Welcome to the Soccer Tavern, where we’re discussing the history, culture, and philosophy of the beautiful game. My name is Dave and in this video, we’re talking about the history of Fall River Marksmen Football Club. Pull up a seat and let’s start the discussion.
Fall River Marksmen FC, is located in Fall River, Massachusetts. Fall River is about 50 miles south of Boston and about 20 miles east of Providence, RI. Massachusetts is located in the Northeastern part of the United States.
The current iteration of the club does not actually have a league at time of recording. In all likelihood, it will join the 3rd tier of the Boston based Bay State Soccer League, which is a premier adult amateur league. The United States doesn’t have a true soccer pyramid and there are technically no divisions below the 3 professional divisions, but the BSSL first division is likely the equivalent of a 5th or 6th division league if US Soccer had a proper pyramid. So, the Marksmen being in the third division of that league would mean that it will begin play in the 8th or 9th division of US soccer.
The club is a big proponent of promotion & relegation and hopes the US will someday abide by the rules of sporting merit stated in the FIFA rules so that they could work their way up the pyramid.
The Marksmen’s original stadium was Mark’s Stadium in Tiverton, RI which held about 15K people. Mark’s Stadium was built in 1922 and eventually closed and was demolished by the mid 1950’s. The current team plans on playing in Fall River but may shift to Tiverton to honor the club’s roots.
Origin
Fall River Marksmen FC’s origin begins in 1921 when the American Soccer League was formed with a club called Fall River United participating. The club underachieved in its first year and looked to be collapsing when a local entrepreneur named Sam Mark purchased the club. Mark recognized that if he invested in the club, he could turn around its fortunes and ultimately make himself some money.
After purchasing the club, he renamed it Fall River Marksmen. It was quite literally his name plus the fact that the club had male players and were men. Mark also decided to build the club’s stadium across the border in Tiverton, Rhode Island. He did this because Massachusetts was very restrictive of business operations on Sundays at the time and Mark wanted his club to have flexibility to play whenever it wanted.
Mark invested in the club and built it into one of the most powerful and well-known clubs in America throughout the 1920s. The great depression of the 1930s crushed the American Soccer League and Mark moved the club to New York in 1931 due to economic troubles. The club was rebranded under the New York Yankees name and it existed for a few years under that brand. By 1933, Mark had divested out of the club, and the club was rebranded & moved again.
The Fall River Marksmen club and brand would lay dormant for more than 85 years, which brings us to 2018.
The club has been revived by a man named Andre’ Ruette. Andre’ used to run a semi-pro team and league in Florida from 2005-2011. He had to close the league in 2011 and became focused on his non-soccer career.
As time went by, he greatly missed being involved in the game and was becoming even further dismayed with the status of club soccer within the U.S. After doing a lot of research into the then current landscape of U.S. lower league soccer, it became clear that one of the best avenues in getting back into the game was by reviving and honoring the all too often overlooked history of the Fall River Marksmen.
In November of 2018, Andre’ officially purchased the rights to the club and the club’s revival was announced in January of 2019.
Nickname
The club’s nickname is the American Menace. The nickname dates back to the Soccer Wars of the 1920’s. The Marksmen and fellow ASL teams were referred to as the American Menace for their dominance on the pitch and also for grabbing many European players and bringing them stateside.
Crest
The Marksmen’s colors are red, black, and white. Red represents the Massachusetts Bay Colony and has roots to before the founding of the United States.
Black honors and represents the club’s past and those who helped form the club’s history.
And white represents the future for the club.
At the top of the badge are the Fall River city gates which are located in Fall River and its sister city of Ponta Delgada in Portugal.
The words Fall River at the top of the crest represents where the club is located.
The black, plus looking object in the background of the logo is the Marksmen crest, which is the seal of an official Marksmen.
The old-school soccer ball in the middle of the Marksmen crest is a leather laced soccer ball that would have been used in the 1920s, which was the club’s heyday.
And the club’s original founding date in 1922, as well as acronym of FRMFC which stands for Fall River Marksmen Football Club, is located at the bottom of the crest
Important Events
I’d like to highlight 5 important events in the club’s history
On March 30, 1924, Fall River Marksmen played Vesper Buick in front of 14k people in the final of the National Challenge Cup, now known as the US Open Cup. The match took place in St. Louis and was tied 1-1 at the half before the Marksmen roared to life with 3 goals in the second half to ultimately win 4-2. It was the club’s first Open Cup trophy and completed the club’s first double as it also won the American Soccer League title that season.
Moving forward about 3 years, on May 31, 1926 the Fall River Marksmen drew the New York Giants (which was a soccer team) 1-1. This was the final match of the 1925-1926 American Soccer League season and the Marksmen officially won their third consecutive ASL title on this day though they had clinched the title weeks earlier.
The next date I want to highlight is August 20, 1930. On this date, Fall River Marksmen played Slavia Praha in Prague, Czechoslovakia. The result of the match was 2-2, but the result wasn’t what was noteworthy about this date. This match was the first of a 2-week tour through central Europe for the Marksmen. Though European clubs regularly toured North America at the time, it was extremely rare for an American team to tour Europe. The club would have 3 wins, 1 draw and 2 losses on the Euro tour.
The next date I want to discuss is only a few months later: October 23, 1930. On this day, the Marksmen played Hakoah All-Stars from New York City in the second leg of the Lewis Cup. The Lewis Cup was the American Soccer League’s version of a league cup. The Marksmen had already won the ASL League Title and US Open Cup in 1930 and on October 23, it completed a historic treble. The Marksmen won 3-0 on this date and won the Lewis cup 5-1 on aggregate. The treble win is one of the greatest accomplishments in American club soccer history.
And the last date I want to highlight is August 3, 2019. On this date, the newly reformed Fall River Marksmen FC played Boston Siege FC in its first match under the Fall River Marksmen name in more than 85 years. The match ended 2-2 and was the first in a series of friendlies as part of the 2019 Revival Tour for the Marksmen. It was a rebirth for this club with a glorious history.
Supporters
Right now the club does not have an official supporters group, but will be working on helping to get a supporters group together. Flares, pyro, banners, instruments, voices, and all are welcome and encouraged to stand and support.
Noteworthy Players
The club had many amazing players from the 1920s and early 1930s.
Bert Patenaude – played 114 games and scored 112 goals for the club. He was a member of the 1930 US World Cup team and was the 1st player ever to score hat trick in a World Cup. Although many pundits said he was a streaky scorer, always scoring in bunches, his overall totals were simply impressive. Bert was a hometown guy as well. His parents emigrated to the area from Quebec prior to his birth. To this day, there are a few relatives of Bert who live in the Fall River area.
Adelino “Billy” Gonsalves was possibly the greatest American to ever play soccer. Gonsalves played in 2 World Cups and made 11 Open Cup Finals in a 15 year span. Billy joined the Marksmen in 1929 and was credited with 69 goals in 116 games for the club, but those numbers are a bit hazy since the club moved during his time with the team. By the end of his career, he had played for more than 25 years and won the Open Cup a record 8 times.
The next player I want to highlight is Harold Brittan. Brittan was a professional player in England before coming to the US in 1920. During his career, he won 4 ASL titles and 2 Open Cups. 3 of those ASL titles and both of the Open Cups were won with the Fall River Marksmen. He was a fantastic goalscorer and often led the ASL in goals before he retired in 1927. Brittan is one of the more unsung hero’s from the Marksmen and in US soccer during that era. His numbers with the Marksmen were staggering, especially considering he was a player coach for 4 years of his time with the club. He played 105 Games & scored 102 Goals.
All three of the players I mentioned are members of the United States Soccer Hall of Fame.
The next player I want to highlight here is Johnny Reder. Reder joined the Marksmen in 1929 and was an excellent GK for the club. He would win 2 ASL League titles and an Open Cup with the team before it was relocated. Reder followed the team to New York, but with the collapse of the ASL, he became a member of the Boston Red Sox baseball team.
And the last player I want to mention is James White, also known as Tec White. Sam Mark recruited White from Scotland, where he was playing w/Motherwell at the time. White was a midfielder who would play over 240 matches for the Marksmen and followed the club after it moved to NY and then back to New Bedford. He also had over 100 league goals w/the Marksmen.
Noteworthy Managers
The manager I’d like to highlight here is Harold Brittan. We talked about Brittan as a player, but he has to go down at the best manager in the club’s history as well. His stats on both sides of the touch line speak volumes. After the Marksmen folded and left town in the early 1930s, it was Harold who brought them back to Fall River and wound up renaming the team, Fall River FC.
Rivals
The club has 4 main historical rivals: New Bedford Whalers, Bethlehem Steel, Boston SC & Providence FC.
New Bedford’s proximity to Fall River made for a natural rivalry. Adding to the rivalry of the two club was for all of the success that the Marksmen had, the Whalers to their credit were a very formidable club as well.
Bethlehem Steel were the dominant kings of US soccer prior to the formation of the Marksmen. Although the Steel started to decline in the 1920’s, their prestige was still there and the Marksmen vs Steel was a top tiered match. Unfortunately the split of teams & leagues during the “Soccer Wars” kept these 2 clubs apart on the field during the late 1920’s.
Boston SC, nicknamed The Wonderworkers, were a solid club from the mid to late 1920’s who put a good fight against their regional rivals, the Fall River Marksmen. Boston even managed to pick up silverware and a better place in the standings during the 1926/27 & ’27/28 seasons. That added to this rivalry.
And the last historical rival I want to mention is Providence FC. Providence is listed due to their geographical location and numerous matches against the Marksmen. Sadly, Providence, which changed names on a few occasions, never managed to gain much success against the Marksmen or against the rest of the league.
Finally, I want to mention that the club’s current rival is Fall River FC. The two clubs are both located in Fall River and have created a competition called the Taca de Fall River. The Marksmen lost the first annual series 4-3 on aggregate. This should grow into a true rivalry with many more matches to be played in the future between these 2 clubs.
Stats & Records
The stats and records we’re about to discuss are as of September 2019, which is when we are recording this video.
Technically, the club played 11 seasons in the top flight ASL in the 1920s and early 1930s. But 2 of those seasons were under different club names. So, officially the club has 9 top flight seasons in its history.
The Fall River Marksmen have 11 major titles:
- 6 ASL League Titles
- 4 US Open Cups
- 1 Lewis Cup (which was basically the League’s Cup for the ASL)
The club’s record first team appearance holder is Bill McPherson, who made 331 appearances for the club.
The club’s record goal scorer is Bert Patenaude with 114 goals.
From all of our research, it appears the club’s record transfer purchase was a player named William Fryer, who the Marksmen bought from the New York Giants (soccer team). The club paid $1,500 in 1923, which is about $23K in 2019. There might be a higher total paid out since Fryer but we weren’t able to confirm.
And with the Marksmen being one of the clubs at the top of the food chain during the ASL, we couldn’t find information on record transfer sales for the club. If you have any more info on the club’s record transfer sale, please let us know in the comments section of the video.
And one last interesting fact about the club: the Marksmen started off the 1931 season in Fall River and under their name, Marksmen. It began the stages of the National Challenge Cup (now known as the US Open Cup) under the Marksmen name but moved to New York City during the middle of the season. The club finished the season under its new name of the NY Yankees soccer club.
During that season, the club won the US Open Cup, which would have made it 5 Open Cup titles for the Marksmen, which would have tied Bethlehem Steel as the most Open Cup wins in history. Unfortunately, the Marksmen were not awarded the title and to this day, the Marksmen are only credited with winning the US Open Cup 4 times.
Before we close out, I’d like to include a statement from current club owner Andre’ Ruette: “We’re humbled and honored to act as custodians of the Marksmen history. The revival of this club was due in part to celebrate & honor the success of the past and to ensure its legacy lives on. The accolades of the past aren’t ours to hold, those remain rightfully placed with the original members. However, we vow to always honor & respect the achievements of the past and use them as a reminder of the potential & acuity that lays within the city of Fall River & US Soccer.”
So there you have it… a bit of history on Fall River Marksmen Football Club. Let’s continue the discussion in the comments section below the video.
Thanks for stopping by the Soccer Tavern. Hope to see you again soon. Cheers!
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