Nationals win Lewis Cup in third game of series at Hawthorne Field, Brooklyn. Note: All of the starters in this game were foreign-born, many having performed professionally in England and Scotland. But U.S.-born players were beginning to emerge on the professional scene, New Bedford’s Arnie Oliver coming on as a second half substitute. Oliver, 21, would be named to the U.S. national team for the 1930 World Cup. Fall River’s Bert Patenaude, 20, would complete the World Cup’s first hat trick, Billy Gonsalves starring and Providence’s Tommy Florie captaining the U.S. team. [Read more…] about Feb. 3, 1929 – New York Nationals 4:2 [8:6 aggregate] New Bedford Whalers (Att.: 4,000)
Arnie Oliver
Oct. 23, 1930 – Hakoah All-Stars 0:3 (1:5 aggregate) Fall River Marksmen. Lewis Cup final at Polo Grounds (Att.: 2,500)
Billy Gonsalves scored twice and Arnie Oliver once for the Marksmen, whose goalkeeper was future Boston Red Sox first baseman Johnny Reder. Gonsalves (b. Aug. 10, 1908 in Portsmouth, R.I.) and Oliver (b. May 22, 1907 in New Bedford, Mass.) were members of the U.S. national team that reached the semifinals of the 1930 World Cup in Uruguay. The U.S. team also included forwards James Brown, 21, who would go on to play and coach in Connecticut and Fall River’s Bert Patenaude, 20, the first player to complete a hat trick in the World Cup, plus team captain Tom Florie of Providence. [Read more…] about Oct. 23, 1930 – Hakoah All-Stars 0:3 (1:5 aggregate) Fall River Marksmen. Lewis Cup final at Polo Grounds (Att.: 2,500)
Feb. 5, 1928 – Providence Clamdiggers 3×1 J&P Coats
Soccer was thriving and the U.S. was producing goal-scorers during the 1927-28 American Soccer League season. In this game, Tommy Florie would score Providence’s third goal on an 82nd-minute penalty kick and New Bedford-born Arnie Oliver would convert for the “JayPees.” Both Florie and Oliver led their team in scoring that season, and went on to join the U.S. national team for the first World Cup in 1930 in Uruguay.
Three of the ASL’s top eight scorers were U.S.-born, and others, such as Johnny Nelson and Archie Stark, had moved to the U.S. as teenagers. [Read more…] about Feb. 5, 1928 – Providence Clamdiggers 3×1 J&P Coats
Feb. 3, 1929 – New York Nationals win Lewis Cup
The Nationals and New Bedford Whalers were even, 4-4, on aggregate, so this was the deciding match, staged “before an enthusiastic crowd of 4,000 fans at Hawthorne Field in Brooklyn,” according to The Boston Globe account. The Nationals took a 4-2 victory, the Whalers squandering the advantage after a scoreless first half.
New Bedford was led by 40-year-old Sam Chedgzoy, a star at Everton and with the England national team, plus Jeremiah Best (formerly of Newcastle and Leeds United) and Scottish international Jimmy Howieson. The Whalers’ center half was Jimmy Montgomerie, who in late February would play in his 200th consecutive American Soccer League match (he totaled 303 career games). [Read more…] about Feb. 3, 1929 – New York Nationals win Lewis Cup