We get a lot of questions about our Bumpy Pitch Fall River Marksmen t-shirt. So here is a bit of info on the team and the design.

The Fall River Marksmen were founded in 1922 and played for nine years until being dissolved / relocating in 1931. They were owned by Sam Mark, which is where the name Marksmen came from. After the Marksmen relocated, they became the New York Yankees and then the New Bedford Whalers.  Sam Mark took over Fall River United in 1922 and renamed them Fall River Marksmen. One of the things that has always stood out for us with Fall River is that they built one of the first soccer specific stadiums, Marks Stadium (dude liked attaching his name to things) in the United States. All the talk about the importance of these stadiums in MLS, and this cat built one for his team almost 90 years ago.

Because the Marksmen were around so long ago, there was no logo available to work with. So we chatted about what we thought the logo “should” look like or at least what we would like it to look like. The Marksmen name always had sort of a rifle squadron feel to it, so we designed around this concept, adding elements that were necessary for the graphic, but that kept with what we thought would have been consistent with the time period.

The Fall River Marksmen are another great example of the history of soccer in the United States and I still think this would be a great name for a modern day MLS team.

Been an interesting week on the travel, BP Fam and “work” side of things….

More Pics after the Jump…… 

(more…)

You didn’t know we had a special glow in the dark limited edition project that we are contemplating releasing. We’ll let you decide. More to follow…

Growing up in LA in the 80’s, and being completely devoted to soccer, you would have thought that the LA Aztecs would have been a team that we were all hip to on some level. The team was around until 1981, so their history and legacy should have been something that all of us young bucks were aware of. Sadly this wasn’t the case.

The LA Aztecs played in the NASL from 1974-81, featured players such as George Best and Johan Cruyff and at one time or another were owned by Sir Elton John and Alan Rothenberg. They eventually were compared to the New York Cosmos, although their successes on the field and in the stands never compared to their east coast counterparts.

Before the celebrity owners and world class players, the LA Aztecs joined the NASL in 1974 and played their home games at East LA College with average attendance of around 5,000. This rookie season for the Aztecs proved to be their most successful, as they did one of the most difficult things to do in sports, and they won the NASL Championship in their inaugural season. With that in mind, we are happy to release the 35th anniversary LA Aztecs Bumpy Pitch t-shirt.

LA Aztecs 35th Anniversary T-Shirt

Back of shirt

This shirt pays tribute to that LA Aztecs team and their single NASL title. 35 years after winning this championship, we are tilting our hat and paying tribute to the Aztecs, their accomplishments and their impact on soccer in the United States. I for one can’t wait to see where soccer is at in the United States 35 years from now.

Just got back to the Denver Marriot City Center after a day of riding with the FSC crew (Los and Joe) at the Keystone Bike Park…. Incredible day and my body is killing me.

More Pics and Video after the Jump….

(more…)

Headed into our Nation’s Capitol on Tuesday for the 2009 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup Championship between D.C. United and the Seattle Sounders FC at RFK Stadium.

More Pics after the Jump….. 

(more…)

One of our immediate goals with Bumpy Pitch has been exploring the history of soccer in the United States. It’s impossible to go down this path without paying special attention to Bethlehem Steel. Bethlehem Steel was one of the early professional soccer clubs in the United States, and also one of the most successful. Bethlehem Steel played their first professional soccer game in 1907, and in 1913 they introduced the  country’s first soccer field with stadium seating. Dig that, these cats were playing professional soccer, in their own stadium,  in the United States over 100 years ago. Remember that the next time somebody says that soccer doesn’t have a history in the United States. Just like the passion of American soccer fans runs deep, so does our soccer history. We’ve always said that we have to know where we have been before we know where we’re going, and this is a perfect example of that.

Shameless plug…

Follow the kids on Twitter.

To stay up on The Original Winger follow us here

For a look behind the Bumpy Pitch curtain follow us here

Now back to your regularly scheduled programs…