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Bert Patenaude was a prolific goal scorer, a talent he displayed during his club tenure with the Philadelphia Field Club and his hometown team, Fall River FC, in Massachusetts.
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Patenaude’s knack for scoring was crucial when the United States competed in the inaugural World Cup held in 1930 in Uruguay. With just 13 teams in the tournament, the competition featured a round-robin group stage followed by knockout rounds leading to the championship. The U.S. was in the same group as Paraguay and Belgium, easily advancing with two dominant 3-0 victories.
It was during that second match that Patenaude made his mark in World Cup history — albeit recognition wouldn’t arrive until 76 years later.
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Initial reports credited the second U.S. goal in the victory over Paraguay to Tom Florie, while others attributed it to an own goal. However, Argentine and Brazilian newspapers recorded Patenaude’s achievement as a hat trick.
Two days later, Guillermo Stábile of Argentina scored three times against Mexico, making him the official record holder for the tournament’s first hat trick.
Then came soccer historian Colin Jose.
Jose, a co-founder of the Canada Soccer Hall of Fame and former statistician and press officer for Canada‘s national teams, had a conversation with Arnie Oliver, a member of the 1930 U.S. World Cup squad. Oliver confirmed to Jose that Patenaude did indeed score three goals against Paraguay, with Jim Brown, another teammate, corroborating this account.
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Furthermore, Jose later found U.S. manager Wilfrid Cummings’ match report, which stated that Patenaude had indeed scored three times.
This discovery propelled Jose to seek further validation.
After examining evidence from South American newspapers, testimonies from former teammates, and records from the United States Soccer Federation, Jose approached FIFA.
FIFA eventually responded, affirming that Patenaude was to be credited with the hat trick. It was not until November 10, 2006—76 years post-match—that FIFA officially acknowledged Patenaude as the first player to score a hat trick in World Cup history.
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Patenaude was honored with an induction into the U.S. Soccer Hall of Fame in 1971. Every year, Jose is celebrated with the Colin Jose Media Award, which recognizes a journalist who has made a significant contribution to the sport in the U.S.