Sam Mark

Sam Mark (born Markelevitch in Fall River, Massachusetts) is a former United States 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 Wonder Workers. He had played guard for the Massachusetts American Legion basketball team.

Mark initially established himself as a basketball and baseball promoter in Massachusetts and as well as owning several soccer clubs he also owned a semi-professional baseball team. He was not originally a soccer fan but was aware of the large crowds that Fall River Rovers attracted. In 1922 he took over Fall River United of the American Soccer League and renamed them Fall River Marksmen. Mark’s was willing to invest in the club and one of his first moves was to build Mark's Stadium in North Tiverton, Rhode Island. Because the stadium was just over the Massachusetts border, the club was able to get round the state’s Blue Laws and play on a Sunday. It is also one of the earliest examples of a soccer-specific stadium in the United States.

Under Sam Mark, Fall River Marksmen became one of the most successful soccer clubs in the United States. During the 1920s and early 1930s they won the American Soccer League on seven occasions. They also won the National Challenge Cup four times. In 1924 they also won the first ASL / Challenge Cup double and were subsequently the American soccer champions three times in succession. Between 1929 and 1930 they won a further four titles in a row. In 1930 they also completed a treble, winning the ASL title, the Challenge Cup and the Lewis Cup.

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