Ponta Delgada Soccer Club, also referred to as Fall River Ponta Delgada, was a United States soccer club, based in Fall River, Massachusetts. The club was formed by members of the city’s Portuguese community and shared its name with Ponta Delgada, the largest city of the Azores, an autonomous region of Portugal. During the 1930s, 1940s and 1950s they were one of the most successful amateur teams in the United States, winning the National Amateur Cup six times. In 1947 they won the first-ever National Challenge Cup / National Amateur Cup double. The same year their entire squad was selected en masse to represent the United States at the inaugural North American soccer championship. Between 1951 and 1953 they also played in the American Soccer League. They played some home games at Mark's Stadium in North Tiverton, Rhode Island, previously the home of Fall River Marksmen. Like the Marksmen, they did this to avoid the Massachusetts Blue Laws that prevented them from playing Sunday games. History Golden era Ponta Delgada first came to national attention when they won the National Amateur Cup in 1938, beating Pittsburgh Heidelberg 2-1 in the final on May 1. However, it was during the 1940s and 1950s, inspired by the unrelated John Souza and Ed Souza, that the club enjoyed its golden era. They won the Amateur Cup three times in a row between 1946 and 1948 and then again in 1950 and 1953. They also reached three National Challenge Cup finals, winning the competition in 1947. In July 1946 Ponta Delgada played in the finals of both the Challenge Cup and the Amateur Cup. On July 7 they played Chicago Vikings at Mark's Stadium holding them to 1-1 draw. However, on July 14 at Comiskey Park they lost the return game 2-1. On July 21 they gained some consolation when beat Castle Shannon of Pittsburgh 5-2 in the final of the Amateur Cup. In 1947 Ponta Delgada again reached the final of both competitions, and this time they won the first ever Challenge Cup/Amateur Cup double. On May 24 in the Amateur final, Ed Souza scored five goals as they beat St. Louis Carondelets 10-1. This should have been the first leg of a two-game series but a second game was never played. On August 31, in the first leg of the Challenge final, they defeated Chicago Sparta 6-1 at home with Ed Souza