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| Founded | 1966; 59 years ago (1966) |
|---|---|
| Folded | Merged withNPSL to formNASL in 1968 |
| Country | United States |
| Other club from | Canada |
| Confederation | CONCACAF |
| Number of clubs | 12 |
| Level on pyramid | 1 |
| Last champions | Los Angeles Wolves (1967) |
| Most championships | Los Angeles Wolves (1) |
TheUnited Soccer Association (USA) was a professionalsoccer league featuring teams based in the United States and Canada. The league survived only one season before merging with theNational Professional Soccer League to form theNorth American Soccer League. Every team in the league was actually an imported European or South American club, that was then outfitted with a "local" name.Dick Walsh served as the commissioner.
In 1966 a group of sportsentrepreneurs, led byJack Kent Cooke and includingLamar Hunt andSteve Stavro, formed a consortium known as theNorth American Soccer League with the intention of forming a professional soccer league in North America. This group was subsequently sanctioned by both theUSSFA andFIFA. However a rival consortium known as theNational Professional Soccer League also emerged and to avoid confusion Cooke renamed his consortium theUnited Soccer Association. The USA originally intended to launch its league in the spring of 1968. However the NPSL, which secured a TV contract fromCBS, announced it was ready to launch in 1967. Not wanting to lose ground to its rival, the USA decided to fast track its launch. Without any players of its own, it opted to import whole teams from Europe and South America. It was intended that these teams would represent the franchises during the inaugural season, giving them time to build their own squads for the following season. By May 1967, the USA had garnered applications for franchises wanting to create teams for the next season. An application was made for a team inMiami, to be called the Miami Cobras.[1] ACalgary-based franchise was also in the offing.[2]
After a series of exhibition games, the USA began playing on May 28 and got off to a good start. TheHouston Stars attracted an opening crowd of 34,965.[4] However subsequent attendances did not keep pace and the league finished with an average of 7,890 per game. Of the twelve teams, theLos Angeles Wolves, represented byWolverhampton Wanderers and featuringDerek Dougan, theCleveland Stokers, represented byStoke City and featuringGordon Banks, and theWashington Whips, represented byAberdeen, emerged as the strongest sides.Roberto Boninsegna ofChicago Mustangs finished as the league's top scorer with 10 goals.
The USA entered its playoff stage in July 1967. TheWestern Division championLos Angeles Wolves, by the flip of a coin, won the right to host thechampionship game against theEastern Division championWashington Whips. The match drew 17,824 toLos Angeles Memorial Coliseum. The Wolves won the championship beating the Whips, 6–5, after 36 minutes of extra-time. The wide-open final featured twohat-tricks, threepenalties given(two converted), four goals scored within a four-minute period midway through the second half and each team scoring during (non-golden goal) extra time. The game was finally decided when Whips defenderAlly Shewan scored anown goal shortly after the start ofgolden goal extra time.
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Washington Whips | 12 | 5 | 5 | 2 | 19 | 11 | +8 | 15 | 1967 USA Championship |
| 2 | Cleveland Stokers | 12 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 19 | 13 | +6 | 14 | |
| 3 | Toronto City | 12 | 4 | 5 | 3 | 23 | 17 | +6 | 13 | |
| 4 | Detroit Cougars | 12 | 3 | 6 | 3 | 11 | 18 | −7 | 12 | |
| 5 | New York Skyliners | 12 | 2 | 6 | 4 | 15 | 17 | −2 | 10 | |
| 6 | Boston Rovers | 12 | 2 | 3 | 7 | 12 | 26 | −14 | 7 |
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Los Angeles Wolves(C) | 12 | 5 | 5 | 2 | 21 | 14 | +7 | 15 | 1967 USA Championship |
| 2 | San Francisco Golden Gate Gales | 12 | 5 | 3 | 4 | 25 | 19 | +6 | 13 | |
| 3 | Chicago Mustangs | 12 | 3 | 7 | 2 | 20 | 14 | +6 | 13 | |
| 4 | Houston Stars | 12 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 19 | 18 | +1 | 12 | |
| 5 | Vancouver Royal Canadians | 12 | 3 | 5 | 4 | 20 | 28 | −8 | 11 | |
| 6 | Dallas Tornado | 12 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 14 | 23 | −9 | 9 |
| Los Angeles Wolves | 6–5[5] (a.e.t.) | Washington Whips |
|---|---|---|
Knowles 3'Burnside 65',67',82'Dougan 113'Shewan  122' (o.g.) | Report | Smith 21' Munro 64' (pen.),89',120' (pen.)Storrie 66' |
1967 USA Champions:Los Angeles Wolves
| First Team[9][10] | Position | Second Team |
|---|---|---|
| Bobby Clark, Washington | G | Gordon Banks, Cleveland |
| Mario Tito, Houston | D | Eric Skeels, Cleveland |
| Jose Fidelis, Houston | D | Jan Villerius, San Francisco |
| Pat Stanton, Toronto | M | Joe Davis, Toronto |
| Jim Baxter, Vancouver | M | John Moore, Cleveland |
| Tommy McMillan, Washington | M | Miguel Angelo Longo, Chicago |
| Ary Clemente, Houston | F | Doug Smith, Dallas |
| Paulo Borges, Houston | F | Henk Houwaart, San Francisco |
| Peter Dobing, Cleveland | F | Roberto Boninsegna, Chicago |
| George Eastham, Cleveland | F | Benedicto Ribeiro, New York |
| Roy Vernon, Cleveland | F | Peter Cormack, Toronto |
In December 1967 the USA merged withNational Professional Soccer League to form theNorth American Soccer League, taking the original name of the USA group. As a result of the merger several of the original USA franchises folded. This was partly to avoid some cities having two teams. As a result,Toronto City,New York Skyliners and theSan Francisco Golden Gate Gales were disbanded in favor of their NPSL rivals,Toronto Falcons,New York Generals andOakland Clippers. The owners of the Gales franchise subsequently merged with theVancouver Royal Canadians and theBoston Rovers were relaunched as theBoston Beacons. Together with theCleveland Stokers,Los Angeles Wolves,Houston Stars,Washington Whips andDallas Tornado, these teams then became founding members of the NASL. However, after the 1968 season all of these franchises, with the exception of Dallas folded. For their part, the Tornado went on to become NASL champions in 1971 and continued to play in the NASL until 1981, when they merged with theTampa Bay Rowdies.[12][13]
The idea of importing teams to represent franchises was revived during the1969 NASL season. BothWolverhampton Wanderers andDundee United returned. This time the former representedKansas City Spurs and again emerged as champions. The latter linked up once again withDallas Tornado. Two otherEnglish League teamsWest Ham United andAston Villa representedBaltimore Bays andAtlanta Chiefs whileKilmarnock of theScottish Football League played as theSt. Louis Stars.
| Team | GP | Total | High | Low | Average |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Houston Stars | 6 | 118,793 | 34,965 | 12,380 | 19,799 |
| Dallas Tornado | 6 | 55,360 | 20,375 | 4,916 | 9,227 |
| New York Skyliners | 6 | 52,596 | 21,871 | 3,517 | 8,766 |
| Washington Whips | 7[a] | 54,597 | 9,760 | 5,112 | 7,800 |
| Los Angeles Wolves | 6 | 46,640 | 11,572 | 5,231 | 7,773 |
| Vancouver Royal Canadians | 6 | 42,113 | 10,053 | 5,114 | 7,019 |
| Toronto City | 6 | 41,538 | 15,178 | 3,152 | 6,923 |
| Cleveland Stokers | 6 | 39,399 | 9,793 | 4,516 | 6,567 |
| Detroit Cougars | 6 | 34,247 | 11,629 | 648 | 5,708 |
| San Francisco Golden Gate Gales | 6 | 32,531 | 8,177 | 3,853 | 5,422 |
| Chicago Mustangs | 6 | 25,239 | 9,872 | 2,013 | 4,207 |
| Boston Rovers | 6 | 25,025 | 7,343 | 853 | 4,171 |
| Total | 73[a] | 568,078 | 34,965 | 648 | 7,782 |
Sources:kenn.com
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