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The former members present at the event were Winthrop Scudder, James Lovett, Gerritt Miller (founder and captain), Francis Peabody, Robert Lawrence and Edward Arnold.
The former members present at the event were Winthrop Scudder, James Lovett, Gerritt Miller (founder and captain), Francis Peabody, Robert Lawrence and Edward Arnold.

==Re-Formation==
[[Image:Oneida FC logo.png|thumb|right|250px|2011 Oneida FC logo]]

===Soccer===
On St. Patrick's Day [March 17th] 2011, the Oneida FC was re-established as a contemporary sporting entity in homage to this original team and competed in the Boston Casa Soccer League, winning it's first league championship in their inaugural year with an overall record of 8-1-0.
<ref name=Casa>{{cite web |url=http://www.bostonsoccer.org/trophyroom.html |title=Boston Casa Soccer League: Trophy Room |accessdate=9 November 2014}}</ref> Other honors during their tenure with the Boston Casa Soccer League were the Golden Boot (most goals) and the Golden Glove (most saves) Awards in 2011 and 2012.<ref name=Casa>{{cite web |url=http://www.bostonsoccer.org/trophyroom.html |title=Boston Casa Soccer League: Trophy Room |accessdate=9 November 2014}}</ref>

In 2013, Oneida competed in the Bay State Soccer League, winning the Division 3 Championship which earned them a promotion to Division 2. They currently field a Division 2 side and a "Reserve" side in Divsion 3S.<ref name=BSSL-Tables>{{cite web |url=http://www.bssl.com/b_tables.php |title=Bay State Soccer League: 2012 Tables |accessdate=9 November 2014}}</ref>

===Rugby League===
The newly formed Oneida FC also fielded a [[Oneida FC|rugby league]] team who were a charter member of the [[USA Rugby League]], competing in the the 2011 and 2012 seasons before disbanding.


==See also==
==See also==

Revision as of 05:19, 10 November 2014

Oneida
Full nameOneida Football Club
LocationBoston, Massachusetts, US
Founded21 November 1862
Dissolved1865; 159 years ago (1865) [a]
Club colors  [b]
ActivitiesBoston code football
FounderGerrit Smith Miller
PresidentTom McGrath [a]

The Oneida Football Club, founded in Boston, Massachusetts in 1862, was the first organized team to play any kind of football in the United States. The game played by the club, known as the "Boston game", was an informal local variant that predated the codification of rules for association football, rugby football, or american football. The team, which consisted of graduates of Boston's elite preparatory schools, played on Boston Common from 1862–1865, during which time they reportedly never lost a game or even gave up a single point.

History

Artistic rendition of an Oneida FC game played at Boston Common.
Six surviving members of the Oneida F.C. in the inauguration of the monument that remembered the team, 1925.

The Oneida Football Club was established in 1862 by Gerrit Smith "Gat" Miller, a graduate of the Latin School of Epes Sargent Dixwell, a private college preparatory school in Boston. At the time there were no formal rules for football games, with different schools and areas playing their own variations. This informal style of play was often chaotic and very violent, and Miller had been a star of the game while attending Dixwell. However, he grew tired of these disorganized games, and organized other recent preparatory school graduates to join what would be the first organized football team in the United States.

The team consisted of a group of Boston secondary school students from relatively elite public (state) schools in the area, such as Boston Latin School and the English High School of Boston. Organization served the club well, and it reportedly never lost a game, or even allowed a single goal. The original team members were Smith Miller, Edward Lincoln Arnold, Robert Apthorp Boit, Edward Bowditch, Walter Denison Brooks, George Davis, John Malcolm Forbes, John Power Hall, Robert Means Lawrence, James D’Wolf Lovett, Francis Greenwood Peabody, Winthrop Saltonstall Scudder, Alanson Tucker, Louis Thies, Robert Clifford Watson, and Huntington Frothingham Wolcott.[1]

Code

The game played by the Oneida Football Club is known as the "Boston game". This informal local football variety later took hold at Harvard University and was an important precursor to American football. Although it has been claimed by much later followers of both soccer and American football, the club predated formal rules of any football variant.

Grounds

The Oneida Football Club played its games on the Boston Common, where it is commemorated by a small stone monument erected in 1925 to honor The Boston Boys. Its inscription reads: "On this field the Oneida Football Club of Boston, the first organized football club in the United States, played against all comers from 1862 to 1865. The Oneida goal was never crossed".[1] It played matches against pickup teams throughout the Boston collegiate community.

The former members present at the event were Winthrop Scudder, James Lovett, Gerritt Miller (founder and captain), Francis Peabody, Robert Lawrence and Edward Arnold.

See also

Notes

  1. ^ a b Although the team was dissolved and Oneida has not play sports since 1865, it is still a registered organization in Boston. Self-appointed club president Tom McGrath pays a yearly fee of $50 to the city of Boston to keep Oneida a registered organization,although it hasn't played since 1865.[1]
  2. ^ The team did not have an uniform jersey but a red simple handkerchief.[1]

Bibliography

References