American Menace: When Fall River ruled U.S. soccer

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https://www.boston.com/sports/soccer/2018/06/21/american-soccer-history-fall-river-world-cup

American Menace: When Fall River ruled U.S. soccer

The best American World Cup team came thanks to a "Golden Age."

Tucked behind a sports bar in Tiverton, Rhode Island is an utterly anonymous field. Overgrown and forlorn, the  “Private Property” sign on the surrounding fence hardly seems necessary.

It’s impossible to imagine, but this was once the site of American soccer greatness. Almost a century ago, it was where Mark’s Stadium stood, home of the Fall River Marksmen. They were the pride – and direct result – of a city built on immigrant labor. Attracting and developing world class talent, the Marksmen were a dynasty that frequently outdrew the Red Sox in their brief heyday.

And yet the modern state of the field serves as a perfect metaphor. All signs of its past glory have been erased from history (no one knows exactly when it was torn down). Not even a woebegone plaque or vine-covered statue remain to offer acknowledgement of a time when United States teams – New England teams in particular – were so feared in parts of Europe that they were deemed an “American Menace.”

Between 1921 and 1931, Fall River was central in what historian Colin Jose referred to as the “Golden Age” of American soccer.

“Spindle city”

Strangely enough, the early 20th century boom in American soccer is intertwined with the textile industry. The exponential growth of mills in the late 19th century (following the decline of the whaling industry) led to large scale immigration as skilled laborers were funneled in.

Fall River (gaining the nickname “Spindle City“) and New Bedford collectively amassed over 100 mills at their height, and immigrants swelled the population.

Answering the call were people who already had textile experience: those from Lancashire and the valley of Clyde. These regions, as historian Roger Allaway points out, “in addition to being the heart of the English textile industry also was the area of England in which association football [soccer] had most taken root among working class people in those same years.”

And because of this, “textiles brought immigration and immigration brought football.”

By the early 20th century, a local soccer scene was becoming a staple of southern New England. The original powerhouse from the area, the Fall River Rovers, won numerous trophies in the late 19th and early 20th century, thanks to Scottish-American (and later Portuguese) immigrants who injected passion and talent.

Not for the first time, outside events played a debilitating role. World War I forced a suspension of play, and when it resumed, many teams had disappeared. It was into this void that America’s first attempt at a major league emerged.

“American Menace”

Not unlike baseball, soccer developed a vibrant (and ever-changing) world of amateur, semi-pro, and professional teams during the early 20th century.

By 1921, a handful of the premier teams from two regional leagues (including the Southern New England Soccer League) formed into the American Soccer League. In its first iteration, from 1921-1933, it was maybe the most comparatively talented soccer league in U.S. history.

Local companies and entrepreneurs, sensing opportunity, jumped into the action. The J&P Coats Company (based in Pawtucket) and Bethlehem Steel overtly represented industry names, while Fall River found financial rejuvenation in the form of a single man: Sam Mark.

A former basketball and baseball promoter, Mark had no natural affinity for soccer. What he saw was an opportunity to profit from the region’s passionate love of the game.

An example of this was in the stadium that was built to host Mark’s team, which he renamed the “Marksmen.” Sam Mark Stadium was technically built just over the Rhode Island border (and not in Fall River) so to avoid strict Massachusetts Blue Laws, which at the time prohibited charging for fan entry on Sundays.

Rapidly, Mark turned Fall River back into a championship team, harnessing a not-so-subtle tactic of recruiting foreign talent.

“There is not an American-born player on the Fall River roster,” wrote the Boston Globe in 1924. Mark would be one-upped by other local teams. The Boston Wood Workers, named after their owner, G.A.G. Wood, aggressively raided leagues abroad.

“We spend a lot of money because we realized that nothing was too good for the Hub,” Wood once boasted.

In fact, the incursions by Mark, Wood and others would prove so painful to English and Scottish leagues that European reports soon began labelling the trend as the “American Menace.”

In this period, Fall River and New Bedford (known as the Whalers) developed the best rivalry in the league. Historian Colin Jose’s account describes regular five-figure attendance for games between the two sides.

Across the course of the season, the Marksmen’s average attendance of 8,000 in 1925 frequently topped that of the Red Sox.

“The Babe Ruth of soccer”

Though Mark’s Fall River team established its reputation by recruiting foreigners, the region also produced world class talent of its own.

Of the U.S. players who went to the first World Cup in 1930, six were based (or from) either Massachusetts or Rhode Island. Indicative of the strong foundation that the ASL had provided, the third place finish the American team achieved in Uruguay that summer remains the highest finish the men’s national team has ever achieved at the tournament.

At the center of it were two players who grew up in Fall River and fed off its soccer roots.

Bert Patenaude, a forward, became one of the most prolific goal scorers in American history. And while it took decades before it was officially acknowledged, it was Patenaude who recorded the first hat-trick in World Cup history.

The other talent to emerge from Fall River was Billy Gonsalves, who became known as the “Babe Ruth of American soccer.”

U.S. forward Bert Patenaude battles Belgium’s Nicholas Hoydonck in the first American World Cup game in 1930. Patenaude capped a 3-0 win with a goal.    —Popperfoto/Getty Images   

Growing up in Fall River, Gonsalves first broke into the ASL with the Wood Workers in Boston. Aged 19, he had to wait for his chance, but scored only two minutes into his professional debut.

Known for his power and technical ability, Gonsalves would appear in a LeBron James-esque eight consecutive U.S. Open Cup finals. He won the respect of foreign opposition, who had been forced to reckon with his domination of games.

“I asked the foreign players the inevitable question,” sports writer Dent McSkimming said when canvassing about U.S. talent, “and en total they agreed that Gonsalves would win a place in any team in the world.”

Yet while Gonsalves was capable of memorable performances against world class opponents, he unerringly chose to avoid signing abroad. Despite receiving offers from Brazilian, Scottish, English, and Italian teams, Gonsalves remained in the U.S. for the duration of his career. It left historian David Wangerin, writing in his book, “Soccer in a Football World,” to give a melancholy eulogy of Gonsalaves’ career.

“Approached on more than one occasion to play abroad, he never went,” wrote Wangerin, “and so unwittingly consigned himself to little more than a footnote in the notoriously unsympathetic annals of American sport.”

“No bullion”

Even as Mark’s Marksmen became a renowned American soccer powerhouse (winning six ASL titles and four National Challenge Cups), the decline around them was self evident.

The area’s mills, having failed to keep pace with innovations taking place elsewhere, fell into decline during the 1920s.

“Having risen to such dizzying heights in the nineteenth century, [Fall River] was, during the twentieth, to fathom depths of depression such as such she had never known,” wrote The New Republic’s William Robinson in 1924. “Today, Fall River is a city of misery, want, unemployment, hunger and hopelessness.”

Amazingly, the Marksmen warded off the full effects of the decline for more than half a decade.

The erosion began in earnest when the ASL, never solidly organized, engaged in a “soccer war” with the major U.S. soccer body, the United States Football Association. Back and forth disputes led to an ASL boycott of the Challenge Cup.

Eventually, the ASL was branded an “outlaw league” by FIFA. Formally, the disputes were settled in Oct. 1929, though a “single” disastrous season would take 14 months afterward, passing through three separate years.

Fan interest began to sour, as the Fall River Herald News noted following the Marksmen’s incredible “treble” (trio of trophies) in 1930.

“Despite the fact that the Fall River team performed a feat unheard of in American soccer, that of winning every title possible in one season, the fans have adopted a ‘don’t care’ attitude that does not make the future of the game here look any too promising.”

And once again, larger historical events played a role in hurting (perhaps ruinously) U.S. soccer during the era. Only weeks after the “soccer war” between the ASL and USFA was resolved, the stock market crashed in 1929.

The onset of the Great Depression, so disastrous in every other sector of American life, proved the final blow for the ASL and U.S. soccer’s “Golden Age.” The original league folded due to glaring financial problems in 1933 (Fall River, as a city, went bankrupt).

Though it was revived in future iterations, it would never achieve the capacity to produce world class talent or “menace” Europe again. Unlike its distant cousin, American football, professional soccer in the U.S. would require decades to build itself back up.

“The Golden Age,” Wangerin lamented, “had produced no bullion.”

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https://www.brotherlygame.com/2018/6/24/17497782/match-recap-penn-fc-2-tampa-bay-rowdies-1

Match Recap: Penn FC 2 - Tampa Bay Rowdies 1

Tampa Bay’s nineteen match home unbeaten streak comes to an end at the hands of Penn FC

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http://www.miamiherald.com/latest-news/article213704979.html

Rick Scott announces potential high-speed rail linking Tampa and Orlando

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http://www.tampabay.com/florida-politics/buzz/2018/06/22/rick-scott-announces-potential-high-speed-rail-linking-tampa-and-orlando/

Rick Scott announces potential high-speed rail linking Tampa and Orlando

Brightline has offered to pay for and build the line without using taxpayer dollars.

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https://hypebeast.com/2018/6/american-football-soccer-team-2018-fifa-world-cup-failed-to-qualify

Here's Why Americans Aren't Good at Football

An explanation on the nation’s current handicap.

The world is well into the heat of the 2018 FIFA World Cup, which is currently being held in Russia, and with that the creatives over at VOX have analyzed the reasons why Americans just aren’t good at the sport. Though the national team made it into the round of 16 (where they were knocked out by Belgium) during the 2014 World Cup, they failed to even qualify for this year’s tournament, the first time they failed to do so in over 30 years.

In the seven-and-a-half minute video posted above, VOX’s Phil Edwards presents his theory on why American’s are just so terrible at the Beautiful Game with the main reason being the 1920s football wars between the ASL (American Soccer League) and USFA (United States Football Association). By the time the depression hit, American soccer was not able to rebound as well as European and South American soccer culture was able to, which led to the nation’s current handicap. Watch the full clip above.

Be sure to keep up with our 2018 FIFA World Cup coverage here and tune into our Destined series featuring the likes of Dele, Suárez, Chicharito, and Gabriel Jesus.

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http://www.phillysoccerpage.net/2018/06/22/footy-on-the-telly-june-22-29/

Footy on the Telly – June 22 – 29

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https://www.uslsoccer.com/news_article/show/928818

Gameday Report: June 22, Week 15

Penn FC downs ten-man Rowdies, ends Tampa Bay home undefeated run

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http://www.tbo.com/sports/rowdies/2018/06/22/rowdies-fall-to-penn-fc/

Rowdies fall to Penn FC

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http://www.tampabay.com/sports/rowdies/2018/06/21/one-last-chance-to-see-mf-marcel-schafer-in-a-rowdies-uniform/

One last chance to see MF Marcel Schafer in a Rowdies uniform

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https://www.brotherlygame.com/2018/6/21/17486750/match-preview-penn-fc-at-tampa-bay-rowdies

Match Preview: Penn FC at Tampa Bay Rowdies

A lot has changed since these teams last met in May

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https://www.wfla.com/video/schafer-s-exit-from-rowdies-is-an-opportunity-too-good-to-pass_20180620230506/1252252295

Schafer's exit from Rowdies is an opportunity too good to pass

Tampa Bay Rowdies midfielder Marcel Schafer will play his final game with the club on Friday at Al Lang Stadium in St. Petersburg.

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https://www.wtsp.com/article/entertainment/places/bobby-lewis-on-the-road/junior-reporter-feels-at-home-on-tampa-bay-rowdies-soccer-field/67-566408945

Junior reporter feels at home on Tampa Bay Rowdies' soccer field

The Tampa Bay Rowdies took on three junior reporters for the season.

Giovanni Scanio stretched his arm as high as it would go in order to get his microphone to Joe Cole’s face.

“So, the two signings that we have this week, what do you think about all the frequent movement?” he asked.

The 12-year-old Scanio is one of three junior reporters for the Tampa Bay Rowdies this season.

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http://www.fox13news.com/news/local-news/county-commissioners-vote-to-bring-back-the-cross-bay-ferry

County Commissioners vote to bring back the Cross Bay Ferry

SAINT PETERSBURG (FOX 13) - Hillsborough County commissioners voted unanimously Wednesday to commit funding to bring back the Cross Bay Ferry, which wrapped up a pilot program earlier this year.

St. Petersburg Mayor Rick Kriseman, who has been one of the biggest backers of the ferry, made a presentation to the commission, urging members to vote to help fund the ferry.

"This was clearly a transit option that the residents in Hillsborough and Pinellas County made good use of," Kriseman told commissioners.

The St. Pete mayor said, during its pilot program which wrapped up in April 2017, the ferry carried 40,000 people across the bay.

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http://www.tampabay.com/blogs/baybuzz/2018/06/20/hillsborough-county-commissioners-on-board-for-return-of-ferry-service/

Hillsborough County commissioners on board for return of ferry service

TAMPA – St. Petersburg Mayor Rick Kriseman cleared another hurdle in his bid to bring back a seasonal ferry service between his city and Tampa when Hillsborough County commissioners agreed to back the project.

Kriseman is asking the  City of Tampa and Pinellas and Hillsborough counties to join St. Petersburg in paying $150,000 each to subsidize the service, which would run between November and April.

He made his pitch to Hillsborough County commissioners Wednesday saying that the pilot program, which ran in 2016 and sold over 37,000 tickets, proves there is a demand for the service.

But he acknowledged that the infrequent one-boat service is not going to get many commuters out of their cars.

A survey of riders showed that for  two-thirds of passengers took the trip  for recreation.

For that reason, if the service returns it will not include early morning trips from St. Petersburg that were targeted at commuters.

Of those who did ride, about 75 percent dined out at their destination and 30 percent visited a museum.

That and other spending passenger amounted to an economic impact of $1.6 million, Kriseman said.

"That's money spent in our two communities that might not have otherwise been spent," he said.

But its unclear how much of that spending would have taken place anyway. Spending on events or attractions like a ferry ride is often in place of other spending such as going to the cinema, economists say.

The seasonal service would help the county as it looks to start a ferry service between south Hillsborough and MacDill Air Force Base, Kriseman said.

The county has yet to finalize its 2019 budget but Commission Chairwoman Sandy Murman said she has already instructed County Administrator Mike Merrill to earmark its share of the cost of the ferry. Commissioners voted unanimously in support of that move.

"It was a huge success and I think we get a big return on it," she said.

Kriseman's biggest obstacle may be convincing Tampa Mayor Bob Buckhorn, who earlier this month told the Tampa Bay Times that the ferry should be viable without subsidies. Tampa is also dealing with a $5 million anticipated shortfall as it prepares its 2019 budget.

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https://www.bizjournals.com/tampabay/news/2018/06/19/passenger-ferry-in-south-hillsborough-closer-to.html

Passenger ferry in south Hillsborough closer to reality as commissioners prepare to approve contract

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https://www.starsandstripesfc.com/2018/6/18/17477184/walter-bahr-dead-91-1950-world-cup-usa-usmnt

Walter Bahr, last remaining member of U.S. 1950 World Cup squad, passes away

The 91-year-old USMNT legend played a pivotal role in the USMNT’s 1950 World Cup victory over England.

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https://www.ussoccer.com/stories/2018/06/18/18/23/20180618-news-mnt-walter-bahr-passes-away-1950-world-cup-england

National Soccer Hall of Famer Walter Bahr Passes Away

Last Surviving Member of USA’s 1950 FIFA World Cup Team Dies at Age 91

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https://www.brotherlygame.com/2018/6/19/17476506/walter-bahr-was-also-a-philly-soccer-lighthouse-sc-temple

USMNT star Walter Bahr was also a Philly soccer and college coaching legend

The last surviving member of the 1950 USMNT, Bahr died on Monday at the age of 91

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https://www.uslsoccer.com/news_article/show/928233-monarchs-acquire-blake-on-loan-from-rowdies

Monarchs Acquire Blake on Loan from Rowdies

Midfielder joins Real for remainder of 2018 season

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https://www.abcactionnews.com/lifestyle/taste-and-see/whats-happening-in-tampa-bay-this-weekend-june-22-24

What's happening in Tampa Bay this weekend? June 22-24

Tampa Bay Rowdies vs. Penn FC

When: 7:30 p.m.

Where: Al Lang Stadium at 230 1st Street South, St. Petersburg

Cost: Click here for ticket information

Info: Come watch the Tampa Bay Rowdies take on Penn FC Friday night! Game begins at 7:30 p.m.

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https://www.rslsoapbox.com/2018/6/19/17479370/real-monarchs-sign-jack-blake-on-loan

Real Monarchs sign Jack Blake on loan from Tampa Bay Rowdies

The 23-year-old defensive midfielder is a seasoned professional who signed his first contact in 2012 with Nottingham Forest

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https://www.reddit.com/r/TampaBayRowdies/comments/8t6zte/rowdies_report_week_14_tbr_v_pen/

Rowdies Report Week 14- TBR v PEN

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https://www.reddit.com/r/TampaBayRowdies/comments/8t5ngp/starters_and_subs_for_tonights_match_vs_penn_fc/

Starters and Subs for tonight's match vs. Penn FC

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https://www.rowdiessoccer.com/news_article/show/929149

Ten-Man Rowdies Defeated 2-1 by Penn FC

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https://www.reddit.com/r/TampaBayRowdies/comments/8t0nb9/match_preview_tbrvpen_auf_wiedersehen_sch%C3%A4fi/

Match Preview: #TBRvPEN - Auf wiedersehen, Schäfi!

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https://www.rowdiessoccer.com/news_article/show/928481

Match Preview: #TBRvPEN

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https://www.reddit.com/r/TampaBayRowdies/comments/8swdo0/usl_top_five_marcel_sch%C3%A4fer_moments/

USL Top Five – Marcel Schäfer Moments

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https://www.uslsoccer.com/news_article/show/928944

USL Top Five – Marcel Schäfer Moments

As he hangs up his boots, a look back on a memorable stint in Tampa Bay

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https://www.reddit.com/r/TampaBayRowdies/comments/8su3kv/sch%C3%A4fer_readies_for_emotional_final_match_oc/

Schäfer Readies for Emotional Final Match (OC)

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https://www.reddit.com/r/TampaBayRowdies/comments/8sjebi/rowdies_strengthen_midfield_with_signing_of_afrim/

Official Rowdies Strengthen Midfield with Signing of Afrim Taku and Dominic Oduro

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https://www.rowdiessoccer.com/news_article/show/928457

Rowdies Strengthen Midfield with Signing of Taku and Oduro

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https://www.reddit.com/r/TampaBayRowdies/comments/8scdmk/chopra_hearing_rumblings_that_ex_themiamifc_nycfc/

Rumor [Chopra] Hearing rumblings that ex- @TheMiamiFC @NYCFC and @ATLSilverbacks forward, Poku, is currently training with @TampaBayRowdies . Poku has struggled to break into the Anzhi Makhachkala team since moving there in January. Unclear if an xfer is imminent.

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https://twitter.com/NipunChopra7/status/1009135315687301120

Nipun Chopra, PhD
‏
@NipunChopra7

Hearing rumblings that ex- @TheMiamiFC @NYCFC and @ATLSilverbacks forward, Poku, is currently training with @TampaBayRowdies . Poku has struggled to break into the Anzhi Makhachkala team since moving there in January.

Unclear if an xfer is imminent.

2:06 PM - 19 Jun 2018

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https://www.reddit.com/r/TampaBayRowdies/comments/8sapa8/jack_blake_loaned_to_real_monarchs_new_signing/

Official Jack Blake loaned to Real Monarchs; New signing tomorrow

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https://twitter.com/TampaBayRowdies/status/1009103548683079682

Tampa Bay Rowdies

‏Verified account @TampaBayRowdies

NEWS: We've loaned @jackblake_18 to @RealMonarchs  for the remainder of the 2018 @USL season. Good luck, Jack!

12:00 PM - 19 Jun 2018

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xn8dfA6c9K0

Highlights - Rowdies vs Penn FC - June 22, 2018

Tampa Bay Rowdies

Published on Jun 22, 2018

HIGHLIGHTS presented by Tampa International Airport

The Tampa Bay Rowdies undefeated streak at home came to an end on Friday night after a 2-1 loss to Penn FC.

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https://twitter.com/TampaBayRowdies/status/1010914709883760640

Tampa Bay Rowdies

‏Verified account @TampaBayRowdies

NEXT HOME GAME presented by @Budweiser

Rowdies vs @TorontoFCII

Wednesday, July 4 - 7 p.m.

Al Lang Stadium

TIX: http://bit.ly/2tl3gvh  / 727-222-2000

11:57 AM - 24 Jun 2018

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https://twitter.com/Flemmo_77/status/1010953566431993862

Junior”Flemmo”Flemmings

‏@Flemmo_77

Farewell big man 🤝,all the best in your new endeavor 💪.@TampaBayRowdies @USL @Marcel schafer

2:31 PM - 24 Jun 2018

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https://twitter.com/tbusoccer/status/1010683531004002304

tbusoccer
‏
@tbusoccer

What an amazing morning for our TBU Rowdies 03 DA Boys today in San Diego! Kayak Tour over at La Jolla Cove Beach. Building memories on and off the field!

@ussoccer_acad @tbusoccer @TampaBayRowdies

8:38 PM - 23 Jun 2018 from San Diego, CA