 | |
| Founded | 1967; 58 years ago (1967) |
|---|---|
| Folded | merged withUSA to formNASL in 1968 |
| Country | United States |
| Other club from | Canada |
| Number of clubs | 10 |
| Level on pyramid | 1 |
| Last champions | Oakland Clippers (1967) |
| Most championships | Oakland Clippers (1) |
| Broadcaster(s) | CBS |
TheNational Professional Soccer League (NPSL) was a North American professionalsoccer league that existed for only the 1967 season before merging with theUnited Soccer Association (USA) to form theNorth American Soccer League. It was a "wild league", i.e. unlike its competitor, the US, not associated withFIFA. It had ten charter members, nine from the United States and one from Canada. To encourage attacking play, the NPSL introduced a new standings points system that was later used by the NASL – 6 points for a win, 3 for a draw, 0 for a loss and 1 bonus point for each of the first three goals scored. The circuit's commissioner was Ken Macker, an American publisher of three Philippines-based newspapers. The nameNational Professional Soccer League was revived in 1990 and used by a United States professionalindoor soccer league.
In 1966, a group of sports entrepreneurs led byBill Cox andRobert Hermann formed a consortium called theNorth 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, theNational Soccer League, led by Richard Millen, to form theNational Professional Soccer League. A third group, theUnited Soccer Association was sanctioned by both theUSSFA andFIFA. The NPSL did not receive sanctioning by theUSSFA as they refused to pay the $25,000 fee,[1] was branded an outlawed entity by FIFA, and players faced penalties for signing with it. Despite this the NPSL, which secured a TV contract fromCBS, set about recruiting players, and announced it would be ready to launch in 1967.
| Franchises | Stadiums (capacity) | Owners |
|---|---|---|
| Atlanta Chiefs | Atlanta Stadium (50,893) | William Bartholomay (Atlanta Braves) |
| Baltimore Bays | Memorial Stadium (52,185) | Jerold Hoffberger (Baltimore Orioles) |
| Chicago Spurs | Soldier Field (100,000) | William B. Cutler,Michael Butler |
| Los Angeles Toros | Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum (93,000) | Dan Reeves (Los Angeles Rams) |
| New York Generals | Yankee Stadium (67,000) | RKO General Inc., Elser Enterprises Inc. |
| Oakland Clippers | Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum (53,000) | Joseph O'Neill, H.T. Hilliard |
| Philadelphia Spartans | Temple University Stadium (20,000) | John Rooney (Pittsburgh Steelers) |
| Pittsburgh Phantoms | Forbes Field (35,714) | Peter Block, Richard George (Pittsburgh Penguins) |
| St. Louis Stars | Busch Memorial Stadium (50,000) | Bob Hermann/Bill Bidwill (St. Louis Cardinals football) |
| Toronto Falcons | Varsity Stadium (25,000) | Joseph Peters |
The NPSL kicked off on Sunday, April 16 with a full slate of five matches attended by a total of 46,547 fans. The largest crowd of the day was found in Philadelphia, where 14,163 cheered the hometown Spartans to a 2–0 victory over the Toronto Falcons.[2] The most notable game however, was Baltimore's 1–0 home victory over Atlanta in front of a crowd of just 8,434. It was televised byCBS which had signed a two-year contract to broadcast a game every Sunday afternoon live and in color.Play-by-play voiceJack Whitaker was joined by the formerNorthern Ireland internationalDanny Blanchflower as apundit. Blanchflower was not impressed with the standard of play and did not hesitate to say so.[3]
The NPSL was also criticised after Pittsburgh's 2–1 triumph over Toronto in the Falcons' home opener on Sunday, May 14. Of the twenty-one fouls that afternoon, eleven were called to allow CBS to insertcommercials into its telecast. Referee Peter Rhodes also admitted that he had forced players to fake injuries to serve the same purpose. This raised many questions about whether thetelevision networks and itssponsors were having too much influence over televised sporting events.
The NPSL did however attract some notable players including three formerAston Villa playersPhil Woosnam,Vic Crowe andPeter McParland who, together with another veteran of theEnglish League,Ron Newman, all turned out for theAtlanta Chiefs. Two ex-Real Madrid players,Juan Santisteban andYanko Daucik, also turned out for theBaltimore Bays andToronto Falcons respectively. Santisteban made the NPSL All-Star team and Daucik finished as the league's top scorer.
The Oakland Clippers laid claim to the regular season title boasting both the best record and the most total points in either division. In the NPSL Finals the Western Division champion Clippers defeated the Bays, winners of the Eastern Division for the NPSL Championship by virtue of a 4–2 aggregate.Dennis Viollet gave Baltimore a 1–0 win on Sunday, September 3, before a home crowd of 16,619. Six days later, in the second leg at Oakland, Dragan Đukić scored ahat trick as the Clippers won 4–1 in front of 9,037.
On the same day as the second leg of the NPSL final, the St. Louis Stars defeated Philadelphia, 2–1, in a battle of division runner-ups held in St. Louis before a crowd of 9,565. The victory gave the Stars a berth in the Commissioner's Cup versus Oakland.[4] On September 18, the Clippers completed the NPSLtreble, by defeating the Stars for the Commissioner's Cup in front of 8,415 fans atBusch Memorial Stadium by the score of 6–3.[5]
P= Played, W = Wins, L = Losses, T= Ties GF = Goals For, GA = Goals Against, Pts= point system
6 points for a win, 3 points for a tie,0 points for a loss,1 point for each goal scored up to three per game.
| Eastern Division | P | W | L | T | 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 | 13 | 8 | 60 | 58 | 143 |
| Atlanta Chiefs | 31 | 10 | 12 | 9 | 51 | 46 | 135 |
| Pittsburgh Phantoms | 31 | 10 | 14 | 7 | 59 | 74 | 132 |
| Western Division | P | W | L | T | GF | GA | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oakland Clippers | 32 | 19 | 8 | 5 | 64 | 34 | 185 |
| St. Louis Stars | 32 | 14 | 11 | 7 | 54 | 57 | 156 |
| Chicago Spurs | 32 | 10 | 11 | 11 | 50 | 55 | 142 |
| Toronto Falcons | 32 | 10 | 17 | 5 | 59 | 70 | 127 |
| Los Angeles Toros | 32 | 7 | 15 | 10 | 42 | 61 | 114 |
GP = Games Played, G = Goals (worth 2 points), A =Assists (worth 1 point), Pts = Points
| Player | Team | GP | G | A | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Yanko Daucik | Toronto | 17 | 20 | 8 | 48 |
| Willy Roy | Chicago | 27 | 17 | 5 | 39 |
| Rudi Kolbl | St. Louis | 23 | 15 | 8 | 38 |
| Eli Durante | Los Angeles | 23 | 15 | 5 | 35 |
| Manfred Rummel | Pittsburgh | 19 | 14 | 4 | 32 |
| Ilija Mitic | Oakland | 19 | 13 | 3 | 29 |
| Oscar Lopez | Toronto | 25 | 12 | 5 | 29 |
| Bora Kostić | St. Louis | 28 | 12 | 5 | 29 |
| Ernie Winchester | Chicago | 13 | 13 | 2 | 28 |
| Norbert Pogrzeba | St. Louis | 31 | 11 | 6 | 28 |
| Orlando Garro | Philadelphia | 20 | 12 | 2 | 26 |
| Mario Baesso | Oakland | 17 | 11 | 4 | 26 |
| Co Prins | Pittsburgh | 21 | 8 | 9 | 25 |
| Sele Milosevic | Oakland | 12 | 12 | 0 | 24 |
| Manfred Seissler | Pittsburgh | 16 | 10 | 4 | 24 |
| First Team[7][8] | Position |
|---|---|
| Mirko Stojanovic, Oakland | G |
| Mel Scott, Oakland | D |
| Badu DaCruz, Baltimore | D |
| Juan Santisteban, Baltimore | M |
| Ilija Mitic, Oakland | M |
| Rubén Navarro, Philadelphia | M |
| Willy Roy, Chicago | F |
| Co Prins, Pittsburgh | F |
| Mario Baesso, Oakland | F |
| Art Welch, Baltimore | F |
| Emment Kapengwe, Atlanta | F |
| Western Division Champion | Aggregate | Eastern Division Champion | First leg | Second leg | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oakland Clippers | 4–2 | Baltimore Bays | 0–1 | 4–1 | September 3 •Memorial Stadium • 16,619 September 9 •Oakland-Alameda Coliseum • 9,037 |
| September 3, 1967First leg | Baltimore Bays | 1–0 | Oakland Clippers | Memorial Stadium,Baltimore, Maryland |
| 2:15 PMEDT | Dennis Viollet 71:41' (Santisteban) | Report 1 Report 2 | Attendance: 16,619 Referee: Walter Crossley (England)[citation needed] |
| September 9, 1967Second leg | Oakland Clippers[9] | 4–1 | Baltimore Bays | Oakland-Alameda Coliseum,Oakland, California |
| 12:45PDT | Dragan Djukic 27' (Davidovic) Dragan Djukic 35' (Davidovic)Dragan Djukic 38' (pen.)Edgar Marín (Mitic) 58' | Report 1 Report 2 | Juan Santisteban 38'Guy Saint-Vil 41' (Asher Welch) | Attendance: 9,037 Referee: Mike Ashkenazi |
1967 NPSL Champions:Oakland Clippers
The Commissioner's Cup was a one-off challenge match between the NPSL Champion and the winner of a third-place match between the two division runners-up. On September 9 the St. Louis Stars defeated the Philadelphia Spartans 2–1 to secure their place in the match. Earlier that same day the Oakland Clippers were crowned NPSL champions with a, 4–2, two-match aggregate victory over the Baltimore Bays to claim the other cup spot.[10]
| September 18, 1967Cup match | St. Louis Stars | 3–6 | Oakland Clippers | Busch Memorial Stadium,St. Louis, Missouri |
| 7:30 PMCDT | Norb Pogrezba 36' Bora Kostić , (pen.) | Report | Joe Fuhrman 10' (o.g.) Edgar Marín 25', 51'George Lievano 28'Ilija Mitić 40'Sele Milosević 80' | Attendance: 8,415 Referee: Emmett Brennan |
In December 1967, the NPSL merged with theUnited Soccer Association to form theNorth 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 andPittsburgh Phantoms both folded, whileChicago Spurs becameKansas City Spurs andLos Angeles Toros becameSan Diego Toros. Together withNew York Generals,Baltimore Bays,Atlanta Chiefs,Toronto Falcons,St. Louis Stars andOakland Clippers, these teams then became founding members of the NASL. However, onlyAtlanta Chiefs, who won the inaugural NASL title, andSt. Louis Stars enjoyed any longevity. The remaining franchises all folded by 1970.
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