Thomas Swords (October 2, 1885 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 ...

– March 29, 1953, in Fall River, Massachusetts) was an American soccer forward, who served as captain of the U.S. national team in its first two games. He is a member of the

National 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 in Frisco, Texas, a suburb of Dallas. The Hall of Fame honors soccer achievements in the United States. Induction ...

Club career

Swords was born and grew up in

, US, an early hotbed of U.S. soccer. In 1903, Swords joined Whittenton Athletic Club of

Taunton, Massachusetts Taunton is a city in Bristol County, Massachusetts, Bristol County, Massachusetts, United States. It is the county seat, seat of Bristol County. Taunton is situated on the Taunton River which winds its way through the city on its way to Mount ...

. After one season, he jumped to his hometown-based

Fall River Rovers Fall River Rovers were a United States soccer club, based in Fall River, Massachusetts. They won the 1888 and 1889 American Cups as well as the 1917 National Challenge Cup. In 1921 Rovers were disbanded and a new team, Fall River United were for ...

of the New England League. In 1909, the Rovers won the league title. In 1910, he moved to the

Philadelphia Hibernian Philadelphia Hibernian, also known as Hibernian F.C., was an early twentieth century U.S. soccer team which played in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. History According to Dave Litterer, “Philadelphia Hibernian was a perennial powerhouse in the Philad ...

of the

Eastern Soccer League Eastern may refer to: Transportation *China Eastern Airlines, a current Chinese airline based in Shanghai * Eastern Air, former name of Zambia Skyways * Eastern Air Lines, a defunct American airline that operated from 1926 to 1991 * Eastern Air ...

. After two seasons, he moved to the

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 ...

for the 1913 season. However, he was back with the Fall River Rovers in 1914 and would remain with the team until he retired in 1920. During his second stint with the Rovers, Swords experienced some of his greatest achievements when the team went to three consecutive

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 ...

finals between 1916 and 1918. In

1916 Events Below, the events of the First World War have the "WWI" prefix. January * January 1 – The British Royal Army Medical Corps carries out the first successful blood transfusion, using blood that had been stored and cooled. * ...

, the team fell to

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 ...

. Then in

1917 Events Below, the events of World War I have the "WWI" prefix. January * January 9 – WWI – Battle of Rafa: The last substantial Ottoman Army garrison on the Sinai Peninsula is captured by the Egyptian Expeditionary Force's ...

, they gained revenge when they defeated Bethlehem to take the Cup title. The two teams met again in

1918 This year is noted for the end of the First World War, on the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month, as well as for the Spanish flu pandemic that killed 50–100 million people worldwide. Events Below, the events ...

. This time Bethlehem won in a replay after the two teams played to a 2–2 tie in the first game. In this second game, Swords did not shine as his brutal tackle knocked out the Bethlehem goalkeeper.

National team

In 1916, the

United States Football Association 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 ...

(USFA) recruited a team, called the All-American Soccer Football Team, to represent the U.S. on a tour of Scandinavian countries. At the time, these countries and the U.S. were all neutral during the ongoing

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 ...

. Thomas Swords was selected as the team captain. During the six game tour, the U.S. played two recognized international games, one on August 21, 1916, against

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...

and another on September 3, 1916, against

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...

. There are disagreements about who scored the first national team goals. The

lists

Dick Spalding Charles Harry "Dick" Spalding (October 13, 1893 – February 3, 1950) was an American soccer and baseball player. 'C.H.', as he also was nicknamed, played the first two games in the history of the U.S. national soccer team and competed in profe ...

, but other sources state that Swords scored an unassisted goal against Sweden."American Soccer Team Wins At Stockholm". (August 21, 1916). ''Boston Globe'', p.7 col.7 He was inducted into the

in 1951.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Swords, Thomas 1953 deaths American men's soccer players Men's association football forwards Fall River Rovers players National Soccer Hall of Fame members New Bedford Whalers players Philadelphia Hibernian players Soccer players from Massachusetts Southern New England Soccer League players Sportspeople from Fall River, Massachusetts United States men's international soccer players 1885 births