#TBT: Giants Beaten By Marksmen in Fast Soccer Match (2/6/1927)
- Updated: February 5, 2015
Photo credit: The Fall River Globe
Welcome back to the latest edition of “Throwback Thursday,” where we take a trip back in time every week to spotlight some of the clubs that made their mark on the New England soccer landscape over the past century.
This week, we venture back to a Feb. 6, 1927 American Soccer League confrontation between the Fall River Marksmen and the New York Giants at Mark’s Stadium. The hosts entered the match fresh off a 2-1 win over J & P Coats, while the guests arrived at Mark’s Stadium with their heads held high after grabbing a 1-0 win over the Boston Wonder Workers the day before.
Note: All information provided in the following game report was drawn from the Feb. 7, 1927 editions of The Fall River Evening Herald and The Fall River Globe.
February 6, 1927
GIANTS BEATEN BY MARKSMEN IN FAST SOCCER MATCH
FALL RIVER PLAYS SPEEDY FOOTBALL
Bobby Rock Shows Well at Center Foward. Gets One Goal — Campbell and Kelly Noth the Others –Score 3 to 2.
NORTH TIVERTON, R.I. – Days after Bobby Rock returned from his loan to J & P Coats, the center forward wasted no time re-acclimating himself as the Fall River Marksmen outlast the New York Giants 3-2 at Mark’s Stadium on Sunday.
Rock, who spent much of the 1926-27 season with the Pawtucket outfit, was brought back after a stellar cameo with the Marksmen in a friendly the week before. He opened the account in the first minute, while teammate Dougie Campbell scored in the 41st minute. Mortiz Hauesler answered Rock’s strike in the 30th minute, and ASL leading scorer Davy Brown tallied in the 61st minute. But Jimmy Kelly scored the winner in the 78th minute.
The home crowd warmly embraced Rock when he stepped onto the pitch, and the center forward rewarded his supporters by breaking through almost immediately. Davy McEachran raced along the edge, then cut inside and fired a shot that seemed destined to stray wide of the far post. But Rock raced onto it and shook the curtains to give the hosts the lead in the first minute.
The locals, though, knew that the Giants would eventually return fire, which they did at the half-hour mark. After stopping a number of shots from the New York aggregation, there was nothing goalkeeper Findlay Kerr could do when Hausler rose to meet a cross from Brown and glanced it off Hughie Coyle before it trickled through.
But the Marksmen reclaimed the lead before the half. Despite sporting a severe gash on his head – the result of a collision with Hans Tandler earlier in the half – the bandaged Rock sent a pass across for Campbell, who drilled his shot well out of the reach of Geudert in the 41st minute.
Brown answered the bell for the Giants – and with the help of yet another fortuitous deflection off a Fall River defender. After latching onto a pass from Hierlander, the leading scorer sent a shot goalward that caromed off of Charlie McGill and caught Kerr flat-footed before it easily fell into the back of the net 16 minutes inside the of the second half.
Not long after, Brown made an appeal for a penalty after he made contact with Johnny Caldwell. But referee Walders judged it accidental, and play continued on.
No doubt the match was living up to its hype, with both sides making runs into their adversary’s half. But the Marksmen made their efforts count in 78th minute. McEachran beat Joe Reynolds on the left and in a last-ditch attempt to prevent a breach, the Giants right fullback cut him down with a ragged two-footed tackle just before the box. The foul forced McEachran off the pitch, but Coyle’s subsequent free kick allowed Kelly to secure the winner.
McEachran’s injury left the hosts to finish the match with 10 men.
The summary:
Fall River Giants
Kerr, g…..g,Geudert
McGill, rfb….rfb, Tandler, Reynolds
Gibson, lfb…..lfb, Moorehouse
McPherson, rhb….rhb, Herd, Pollack
Caldwell, chb….chb, Guttman
Coyle, lhb….lhb, McKinney
Campbell, orf….orf, Hierlander
White, irf….if, Hauesler
Rock, Peterson, cf….cf, Brown
Kelly, ilf….ifl, Gruenwald
McEachran, olf….olf, Horne
Score – Fall River 3, New York 2. Goals scored – by Rock, Campbell, Kelly, Hauesler, Brown. Refere – Walders. Linesmen – Norse and Lethbridge. Time – 45-minute halves.
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