| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Thomas Joseph Swords | ||
| Date of birth | October 2, 1885[citation needed] | ||
| Place of birth | Fall River, Massachusetts,United States | ||
| Date of death | March 29, 1953(1953-03-29) (aged 67) | ||
| Place of death | Fall River, Massachusetts, United States | ||
| Position(s) | Forward | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1903 | Whittenton A.C. | ||
| 1904–1909 | Fall River Rovers | ||
| 1910–1912 | Philadelphia Hibernian | ||
| 1913 | New Bedford Whalers | ||
| 1914–1920 | Fall River Rovers | ||
| International career | |||
| 1916 | United States | 2 | (0) |
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Thomas Swords (October 2, 1885 – March 29, 1953) was an Americansoccer forward, who served as captain of theU.S. men's national team in its first two games. He is a member of theNational Soccer Hall of Fame.
Swords was born and grew up inFall River, Massachusetts, US, an early hotbed of U.S. soccer. In 1903, Swords joined Whittenton Athletic Club ofTaunton, Massachusetts. After one season, he jumped to his hometown-basedFall River Rovers of the New England League. In 1909, the Rovers won the league title. In 1910, he moved to thePhiladelphia Hibernian of theEastern Soccer League. After two seasons, he moved to theNew Bedford Whalers for the 1913 season. However, he was back with the Fall River Rovers in 1914 and would remain with the team until he retired in 1920. During his second stint with the Rovers, Swords experienced some of his greatest achievements when the team went to three consecutiveNational Challenge Cup finals between 1916 and 1918. In1916, the team fell toBethlehem Steel. Then in1917, they redeemed themselves when they defeated Bethlehem to take the Cup title. The two teams met again in1918. This time Bethlehem won in a replay after the two teams played to a 2–2 tie in the first game. In this second game, Swords' brutal tackle knocked out the Bethlehem goalkeeper.[1]
In 1916, theUnited States Football Association (USFA) recruited a team, called the All-American Soccer Football Team, to represent the U.S. on a tour of Scandinavian countries. At the time, these countries and the U.S. were all neutral during the ongoingWorld War I. Thomas Swords was selected as the team captain. During the six game tour, the U.S. played two recognized international games, one on August 21, 1916, againstSweden and another on September 3, 1916, againstNorway. There are disagreements about who scored the first national team goals. TheNational Soccer Hall of Fame listsDick Spalding, but other sources state that Swords scored an unassisted goal against Sweden.[2]
He was inducted into theNational Soccer Hall of Fame in 1951.[3]