Ponta Delgada Soccer Club, also referred to as Fall River Ponta Delgada, was a

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

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 ...

club, based in

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 ...

. The club was formed by members of the city’s

Portuguese Portuguese may refer to: * anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Portugal ** Portuguese cuisine, traditional foods ** Portuguese language, a Romance language *** Portuguese dialects, variants of the Portuguese language ** Portu ...

community and shared its name with

Ponta Delgada Ponta Delgada (; ) is the largest municipality (''concelho'') and economic capital of the Autonomous Region of the Azores in Portugal. It is located on São Miguel Island, the largest and most populous in the archipelago. As of 2021, it has 67,28 ...

, the largest city of the

Azores ) , motto =( en, "Rather die free than subjected in peace") , anthem= ( en, "Anthem of the Azores") , image_map=Locator_map_of_Azores_in_EU.svg , map_alt=Location of the Azores within the European Union , map_caption=Location of the Azores wi ...

, an autonomous region of

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...

. During the 1930s, 1940s and 1950s they were one of the most successful amateur teams in the United States, winning the

National Amateur Cup The National Amateur Cup, also known as the USASA Amateur Cup, is an American soccer competition open to all amateur teams affiliated with the United States Soccer Federation through United States Adult Soccer Association (USASA). In 1923, U.S ...

six times. In 1947 they won the first-ever

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 ...

/ National Amateur Cup

double A double is a look-alike or doppelgänger; one person or being that resembles another. Double, The Double or Dubble may also refer to: Film and television * Double (filmmaking), someone who substitutes for the credited actor of a character * Th ...

. The same year their entire squad was selected en masse to represent the

at the inaugural North American soccer championship. Between 1951 and 1953 they also played in the American Soccer League. They played some home games at

Mark's Stadium Mark's Stadium is a former soccer stadium located in North Tiverton, Rhode Island. During the 1920s and early 1930s it was the home of Fall River Marksmen, one of the era’s most successful soccer teams. It is one of the earliest examples of a ...

North Tiverton, Rhode Island North is one of the four compass points or cardinal directions. It is the opposite of south and is perpendicular to east and west. ''North'' is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating direction or geography. Etymology The word ''north'' is ...

, previously the home of

Fall River F.C. Fall River Football Club, also referred to as Fall River Field Club, was the name used by two United States soccer clubs, based in Fall River, Massachusetts. Both played in the American Soccer League during the early 1930s. The name is often used ...

. Like the 'Marksmen', they did this to avoid the

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 ...

Blue Law Blue laws, also known as Sunday laws, Sunday trade laws and Sunday closing laws, are laws restricting or banning certain activities on specified days, usually Sundays in the western world. The laws were adopted originally for religious reasons ...

s that prevented them from playing Sunday games.

History

Golden era

Ponta Delgada first came to national attention when they won the

in 1938, beating Pittsburgh Heidelberg 2-1 in the final on May 1. However, it was during the 1940s and 1950s, inspired by the unrelated

John Souza John Souza-Benavides (July 12, 1920 – March 11, 2012) known as John "Clarkie" Souza, was an American soccer player who earned 14 caps and scored 2 goals for the United States men's national soccer team, and played in the U.S. team's histori ...

and

Ed Souza Edward Souza-Neto (September 22, 1921 – May 19, 1979) was an American soccer player who earned at least 7 caps and scored 3 goals for the United States men's national soccer team, and played in the U.S. team's historic 1–0 victory over Eng ...

, that the club enjoyed its golden era. They won the Amateur Cup three times in a row between 1946 and 1948 and then again in 1950 and 1953. They also reached three

finals, winning the competition in 1947. In July 1946 Ponta Delgada played in the finals of both the Challenge Cup and the Amateur Cup. On July 7 they played Chicago Vikings at

holding them to 1-1 draw. However, on July 14 at

Comiskey Park Comiskey Park was a baseball park in Chicago, Illinois, located in the Armour Square neighborhood on the near-southwest side of the city. The stadium served as the home of the Chicago White Sox of the American League from 1910 through 1990. Buil ...

they lost the return game 2-1. On July 21 they gained some consolation when beat Castle Shannon of Pittsburgh 5-2 in the final of the Amateur Cup. In 1947 Ponta Delgada again reached the final of both competitions, and this time they won the first ever Challenge Cup/Amateur Cup

. On May 24 in the Amateur final,

scored five goals as they beat St. Louis Carondelets 10-1. This should have been the first leg of a two-game series but a second game was never played. On August 31, in the first leg of the Challenge final, they defeated Chicago Sparta 6-1 at home with

scoring another two goals.

Joe Ferreira Joseph Ferreira (December 15, 1916, Fall River, Massachusetts – June 10, 2007, Fall River, Massachusetts) was a U.S. soccer player. He earned three caps with the U.S. national team between 1947 and 1948. Club career Ferreira began his career w ...

Ed Valentine Ed Valentine is a former U.S. soccer player who played with the amateur Fall River, Massachusetts-based club Ponta Delgada S.C. in the mid to late 1940s. Ponta Delgado was runner up in the 1946 National Challenge Cup. The next year, the team won ...

, and

also scored that day. On September 7 they completed the double when they won the away leg 3-2 with goals from Valentine, Ferreira and Jim Delgado. In 1948 they completed another

when they won both the National Soccer League of New England and their third Amateur Cup in three years after beating Pittsburgh Curry Vets 4-1 in the final on May 23. In 1950 Ponta Delgada once again reached the finals of both the Challenge Cup and the Amateur Cup. On April 22 in the first leg of the Challenge final they lost 2-0 to

St. Louis Simpkins-Ford St. Louis Simpkins-Ford ''(also known as Simpkins)'' was a U.S. amateur soccer team based in St. Louis, Missouri from 1947 to 1956. It won three league championships and the 1948 and 1950 National Challenge Cups, and lost in the finals of the 1954 ...

. Then on May 7 they held them to a 1-1 draw with

once again on the score sheet. However the St. Louis club won the competition on aggregate. On May 15 in the Amateur final they lost the first-leg 1-0 to

Pittsburgh Harmarville The Harmarville Hurricanes Soccer Club were an amateur soccer club from Harmarville, Pennsylvania, a suburb of Pittsburgh, that twice won the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup, known then as the National Challenge Cup, in 1952 and 1956. They also played in ...

but on May 21 they won their fifth Amateur title when they won the return game 4-1. This time Ed Souza scored a

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 ...

. The 1951-52 and 1952-53 seasons saw Ponta Delgada join the American Soccer League, playing in the New England Division together with Fall River S.C. In 1953 they were division champions, narrowly finishing above second placed

Ludlow Lusitano Gremio Lusitano is an amateur soccer team from Ludlow, Massachusetts. Founded in 1922 in a garage on Franklin Street, the team had competed for several seasons during the 1930s in the New England Division of the American Soccer League, but for m ...

. On May 2, 1953 they completed a league and cup

when

scored both goals in a 2-0 win against Chicago Slovaks in the Amateur Cup final.

National team

In 1947, after Ponta Delgada won the

, the team was selected en masse to represent the

at the North American soccer championship where they played 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 ...

and the host team,

Cuba Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribbea ...

. Despite their cup successes at home, they lost 5-0 and 5-2 respectively. Although representing their national team, Ponta Delgada had to pay for the trip themselves.''Soccer in a Football World - The Story of America’s Forgotten Game'' (2006) : David Wangeri

/ref> Several players in the Ponta Delgada team went on to become established members of the national team.

Joseph Rego-Costa Joseph Rego-Costa (July 3, 1919, in Fall River, Massachusetts – April 27, 2002, in Fall River, Massachusetts) was a U.S. soccer right halfback who earned four caps with the United States and was the captain of the team at the 1948 Summer Olympi ...

captained the

at the

1948 Summer Olympics The 1948 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XIV Olympiad and also known as London 1948) were an international multi-sport event held from 29 July to 14 August 1948 in London, England, United Kingdom. Following a twelve-year hiatus ca ...

. This team included Manuel Martin,

, and

. Both Ed Souza and John Souza also played in the

1950 World Cup The 1950 FIFA World Cup was the fourth edition of the FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international football championship for senior men's national teams and held in Brazil from 24 June to 16 July 1950. The planned 1942 and 1946 World Cups were ...

, including the 1-0 win against

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

Notable former players

Former managers

* Joe Barboza

Honors

**''Winners'' 1947: 1 **''Runners Up'' 1946, 1950: 2 *

**''Winners'' 1938, 1946, 1947, 1948, 1950, 1953: 6 *National Soccer League of New England **''Winners'' 1948: 1 * American Soccer League **New England Division ''Winners'' 1952-53: 1

References

{{USOC winners Soccer clubs in Fall River, Massachusetts History of the United States men's national soccer team Defunct soccer clubs in Massachusetts American Soccer League (1933–1983) teams Portuguese-American culture in Massachusetts U.S. Open Cup winners