March 11, 1928 — Snowfall Too Heavy for Boston-New Bedford

At least one soccer match was snowed out on the second Saturday in March, 1928. The next day, though, conditions improved enough for the Fall River Marksmen to play host to J&P Coats in an American Soccer League game in North Tiverton, R.I. The Marksmen took a 3-2 win over the Threadmen as Harold Brittan scored twice, heading in the deciding goal off a Dougie Campbell cross in the second half.

On March 11, 1928 the Boston Wonder Workers visited the New York Nationals, playing to a 1-1 draw on a field that was “very heavy in spots,” according to the Boston Globe account. The Wonder Workers moved 22-year-old Barney Battles to center forward in the second half, and the change paid off as he scored the equalizer “at 25 minutes” after he “whipped the ball past (Pete) Renzulli after a scrimmage a few yards from the net.” Battles, who made his international debut for the U.S. national team as a 19-year-old in 1925, went on to star for Heart of Midlothian FC in Scotland, also earning a cap with Scotland’s national team. Battles holds the Hearts single-season scoring record with 44 goals, set in 1930-31.

TODAY IN NEW ENGLAND SOCCER HISTORY