National Professional Soccer League (1967)
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| National Professional Soccer League (1967) | |
|---|---|
| Sport | Soccer |
| Founded | 1967 |
| No. of teams | 10 |
| Country(ies) |  United States and  Canada |
| Ceased | 1967 |
| Last champion(s) |
Oakland Clippers |
The National Professional Soccer League (NPSL) was a former professional soccer league featuring teams from the United States and Canada. The league survived only one season before merging with the United Soccer Association to form the North American Soccer League. To encourage attacking play, the NPSL introduced a new points system later adopted by NASL. This included 6 points for a win, 3 points for a draw and 1 bonus point each for the first three goals scored. The name National Professional Soccer League was revived in 1990 and used by a United States professional indoor soccer league.
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[edit] Origins
In 1966 a group of sports entrepreneurs led by Bill Cox and Robert Hermann formed a consortium called the North American Professional Soccer League with the intention of forming a professional soccer league in United States and Canada. However this was just one of three groups with similar plans. The NAPSL eventually merged with one of these groups the National Soccer League, led by Richard Millen, to form the National Professional Soccer League. A third group, the United Soccer Association was sanctioned by both the USSFA and FIFA. Because of this the NPSL was branded an outlaw league by FIFA and players faced sanctions for signing with it. Despite this the NPSL, which secured a TV contract from CBS, set about recruiting players, and announced it would be ready to launch in 1967.
[edit] 1967 Season
The NPSL kicked off on April 16 1967 when Baltimore Bays hosted Atlanta Chiefs. A crowd of just 8,434 saw the home team win 1-0. The game was televised by CBS and subsequent games were broadcast live and in colour on Sundays. Sportscaster Jack Whitaker was joined by the former Northern Ireland international Danny Blanchflower as a pundit. Blanchflower was not impressed with the standard of play and did not hesitate to say so. As a result NPSL crowds and TV ratings dwindled. The NPSL was also criticised after a referee admitted that he was deliberately holding up play to allow CBS to broadcast commercials.
The NPSL did however attract some notable players including three former Aston Villa players Phil Woosnam, Vic Crowe and Peter McParland who, together with another veteran of the English League, Ron Newman all turned out for Atlanta Chiefs. Two ex-Real Madrid players, Juan Santisteban and Yanko Daucik, also turned out for Baltimore Bays and Toronto Falcons respectively. Santisteban made the NPSL All-Star team and Daucik finished as the league’s topscorer. The NPSL concluded when Western Division champions, Oakland Clippers, beat the Eastern Division champions Baltimore Bays. Dennis Viollet gave Baltimore a 1-0 win before a home crowd of 16,619 but in the second leg at Oakland Coliseum, Dragan Djukic scored a hat-trick as the Clippers won 4-1 before a crowd 9,037.
[edit] NASL
In December 1967 the NPSL merged the United Soccer Association to form the North American Soccer League. As a result of the merger several of the original NPSL franchises folded or relocated. This was partly to avoid some cities having two teams. Philadelphia Spartans and Pittsburgh Phantoms both folded, while Chicago Spurs became Kansas City Spurs and Los Angeles Toros became San Diego Toros. Together with New York Generals, Baltimore Bays, Atlanta Chiefs, Toronto Falcons, St. Louis Stars and Oakland Clippers, these teams then became founding members of the NASL. However only Atlanta Chiefs, who won the inaugural NASL title, and St. Louis Stars enjoyed any longevity. The remaining franchises all folded by 1970.
[edit] Final tables
[edit] Eastern Division
| Teams | Played | Won | Drawn | Lost | GF | Ga | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Baltimore Bays | 32 | 14 | 9 | 9 | 53 | 47 | 162 |
| Philadelphia Spartans | 32 | 14 | 9 | 9 | 53 | 43 | 157 |
| New York Generals | 32 | 11 | 8 | 13 | 60 | 58 | 143 |
| Atlanta Chiefs | 31 | 10 | 9 | 12 | 51 | 46 | 135 |
| Pittsburgh Phantoms | 31 | 10 | 7 | 14 | 59 | 74 | 132 |
[edit] Western Division
| Teams | Played | Won | Drawn | Lost | GF | Ga | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oakland Clippers | 32 | 19 | 5 | 8 | 64 | 34 | 185 |
| St. Louis Stars | 32 | 14 | 7 | 11 | 54 | 57 | 156 |
| Chicago Spurs | 32 | 10 | 11 | 11 | 50 | 55 | 142 |
| Toronto Falcons | 32 | 10 | 5 | 17 | 59 | 70 | 127 |
| Los Angeles Toros | 32 | 7 | 10 | 15 | 42 | 61 | 114 |
[edit] Selected players
[edit] External links
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