Dallas Tornado
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| Dallas Tornado | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Full name | Dallas Tornado | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Nickname(s) | The Tornado | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Founded | 1967 – 1981 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Ground | Cotton Bowl | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Capacity | 70,000 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| League | North American Soccer League | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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The Dallas Tornado were a soccer team based out of Dallas that played in the original NASL (They were the predecessors to the present-day FC Dallas team) They played from 1967 to 1981. Their home fields were Cotton Bowl (1967-1968), P.C. Cobb Stadium (1969), Franklin Field (1970-1971), Texas Stadium (1972-1975, 1980-1981) and Ownby Stadium on the SMU campus (1976-1979).
The franchise was one of the original clubs that played in the United Soccer Association, one of the two precursors to the NASL, in 1967. In fact the USA was made up of international clubs playing in U.S. cities as American teams. The team that played as the Dallas Tornado were Dundee United of Scotland. The following season when the USA merged with the NPSL, owners Lamar Hunt and Bill McNutt had to build a new team from scratch. Their effort resulted in a dismal 2-26-4 record.
Following the 1968 NASL season, the league was in trouble with ten franchises having folded. The 1969 season was split into two halves. The first half was called the International Cup, a double round robin tournament in which the remaining NASL clubs were represented by teams imported from the United Kingdom. The Tornado was represented again by Dundee United F.C. who had taken part in the 1967 United Soccer Association. The Tornado came in tied for third in the Cup with a 2-4-2 record. For the second half of the 1969 season, the teams returned to their normal rosters and played a 16 game schedule with no playoffs.
Fortunes improved for the club as they won the NASL championship in 1971. Several division titles followed in the years after that league title. Two players, Kyle Rote, Jr. (son of former New York Giants wide receiver Kyle Rote) and Steve Pecher, won the league Rookie of the Year award in 1973 and 1976, respectively. As was the case with most NASL clubs, a drop in attendance contributed to the demise of the club in 1981.
Lamar Hunt did not give up on soccer in America, however, and is currently one of the founding owners in Major League Soccer.
Ex-Manchester United goalkeeper, Alex Stepney played for Dallas.
Contents |
[edit] Year-by-year
| Year | Record | Regular Season Finish | Playoffs |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1967 | 3-3-6 | 6th, Western Division, USA | Did Not Qualify |
| 1968 | 2-4-26 | 4th, Gulf Division | Did Not Qualify |
| 1969 | 2-4-2 | 3rd | no postseason |
| 1970 | 8-4-12 | 3rd, Southern Division | Did Not Qualify |
| 1971 | 10-8-6 | 2nd, Southern Division | NASL Champions |
| 1972 | 6-3-5 | 2nd, Southern Division | Semifinals |
| 1973 | 11-4-4 | 1st, Southern Division | Runners-up |
| 1974 | 9-3-8 | 1st, Central Division | Semifinals |
| 1975 | 9-13 | 4th, Central Division | Did Not Qualify |
| 1976 | 13-11 | 2nd, Southern Division, Pacific Conference | Division Championships |
| 1977 | 18-8 | 1st, Southern Division, Pacific Conference | Conference Championships |
| 1978 | 14-16 | 3rd, Central Division, National Conference | Did Not Qualify |
| 1979 | 17-13 | 2nd, Central Division, National Conference | National Conference Quarterfinals |
| 1980 | 18-14 | 1st, Central Division, National Conference | National Conference Semifinals |
| 1981 | 5-27 | 4th, Central Division | Did Not Qualify |
[edit] Honors
NASL Championships
- 1971
Division Titles
- 1973 Southern Division
- 1974 Central Division
- 1977 Southern Division, Pacific Conference
- 1980 Central Division, National Conference
Rookie of the Year
- 1973 Kyle Rote, Jr.
- 1976 Steve Pecher
All-Star First Team Selections
- 1969 Kirk Apostolidis, John Best, Ilija Mitic
- 1970 John Best
- 1971 John Best, Dick Hall, Mirko Stojanovic
- 1972 John Best, Ken Cooper
- 1973 John Best, Ken Cooper, Ilija Mitic
- 1974 Dick Hall, Albert Jackson, Ilija Mitic
All-Star Second Team Selections
- 1967(USA) Doug Smith
- 1970 Kirk Apostolidis, Mike Renshaw, Roy Turner
- 1972 Dick Hall
- 1973 Dick Hall, Rick Reynolds
- 1975 Ken Cooper
- 1976 Jeff Bourne, Bob Hope, George Ley
- 1977 George Ley, Steve Pecher
All-Star Honorable Mentions
- 1971 Momcilio Gavric, Oreco
- 1972 Mike Renshaw
- 1973 John Collins, Nick Jennings, Kyle Rote, Jr., Roy Turner
[edit] Head Coaches
- Jerry Kerr 1967
- Bob Kap 1968
- Keith Spurgeon 1968
- Ron Newman 1969 - 1975
- Al Miller 1976 - 1980
- Mike Renshaw 1981
- Peter Short 1981
[edit] Yearly Average Attendance
- 1967 - 9,227
- 1968 - 2,927
- 1969 - 2,923
- 1970 - 2,228
- 1971 - 3,326
- 1972 - 4,093
- 1973 - 7,474
- 1974 - 8,469
- 1975 - 4,630
- 1976 - 14,095
- 1977 - 16,511
- 1978 - 8,981
- 1979 - 9,321
- 1980 - 6,752
- 1981 - 4,670
