer league, to play and score in an American Cup match, win a league championship, and play for a professional team.
Footage from the Fall River Marksmen’s 1930 Central European tour
Derek Goncalves recounts the Marksmen’s 1930 Central European tour. Includes footage of the final match of the tour from the National Film Institute of Hungary.
After the collapse: ALPF vs. ALPF in Baltimore and Fall River, 1894-96
Following the collapse of the ALPF after only 16 games over two weeks, four former ALPF sides met in seven additional matches, including a series of three games in Fall River for the “championship of America.” Former Boston and Brooklyn ALPF professionals continued in Fall River after that.
What Happened to Mark’s Stadium?
The original Mark’s Stadium was built in 1921. What happened to it?
The Barrow School Socker Foot Ball Team
A look at Black players on the “Barrow School Socker Foot Ball Team,” champions of Springfield, Massachusetts’ Junior League in 1908.
Paying the pros
A look at the background and occupations of professional soccer players in the original American Soccer League.
The search for the Falcos
The Holyoke Falcos were one of the founding members of the American Soccer League in 1921, although they dropped out after just a single season. In many ways the search for information on the Falcos reveals some of the challenges involved in researching the history of American soccer.
Join SASH Today
$20.00
