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Big League Soccer Returns to the United States
As described in the 1966 summaries, the debut of major league soccer in 1967 was a sloppy one, caused by the inability of the major soccer organizers to reach an agreement on a single league. As a result, two leagues made their debut in 1967, the United Soccer Association, which had the sanction of FIFA, and the National Professional Soccer League, which did not, Branded an “outlaw” league by FIFA, players faced sanctions for nigning with the NPSL. The NPSL did, however, have a TV contract with CBS, and a slight head start in organizing its teams, as well as an earlier start date.
The modern era of professional soccer in the United States began on April 16 in Baltimore, where Atlanta Chiefs met the hometown Bays, to kick off the National Professional Soccer League season. The attendance for the match was 8,434, not exactly the throng which had been anticipated. CBS televised the opener, and viewers saw a bitter defensive struggle which Baltimore won, 1-0. The NPSL had adopted a novel scoring system of six points for a win, three points for a tie, and-in an effort to increase offense, as it was feared that American fans would not appreciate low-scoring games, not matter how well played-one point for each goal scored, up to a maximum of three per match. As a result, Baltimore tallied seven points in the standings, while Atlanta earned none. Purists decried the scoring system; however, such a scheme of extra points for goal-scoring had been suggested years earlier by Arthur Drewry, then president of England’s Football Association and a future president of FIFA, with the idea being rejected by the English clubs. Some individuals welcomed the NPSL’s attempt to encourage offensive-style soccer during an era that was dominated by defensive-style systems like Italy’s Catenaccio, which featured seven defenders. “Now it has taken the NPSL, starting from scratch and hoping to sell football as an all-action, exciting, positive spectacle, to tread the path” with the new scoring system, wrote a leading British writer. Ultimately, the new scoring system would do little to increase offensive production, and would lead to embarrassing results in ensuing years.
“Just for kicks!” was CBS’ marketing slogan for its NPSL game of the week, which was broadcast live and in color on Sundays. Manning the microphones for CBS was Jack Whitaker, one of the country’s most respected play-by-play men. Color commentary was supplied by Danny Blanchflower, the former Northern Irish soccer star. To the delight of many and the chagrin of the owners, Blanchflower interpreted the games as he saw them: he was not particularly impressed by the standard of play, and he was brutally frank in his assessments.
Throughout the NPSL, crowds and TV ratings dwindled. St. Louis sold 38,000 tickets to its season opener, but cold, rainy weather limited the crowd to 20,985; the spoiled and discriminating fans in that city, long America’s amateur soccer capital, soon turned their backs on the club. By the summer, the NPSL was on its way to a league-wide average gate of 4,879. St. Louis would be its top drawer, with a 7,613 average.
While the style of play was erratic in the NPSL, the league was not without some talented and smart players: Warren Archibald (New York), player-coach Phil Woosnam (Atlanta), Co Prins (Pittsburgh), Yanko Daucik (Toronto), Art Welch (Baltimore), John Best (Philadelphia), Mirko Stojanovic (Oakland), Vic Crowe (Atlanta), Ron Newman (Atlanta), Gabbo Gavric (Oakland), and Ilija Mitic (Oakland). All but Prins and Daucik would make their mark on American soccer in the years that followed, as players, coaches, and managers.
Although an “American” league, few citizens dotted the NPSL’s rosters. Only eight American citizens played in 1967, but some managed to have an impact on the circuit. Chicago Spurs’ Willy Roy-who was born in Germany but moved to the U.S. at six-was the league’s second leading scorer with 17 goals and 5 assists. Walt Chyzowich-Ukrainian born but who attended Roman Catholic High School and Temple University in Philadelphia-jumped from the ASL to become player-personnel director for Philadelphia Spartans. Out of the eight citizens in the league, only three were native: Joe Speca (Baltimore), and St. Louis featured a trio of collegiate stars: Carl Schwarzen, Carl Gentile, and Pat McBride.
As if the oft-criticized point system wasn’t enough, the NPSL also lost substantial credibility as a result of, ironically, its television contract: on May 15, barely one month into the season, referee Peter Rhodes admitted that eleven of the 21 fouls he called in the televised Toronto-Pittsburgh match were to allow CBS to work in commercials-the first “official” time outs in the sport’s long history. On one occasion, Rhodes had to push one player down who was trying to get up and resume the game because the commercial hadn’t finished.
It was in this atmosphere of snickers and rolled eyeballs that the United Soccer Association (USA) began play on May 28. Its owners were confident of success, since it had imported what it would tell the public were twelve of the best teams in the world. In fact, they were a mixed breed: many of the world’s best teams, like Santos of Brazil, often play year-round schedules, and were simply unavailable. Out of the teams that did make the trip, Wolverhampton of England, representing Los Angeles Wolves, proved to be the elite of the league, along with Washington Whips (Aberdeen of Scotland) and Cleveland Stokers (Stoke City of England, featuring the incomparable goalkeeper Gordon Banks). Other cities were represented by lesser sides, such as Dundee United of Scotland (Dallas Tornado), Cerro of Uruguay (New York Skyliners), Bangu of Brazil (the 1960 ISL Champions, now representing Houston Stars), ADO Den Hague of Holland (San Francisco Golden Gate Gales), and Glentoran of Belfast (Detroit Cougars). Rounding out the field were Sunderland of England (Vancouver Royal Canadians), Cagliari of Italy (Chicago Mustangs), Shamrock Rovers (Boston Rovers), and Hibernian of Scotland (Toronto City). Each USA franchise paid about $250,000 to import its “team”; the pairings were made after the USA contracted with each foreign club to spend the summer in America, and then assigned to each city based upon, primarily, that particular city’s ethnic makeup. New York was somewhat randomly stuck with a Uruguayan team even though there is no sizable Uruguayan presence in the Big Apple, because it was assumed New Yorkers would come out for soccer regardless of where the team came from.
With a shorter season, a series of exhibition games which whetted fans’ appetites, and more lead time, the USA got off to a better start. Among the opening crowds were 34,965 in Houston’s Astrodome, 21,871 in Yankee Stadium, and 16,431 in Dallas’ Cotton Bowl; no opener drew less than 7,400. Of course, subsequent crowds didn’t keep pace, and the league finished with an average of 7,890 per game. Houston paced the circuit with its 19,802 average, while Boston brought up the rear at 4,171.
As both leagues’ seasons progressed, it was apparent that while clubs in both organizations had spent lots of money, very little of it appeared to be directed towards procuring quality footballers. As the season progressed, owners in both leagues surmised that team rosters dominated by foreign players of questionable skill were not going to lure fans into the stadiums. Accordingly, some teams announced grand schemes to “Americanize” the game: for example, Chicago Mustangs of the USA announced that its 1968 roster would be exclusively American. In the interim, NPSL and USA clubs resorted to gimmickry to attract supporters: Baltimore ushered in cheerleaders, roving jazz combos, and half-time marching bands. Other clubs offered numerous “giveaway” days. Few fans seemed to notice or care.
In spite of the problems on and off the field, both leagues came down to high quality finishes. The USA went into its playoffs first, in the second week of July. Los Angeles Wolves, by the flip of a coin, won the right to host the championship game against Eastern Division champion Washington Whips. The match drew 17,824 to Memorial Stadium, and they had the privilege of viewing one of the most exciting games in U.S. soccer history: after 36 minutes of overtime, Los Angeles won the championship, 6-5, when Washington defender Ally Shewan accidentally nudges a long Wolves pass into his own net. Four goals were scored within 3½ minutes midway through the second half, and each scored during the overtime.
In the NPSL, Oakland prevailed over Baltimore in a two-game, total-goals series in September. Dennis Viollet’s tally 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 9,037.
Yanko Daucik of Toronto led the NPSL in scoring with 20 goals and 8 assists, and The Sporting News named Philadelphia defender Ruben “The Hatchet” Navarro the circuit’s Most Valuable Player. Willy Roy’s goal scoring netted him the Rookie of the Year award. Chicago (Cagliari)’s Roberto Boninsegna was the USA’s top scorer with 10 goals and one assist in only nine games. A major source for this 1967 review is Zander Hollander’s book “The Encyclopedia of American Soccer. Published in 1980, it is sadly now out of print.
United Soccer Association (Div. 1)
G W T L GF GA PTS % Att. Eastern Division Washington Whips 12 5 5 2 19 11 15 .625 7,800 Cleveland Stokers 12 5 4 3 19 13 14 .583 6,567 Toronto City 12 4 5 3 23 17 13 .541 6,923 Detroit Cougars 12 3 6 3 11 18 12 .500 5,708 New York Skyliners 12 2 6 4 15 17 10 .416 8,766 Boston Rovers 12 2 3 7 12 26 7 .291 4,171 Western Division Los Angeles Wolves 12 5 5 2 21 14 15 .625 7,773 San Francisco Gales 12 5 3 4 25 19 13 .541 5,422 Chicago Mustangs 12 3 7 2 20 14 13 .541 4,207 Houston Stars 12 4 4 4 19 18 12 .500 19,799 Vancouver Royal Canadians 12 3 5 4 20 28 11 .458 7,019 Dallas Tornado 12 3 3 6 14 23 9 .375 4,171 CHAMPIONSHIP: Los Angeles defeated Washington 6-5 (SD-OT). 2 points for a win, 1 for a tie. Leading Scorers GP G A TP Roberto Boninsegna (Chicago) 9 10 1 21 Henk Houwaart (San Francisco) 12 9 2 20 Paulo Borges (Houston) 8 6 3 15 Peter Dobing (Cleveland) 8 7 0 14 Rene Pas (San Francisco) 9 6 2 14 Peter Cormack (Toronto) 11 6 1 13 Benedicto Ribeiro (New York) 12 5 2 12 Colin Stein (Toronto) 8 5 1 11 Jim Storrie (Washington) 12 5 1 11 Ernie Hunt (Los Angeles) 10 4 2 10 Jackie Graham (Dallas) 11 4 2 10 Aladim Luciano (Houston) 12 4 2 10 Frank O’Neill (Boston) 12 3 4 10 Colin Grant (Toronto) 6 4 1 9 Francesco Rizzo (Chicago) 10 4 1 9 Derek Dougan (Los Angeles) 11 3 3 9 Roy Vernon (Cleveland) 11 2 5 9 Jimmy Smith (Washington) 12 4 0 8 George Herd (Vancouver) 6 3 2 8 Maurice Setters (Cleveland) 9 3 2 8 Peter Knowles (Los Angeles) 12 3 2 8 Kees Aarts (San Francisco) 9 2 4 8 Harry Heynen (San Francisco) 9 2 4 8 Leading Goalkeepers (540 mins. needed to qualify) Min Svs GA SO GAA Robert Clark (Washington) 1080 71 11 5 0.92 Phil Parkes (Los Angeles) 630 30 7 1 1.000 Pietro Pianta (Chicago) 627 57 7 1 1.004 John Kennedy (Detroit) 1017 105 14 4 1.24 Osmar Miguelucci (NY) 582 27 9 1 1.39 Allan Thomson (Toronto) 1072 60 17 1 1.427 Ubirjara Motta (Houston) 808 46 13 1 1.448 Gordon Banks (Cleveland) 576 27 10 1 1.56 Ton Thie (San Francisco) 1035 57 18 3 1.57 Pat Dunne (Boston) 1080 85 26 1 2.166 Donald MacKay (Dallas) 580 22 14 0 2.172 Derek Forster (Vancouver) 585 64 15 1 2.31 USA All-Star Team: G Bobby Clark, Washington Whips D Mario Tito, Houston Stars D Jose Fidelis, Houston Stars D Pat Stanton, Toronto City M Jim Baxter, Vancouver Royal Canadians M Tommy McMillan, Washington Whips M Ary Clemente, Houston Stars F Paulo Borges, Houston Stars F Peter Dobing, Cleveland Stokers F George Eastham, Cleveland Stokers F Roy Vernon, Cleveland Stokers
National Professional Soccer League (Div. 1)
G W T L GF GA PTS % Att. Eastern Division Baltimore Bays 32 14 9 9 53 47 162 .578 5,838 Philadelphia Spartans 32 14 9 9 53 43 157 .578 5,261 New York Generals 32 11 8 13 60 58 143 .468 4,234 Atlanta Chiefs 31 10 9 12 51 46 135 .467 6,961 Pittsburgh Phantoms 31 10 7 14 59 74 132 .435 3,122 Western Division Oakland Clippers 32 19 5 8 64 34 185 .671 4,955 St.Louis Stars 32 14 7 11 54 57 156 .546 7,613 Chicago Spurs 32 10 11 11 50 55 142 .484 2,619 Toronto Falcons 32 10 5 17 59 70 127 .390 3,792 Los Angeles Toros 32 7 10 15 42 61 114 .375 3,595 CHAMPIONSHIP Oakland defeated Baltimore 0-1 and 4-1. 6 points for a win, 3 points for a tie, and 1 point for up to three goals scored per game. Leading Scorers GP G A TP Yanko Daucik (Toronto) 25 20 8 48 Willy Roy (Chicago) 27 17 5 39 Rudi Kolbl (St. Louis) 24 14 8 36 Eli Durante (Los Angeles) 23 15 5 35 Manfred Rummel (Pittsburgh) 19 14 4 32 George Kirby (New York) 18 14 2 30 Ilija Mitic (Oakland) 19 13 3 29 Oscar Lopez (Toronto) 25 12 5 29 Bora Kostic (St. Louis) 28 12 5 29 Ernie Winchester (Chicago) 13 13 2 28 Norbert Pogrzeba (St. Louis) 31 11 6 28 Mario Baesso (Oakland) 17 11 4 26 Co Prins (Pittsburgh) 21 8 9 25 Selimir Milosevic (Oakland) 12 12 0 24 Orlando Garro (Philadelphia) 20 11 2 24 Manfred Seissler (Pittsburgh) 16 10 4 24 Phil Woosnam (Atlanta) 17 8 7 23 Ronald Cocks (Pittsburgh) 17 10 2 22 Dieter Perau (Pittsburgh) 21 8 6 22 Tibor Szalay (Philadelphia) 23 8 6 22 Fernando Azevedo (Baltimore) 15 8 4 20 Edgar Marin (Oakland) 19 8 3 19 Barry Mahy (New York) 18 8 2 18 Guy St. Vil (Baltimore) 15 8 2 18 Julio Alas (New York) 14 7 3 17 Warren Archibald (New York) 16 7 3 17 Peter McParland (Atlanta) 25 6 5 17 Ademar Saccone (Oakland) 12 6 3 15 Art Welch (Baltimore) 18 5 5 15 Leading Goalkeepers (1440 mins. needed to qualify) Min Svs GA SO GAA Mirko Stojanovic (Oakland) 2610 287 29 10 1.00 Terry Adlington (Baltimore) 2268 206 32 7 1.27 Sven Lindberg (Atlanta) 1445 134 22 3 1.37 Gernot Fraydl (Philadelphia) 2203 280 35 7 1.43 Manuel Camacho (Chicago) 2514 256 50 3 1.79 Bronco Topalovic (St. Louis) 1450 167 29 1 1.80 Blagoje Vidnic (Los Angeles) 1667 194 35 3 1.89 Geoffrey Sidebottom (NY) 1577 179 34 0 1.94 Bill Brown (Toronto) 1443 106 34 2 2.12 Alfredo DeBono (Pittsburgh) 1617 183 46 1 2.56 Most Valuable Player: Ruben Navarro, Philadelphia Spartans Coach of the Year: (None selected) Rookie of the Year: Willy Roy, Chicago Spurs NPSL All-Star Team: G - Mirko Stojanovic, Oakland Clippers D - Mel Scott, Oakland Clippers D - Badu Da Cruz, Baltimore Bays M - Juan Santisteban, Baltimore Bays M - Ilija Mitic, Oakland Clippers M - Ruben Navarro, Philadelphia Spartans F - Willy Roy, Chicago Mustangs F - Co Prins, Pittsburgh Phantoms F - Mario Baesso, Oakland Clippers F - Art Welch, Baltimore Bays F - Emment Kapengwe, Atlanta Apollos
American Soccer League (Div. 2)
In the American Soccer League, where a winter schedule was still being played, it was business as usual: teams disbanded before the completion of then season, and full schedules were not completed. With the addition of Baltimore St. Gerard’s, the league expanded to a two-division format for the first time since 1938-39. Although the league was now back up to 12 teams, the league continued to live in the past and wasn’t well equipped to handle the future. For now, the league continued on small budgets, in eastern seabord cities, with ethnic followings playing on small fields with part-time players and small crowds.
In the middle of all the chaos, Baltimore took the South Division and the ASL title, defeating North Division winners Newark Sitch in the championship match, 4-3. Eugene Chyzowich-Walt’s brother-was named Coach of the Year for his job with Newark Sitch, while Marko Worobec of Newark was named MVP.
Final ASL League Standings, 1966-67
Before the season, Hartford became the Kings. Inter SC became
New York Inter. Baltimore was added.
G W T L GF GA PTS
North Division
Newark Ukrainian Sitch 14 11 1 2 43 18 24
Ukrainian Nationals 13 11 0 2 42 8 22
Boston Tigers 12 6 2 4 35 26 14
Roma SC 9 5 3 1 19 18 11
New York Inter 13 3 3 7 27 32 9
Hartford Kings 11 2 1 8 19 38 5
South Division
Baltimore St.Gerards 9 4 3 2 20 17 11
N.B. Hungarian Americans 12 3 3 6 24 41 9
Olympia 12 1 3 8 16 35 5
Newark Portuguese 10 1 2 7 12 28 4
Newark Falcons 2 0 0 2 (as of 9/19/66)
CHAMPIONSHIP: Baltimore defeated Newark Ukrainian Stich 4-3.
Newark Falcons disbanded during the season. After the season, Olympia folded.
Top Scorers: (as of April 23, 1967)
George Benitz, Ukrainian Nationals 16
Alec Falk, Newark Sitch 12
Peter Short, Newark Sitch 12
Walter Chyzowich, Newark Sitch 11
Henry Wagner, Ukrain Nationals 10
Sal Scata, Hartford 9
Otto Weber, New Brunswick Hungarian 8
Most Valuable Player: Myron Worobec, Newark Sitch
Coach of the Year: Eugene Czyzowych, Newark Sitch
Amateur Leagues
German-American League (NY)
A major change in standings came to pass as New York Ukrainians took the top honors in a close season race, with new York Hota close behind much of the season. Greek-Americans and Hellenic SC tied for 4th. The GASL, already steadily being oversheadowed by the ASL, not faded even further as the new USA and NPSL pro leagues took the lions share of attention. This would begin a trend towards greater obscurity for the amateur leagues of the region, once such a key part of the seasonal soccer activity.
Major Division final standings
GP W D L GF GA PT
NY Ukrainians 18 12 2 4 45 18 26
New York Hota 18 9 6 3 28 24 24
Greek-Americans 18 9 3 6 54 21 21
Hellenic-SC 18 8 5 5 31 24 21
SC Eintracht 18 8 3 7 28 27 19
Blue Star 18 7 4 7 25 36 18
Deutschungarn 18 5 6 7 27 36 16
Giuliana FC 18 5 6 7 27 36 16
NY Hungarian 18 4 5 9 24 40 13
DSC Brooklyn 18 2 2 12 7 18 5
DSC Brooklyn was demoted.
League Champion: New York Ukrainians
Indoor season champion: German-Hungarians defeated Greek-Americans 3-2
National Soccer League of Chicago
Schwaben climbed back to a familiar position as they reclaimed the championship of the league for the first time since their four year dynasty in the late 50’s. Green/White (Blau-Weiss Gotschee) tied them in the regular standings with kickers right behind. Once again, it was a close and exciting race. As in New York, the NSL was suddenly faced with professional competition with both of the new pro leagues fielding clubs in the city. Although the league continues even into the 21st century, it was just now entering into an obscurity from which it likely will not recover. This was also apparently the last year the NSL held it’s long-running indoor season.
Major Division final standings
GP W D L PT
Schwaben 13 6 4 3 16
Green/White 13 7 2 4 16
Kickers 13 6 3 4 15
Lions 12 5 3 4 13
Eagles 13 5 2 6 12
Olympic 7 5 1 1 11
N. A. A. A. 13 3 2 7 9
Hansa 12 1 2 9 4
League Champion: Schwaben
Indoor Champion: Eagles (9-6-2-1-20-5-14)
Continental League (So. Calif.): Los Angeles (14-10-2-2-48-21-22)
Peninsula Soccer Football League (So. Calif.): Portuguese S.C. (13-2-3-55-31)
Inter-American Tournament: Chicago Mustangs (NASL) defeated Porernor of Lima, Peru on points. Also playing: Bogota All-Stars (Colombia), and A.E.F. (Ecuador)
Florida State Cup: North Miami defeated Florida Stars 7-2
Florida Major League: Hollywood (12-8-2-2-57-29-18)
New Orleans League: Honduras
Hawaii Association: Church College (9-1-0-44-6-19); also won Hawaii State Cup:
Maryland State Open (Rowland) Cup: Britannica (also won Virginia Festival Cup
Maryland State Amateur (Stewart) Cup: British Lions
Baltimore Soccer League: Bucky Helms Soccer Club
Washington DC League: Britannica (12-9-3-0-21-42-11)
New Jersey State “A” Cup: Elizabeth Sport defeated Hoboken FC 4-1
Schaefer Indoor League of New Jersey: Greek Americans (7-3-6-30-8-16)
Rheingold Outdoor League of New Jersey: Hackensack Eagles (18-15-3-0-44-11-33)
Northwest New York Challenge Cup: Germania of Buffalo
Buffalo & District League: Germania #1 (also won Pinkerton Cup)
Rochester Soccer League: Ranger A (12-10-2-0-53-16-22)
Dr. Manning Memorial Tryphy (New York State: Pozzalla SC
Knickerbocker Cup: German American AC
Association Cup: Erintracht SC Reserves
Italian-American League: Pozzallo SC (18-15-3-0-56-16-33)
Southern New England Cup: Portuiguese Sports (New Bedford), Fall River SC (Co-champs)
Eastern District Soccer League: Hispaniola; Heidecker Cup: Washington Heights
National Soccer League of Connecticut: Hartford Italian-American Stars (15-3-0-64-16-32)
Massachusetts State League: Hudson Portuguese “A” (9-2-2-20)
Boston & District League: East: Boston Celtic (10-2-0-22); West: East Boston Italia (10-2-1-22)
New England Soccer League: Lowell Astros (13-3-0-26)
Interstate Soccer League: Uniao Faialense
Greater Portland (Me) League: Gorham Hilltoppers (7-1-1-15)
Western Penn Cup: Castle Shannon AC defeated Ft. Steuben SC 11-4
Keystone League (Western Penn: Castle Shannon A.C. (10-8-1-1-38-18-17)
Michigan State Cup: Carpathian Kickers defeated Flint
Peel Cup (Illinois Challenge Cup: Kickers
Detroit Soccer League Serbians (delayed until late 1968)
Western Michigan League – Dombrouski Trophy: BeQuick
Wisconsin State Cup (Uihlein Trophy): Milwaukee Brewers defeated Polonia Sport Club 2-0
Governor Kohler Memorial Cup: Bavarian Reserves defeated Milwaukee Brewer Reserves 3-1
CYC Major League (St. Louis): Good Counsel
Colorado State League: Denver Kickers
Utah Association League: Incas (14-12-1-1-78-16-25)
Rocky Mountain Championship: Denver Kickers defeated Incas (Utah) 1-0
Washington State Cup: Oslo
Seattle Soccer League: Seattle Hungarians (19-0-1)
The US National Team
The USSF breathed a sigh of relief when the warring USA and NPSL, facing bankruptcy declared peace and merged to form the North American Soccer League. The USSF had been facing sanctions by FIFA over the NPSL’s outlaw status, a situation they could do little about.
On the Olympic front, the US for once did not have to face Mexico, who qualified automatically as host country. The US had only to play Bermuda in the preliminary round. The team, effectively co-coached by manager Walter Giesler and coach Geza Henni, was turbulent. Henni was in effective control, but did not have the time or resources to prepare the team on a serious basis. The players came primarily from the East and Chicago, and included such future names as Werner Fricker, Rudy Getzinger and Bob Gansler.
The team, again assembled at the last minute, managed a 1-1 draw at Bermuda. They reassembled a week later in Chicago, and gave away the game in the 28th minute, when goalie Mike Ivanow did not call his teammates to make a protective wall on what he thought was an indirect free kick, allowing Gladwys Daniels to score. Bermuda held on to win 1-0, eliminating the US from further competition. A grave disappointment, considering the easy competition the team faced. Ultimately, Hungary took the gold, Bulgaria took the silver and Japan took the Bronze.
USA National Team results
1967 Totals: 0W, 1D, 1L
May 27 67 L 0-1 Bermuda +Chicago, IL, USA (OLQ'68)
May 21 67 D 1-1 Bermuda +Hamilton, Bermuda (OLQ'68)
Bendeck
U. S. Open Cup
New York Greek-Americans won the first of their three consecutive Open Cup trophies when they scored a 4-2 victory over Orange County of Southern California in the final at Eintracht Oval in New York on July 23.
Greek-Americans had beaten Paterson Roma of New Jersey, 2-0 and 1-0, in the two-leg eastern semifinal, and another New York team, Blue Star, in the quarterfinals, 3-2. Orange County, reaching the final for the second year in a row, again defeated Chicago Kickers in the western semifinal, this time by 1-0. It had eliminated San Francisco Greek-Americans in the quarterfinals, gaining a 5-1 win in the second leg after losing the first, 3-1.
The other quarterfinals were Paterson Roma 2, Philadelphia Ukrainian Nationals 0, and Chicago Kickers 2, St. Louis Kutis 1.
International Tours
Chelsea, England: Results: 8 wins, 1 draw, 1 loss.
Chelsea 1, Dundee 3 (at Los Angeles) Chelsea 5, Vancouver 2 (at Vancouver) Chelsea 5, Seattle 0 (at Seattle) Chelsea 3, Victoria 2 (at Victoria, BC) Chelsea 2, Dundee 2 (at Hartford, CT) Chelsea 9, Bermuda 2 (at Bermuda) Chelsea 2, Bermuda 0 (at Bermuda) Chelsea 4, Bermuda 2 (at Bermuda) Chelsea 11, Eintracht 0 (at Boston) Chelsea 4, Rochester 2 (at Rochester, NY)
Dundee, Scotland: Results: 10 wins, 1 draw, 0 losses.
Dundee 12, Ukrainian 0 (at Buffalo) Dundee 3, Newark Sitch 1 (at Harrison, NJ) Dundee 15, Kearny Scots 1 (at Harrison, NJ) Dundee 3, Boston Tigers 0 (at Philadelphia) Dundee 1, Philadelphia Ukrainians 0 (at Boston) Dundee 8, St. Louis CYO 0 (at St. Louis) Dundee 4, Manchester United 2 (at San Francisco) Dundee 3, Chelsea 1 (at Los Angeles) Dundee 6, San Diego 0 (at San Diego) Dundee 3, Cobras 1 (at Miami) Dundee 2, Chelsea 2 (at Hartford)
Concordia of Hamburg, West Germany: Results: 5 wins, 1 draw, 0 losses.
Concordia 1, Greek-Americans 1 (at new York) Concordia 4, Danube 1 (at Cleveland) Concordia 4, Carpathian Kickers 2 (at detroit) Concordia 4, All-Stars 1 (at Chicago) Concordia 5, Pabst Blue Ribbon 0 (at Milwaukee) Concordia 5, All Stars 1 (at Minneapolis)
Bavarian All-Stars, Germany): Results: 3 wins, 0 draws, 1 loss.
Bavarian 2, German-American League All-Stars 5 (at New York) Bavarian 1, Elizabeth SC 0 (at Elizabeth, NJ) Bavarian 7, Philadelphia All-Stars 7 (at Philadelphia) Bavarian 4, BW Gottschee/NY Hungarian 1 (at New York)
Eintracht, Braunschweis, West Germany: Results: 3 wins, 3 draws, 0 losses.
Eintracht Braunschweig 3, Chelsea 1 (at Boston) Eintracht Braunschweig 7, Hartford 1 (at Hartford) Eintracht Braunschweig 2, Cerro, Montivideo 2 (at New Jersey) Eintracht Braunschweig 3, LKS Lodz 2 (at Chicago) Eintracht Braunschweig 2, LKS Lodz 2 (at Milwaukee) Eintracht Braunschweig 1, LKS Lodz 1 (at Detroit)
Heinbronn, West Germany: Results: 9 wins, 0 draws, 0 losses.
Heinbronn 2, Elizabeth/Hoboken 1 (at Union, NJ) Heinbronn 8, Albany(NY) Select 2 (at Albany) Heinbronn 6, London (Canada) 0 (at London) Heilbronn 10, Burlington, NJ 1 (at Burlington) Heilbronn 4, Trenton NJ Kickers 1 (at Trenton) Heilbronn 1, Philadelphia German-Hungarians 0 (at Philadelphia) Heilbronn 2, Philadelphia All-Stars 0 (at Philadelphia) Heilbronn 3, Hellenic (NY) 2 (at New York) Heilbronn 4, Haledon (NJ) 1 (at Haledon, NJ)
The College Game
In the 1967 NCAA Tournament, Many familiar names were again in attendance. LIU/Brooklyn defeated Trinity College 3-1, Michigan State defeated Akron 3-1, Navy defeated Buffalo State 2-1, and St. Louis defeated San Jose State 4-3. In the semifinals, Michigan State defeated LIU/Brooklyn 4-0, and St. Louis defeated Navy 1-0. The championship returned to St. Louis, MO. The game was scheduled for December 2, but was called due to inclement weather, and Michigan State and St. Louis were declared co-champions.
Conference Champions: West Coast Intercollegiate Soccer Conference: San Jose State New England Intercollegiate Soccer League: Brown Ivy League: Brown Metropolitan Intercollegiate Soccer Conference: Long Island University Atlantic Coast Conference: Maryland New York State Athletic Conference: Buffalo Rocky Mountain Intercollegiate League: Colorado College Ohio Collegiate Soccer Conference: Akron Mason-Dixon Conference: Roanoke, Loyola (co-champions) Yankee Conference: Vermont Southern California Soccer Association: UCLA Middle Atlantic States Athletic Conference: Elizabethtown College All-Americans: G - Ford Brunner, Akron RF - John Marks, Middlebury LF - Tom Teach, Navy RH - Myron Bakun, Newark CH - Patrick Migliore, Brown LH - Jacob Meehi, Temple OR - Henry Camacho, San Jose IR - Sandor Hites, San Francisco CF - Walter Werner, St. Louis IL - Kirk Apostolidis, San Francisco OL - Trevor Harris, Michigan State Hermann Trophy: Dov Markus, Long Island University NAIA Championship: Quincy 3, Rockhurst 1 NJCAA Championship: Florissant Valley Community College 4, Monroe Comm. Coll. 3
Other Action
Kennedy Cup: Held in Vancouver. Winner: Victoria O’Keefe’s
May 6, 1967 - Mexico Selects 1: San Francisco 1 (Mexico won on penalty kicks) May 6, 1967 - Victoria O'Keefe's 3: Los Angeles All-Stars 1 May 7, 1967 - Los Angeles All-Stars 0: San Francisco 0 (3rd Place) May 7, 1967 - Victoria O'Keefe's 2: Mexico Selects 1 (Final)
1967 National Amateur Cup Final: Hartford Italians defeated St. Louis Kutis, 2-0.
National Junior Cup: Lighthouse Boys Club of Philadelphia
CONCACAF Nations Cup: The US did not compete in 1967. Guatemala won the round robin tournament, with Mexico finishing second.
CONCACAF Champions Cup: Philadelphia Ukrainians lost to Alianca of El Salvador, the Central American Champion on November 12 and 15. The scores were 2-1 and 1-0. Alianza then defeated Racing Club of Haiti for the title, as top club in North America. On November 19, the Ukrainians draw with Sonsonate 1-1 in an exhibition.
Pan-American Games: The US competed in Group B, where they lost 2-1 to Canada and 7-3 to Bermuda before beating Cuba 2-1. They finished third and did not advance. The medals went to Mexico (gold), Bermuda (silver), and Trinidad & Tobago (bronze).
National Soccer Hall of Fame: In 1967, Colin Commander, Harry Fleming, William Morisette, and Wally Peters were inducted into the National Soccer Hall of Fame.