New Bedford Whalers

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New Bedford Whalers
Full name	New Bedford Whalers
Founded	19xx
Dissolved	19xx
Ground
Chairman	Sam Mark: 1931-1932
League	SNESL: 1914-1918 American Soccer League: 1924-1932 → International Soccer League: 1926 → Eastern Soccer League: 1929

New Bedford Whalers was the name of three United States 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 between 1924 and 1931 before merging into Fall River F.C.. The third Whalers were then formed when Fall River merged with New York Yankees. They played in the ASL between 1931 and 1932.

1 New Bedford Whalers I
2 New Bedford Whalers II
3 New Bedford Whalers III
4 Year-by-year
5 Former Players
6 Former Managers
7 Honors
8 References

[edit] New Bedford Whalers I

The first Whalers originally played as New Bedford F.C. and played in the Southern New England Soccer League between 1914 and 1918. They first played used the Whalers name in 1915. This team finished as league champions in both 1915 and 1917. Other teams in the league included Fall River Rovers ^[1].

[edit] New Bedford Whalers II

In 1924 a second New Bedford Whalers, formed by former members of Fall River Rovers, joined the American Soccer League ^[2]. In both 1926 and 1928 they finished as runners-up in the league and quickly developed a rivalry with Fall River Marksmen ^[3]. In 1926 the second Whalers won their only major trophy when they defeated New York Giants 5-4 in a two game series to win the Lewis Cup. 1926 also saw the Whalers play in the one-off International Soccer League which featured teams from both the United States and Canada ^[4]. In 1929 the ASL and the US Football Association became involved in a power struggle, sometimes referred to as the Soccer Wars. This resulted in the emergence of a rival Eastern Soccer League, organised by the USFA. The Whalers began the year in the ASL but subsequently joined the ESL. However after just 8 games they rejoined the ASL ^[5]. On their return they finished as ASL runners-up in both the Spring 1930 and Fall 1930 seasons. However the Great Depression severely effected the teams support and they failed to complete the Spring 1931 season. On April 19 1931 they merged into Fall River F.C.. ^[6].

[edit] New Bedford Whalers III

The third Whalers were actually a successor club of Fall River Marksmen. Like the second Whalers, the Marksmen had also suffered because of the Great Depression and for the Spring 1931 season their owner, Sam Mark, relocated them to New York where they merged with New York Soccer Club, previously known as the New York Giants, and became the New York Yankees. However the relocation to New York was not a financial success and for the Fall 1931 season, Mark relocated his team once again. This time they merged with Fall River F.C. and became the third New Bedford Whalers. The third Whalers were the American Soccer League champions for the Fall 1931 and Spring 1932 seasons and won the 1932 National Challenge Cup but then folded during the Fall 1932 season ^[7]^[8]^[9]

[edit] Year-by-year

Year	Division	League	Reg. Season	Playoffs	National Challenge Cup
1914-15	N/A	SNESL	Champion	No playoff	Last 16
1915-16	N/A	SNESL	?	No playoff	Quarter finals
1916-17	N/A	SNESL	Champion	No playoff	Last 32
1917-18	N/A	SNESL	?	No playoff	?
1924-25	1	ASL	5th	No playoff	Did not enter
1925-26	1	ASL	2nd	No playoff	?
1926	N/A	ISL	3rd	No playoff	?
1926-27	1	ASL	4th	No playoff'	Quarterfinals
1927-28	1	ASL	3rd (1st half); 1st (2nd half)	Final	?
1928-29	N/A	ASL	5th (1st half); 8th (2nd half)	N/A	N/A
Fall 1929	1	ESL	6th	No playoff	N/A
Spring 1930	1	ACL/ASL	2nd	No playoff	?
Fall 1930	1	ASL	2nd	No playoff	?
Spring 1931	1	ASL	8th	N/A	N/A
Fall 1931	1	ASL	Champion	Final	N/A
Spring 1932	1	ASL	Champion	No playoff	Winners
Fall 1932	1	ASL	8th	No playoff	N/A