Sam Fletcher (1890 – 22 January 1972) was an English

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby le ...

who played as a full back in England, Canada and the United States. He later coached the

Brown University Brown University is a private research university in Providence, Rhode Island. Brown is the seventh-oldest institution of higher education in the United States, founded in 1764 as the College in the English Colony of Rhode Island and Providenc ...

soccer team.

Player

Fletcher began his career in England, playing in the Manchester and District League. The League was experiencing difficulties which led to its suspending operations in 1912. Before that happened, Fletcher left England and emigrated to Canada in 1910. He settled in

Hamilton, Ontario Hamilton is a port city in the Canadian province of Ontario. Hamilton has a population of 569,353, and its census metropolitan area, which includes Burlington and Grimsby, has a population of 785,184. The city is approximately southwest of T ...

where he played for several teams including the Independent Labour Party Team and Hamilton Lancashire. At some point, he moved to the Niagara Falls Rangers which went to the semifinals of the 1914 National Challenge Cup. In October 1914, he signed with

Bethlehem Steel The Bethlehem Steel Corporation was an American steelmaking company headquartered in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. For most of the 20th century, it was one of the world's largest steel producing and shipbuilding companies. At the height of its succe ...

, a powerhouse team playing in the Allied American Foot Ball League. He remained with Bethlehem for seven seasons. During those years, Fletcher and

Jock Ferguson John Ferguson (September 17, 1887 – September 19, 1973) was a football (soccer) Defender (association football), full back. He began his career in Scotland before moving to England, then the United States. He earned one cap (sports), cap with ...

anchored the Steelmen defense, taking the team to six league titles, four

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 ...

s and four

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 ...

s. In 1921, Fletcher left Bethlehem with the establishment of the first American Soccer League. He signed with

Harrison S.C. Harrison Soccer Club, also referred to as Harrison F.C., was an American soccer club founded as the amateur Erie Athletic Association Football Club that played in the National Association Foot Ball League. As Erie A.A., the club was based in Kearny, ...

and spent two seasons with the team before moving to the

Newark Skeeters The Newark Skeeters was an American soccer club based in Newark, New Jersey and was a member of the American Soccer League and the Eastern Soccer League. History In December 1924, Tom Adam, former manager of West Hudson A.A., became the manage ...

for the 1923–24 season. In 1924, he became the player-coach of the expansion

Providence F.C. The Providence Clamdiggers was a member of the American Soccer League. They were renamed the Providence Gold Bugs before the spring half of the 1928–1929 season. The club won the American Soccer Association Cup in 1929. After the fall 1930 s ...

In 1928, the team was renamed the Gold Bugs under new ownership. Fletcher played two games that season, then retired.

Coach

In July 1924, Fletcher was hired to coach the newly established

He headed the team for at least four seasons. In 1925, he added duties coaching the

soccer team to his professional responsibilities. He held that position until

Joe Kennaway James T. Kennaway (25 January 1907 – 7 March 1969), commonly known as Joe Kennaway, was a dual international (Canada and Scotland) association football, football goalkeeper (football), goalkeeper. He began his career in Canada, spent four years ...

replaced him in 1946.Encyclopedia Brunoniana: Soccer
/ref> In addition to playing and coaching, Fletcher was also the ASL secretary in the early 1930s.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Fletcher, Sam 1890 births 1972 deaths English footballers American Soccer League (1921–1933) coaches American Soccer League (1921–1933) players Bethlehem Steel F.C. (1907–1930) players Brown Bears men's soccer coaches Harrison S.C. players National Association Football League players Newark Skeeters players Niagara Falls Rangers players Providence F.C. players Providence Gold Bug players Sportspeople from Cranston, Rhode Island Footballers from Manchester Men's association football defenders English expatriate sportspeople in the United States Expatriate soccer players in the United States English expatriate footballers English football managers