Fall River Rovers were a

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soccer club, based in

Fall River, Massachusetts Fall River is a city in Bristol County, Massachusetts, United States. The City of Fall River's population was 94,000 at the 2020 United States Census, making it the tenth-largest city in the state. Located along the eastern shore of Mount ...

. They won the

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and 1889 American Cups as well as the 1917 National Challenge Cup. In 1921 Rovers were disbanded and a new team, Fall River United were formed to enter the newly established American Soccer League. The name was revived during the 1933–34 season by a team that played in the ''New England Division'' of the American Soccer League. Other teams in the division included another Fall River United.

History

Early years

In the late 19th century

, together with

Kearny, New Jersey Kearny ( ) is a town in the western part of Hudson County, New Jersey, United States and a suburb of Newark. As of the 2010 United States Census, the town's population was 40,684,St. Louis, Missouri St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the bi-state metropolitan area, whic ...

, emerged as a stronghold for

soccer in the United States Soccer in the United States is run by different organizations. The United States Soccer Federation (USSF) governs most levels of soccer in the country, including the national teams, professional leagues, and amateur leagues, being the highest ...

. In the late 1870s Fall River experienced a period of economic growth, driven by the demand for cotton print cloth. Southeastern

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was the birthplace of the United States

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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 labor and, while some of the new arrivals were French Canadian and Irish, many also came from

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and

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, two of the earliest strongholds of soccer in the

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.''Soccer in a Football World – The Story of America’s Forgotten Game'' (2006) : David Wangeri

/ref> As a result, several soccer clubs, including Rovers, emerged within the city. In February 1884, the team was founded at a meeting held on County Street, Fall River. The team joined the Bristol County Football Association in 1885. Other clubs from the city included Fall River Olympics, Fall River Pan Americans and Fall River East Ends. Rovers, along with these clubs became affiliated with the American Football Association (1884–1924), 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. In 1891, Rovers, along with the Fall River Olympics, East Enders and Pawtucket Free Wanderers, formed the New England League. In 1903, Rovers won the Interstate League championship. In 1907, they reentered the AFA. The Rovers were the New England League champions in 1909 before joining the first

Eastern Soccer League Eastern may refer to: Transportation * China Eastern Airlines, a current Chinese airline based in Shanghai *Eastern Air, former name of Zambia Skyways *Eastern Air Lines, a defunct American airline that operated from 1926 to 1991 * Eastern Air ...

1910 Events January * January 13 – The first public radio broadcast takes place; live performances of the operas ''Cavalleria rusticana'' and ''Pagliacci'' are sent out over the airwaves, from the Metropolitan Opera House in New York Ci ...

. When this league was abandoned during its only season, Rovers were in the lead. Between 1915 and 1921 they played in the

Southern New England Soccer League The Southern New England Soccer League was a semi-professional soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball ar ...

, twice finishing as runners-up in 1917 and 1921. In 1917 they also won the Times Cup, the league cup of the SNESL, defeating J&P Coats 3–0 in the final.The Year in American Soccer – 1917
/ref>

Rivalry with Bethlehem Steel

During the late 1910s a strong inter-regional rivalry developed between Rovers and

Bethlehem Steel The Bethlehem Steel Corporation was an American steelmaking company headquartered in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. For most of the 20th century, it was one of the world's largest steel producing and shipbuilding companies. At the height of its succ ...

. The teams played against each other in three consecutive

National Challenge Cup The Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup, commonly known as the U.S. Open Cup (USOC), is a knockout cup competition in men's soccer in the United States of America. It is the oldest ongoing national soccer competition in that country. The 2023 U.S. Op ...

finals. Rovers were defeated in both the

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and the

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finals but won the competition in

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. The rivalry was intensified by the fact that, at the time, Rovers featured mainly

-born players while Steel relied heavily on players imported from both the

Scottish Football League The Scottish Football League (SFL) was a league featuring professional and semi-professional football clubs mostly from Scotland.One club, Berwick Rangers, is based in the town of Berwick-upon-Tweed, which is located approximately 4 km so ...

and the

English Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, the league is the oldest such competition in the world. It was the top-level football league in Engl ...

. In addition neither club was immune from fan violence. The 1916 final, hosted by J&P Coats in

Pawtucket, Rhode Island Pawtucket is a city in Providence County, Rhode Island, United States. The population was 75,604 at the 2020 census, making the city the fourth-largest in the state. Pawtucket borders Providence and East Providence to the south, Central Fa ...

, 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 Harrison is a town in the western part of Hudson County in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It is part of the New York metropolitan area. It is a suburb of the nearby city of Newark, New Jersey, and is located from New York City. As of the ...

. The star of the Rovers team during this era was Thomas Swords, who in 1916 captained the

in their first official international. Other notable players included John Sullivan, who scored in both the 1917 and 1918 finals, and

Chick Albin John "Chick" Albin (born 1890) was an American soccer goalkeeper who played in the Southern New England Soccer League and the American Soccer League. He was a three time National Challenge Cup finalist, winning one title, with the Fall River R ...

.The Year in American Soccer – 1918
/ref>

Year-by-year

Honors

* American Cup: **Winners (2): 1888, 1889 *

**Winners (1).

**''Runners Up (2)'':

*Times Cup **Winners (1): 1917 *New England League **Winners (1): 1909 *

**''Runners Up (2)'': 1916–17, 1920–21

References

{{USOC winners Defunct soccer clubs in Massachusetts Rovers Southern New England Soccer League teams American Soccer League (1933–1983) teams 1884 establishments in Massachusetts 1921 disestablishments in Massachusetts Association football clubs established in 1884 Association football clubs disestablished in 1921 U.S. Open Cup winners