Editing Fall River, Massachusetts (section)

==Soccer==
Fall River has a rich [[football (soccer)|soccer]] history. The game was first introduced to the city in the 1880s by immigrants from [[Lancashire]] and [[Glasgow]] who worked in the local [[textile industry]]. In later decades, the arrival of immigrants from [[Portugal]] helped to sustain the game's popularity. Between 1888 and 1892, teams from Fall River won the [[American Cup]] for five straight years. One of these teams, the [[Fall River Rovers]], also won the [[1917 National Challenge Cup]]. The star and captain of the team was local-born [[Thomas Swords]], who in 1916 captained the [[United States men's national soccer team|United States]] in their first official international.

During the 1920s and early 1930s, the [[Fall River F.C. (1922–1931)|Fall River F.C.]] of Sam Mark were one of the most successful soccer clubs in the United States and were [[List of American and Canadian soccer champions|American soccer champions]] on seven occasions. A subsequent [[Fall River F.C. (1932)|Fall River F.C.]], were champions in 1932.

The 'Marksmen' won the [[National Challenge Cup]] four times. Among their most notable players were [[Billy Gonsalves]] and [[Bert Patenaude]], who were both raised in Fall River. Both played for the [[United States men's national soccer team|United States]] at the [[1930 FIFA World Cup squads|first ever soccer World Cup]] in 1930. Patenaude is also credited with scoring the first ever [[hat-trick]] in World Cup history. He scored all three goals in the United States' 3–0 victory over [[Paraguay national football team|Paraguay]].

During the 1940s, [[Ponta Delgada S.C.]] became one of the most successful amateur teams in the United States. In 1947 the team was selected to represent the [[United States men's national soccer team|United States]] at the [[1947 NAFC Championship|North American soccer championship]]. In [[1950 FIFA World Cup squads|1950]], two of their local born players, [[Ed Souza]] and [[John Souza]], played at the [[1950 FIFA World Cup|World Cup]], helping the United States defeat [[England national football team|England]] [[England v United States (1950)|1–0]].<ref>''Soccer in a Football World - The Story of America's Forgotten Game'' (2006) : David Wangerin [https://www.amazon.com/dp/0954013476 amazon.com]</ref>

On January 18, 2011, [[Andrew Sousa]] was drafted by [[New England Revolution]], becoming the first ever Fall River native to play in [[Major League Soccer]].

In 2019, Fall River Football Club and Fall River Marksmen FC returned to the field after a long hiatus. Both clubs participated in the 1st annual Taça de Fall River, a Home & Away match series, with Fall River Football Club becoming the eventual winners.