If New Jersey and particularly Kearny "soccer" was founded on the cotton thread of Clarks' of Paisley and the lino of Nairns' of Kirkcaldy, so New England's game from the 1880s onward, but especially the 1920s, had its origins in spinning of both silk and cotton and once more thread, again from Paisley but this time Coats. Fast-flowing rivers provided the power in Fall River, just across the border in Massachusetts, and Rhode Island, in Providence, Pawtucket and Westerley and their surrounds. At one stage too there seventy mills in the coastal town of New Bedford, again in Massachusetts. And to begin with in all these places Scotland and Lancashire provided the technical expertise and both plus Ireland the labour. 

And with the Scots and Lancastrians at first and the Irish not far behind came football. The same Providence, Pawtucket, Fall River had thriving leagues from the 1880s. From 1887 clubs from all three towns took part in The American Cup, previously the reserve of New Jersey, Fall River Rovers winning it at first time of asking, Rhode Island teams following on. And after the hiatus at the turn of the century these two regions now with New Bedford and Boston itself and area included plus the introduction of Pennsylvania, particularly the steel-town of Bethlehem, continued their rivalry right until the, as is now proven, temporary, inward collapse of US football that came in the 1930s compounded by The Depression.    

Many Scots would from the beginning in the 1880s and 1890s play as amateurs and officiate and administer the game in New England, not least Alex Meiklejohn, the Philosopher-Footballer. They were there on the field in the joint Canadian-American party that arrived in Glasgow in late 1891 and from there toured Britain into the following year. Some others, like Jimmy Johnston, would arrive after a career in the game at home, play on as an amateur and stay. More would come later and also remain, a dozen or so. Three Scottish and a Scots-born American internationalist are buried in northern Rhode Island - Johnston himself, Geordie Robertson, Joe Kennoway and Andy Auld. Others still arrived, not far off a hundred in all, up to eighty in a season, whole teams recruited at times, starting with the very fly Henry Boyd. Again some remained, ten in all passing away in Rhode Island, seven more in Massachusetts, whilst others moved on to elsewhere in the States and Canada or back to Scotland, even to play for their respective national teams, adopted or otherwise. They are all now long-gone but the places where fate, their passion and/or their trade took them remain and are as good reason as any to tour, virtually or with the coming World Cup in person, an area that is beautiful for its coast and coastal towns and fascinating as an insight into an America of a century and a half ago, an old America that became the home of so many of our fellow Scots and our game. The best referee of soccer in the 1910s and 1920s, Ardrossan's George Lambie, lived most of his life in Newton and is buried in Peabody, Massachusetts. And, of course, Paisley's William Clark, the man who might be called "The Father of American Soccer, although starting the ball rolling in New Jersey at the first cotton-thread mill he would run, is buried in Westerley on the state-line between Rhode Island and Connecticut just across the river.