Mark's Stadium

Mark's Stadium
Full name	Mark's Stadium
Location	North Tiverton, Rhode Island United States
Coordinates	41°40′14.16″N 71°10′48.22″W / 41.6706°N 71.1800611°W / 41.6706; -71.1800611Coordinates: 41°40′14.16″N 71°10′48.22″W / 41.6706°N 71.1800611°W / 41.6706; -71.1800611
Opened	1922
Closed	19xx
Owner	Sam Mark
Capacity	15,000
Tenants
Fall River Marksmen (1922-1931) Fall River F.C. (1931-19xx) Ponta Delgada S.C. (19xx-19xx)

Mark's Stadium is a former soccer stadium located in North Tiverton, Rhode Island. During the 1920s and early 1930s it was the home of Fall River Marksmen, one of the era’s most successful soccer teams. It is one of the earliest examples of a soccer-specific stadium in the United States.^[1] After the demise of the Marksmen, the stadium was used as a home ground by other local teams, most notably Fall River F.C. and Ponta Delgada S.C..

History

In 1922 Sam Mark took over Fall River United of the American Soccer League and renamed them Fall River Marksmen. Mark was willing to invest in the club and one of his first moves was to build the team its own stadium. He located it in North Tiverton, Rhode Island, just over the Massachusetts border from Fall River. This enabled the Marksmen to circumvent the Massachusetts Blue Laws and play on a Sunday.^[2] Although used primarily for soccer, Mark’s also operated a semi-professional baseball team and the stadium’s design was decidedly baseball-friendly. This included an L-shaped stand which was placed behind one of the corner-flags.^[1] The stadium also incorporated a small dirt track for auto racing up until the eary 1950s which somewhat reduced the size of the soccer pitch.

The 1925 National Challenge Cup final and the first Lewis Cup final were both held at the stadium. Although a crowd of only 1,000 turned up to see Shawsheen Indians defeat Canadian Club of Chicago 3-0 in the Challenge Cup on April 19, a capacity crowd of 15,000 saw Boston Wonder Workers defeat Fall River Marksmen 2-1 in the Lewis Cup.^[1][3] In subsequent seasons the stadium regularly hosted prestige friendlies between the Marksmen and visiting teams such as Rangers, an Italian League XI and Kilmarnock.^[4][5][6]

In 1931, after Sam Mark relocated Fall River Marksmen to New York and renamed them the New York Yankees, he made the stadium available to anybody willing to place a team there. A group of Fall River businessmen, led by an ex-Marksmen player Harold Brittan, bought Providence Gold Bugs and moved them to Mark's Stadium where they played as Fall River F.C.. During their brief stay the new tenants beat both Vélez Sérsfield and Celtic in prestige friendlies.^[1][7] In the 1940s and 1950s Ponta Delgada S.C. also played some home games at the stadium.^[8]

Notable Games

April 19, 1925	Shawsheen Indians	3–0	Chicago Canadian Club	1925 National Challenge Cup Attendance: 1,000
	Eddie Smith Alex Carrie Peter Purden	(Report)

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1925	Fall River Marksmen	1–2	Boston Wonder Workers	Lewis Cup final Attendance: 15,000
		(Report)

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June 3, 1928	Fall River Marksmen	0–0	Rangers F.C.	Friendly Attendance: 15,000
		(Report)

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August 26, 1928	Fall River Marksmen	4–2	Italian League XI	Friendly
		(Report)

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June 3, 1928	Fall River Marksmen	3–0	Kilmarnock	Friendly Attendance: 5,000
	Archie Stark Alex McNab Bob McAuley	(Report)

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February 22, 1931	Fall River F.C.	5–2	Vélez Sársfield	Friendly
		(Report)

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May 31, 1931	Fall River F.C.	1–0	Celtic	Friendly Attendance: 7,000
	Billy Watson	(Report)

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July 7, 1946	Ponta Delgada S.C.	1–0	Chicago Vikings	National Challenge Cup final Attendance: 6,000
	Ed Souza or John Souza ?	(Report)	McDermott

References

1. ^ ^{a b c d} Soccer in a Football World - The Story of America’s Forgotten Game (2006) : David Wangerin [1]
2. ^ The Year in American Soccer - 1922
3. ^ The Year in American Soccer - 1925
4. ^ Rangers tours
5. ^ The Year in American Soccer - 1928
6. ^ The Year in American Soccer - 1930
7. ^ The Year in American Soccer - 1931
8. ^ A History of Soccer in New England