When the United States team took part in the 1930 World Cup their squad contained two young players from Massachusetts club, Fall River Marksmen, Billy Gonsalves, and Bert Patenaude. They were instrumental in leading their country to the semi-final of the first ever World Cup.
Bert Patenaude made history when he scored the first ever hattrick in the World Cup against Paraguay on 17th July 1930. Billy Gonsalves is considered one of the greatest players in American soccer history. Recently, I wrote a collaborative piece about the pair and their emergence on the soccer scene with the Marksmen and the role they played on that US team that finished third in Uruguay. I did this with the help of James Brown @1930WorldCup, whose grandfather, Jim Brown, played on that same US team in Montevideo, and this article appears on the club website of the Fall River Marksmen.
Below you will find links to some of the sources used to write this piece entitled, Fall River's Greatest & The 1930 World Cup.
ICYMI check out the piece I co-wrote with @1930WorldCup about @FRMarksmen legends Billy Gonsalves & Bert Patenaude @soccerhof & the 1st #WorldCup with the @USMNT @USSoccerHistory @TomMcCabe5 @DrDKilpatrick https://t.co/AmYdWSAAuo— World Cup 1930 Project (@WC1930blogger) May 18, 2019
After a lot of debate with Colin Jose and research, thanks to @USSoccerHistory, @SoccerHistoryUS and @WC1930blogger, here is @1930WorldCup #usmnt player Billy Gonsalves' birth record that came to me from Fall River County Clerk's office. @FRMarksmen— 1930 US Soccer (@1930WorldCup) April 6, 2019
Born in Portsmouth, RI pic.twitter.com/8WXBQ4JNck
@soccermavn Billy Gonsalves profile, New York Evening Post, Feb. 16, 1931 pic.twitter.com/vUvZf4U69t— World Cup 1930 Project (@WC1930blogger) July 17, 2017
324 East Main St., Fall River, Ma. was the 1st home of one @USMNT legend Bert #Patenaude, b. Nov. 4 1909, whose hattrick vs Paraguay @1930WorldCup was the 1st in World Cup history. At the time Bert lived 1.6 miles from teammate Billy Gonsalves, on 156 Central St. @SoccerHistoryU pic.twitter.com/VmLLsLbk3S— World Cup 1930 Project (@WC1930blogger) March 24, 2019
How an irresponsible decision by a teenage Bert Patenaude changed his life and led him to write his name in history. On July 17th 1930, Patenaude scored the 1st ever hatrick in @FIFAWorldCup history in @ussoccer_mnt 3-0 victory over @Albirroja @1930WorldCup. Read short bio below. pic.twitter.com/0gPr3YHFyU— World Cup 1930 Project (@WC1930blogger) January 18, 2019
In this scene from the Serbian movie/tv series Montevideo Vidimo se!, the filmmakers play with the historical narrative of Bert Patenaude's @1930WorldCup hattrick. According they have him scoring 3 vs Belgium and not Paraguay. @FRMarksmen @sp1873 @aleyamgo https://t.co/Skk4XquO1H— World Cup 1930 Project (@WC1930blogger) April 17, 2019
So, because of a lack of promised pay from the Irish-Americans Club and followed suspension, Bert Patenaude, @USMNT and stellar hat-tricker from the @1930WorldCup, didn't get selected for the 1934 World Cup squad. @soccerhof @USSoccerHistory pic.twitter.com/uRNq0U5qZ0— 1930 US Soccer (@1930WorldCup) May 3, 2019