Fall River Rovers were a

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 Football player, players who almost exclusively use their feet to propel a Ball (association football), ball around a rectangular f ...

club, based in

Fall River, Massachusetts Fall River is a city in Bristol County, Massachusetts, United States. Fall River's population was 94,000 at the 2020 United States census, making it the List of municipalities in Massachusetts, tenth-largest city in the state, and the second- ...

. They won the

1888 Events January * January 3 – The great telescope (with an objective lens of diameter) at Lick Observatory in California is first used. * January 12 – The Schoolhouse Blizzard hits Dakota Territory and the states of Montana, M ...

and 1889 American Cups as well as the 1917 National Challenge Cup. In 1922 Rovers and Fall River United attempted to share rent on venue due to increasing costs. Subsequently their joint bid for an ASL slot in the 1922–23 season was rejected. They later disbanded with their players signing with other teams. 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, in the U.S. state of New Jersey, and a suburb of Newark. As of the 2020 United States census, the town's population was 41,999, an increase of 1,315 (+3.2%) from the 2010 census cou ...

and

St. Louis, Missouri St. Louis ( , sometimes referred to as St. Louis City, Saint Louis or STL) is an Independent city (United States), independent city in the U.S. state of Missouri. It lies near the confluence of the Mississippi River, Mississippi and the Miss ...

, emerged as a stronghold for

soccer in the United States Association football, Soccer is the fourth most popular sport in the United States behind American football, basketball, and baseball, respectively. The United States Soccer Federation (USSF) governs most levels of soccer in the United States ...

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

New England New England is a region consisting of six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York (state), New York to the west and by the ...

was the birthplace of the United States

textile industry The textile industry is primarily concerned with the design, production and distribution of textiles: yarn, cloth and clothing. Industry process Cotton manufacturing Cotton is the world's most important natural fibre. In the year 2007, th ...

and Fall River became known as ''Spindle City''. By 1876 the city was home to 43 factories, more than 30,000

loom A loom is a device used to weaving, weave cloth and tapestry. The basic purpose of any loom is to hold the Warp (weaving), warp threads under tension (mechanics), tension to facilitate the interweaving of the weft threads. The precise shape of ...

s and more than one million spindles. Keeping them all working required immigrant labor and, while some of the new arrivals were

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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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. 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 American Football Association may refer to: * American Football Association (1884–1924), the first attempt in the United States to form an organizing association football body * American Football Association (1977–1983), a minor profession ...

and entered the

American Cup The American Football Association Challenge Cup (also known as the American Association Cup or simply American Cup) was the first major U.S. soccer competition open to teams beyond a single league. It was first held in 1884, and organised by t ...

. 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 or Easterns may refer to: Transportation Airlines *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 192 ...

1910 Events January * January 6 – Abé people in the French West Africa colony of Côte d'Ivoire rise against the colonial administration; the rebellion is brutally suppressed by the military. * January 8 – By the Treaty of Punakha, t ...

. 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 league based in New England which was established in 1914 and collapsed in 1921. During its short existence, it featured some of the top teams in the northeast United States. D ...

, 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 J. & P. Coats was an American soccer club founded in 1900 as the team of the Pawtucket, Rhode Island branch of the J. & P. Coats threadmaking company of Paisley, Scotland (following a 1952 merger this firm became part of the Coats Group Coats ...

3–0 in the final.

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. Until its closure in 2003, it was one of the world's largest steel-producing and shipbuilding companies. At the height of its success ...

. 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. It is the country's oldest ongoing national soccer competition. The competition was first held duri ...

finals. Rovers were defeated in both the

1916 Events Below, the events of the First World War have the "WWI" prefix. January * January 1 – The British Empire, British Royal Army Medical Corps carries out the first successful blood transfusion, using blood that has been stored ...

and the

1918 The ceasefire that effectively ended the World War I, First World War took place on the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month of this year. Also in this year, the Spanish flu pandemic killed 50–100 million people wor ...

finals but won the competition in

1917 Events Below, the events of World War I have the "WWI" prefix. January * January 9 – WWI – Battle of Rafa: The last substantial Ottoman Army garrison on the Sinai Peninsula is captured by the Egyptian Expeditionary Force's ...

. 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) is a defunct 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&nbs ...

and the

English Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional association football, football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, it is the oldest football league in Association football around the world, the w ...

. In addition neither club was immune from fan violence. The 1916 final, hosted by

Pawtucket, Rhode Island Pawtucket ( ) is a city in Providence County, Rhode Island, United States. The population was 75,604 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making the city the fourth-largest in the state. Pawtucket borders Providence, Rhode Island, Prov ...

, 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, and is located from New York City. Once considered "the bee ...

. The star of the Rovers team during this era was

Thomas Swords Thomas Swords (October 2, 1885 – March 29, 1953) was an American Striker (association football), soccer forward, who served as captain of the United States men's national soccer team, U.S. men's national team in its first two games. He is a mem ...

, 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 Albion.

Year-by-year

Honors

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

**Winners (1):

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

*Times Cup **Winners (1): 1917 *Bristol County Association **Winners (4): 1887, 1889, 1890, 1891 **''Runners Up (3)'': 1886, 1888, 1892 *New England League **Winners (2): 1894, 1909 **''Runners Up (3)'': 1892, 1907, 1908 * Eastern Profession Soccer League I **Winners (1): 1910 *

**Winners (1): 1920 **''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