Bertrand "Bert" Arthur Patenaude (; November 4, 1909November 4, 1974) was an American

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 around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...

player who played as a

forward Forward is a relative direction, the opposite of backward. Forward may also refer to: People * Forward (surname) Sports * Forward (association football) * Forward (basketball), including: ** Point forward ** Power forward (basketball) ** Sm ...

. Although it was formerly disputed, he is now officially credited by

FIFA FIFA (; stands for ''Fédération Internationale de Football Association'' ( French), meaning International Association Football Federation ) is the international governing body of association football, beach football and futsal. It was found ...

as scorer of the first

hat-trick A hat-trick or hat trick is the achievement of a generally positive feat three times in a match, or another achievement based on the number three. Origin The term first appeared in 1858 in cricket, to describe H. H. Stephenson taking three wic ...

in the

World Cup A world cup is a global sporting competition in which the participant entities – usually international teams or individuals representing their countries – compete for the title of world champion. The event most associated with the concept i ...

history. He is a member of the United States Soccer Hall of Fame.

Club career

Born in

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett language, Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut assachusett writing systems, məhswatʃəwiːsət'' English: , ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is the most populous U.S. state, state in the New England ...

in 1909, Patenaude began playing in the competitive local leagues in his hometown of

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 H ...

. In 1928, he signed his first professional contract with Philadelphia Field Club of the American Soccer League. In his eight games with Philadelphia, he scored six goals. Despite this productivity, he moved to

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). The club ...

for one league game, then moved again to his hometown

Fall River Marksmen Fall River Marksmen was an American soccer club based in Fall River, Massachusetts. They originally played as Fall River United before becoming known as the Marksmen after their owner, Sam Mark. During the 1920s and early 1930s they were one of t ...

. While playing with the Marksmen, Patenaude formed a lethal striking partnership with another local Massachusetts player, Billy Gonsalves (scoring 112 goals in 114 appearances with the Massachusetts club). He remained in Fall River until the summer of 1930, winning the 1930

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. O ...

before moving to the

Newark Americans Newark Americans were a team in the first American Soccer League (1921-1933), American Soccer League. They were founded in 1930, but folded following the spring 1932 season. Year-by-year

Defunct soccer clubs in New Jersey American Soccer Le ...

. He scored seven goals in five games at the start of the 1930–1931 season, but found himself back with the Marksmen for the end of the season. In 1931, Fall River merged with the

New York Soccer Club New York Soccer Club ( Youth Soccer Team ) was the name of a New York soccer team that, in 1930, played briefly in the American Soccer League. In 1923, New York fur merchant Maurice Vandeweghe - the father and grandfather of later basketball stars ...

to form the

New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Amer ...

. However, Fall River had already begun playing National Cup games. Therefore, while the Yankees won the National Cup, the records show the winner as Fall River. In the cup championship, Patenaude scored five goals in the Yankees' 6–2 first game victory over Chicago's

Bricklayers and Masons F.C. Bricklayers and Masons F.C., also known as Chicago Bricklayers, was a U.S. soccer team based in Chicago, Illinois which joined that city's Association Football League in 1914. Over the next twenty years, Bricklayers won two Peel Cups and was the ...

Patenaude remained with the Yankees through the spring of 1931. That same year, the Yankees moved to

New Bedford, Massachusetts New Bedford (Massachusett language, Massachusett: ) is a city in Bristol County, Massachusetts, Bristol County, Massachusetts. It is located on the Acushnet River in what is known as the South Coast (Massachusetts), South Coast region. Up throug ...

where the team took up the name of the defunct

New Bedford Whalers New Bedford Whalers was the name of three American soccer teams based in New Bedford, Massachusetts. The first Whalers played in the Southern New England Soccer League between 1914 and 1918. The second Whalers played in the American Soccer League ...

. The ASL was collapsing by the fall of 1931 and records are incomplete, but it appears that in 1933, Patenaude signed with the

Philadelphia German-Americans Philadelphia German-American was an American soccer club based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania that was an inaugural member of the professional American Soccer League. Before the 1941/42 season the club became known as the Philadelphia Americans. ...

of the second American Soccer League. In 1934, Patenaude moved west to sign with St. Louis Central Breweries of the

St. Louis Soccer League The St. Louis Soccer League was based in St. Louis, Missouri and existed from 1915 to 1938. At its founding, it was the only fully professional soccer league in the United States. The league was founded from two teams from the St. Louis Soccer F ...

, at that point the only professional league in the country. Central Breweries, stocked with future Hall of Famers, won the league and 1935

titles. In 1935, Central Breweries left the league, became an independent team and lost the sponsorship of the brewery. Patenaude remained with the team, now called the St. Louis Shamrocks. In 1936, the Shamrocks went to the National Cup final before falling to the Philadelphia German-Americans. In 1936, Patenaude returned east where he played one season with Philadelphia Passon of the ASL before he disappeared from the professional scene. Patenaude returned to Fall River and worked in painting and carpentry until his death in 1974.

International career

In 1930, Patenaude was called into the U.S. national team for the

1930 FIFA World Cup The 1930 FIFA World Cup was the inaugural FIFA World Cup, the world championship for men's national football teams. It took place in Uruguay from 13 to 30 July 1930. FIFA, football's international governing body, selected Uruguay as host nation ...

. In that cup, he scored a goal in the U.S. opener against

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...

, then a hat trick in the 3–0 victory over

Paraguay Paraguay (; ), officially the Republic of Paraguay ( es, República del Paraguay, links=no; gn, Tavakuairetã Paraguái, links=si), is a landlocked country in South America. It is bordered by Argentina to the south and southwest, Brazil to th ...

. Following the U.S. elimination by

Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...

in the semifinals, the U.S. went on an exhibition tour of South America, ending with a 4–3 loss to

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

in which Patenaude scored his sixth and final U.S. goal and never again appeared with the national setup. Patenaude's record of four goals in one World Cup remains the standard for an American player. Additionally, his total stood as the all-time career mark for an American player until Landon Donovan notched his third, fourth, and fifth career World Cup goals at the 2010 edition.

World Cup hat-trick

Patenaude's historic day came on July 17, 1930, as the United States played

in the inaugural World Cup. Patenaude scored the opening goal in the tenth minute. A second goal in the fifteenth minute had been credited several different ways: as an own goal by Aurelio González (according to the RSSSF), a regular goal by the U.S.'s

Tom Florie Thomas Florie (September 6, 1897 – April 26, 1966) was an American soccer forward. He played in both the first and second American Soccer Leagues, winning two National Challenge Cup titles. Florie was also a member of the United States men ...

(according to the official FIFA match record), or as Patenaude's second goal (according to the

United States Soccer Federation The United States Soccer Federation (USSF), commonly referred to as U.S. Soccer, is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization and the official governing body of the sport of soccer in the United States. Headquartered in Chicago, the federation is ...

). A fiftieth-minute goal by Patenaude gave the U.S. a 3–0 win over the South Americans. The dispute and discrepancies over the second goal had led to confusion over the first-ever World Cup hat-trick, as Argentina's

Guillermo Stábile Guillermo Stábile (17 January 1905 – 26 December 1966) was an Argentine professional football player and manager who played as a centre forward. At club level, Stábile won two national championships with Huracán and played in Italy and Fran ...

scored one against

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

just two days after the U.S.-Paraguay game. However, FIFA announced on November 10, 2006, that Patenaude was the first person to score a hat-trick in World Cup play, confirming that he scored all three goals. Patenaude was inducted into the

U.S. Soccer Hall of Fame The National Soccer Hall of Fame is a private, non-profit institution established in 1979 and currently located in Toyota Stadium (Texas), Toyota Stadium in Frisco, Texas, a suburb of Dallas. The Hall of Fame honors Association football, soccer ...

in 1971. He died in Fall River on his sixty-fifth birthday.

Career statistics

:''Scores and results list the United States' goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Patenaude goal.''

Honors

Fall River Marksmen * American Soccer League: 1928–29,

1929 This year marked the end of a period known in American history as the Roaring Twenties after the Wall Street Crash of 1929 ushered in a worldwide Great Depression. In the Americas, an agreement was brokered to end the Cristero War, a Catholic ...

1930 Events January * January 15 – The Moon moves into its nearest point to Earth, called perigee, at the same time as its fullest phase of the Lunar Cycle. This is the closest moon distance at in recent history, and the next one will be ...

1931 Events January * January 2 – South Dakota native Ernest Lawrence invents the cyclotron, used to accelerate particles to study nuclear physics. * January 4 – German pilot Elly Beinhorn begins her flight to Africa. * January 22 – Sir I ...

St. Louis Central Breweries *

1935 Events January * January 7 – Italian premier Benito Mussolini and French Foreign Minister Pierre Laval conclude Franco-Italian Agreement of 1935, an agreement, in which each power agrees not to oppose the other's colonial claims. * ...

United States *

FIFA World Cup The FIFA World Cup, often simply called the World Cup, is an international association football competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the members of the ' ( FIFA), the sport's global governing body. The tournament ha ...

third place:

Individual *

FIFA World Cup Bronze Boot At the end of each FIFA World Cup final tournament, several awards are presented to the players and teams who have distinguished themselves in various aspects of the game. Awards *There are currently five post-tournament awards from the FIFA ...

: 1930 *

FIFA World Cup All-Star Team At the end of each FIFA World Cup final tournament, several awards are presented to the players and teams who have distinguished themselves in various aspects of the game. Awards *There are currently five post-tournament awards from the FIFA ...

: 1930 *

: 1971

References

External links

National Soccer Hall of Fame - Player Bio

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Patenaude, Bert 1909 births 1974 deaths 1930 FIFA World Cup players American people of French-Canadian descent National Soccer Hall of Fame members Sportspeople from Fall River, Massachusetts Soccer players from Massachusetts United States men's international soccer players American Soccer League (1921–1933) players Philadelphia Field Club players J&P Coats players Fall River Marksmen players Newark Americans players New York Yankees (soccer) players New York Giants (soccer, 1930–1932) players American Soccer League (1933–1983) players Philadelphia Nationals players Uhrik Truckers players St. Louis Soccer League players St. Louis Central Breweries players St. Louis Shamrocks players Association football forwards American soccer players