Fore River (also known as the Fore River Shipbuilding Company Stars) was an amateur U.S. soccer team which had its origins as the

Fore River Shipbuilding Fore River Shipyard was a shipyard owned by General Dynamics Corporation located on Weymouth Fore River in Braintree and Quincy, Massachusetts. It began operations in 1883 in Braintree, and moved to its final location on Quincy Point in 1901. In ...

company team of Quincy, Massachusetts.

History

Early team records are spotty, but the team existed at least as early as 1907 Apparently, the team played in a series of local amateur leagues, including the New England League (NEL) which featured several of the better U.S. teams of that era. The only year for which NEL standings exist are 1908-1909 when Fore River finished fourth. In 1915, the team won the Massachusetts State Cup with a victory over Lynne Fosse F.C. They won a second cup title in 1919 and its third in 1921. In 1915, Fore River entered the

Southern New England Soccer League The Southern New England Soccer League was a semi-professional soccer league based in New England which was established in 1914 and collapsed in 1921. During its short existence, it featured some of the top teams in the northeast United States. ...

(SNESL). This amateur league attempted to create a viable league which spanned an area larger than that covered by most city leagues. In its first season in the league, Fore River topped the standings when the remainder of the season was canceled due to numerous weather cancelations. In 1918, the league suspended operations as a result of the loss of players to military service in

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. Fore River then moved to the Boston League for the 1918-1919 season. Fore River returned to the SNESL in 1919, but there are no records for this season. The team reached its greatest success in the 1920-1921 season. It won the league title, reached the final of the

American Cup The American Cup (also known as the American Football Association Cup and the American Federation Cup) was the first major U.S. soccer competition open to teams beyond a single league. It was first held in 1885. In the 1910s, it gradually dec ...

and went to the fifth round of the National Challenge Cup. However, the creation of the American Soccer League (ASL) led to the collapse of both the SNESL and the

National Association Football League The National Association Football League (also spelled ''National Association Foot Ball League'') (NAFBL) was a semi-professional U.S. soccer league which operated between 1895 and 1898. The league was reconstituted in 1906 and continued to oper ...

when several top teams from both leagues defected to the ASL.

Year-by-year

Honors

:* Runner Up (1): 1921 National Challenge Cup :* Runner Up (1): 1920 Massachusetts State Cup :* Winner (3): 1914, 1919, 1921 League Championship :* Winner (3): 1916, 1919, 1921

External links

Southern New England Soccer League standings

References

{{Reflist Defunct soccer clubs in Massachusetts Southern New England Soccer League teams Fore River Shipyard