Throughout the 1880s, Fall River became a bustling municipality. It had a population of about 20,000 and attracted European immigrants in search of jobs. A vibrant economy, fueled by a burgeoning textile industry, gave the place the nickname “Spindle City.”

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The result was a steady stream of Scottish immigrants, primarily from Glasgow. Following a meeting in February 1884 among a group of soccer enthusiasts Fall River Rovers FC was founded.

They won The American Cup in 1888 and again in 1889.

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Soccer was so popular in Fall River that teams from there won the American Cup between 1888 and 1982 for five straight years.

Fall River Olympics 1890
Fall River East Ends 1891,1892

https://ussoccerplayers.com/2018/01/american-soccer-history-fall-river-rovers.html

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The Rovers went on to win another American Cup in 1907 and secured a league title in 1909
In 1917 they finished runners up in the league and secured the Times Cup

In '16,'17 and '18 they played Bethlehem Steel in 3 consecutive US Open Cup Finals winning in 1917

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In 1921 the team were disbanded and reformed as Fall River United

They finished in 6th place out of 8 in the newly formed ASL ( American Soccer League)

1922 a former baseball and basketball promoter Sam Mark bought the team and they were re branded

Fall River Marksmen

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In one of his first moves he built the first ever soccer specific stadium in America - Mark's Stadium in North Tiverton Rhode Island.

It was built across the border to avoid local religious laws preventing openings on Sundays.

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Tragically it looks like this piece of US Soccer history is about to be lost forever......

https://twitter.com/MarksmenHistory/status/1371821107834204162?s=20

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A second masterstroke was the acquisition of Harold Brittan from Philadelphia Field Club

Brittan had left the First World War and a brief career at Chelsea behind to forge out a new life in America.

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He signed for the mighty Bethlehem Steel for the 20/21 season and went on to win the NAFBL title scoring 14 goals in 11 matches.

In 21/22 the inaugural ASL (American Soccer League) saw the team move to Philly in a failed attempt to garner more local support.

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Despite the dwindling finances and crowds Philadelphia field Club went on to win the ASL championship with Brittan netting 27 times in 17 games!

He joined the Marksmen in 1922 as player coach and would go on to score a colossal 135 goals in 165 games and become a club legend.

Then there was a raid on Scottish clubs as Jimmy (Tec) White and Tommy Martin were acquired from Motherwell, Charlie Mc Gill from Third Lanark and Bill Mc Pherson from Beith.
White,Mc Gill and Mc Pherson were to go on become the backbone of the team.

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The new additions helped the team to a respectable 3rd place finish in the inaugural ASL ( American Soccer League) campaign.

The following season was to begin the Marksmens' decade of dominance

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Ned Tate a defender from The Canadian Explosives and goalkeeper Findlay Kerr poached from Bethlehem Steel were added to the roster to bolster defence.

https://www.protagonistsoccer.com/features/findlaykerr

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The 1923/24 season was to see the Marksmen dominate the league losing only twice all season ( to Steel!) and finally finish 6 points ahead of Bethlehem and be crowned inaugural ASL ( American Soccer League) champions!

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They would go on to exact revenge on Steel for those defeats by knocking them out of the Challenge Cup (US Open Cup) semi final 2-0 in front of 20000 in Dexter Park and qualify for the final in Missouri against Vesper Buick.

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The final was played in front of 14,000 in St Louis where they witnessed a spectacular game.
A brace from Morley and a goal apiece from Reid and Brittan were enough to see the Marksmen triumph 4-2!

Check out the footage here.

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It's alleged that this was the first ever instance of players wearing numbers on their shirts.

You could also argue that the Buick on the Vesper shirts although part of the name could be the first instance of shirt sponsorship in the world.

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The 24/25 season was to see Kerr and his defensive line-up keep 20 clean sheets and the forward line amassed a whopping 113 goals as The Marksmen stormed their way to second consecutive league title.

https://www.stitcher.com/show/the-soccer-history-usa-podcast/episode/gunning-for-the-marksmen-51797908

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A new innovation was introduced by the ASL the next season and used a win percentage instead of cumulative points.

Didn't stop the Marksmen juggernaut as they finished on .819 way ahead of the New Bedford Whalers on .693 and completed a hat trick of league titles

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1926/27 saw a dip in form in the league and 3rd place was the best the Marksmen could do.

However in The Cup they coasted past The Whalers, Fore River and Providence FC and put Bethlehem Steel to the sword in the Eastern final in a hotly contested 2-1 victory.

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On May 1st 1927 the Marksmen thrashed Holly Carburetor 7-0 in Detroit to lift their 2nd US Open Cup.

2 goals from Mc Eachran and White and 1 from Brittan, Kelly and Campbell produced the record score line.

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A playoff in the league and a quarter final in the Cup were as good as it got in the ‘27/28 season.
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The following season was to see the start of ‘The Soccer Wars’ as a rift delevoped between the ASL and the USFA over who was running US Soccer.
A rival league, the EPSL was formed and some teams jumped ship. Some teams were banned from entering the Challenge Cup as a result.

The Marksmen were able to put all off field distractions to one side and managed to top the table in both parts of the season and were crowned champions for a 4th time.

The 2 leagues vied for public support and several teams jumped between the 2 . Some players returned to Europe to retain their FIFA status.
The stock market crash of Oct ‘29 pushed the whole soccer infrastructure to the edge.

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The Marksmen cemented their place in the pantheon of great American Teams when in 29/30 they won the league, blitzed Bruell 9-3 in the US Cup final and pummelled Hakoah All Stars in the Lewis Cup ( league cup) to land an historic treble.

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In August of 1930 while other European teams had toured America to raise profiles and funds the Marksmen as always breaking new ground,went they other way and played 6 games in Austria, Czechoslovakia and Hungary

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Both Patenaude and Gonsalves had gone with the US squad for the World Cup but the remaining players drew 2-2 with Slavia Prague before losing 4-0 in the second match.

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The they lost to Austria Wien 6-0 before beating them 3-1 in the rematch the next day ! A week later they beat SK Slovan Bratislava 3-0.

The tour came to a premature end after losing to Ferencvaros 6-2 and a dispute over gate receipts which would signal the end of the tour.

The 30-31 season was the end of the road. Mark had moved the team to NY to boost gates and receipts to no avail.
A quirk in fate saw them compete as the Yankees in the league but having to retain the Marksmen name for the cup.
They went on to win for the 4th time!
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The depression and stock market collapse saw the team finally fold.

10 years
6 League Titles
4 US Open Cups

One of the greatest ever US soccer teams.

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In 2019 Andre Ruette got some likeminded people together to rise the phoenix and reform.

Honouring the past and seeking to create a new future.

Follow them on their journey

@FRMarksmen

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Special thanks to @MarksmenHistory for all the info and history gold!

To @IcarusFCphl for the banging kits and discount code.

To @newspaperclub for rolling hot of the press

And to Andre and the rest of the team thanks ... and good luck for the season!!!

#MarksmenMarch out!