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Above, a New York Times headline reporting on the melee that broke out on Patriot's Day, 1927 in Malden when Uruguayan national team was beaten by the Boston team.
In honor of, and in coordination with the World Cup matches being held at 'Boston Stadium' in nearby Foxborough, Mass., the Franklin Historical Museum is hosting two days of activities related to the history of soccer in America, with a particular focus on early foot ball activities in Boston (the Oneida Football Club). and Massachusetts in general.
On Saturday, June 13 -- Welcome FIFA!
For those in the area, the museum will host a selection of short films on soccer history and a poster board display of some newspaper stories highlighting the early years of soccer regionally (such as the 1923 headline from Fall River, below) and in Franklin. The Museum is open from 10 to 1.
The `Main Event' will be Sunday, June 14, when the museum presents "Roots and Branches: A Panel on the Deep Soccer History of MA"
The Franklin Historical Museum is hosting a World Class array of experts to delve into the rich, regional history of soccer, which includes the Oneida Football Club that inaugurated organized "foot ball” of all kinds on American soil on Boston Common in 1862 as well as innumerable teams and players in Southeastern, Mass. This session will discuss the growth of soccer in the early part of the 20th century and the popularization of soccer in Franklin and in similar communities more recently.
The panelists start with a top-scoring FHS soccer player and long-time soccer coach, Rich Frongillo. Kristine Moore, a historian employed at the Patriot's Hall of fame, holds a Master's degree in Public/Applied History from Southern New Hampshire University and is an expert on the intertwined origins of US football and soccer, will also be attending as well as Dr. Kevin Tallec Marston, long-time Research Fellow & Lecturer with FIFA’s International Centre for Sport Studies (CIES) in Switzerland. He is also current president of the Society for American Soccer
History (SASH).
Other experts have been invited but have not yet confirmed their attendance.
Although Soccer (or football, as it is called outside of the US) has been extremely popular around the world, it is only in recent years that it has begun to achieve strong support nationally.
However, Massachusetts turns out to have been a proving ground and hotbed for more than 150 years, starting with the Oneida Football Club, whose pioneering role is honored with a granite marker on Boston Common (see below and see yesterday's NBC10 segment.)
The Museum opens at 1 and the program begins at 1:15 and will continue with a 15 minute break in the middle, until approximately 3:15. Informal conversations among panelists and visitors are encouraged thereafter. The museum will stay open an extra hour, until 5pm, to accommodate the event. The event is expected to be popular. Reserve Your Free Ticket HERE.
The
Franklin Historical Museum is located at 80 West Central Street,
Franklin, MA. The
museum is open Saturday mornings from 10AM-1PM and Sunday afternoons
from 1:00PM-4:00PM,. Questions? Contact Alan Earls at 508 560 3786.
Visit us online at https://www.franklinmuseum1778.org
