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Bertram Patenaude (born November 4, 1909 in Fall River, Massachusetts; died November 4, 1974 in Fall River) is an American soccer player, the scorer of the first hat-trick in World Cup history.
Patenaude's historic day came on July 17, 1930, as the United States played Paraguay in the inaugural World Cup. Bert scored in the 10th, 15th (originally ruled an own goal, but FIFA later credited the American), and 50th minute to give the US a 3-0 win over the South Americans and claim his spot in world soccer history. The dispute on the second goal led to a confusion on the first-ever World Cup hat-trick, as Argentina's Guillermo Stabile scored one against Mexico just two days after Patenaude. However, FIFA considers the American to own the prestigious honor.
Patenaude played just four games for the US (three in the World Cup and a friendly against Brazil) but scored six goals (he had another one in the World Cup opener, a 3-0 win over Belgium, and two in a 4-3 loss to Brazil, the last goals an American would score against the South American giants until Preki got one in 1998).
Patenaude played pro soccer in the old American Soccer League, scoring 114 goals in 158 games. He won three US Open Cups, two for the Fall River Marksmen (1930, 1931), and one for St. Louis' Central Breweries (1935). He was inducted into the United States National Soccer Hall of Fame in 1971.
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