The Year in American Soccer (original) (raw)
Written by Steve Holroyd soccerbook@erols.com, with supplemental materials by Dave Litterer spectrum@sover.net
NASL | ASL | Amateur Leagues & Cups | National Team | International Tours | The College Game | Other Action
North American Soccer League (Div. 1)
Things looked bleak for the North American Soccer League as the spring of 1969 approached. Notwithstanding Woosnam�s entreaties that winter, ten franchises had folded. Two others opted for the low budget route: Oakland renamed itself California Clippers and set about playing an exhibition schedule, while Chicago Mustangs joined the semipro National Soccer League. CBS, after two years of anemic ratings, canceled its television contract.
At the end of Woosnam�s pitch at the league�s January meeting, the remaining owners did the obvious thing and asked the former Atlanta coach to act as executive director of the league. While Woosnam was well-qualified-he had a university education, a rarity in British football-he certainly had better options: his handling of the Chiefs prompted two English First Division clubs to offer him a managerial post. Fortunately for U.S. soccer, Woosnam elected to stay and try to revitalize the league. "We hadn�t failed because of the sport", he said, "we failed because the wrong circumstances prevailed. We had to work to change the circumstances. In my heart I knew the sport was good enough." Enlisting Clive Toye-formerly chief soccer writer for The Daily Express in England and general manager of Baltimore-as his second-in-command, Woosnam set about resurrecting the league.
Woosnam�s first task was to simply keep the league afloat: he demanded that the five surviving clubs drastically reduce player salaries and other operating costs so that annual budgets could be held at a manageable $200,000. Since most of the five clubs did not even have complete rosters, as no one had been sure of whether there would even be a 1969 season, Woosnam stalled for time by splitting the season into two contrasting halves. During the first half, each club was represented by a team imported wholesale from Great Britain, a la the United Soccer Association�s format of 1967. Woosnam hoped that the high quality of play from the imported clubs would build momentum at the gate and carry over into the second half of the season, when the "real" teams took over.
The double round-robin tournament was dubbed the International Cup: Atlanta Chiefs were represented by Aston Villa; West Ham United (featuring 1966 World Cup Heroes Geoff Hurst, Bobby Moore, and Martin Peters) represented Baltimore Bays, and Kilmarnock of Ireland stood for St. Louis. Additionally, two teams from the United Soccer Association reprised their cameo roles: Wolverhampton Wanderers, the 1967 USA champions as Los Angeles Wolves, returned to the States, this time as Kansas City Spurs, while Dundee United again wore the colors of Dallas Tornado. Although the teams and stars like Hurst, Moore, Trevor Brooking, and Phil Parkes distinguished themselves by their top-flight play, the momentum Woosnam hoped for never developed: West Ham and Wolverhampton, who would have drawn 50,000 for the match in England, opened the tournament in Baltimore before 5,128. The nadir was reached one night in Dallas when Dundee United and Kilmarnock fought to an exciting 3-3 draw before less that 200 fans; an earlier match between Dundee and West Ham drew 714 to Dallas� Cobb Stadium. As in 1967, Wolverhampton showed themselves to be the class of the circuit, winning the Cup for Kansas City.
In international exhibitions, West Ham united beat Kilmarnock 2-1 in Seattle and lost to Tottenham Hotspurs 3-4 in Baltimore in May, before whomping Dundee United 8-2 in Portland, OR. on May 25. Eintracht Braunschweig played four NASL teams in June, drawing with Atlanta 0-0, beating Dallas 7-2, and Kansas City 1-0 before drawing 2-2 with the NASL All-Stars. Meanwhile, Inter Bratislava of Czechoslovakia drew with Atlanta 2-2 and beat kansas City 3-1 in July. Finally, Aston Villa beat Tottenham Hotspur 3-2 in Atlanta on May 17.
**1969 NASL INTERNATIONAL CUP COMPETITION**
FINAL STANDINGS AND STATISTICS
G W T L GF GA PTS Kansas City Spurs 8 6 2 0 25 13 57 Baltimore Bays 8 5 2 1 23 13 52 Dallas Tornado 8 2 4 2 13 22 31 Atlanta Chiefs 8 2 4 2 10 16 28 St. Louis Stars 8 2 5 1 11 18 26
NASL InterInternational Cup: Kansas City Spurs (Wolverhampton Wanderers)
Leading Scorers G Curran (Kansas City) 6 Trevor Brooking (Baltimore) 5 Peter Knowles (Kansas City) 5 Queen (St. Louis) 5 Geoff Hurst (Baltimore) 4 Derek Dougan (Kansas City) 4 Gordon (Dallas) 4 K. Cameron (Dallas) 4 Tiler (Atlanta) 3 Mike Bailey (Kansas City) 3
Leading Goalkeepers GP GA GAA Phil Parkes (Kansas City) 8 13 1.625 Ferguson (Baltimore) 8 13 1.625 Dunne (Atlanta) 8 16 2.00 McLaughlin (St. Louis) 7 15 2.14 Donald MacKay (Dallas) 8 18 2.75 Dick (St. Louis) 1 3 3.00
After this tournament, the league bridged the old to the new by having the guest club play the home club in each city: West Ham United versus Baltimore Bays, Wolverhampton Wanderers versus Kansas City Spurs, etc. Then, the 16 game league schedule was played, sans playoffs-another Woosnam cost saving measure.
The season climaxed with yet another controversial finish, again demonstrating the effects of the NASL scoring system. Atlanta had compiled the best won-lost-tied record, 11-2-3, but Kansas City�s 10-2-4 mark was accompanied by 53 goals scored, compared to Atlanta�s 46. With four bonus points helping to offset Atlanta�s extra victory, Kansas City won the league championship by a single point, 110-109, thereby completing its unique "double" for the year. Atlanta joined Oakland (1968) and Philadelphia (1967) as victims of the point system.
Although missing out on the title, Atlanta made its presence felt in 1969. Besides Woosnam, another notable Chiefs alum was Ron Newman, now playing for and coaching Dallas to a respectable finish after 1968�s disastrous season. Vic Crowe took over the helm in Atlanta, where Kaiser Motaung was the league scoring champion, and Manfred Kammerer paced the goalkeepers in the circuit. Individual honors went to Kansas City�s Cirilio Fernandez (MVP) and Baltimore�s Siegfried Stritzl (Rookie of the Year). Despite the presence of Stritzl and two-time ASL Most Valuable Player Pete Millar, however, Baltimore still finished in the basement.
"Americanization" finally ventured into the NASL in a big way, as St. Louis had 14 Yanks-all native-on its 18 man roster, including St. Louis native Dave Jokerst in goal. It was the beginning of a three year period during which the team bravely waived its American flags and got trounced for its efforts. The Stars� record in 1969 was 3-11-2, and they could take little solace from its gate, which at 2,274 per game was still below the league�s paltry 3,000 figure; Kansas City paced the circuit with a 4,273 average.
**Final League Standings, 1969**
G W T L GF GA PTS % Att. Kansas City Spurs 16 10 4 2 53 28 110 .750 4,273 Atlanta Chiefs 16 11 3 2 46 20 109 .781 3,371 Dallas Tornado 16 8 2 6 32 31 82 .562 2,923 St.Louis Stars 16 3 2 11 24 47 47 .250 2,274 Baltimore Bays 16 2 1 13 27 56 42 .156 1,601
CHAMPION: Kansas City (no playoffs)
After the season, Baltimore folded.
6 points for a win, 3 for a tie, 0 for a loss, and up to three bonus points for the first three goals.
Leading Scorers GP G A TP Kaiser Motaung (Atlanta) N/A 16 4 36 Jorge Benitez (Kansas City) 14 15 5 35 Ilija Mitic (Dallas) N/A 11 4 26 Fons Stoffels (Kansas City) 16 8 7 23 Manfred Seisser (Kansas City) 16 8 6 22 Emment Kapengwe (Atlanta) N/A 8 6 22 Ademar Saccone (Kansas City) 16 9 1 19 Peter Millar (Baltimore) N/A 8 2 18 Evrald Cummings (Atlanta) N/A 5 6 16 Freddie Mwila (Atlanta) N/A 7 1 15 Tom Ferguson (St. Louis) 12 7 1 15 Peter Short (Dallas) N/A 6 2 14
Leading Goalkeepers (720 mins. needed to qualify) Min Svs GA SO GAA Manfred Kammerer (Atlanta) 1260 56 15 3 1.07 Humberto Arrieta (Dallas) 1260 49 22 2 1.57 Leonel Conde (Kansas City) 1440 83 28 2 1.75 Dave Jokerst (St. Louis) 1260 111 39 0 2.78 Orrie Banach (Baltimore) 1170 99 42 2 3.23
Most Valuable Player: Cirilio Fernandez, Kansas City Spurs Coach of the Year: (No selection) Rookie of the Year: Siegfreid Stritzi, Baltimore Bays
NASL 1st All-Star Team:
G Leonel Conde Kansas City Spurs D John Borodiak Baltimore Bays D Kirk Apostolidis Dallas Tornado M William Quiros Kansas City Spurs M John Best Dallas Tornado M Joe Puls St. Louis Stars F Cirilo Fernandez San Diego Toros F Kaizer Motaung Atlanta Apollos F Manfred Seissler Kansas City Spurs F Ilija Mitic Dallas Tornado F Emment Kapengwe Atlanta Apollos F Art Welch Baltimore Bays
American Soccer League (Div. 2)
The ASL muddled through another season. Washington Darts, riding the momentum of its 1968 "internal" title, won the league�s first summer season crown with Executive of the Year Norm Sutherland at the helm. Washington went 14-1, bringing a winning streak into the season that eventually extended to 21 games, also going more than 700 minutes without allowing a goal. Goalkeeper Lincoln Phillips secured 13 shutouts while winning the coach of the year award. Gerry Browne scored a club record 17 goals, including five goals in a 6-0 shutout of Newark. John Kerr was signed from England's Ipswich, and was a top playmaker. Phillips, Browne, Bert Greli, and Victor Gamaldo, all from Trinidad & Tobago, were chosen for their national team for a major tournament in Costa Rica. Robert Waugh of New York Inter won his second consecutive MVP award.
The league maintained a reduced two-division structure, adding Philadelphia, Boston and Syracuse, who surprised everybody by winning their division, and boasting the league's top scorer. Like the NASL, the older circuit was happy just to survive the year. The ASL subsequently suffered their first direct loss to the NASL, as two teams, Washington and Rochester left the circuit, joining the NASL the following season.
Final ASL League Standings, 1969
Before the season, Philadelphia Spartans, Boston, and Syracuse were added.
G W T L GF GA PTS
Northern DivisionSyracuse Scorpions 20 12 5 3 53 26 29 Rochester Lancers 20 12 5 3 41 18 29 Boston Astros 20 5 0 15 24 48 10 New York Inter 20 2 4 14 20 44 8
Southern DivisionWashington Darts 20 14 5 1 46 11 33 Philadelphia Spartans 20 7 5 8 26 32 19 Philadelphia Ukrainians 20 7 5 8 27 38 19 Newark Ukrainian Sitch 20 6 1 13 34 54 13
Runoff: Syracuse defeated Rochester 2-1.
CHAMPION: Washington defeated Syracuse, 2-0, 2-0.
After the season, New York folded, and Rochester and Washington moved over to the North American Soccer League (NASL).
Top Scorer: Jim Lefkos, Syracuse Scorpions, 22 Most Valuable Player: Robert Waugh, New York Inter Coach of the Year: Norman Sutherland, Washington Darts
**1969 ASL All-Star Team**Goal: Lincoln Phillips (Washington) Back: Frank Dunleavy (Syracuse) Charlie Mitchell (Rochester Lancers) Halfback: Alberto Trik (Philadelphia Ukrainians) Willie Evans (Washington) Jose Montero (Boston) Forward: John Kerr (Washington) Yao Kankam (Syracuse) Jim Lefkos (Syracuse) Frank Odoi (Syracuse) Gerry Browne (Washington)
Amateur Leagues & Cups
Baltimore Unlimited Soccer League:British Lions (16-13-1-2-50-11-27)
Baltimore Unlimited League:St. Gerards (Red champ) defeated Baltimore Kickers (Blue champ) 1-0 and 1-1 to win on goal aggregate.
Greater Detroit Soccer League: Detroit Carpathia Kickers (13-1-0-91-10-27)
Western Michigan League: Wyoming Be-Quick (10-0-2-20)Ohio-Indiana League: Cincinnati Inter
New Orleans League:Honduras
California State Cup: San Francisco Greek-American
California Soccer League: Libertad
Greater Los Angeles League: Armenians defeated Croatia in a best of 3 series.
Pacific Soccer League (LA): Coast Rangers
Central Coast League: Mission SC:
San Diego County League: Internationals
Anchorage League (Alaska): 49ers
New Jersey State Cup: Hudson Dalmations
German-American Soccer League (New York): Greek-American SC (18-15-2-1-55-17-32) (winners of the Harry Kraus Memorial Cup)
National Soccer League of New York:Palermo (17-11-1-5-43-23-27)Italian-American League: Fiorentina
National Soccer League of Chicago: Olympics (23-15-4-4-34).
Peel Challenge Cup Cup (Illinois State): Sparta & Kickers (co-champs)Oklahoma State Cup: Tulsa InternationalJose Silva Trophy (So. New England Assoc. Cup): Portuguese Sports of New Bedford
New England League: Newton SC
The US National Team
As the year began, the US had done well in World Cup qualifying, needing only two wins against Haiti to qualify for the 1970 World Cup. The prospects were brighter than they had been in many years for several reasons. The NASL provided a base of professional players and good coaches and tacticians. The NASL and USSF were cooperating and working together on the endeavor, and the team had passed through the first phase of qualifying with considerable success. They only had to beat Haiti in the next round to get through.
But morale was uncertain due to dissatisfaction over pay and the departure of Phil Woosnam as coach to become Executive Director of the NASL, which was in danger of folding. This left the players unfocused when the games arrived, and Haiti defeated the United States twice, 2-0 on April 20, and 1-0 on May 11. This apparently had a depressing effect on the US team spirits, as the team did not play another game until summer 1971, over two years later. On the bright side, this was the US's best qualifying effort since 1950, and the program was at least started in the right direction. Ultimately, Brazil defeated Italy 4-1 in a thrilling final.
National team 1969 results:
1969 Totals: 0W, 0D, 2LMay 11 69 L 0-1 Haiti 6,546 San Diego, CA, USA (WCQ'70) Apr 20 69 L 0-2 Haiti 6,917 Port au Prince, Haiti (WCQ'70)
International Tours
Dallas Tornado (NASL) to Europe: September 1969 - October 28, 1969. Scores unknown.
??/??/69 Dallas Tornado at Stoke City ??/??/69 Dallas Tornado at Crystal Palace 10/6/69 Dallas Tornado at Hearts 10/13/69 Dallas Tornado at Bristol City 10/15/69 Dallas Tornado at Portsmouth 10/28/69 Dallas Tornado at Doncaster Rovers
The College Game
The year 1969 saw the beginning of a major expansion of NCAA soccer, as well as the ending of the era of dynasties. Maryland-s long streak of consecutive championships in the Atlantic Coast Conference finally came to an end. With the growth of youth soccer beginning to make its impact at the college level, many schools were adding soccer to their varsity programs or upgrading existing programs from the club level. This year saw the addition of several the Mid-American Conference, Virginia Intercollegiate Soccer Conference, Far western Conference, and the Independent College Athletic Conference. This expansion would continue through the next few years, including the establishment in 1972 of a NCAA sponsored Division 2, which incorporated many independent soccer programs at smaller universities and colleges. Women's soccer was in its embryonic form by now, through the American Association of Intercollegiate Women (AIAW). The AIAW would be the major forum for women's college sports programs until the early 1980's when the establishment of women's soccer in the NCAA led to a quick merger between the NCAA and AIAW. From that point on, the growth of soccer continued at an accelerated rate, reflecting the continued growth of youth and high school soccer. The growth in the men's game leveled off during the 1990's in the men's program as a result of Title XI, but the women's program continued its phenomenal growth during the remainder of the 20th century. During the 1980's and 1990's, there was rapid change in he lineups of the soccer conferences, with many major Football and Basketball athletic conferences establishing soccer programs.
In the 1969 NCAA tournament, the field was expanded to 24 teams, with 8 teams engaged in a play-in round. In the third round, Harvard defeated Hartwick 1-0, St. Louis defeated Cleveland State 2-1, San Francisco defeated San Jose State 3-1, and Maryland defeated Pennsylvania 1-0. In the semi-finals, St. Louis defeated Harvard 2-1, and San Francisco defeated Maryland 1-0. The championship game was played in San Jose, CA on December 8, 1969, and was won decisively by St. Louis 4-0.
Conference Champions:
West Coast Intercollegiate Soccer Conference: San Jose State New England Intercollegiate Soccer League: Harvard Ivy league: Harvard Metropolitan Intercollegiate Soccer Conference: Adelphi Atlantic Coast Conference: Virginia Mid-American Conference: Bowling Green, Kent State (co-champions) New York State Athletic Conference: Brockport Rocky Mountain Intercollegiate League: Air Force Ohio Collegiate Soccer Conference: Cleveland State Southern Conference: George Washington Mason-Dixon Conference: Baltimore Yankee Conference: Vermont Virginia Intercollegiate Soccer Conference: Virginia Far Western Conference: Chico State Independent College Athletic Conference: Rennsalaer Southern California Soccer Association: San Diego State Middle Atlantic States Athletic Conference: Bucknell
College All-Americans
G - Bruce Parkhill, Lock Haven RF - Don Fowler, Trenton State LF - Karim Yassim, Elizabethtown RH - Len Renery, Columbia CH - Peter Goosens, San Diego State LH - Tony Elia, Hartwick OR - Abdula Jama, New York University IR - Alec Papadakis, Hartwick CF - Bob Durham, Philadelphia Textile IL - Rasim Tugberk, Maryland OL - Manual Hernandez, San Jose State
Hermann Trophy: Al Trost, St. Louis University
NAIA Championship: Eastern Illinois 1, Davis & Elkins 0 (2 overtimes) NJCAA Championship: Florissant Valley Community College 6, Miami-Dade North 2
Other Action
1969 US National Challenge Open Cup Final: New York Greek American (German-American League) completed their three-pear by retaining the cup after a 1-0 victory over Montabello Armenians of the Greater Los Angeles League.
1969 National Amateur Cup Final: Washington British Lions defeated St. Louis Kutis 4-1.
National Junior Cup: St. Philip Neri, St. Louis
CONCACAF Nations Cup: The US did not participate in 1969. Costa Rica won the round robin tournament, and Guatemala came in second.
CONCACAF Champions Cup: The US did not participate in 1969. Cruz Azul (Mexico) defeated Comunicaciones (Guatemala) 1-0 to take the title.
National Soccer Hall of Fame: In 1969, the legendary soccer historian Sam Foulds was inducted into the National Soccer Hall of Fame, along with Edmund Craggs and August Starr.
Last update: July 22, 2006
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