Fall River Rovers

Football club infobox
clubname = Fall River Rovers


fullname = Fall River Rovers
founded = 18xx
dissolved = 1921
ground =
chairman = | league = New England League: 19xx-1909
Eastern Soccer League: 1909-1910
SNESL: 1915-1921

Fall River Rovers were a United States soccer club, based in Fall River, Massachusetts. They won the American Cup in in 1888 and 1889 and won the National Challenge Cup in 1917. In 1921 Rovers were disbanded and a new team, Fall River United were formed to enter the American Soccer League. [cite book | last = Jose | first = Colin | title = American Soccer League, 1921-1931 | format = Hardback | publisher = The Scarecrow Press | year = 1998 | id = (ISBN 0-8108-3429-4) ]

History

Early Years

In the late 1800s Fall River, Massachusetts, together with Kearney, New Jersey and St. Louis, Missouri, emerged as a stronghold for soccer in the United States. In the late 1870s Fall River experienced a period of economic growth, driven by the demand for linen. South-east New England was the birthplace of the United States textile industry and Fall River became known as "Spindle City". By 1876 the city was home to 43 factories, more than 30,000 looms and more than one million spindles. Keeping them all working required immigrant labour and, while some of the new arrivals were French-Canadian and Irish, many also came from Lancashire and Glasgow, two of the earliest strongholds of soccer in the United Kingdom. ["Soccer in a Football World - The Story of America’s Forgotten Game" (2006) : David Wangerin [http://www.amazon.com/Soccer-Football-World-David-Wangerin/dp/0954013476] ] As a result several soccer clubs, including Rovers, emerged within the city. Other clubs included "Fall River Olympics", "Fall River Pan Americans" and "Fall River East Ends". These clubs became affiliated to the American Football Association and entered the American Cup. Between 1888 and 1892 teams from Fall River won the cup five times in succession. Fall River Rovers won it in both 1888 and 1889. [ [http://www.fairchallenge.com/home/blog.php?id=4 www.fairchallenge.com] ] [ [http://www.sover.net/~spectrum/americancup.html www.sover.net] ] They also competed in several regional leagues and were the New England League champions in 1909 [ [http://www.sover.net/~spectrum/year/1909.html The Year in American Soccer - 1909] ] before joining the first Eastern Soccer League in 1910. When this league was abandoned during its only season, Rovers were in the lead. [ [http://www.sover.net/~spectrum/year/1910.html The Year in American Soccer - 1910] ] Between 1915 and 1921 they played in the Southern New England Soccer League, twice finishing as runners-up in 1917 and 1921. [ [http://www.sover.net/~spectrum/snesl.html www.sover.net] ] In 1917 they also won the Times Cup, the league cup of the SNESL, defeating J&P Coats 3-0 in the final. [ [http://www.sover.net/~spectrum/year/1917.html The Year in American Soccer - 1917] ]

Rivalry with Bethlehem Steel

During the late 1910s a strong inter-regional rivalry developed between Rovers and Bethleham Steel. The teams played against each other in three consecutive National Challenge Cup finals. Rovers were defeated in both the 1916 and the 1918 finals but won the competition in 1917. The rivalry was intensified by the fact that, at the time, Rovers featured mainly United States-born players while Steel relied heavily on players imported from both the Scottish Football League and the English Football League. In addition neither club was immune from fan violence. The 1916 final, hosted by J&P Coats in Pawtucket, Rhode Island, attracted a crowd of 10,000, almost all backing Rovers. With the score 0-0 after 80 minutes, Steel were awarded a penalty, triggering protests from both Rovers players and fans alike. Steel subsequently converted the penalty, which was enough to win the trophy. However with seconds remaining Rovers were denied a penalty, sparking both a riot and a pitch invasion. The 1917 final saw Steel and Rovers return to Pawtucket to play in front of a crowd of 5,000. Rovers avenged their 1916 defeat with a goal scored in the first minute giving them a hard fought 1-0 win. The 1918 final saw the two teams return to Pawtucket for a third time, this time playing out a 2-2 extra-time draw in front of 10,000. However Rovers lost the replay 3-0 in Harrison, New Jersey. The star of the Rovers team during this era was Thomas Swords, who in 1916 captained the United States in their first official international. Other notable players included John Sullivan, who scored in both the 1917 and 1918 finals, and Jack Albion. ["Soccer in a Football World - The Story of America’s Forgotten Game" (2006) : David Wangerin [http://www.amazon.com/Soccer-Football-World-David-Wangerin/dp/0954013476] ] [ [http://www.sover.net/~spectrum/NewEngland.html www.sover.net] ] [ [http://www.sover.net/~spectrum/year/1916.html The Year in American Soccer - 1916] ] [ [http://www.sover.net/~spectrum/year/1917.html The Year in American Soccer - 1917] ] [ [http://www.sover.net/~spectrum/year/1918.html The Year in American Soccer - 1918] ]

Year-by-year

Notable Players

Honors

*American Cup
**"Winners" 1888, 1889: 2
*National Challenge Cup
**"Winners" 1917: 1
**"Runners Up" 1916, 1918: 2
*Times Cup
**"Winners" 1917: 1
*New England League
**"Winners" 1909: 1
*Southern New England Soccer League
**"Runners Up" 1916-17, 1920-21: 2

References