New York Yankees were a New York soccer team that played briefly in the American Soccer League. They were formed following the merger of

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 ...

and

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 ...

. Although the Yankees survived only a short time, they beat Celtic in a prestige friendly and effectively won the

1931 National Challenge Cup The 1931 National Challenge Cup was the annual open cup held by the United States Football Association now known as the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup. History By the spring of 1931, the twin ravages of the Great Depression and the "Soccer Wars" had t ...

. However, due to complications over the merger their moment of glory was credited to the Fall River Marksmen.

History

were originally one of the most successful early United States soccer clubs. However by 1931 they were suffering financially and

Sam Mark Sam Mark (born Markelevitch in Fall River, Massachusetts) is a former United States soccer club owner. During the 1920s and early 1930s he was the owner of Fall River Marksmen, one of the era's most successful teams. Mark's continued to own the tea ...

, owner of the franchise, moved the club to New York, hoping that a new market there would be more lucrative. Once there he merged the club with

and renamed them the Yankees. New York Soccer Club had previously played as New York Giants. Before the merger was finalized however,

had entered the

. After the merger, the new club was unable to re-register for the competition, so they continued to play in the Challenge Cup as the ''Fall River Marksmen''. With a team featuring Billy Gonsalves and

Bert Patenaude Bertrand "Bert" Arthur Patenaude (; November 4, 1909November 4, 1974) was an American soccer player who played as a forward. Although it was formerly disputed, he is now officially credited by FIFA as scorer of the first hat-trick in the World ...

they eventually beat Chicago Bricklayers in a final played as a three game series. At the same time they also competed in the Spring 1931 American Soccer League as the ''New York Yankees'', finishing in third place. In the Summer of 1931 a Yankees team featuring Gonsalves, Patenaude and George Moorhouse twice played Celtic in friendlies. On May 30 at

Fenway Park Fenway Park is a baseball stadium located in Boston, Massachusetts, United States, near Kenmore Square. Since 1912, it has been the home of the Boston Red Sox, the city's American League baseball team, and since 1953, its only Major League Bas ...

, Gonsalves 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 ...

as the Yankees won 4-3. However on June 28 at

Yankee Stadium Yankee Stadium is a baseball stadium located in the Bronx, New York City. It is the home field of the New York Yankees of Major League Baseball, and New York City FC of Major League Soccer. Opened in April 2009, the stadium replaced the orig ...

, Celtic avenged the defeat and won 4-1. The relocation to New York was not a financial success and in Fall 1931,

relocated his team once again, this time to New Bedford, Massachusetts where they became

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 ...

Year-by-year

Notable players

{{see also, New York Yankees (soccer) players

Honors

* National Challenge Cup **''Winners''

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 ...

: 1Credited to

became of registration issues

References

New York Giants (soccer) Fall River Marksmen

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

Defunct soccer clubs in New York (state) American Soccer League (1921–1933) teams 1931 disestablishments in New York (state) 1930 establishments in New York (state) Association football clubs established in 1930 Association football clubs disestablished in 1931