| Full name | Clark ONT F.B.C. | |
|---|---|---|
| Founded | 1883 | |
| Dissolved | ? | |
| Coach-Captain | Harry Holden | |
| League | AFA | |
Clark Our New Thread, mostly known as Clark O.N.T. was a U.S. soccer team sponsored by the Clark Thread Company. The team competed in the annual American Cup, winning the first three championships. Beside Fall River Rovers, they are considered the most successful clubs in the late 1880s in American soccer. [1]
Established November 15, 1883 [2] at a meeting of 150 employees, the first president and vice-president elected were Campbell Clark and William Clark Jr. respectively. The Clark Thread Company originally named its soccer team "Clark Our New Thread" (Clark O.N.T.) as part of a marketing campaign introducing a new product. [3]
As the product became established, the company renamed its athletic team to the simpler Clark A.A. [4] While the Clark Thread Company factory was originally located in Newark, on the west bank of the Passaic River, the team played at Clark Field located on the east side of the river, an area known as East Newark.
The team began play in February 1884 and later won the first American Cup which kicked off in late October of that year. After winning the first cup, Clark O.N.T. went on a 11-game tour of Canada, winning 9 games, losing 1 game, and drawing one game. It went on to win the next two American Cup championships, [5] giving it the right to call itself the first U.S. soccer dynasty. Their second title followed a successful baseball campaign in which they won the Essex League championship. The cricket season was much less successful however, finishing with a record of 2 wins and 9 losses with 2 draws.
Besides its league and cup records, Clark O.N.T. had a part in the first two, now unofficial, U.S. international games. The American Football Association sponsored two games with the Canada national team in 1885 and 1886. [6] On November 28, 1885, Clark contributed both its field and five of its players to the game, won by Canada. The referee was also provided by O.N.T. [7]
| Year | League | Reg. Season | American Cup |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1885 | ? | ? | Champion [8] |
| 1886 | ? | ? | Champion [9] |
| 1887 | ? | ? | Champion [10] |
| 1888 | ? | ? | Second round [11] |
| 1889 | ? | ? | Semifinal [12] |
| 1890 | ? | ? | First round [13] |
| 1891 | ? | ? | First round [14] |
| 1892 | ? | ? | Second Round [15] |
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 1922 Rovers and Fall River United attempted to share rent on venue due to increasing costs. Subsequently their joint bid for an ASL slot in the 1922–23 season was rejected. They later disbanded with their players signing with other teams.
The American Football Association (AFA) was the first attempt in the United States to form an organizing soccer body.
The National Association Football League (NAFBL) was a semi-professional U.S. soccer league which operated between 1895 and 1898. The league was reconstituted in 1906 and continued to operate until 1921.
Neil G. Clarke(sometimes listed as Clark) was a Scottish American soccer player who began his career in the Scottish Football League before migrating to the United States. He played in both the National Association Football League and American Soccer League. In 1916, he played in the first two U.S. national team games.
The American Football Association Challenge Cup was the first major U.S. soccer competition open to teams beyond a single league. It was first held in 1884, and organised by the American Football Association (AFA).
The American Amateur Football Association Cup was an American soccer competition open to amateur teams affiliated with the American Amateur Football Association (AAFA). It played only two years, 1912 and 1913 before being superseded by the National Challenge Cup, now known as the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup.
Samuel Mark was an American soccer club owner. During the 1920s and early 1930s he was the owner of Fall River Marksmen, one of the era's most successful teams. Mark's continued to own the team after it relocated and became the New York Yankees and then New Bedford Whalers. He also briefly owned Boston Soccer Club. He had played guard for the Massachusetts American Legion basketball team.
The 1909 American Cup was the 18th edition of the American Cup an annual soccer tournament held by the American Football Association.
The 1910 American Cup was the annual open cup held by the American Football Association. Twenty-nine teams entered the competition. Tacony F.C. became champions of this edition after defeating the Scottish Americans 2-1 in the final round.
The 1908 American Cup was the annual soccer tournament held by the American Football Association. The West Hudsons won the tournament for the second time in three years defeating the Paterson True Blues in the final as they did in 1906.
The 1885 American Cup was the inaugural edition of this tournament staged by the American Football Association. Clark O.N.T. was the champion.
The 1886 American Cup was the second installment of the soccer tournament directed by the American Football Association. Clark O.N.T., as holders of the trophy, had successfully defended their title and receiving along with the trophy a pair of leg guards donated by the Alma Cricket and Football club.
The 1887 American Cup was the third edition of the soccer tournament organized by the American Football Association. For the third time since its inception the Clark O.N.T.'s were the champions.
The 1888 American Cup was the fourth edition of the soccer tournament organized by the American Football Association. Having expanded into the New England district the first new champions came from Fall River, Massachusetts after Clark O.N.T. of Newark had won the previous three editions. The Fall River Rovers defeated the Newark Almas in the final.
The 1889 American Cup was the fifth edition of the soccer tournament organized by the American Football Association. The Fall River Rovers won their second consecutive title by defeating the Newark Caledonians in the final.
The 1890 American Cup was the sixth edition of the soccer tournament organized by the American Football Association (AFA). The Fall River Olympics won their first title becoming the second Fall River team to do so after the Rovers had won the previous two editions.
The 1891 American Cup was the seventh edition of the soccer tournament organized by the American Football Association. The Fall River East Ends won their first title, keeping the title in Fall River for the fourth year running. Fall River Olympic won the title in 1890 and Fall River Rovers won in 1888 and 1889. The Fall River Rovers were readmitted to the AFA after having settled their dispute with the Pawtucket Free Wanderers, before which any associations teams were barred from playing them.
The 1892 American Cup was the eighth edition of the soccer tournament organized by the American Football Association. The Fall River East Ends won their second title in succession by overcoming the New York Thistles in the final. The Challenge Cup committee elected by the AFA were Robert Miller of O.N.T. as president, James Henderson of Brooklyn Nonpareil as vice president, Thomas B. Hood of Pawtucket as Secretary, and John Lang of Fall River as Treasurer.
The 1897 American Cup was the thirteenth edition of the soccer tournament organized by the American Football Association. The Philadelphia Manz won this edition defeating defending champions Paterson True Blues after four attempts to complete the final. The committee for this season was H. Goldberg as president, W. Turner as vice president, William Robertson as Secretary, and Hugh Wilkie as Treasurer. The Amateur Athlete was made the official publication of the association. The 'Victor ball' by the Overman Wheel Company was chosen as the official ball for use in cup games. The association originally intended to have a league series and a cup tournament. They later dropped the league idea in favor of having each team play home and away games for the cup ties. If each team won a game, then the managers of each contesting team would flip a coin to see where the third game would take place. Players had to be registered 14 days before a game to be eligible to play.
The 1906 American Cup was the fifteenth edition of the soccer tournament organized by the American Football Association. After being inactive for several years, the AFA reorganized in February 1906 with eight initial entries from the New Jersey towns of Harrison, Paterson, Kearyn, and Newark. At their February 13 meeting at the Caledonian House in Paterson it was decided to send additional invitations to Metropolitan league teams. On February 17 at the Cosmopolitan Park House in East Newark Hal A. Holden of Kearny was elected president, Harry Craig of Paterson as treasurer, Peter Martin(Bronx Rangers) as vice-president, Herbert Turner of Paterson as recording secretary, James Allen Jr. of O.N.T. as financial secretary and Dr. John W. Reid as honorary president. On February 24, exhibition games between the West Hudsons of Harrison and Pan Americans of Fall River coincided with the association meeting at Cosmopolitan Hall in order to have a representative, in this case C.C. Murphy, present for New England clubs wishing to join the tournament. On this occasion four additional teams from the Metropolitan district joined bringing the total to twelve. Entries were open until March 3. John Swithenby who was in possession of the old trophy donated it to the association to once again award it to the winner of the tournament.
