| Founded | 1963 |
|---|---|
| Country | Canada |
| Confederation | CONCACAF |
| Number of clubs | High of 10, Low of 4 |
TheWestern Canada Soccer League was asoccer league inCanada. The league operated for eight seasons over a nine-year period from 1963 to 1971 and eventually operated across nine cities in four Canadian provinces and one American state. In the 1960s, the Western Canada Soccer League was one of four major leagues in Canadian soccer alongside thePacific Coast League, theNational Soccer League of Ontario/Quebec, and theEastern Canada Professional Soccer League.[1]
In 1963, the league featured 10 clubs across five cities in Alberta and Saskatchewan. In 1967, the league expanded to Manitoba,[2] thus becoming the first Canadian soccer league to operate a league schedule across three provinces. The league later added teams in British Columbia and, for one season only, a team in Washington,United States.
Along with a regular season schedule that usually operated from May to August, the Molson Cup playoffs took place in August or September. Teams also participated in other competitions including their provincial playoffs and Canada Soccer's nationalThe Challenge Trophy competition. In 1967, in the weeks after winning the league's playoff Molson Cup, the Calgary Buffalo Kickers became the first and only Western Canada Soccer League team to reach the national final (a 2–1 loss to Toronto Ballymena).[3]
The Western Canada Soccer League was co-founded by Alec Castleton andSam Donaghey, both of whom were involved with theAlberta Soccer Association. The league's inaugural match was played on May 4, 1963, in Saskatoon,[4] with opening weekend matches in Calgary and Edmonton postponed because of inclement weather. The price of admission to that opening match atGriffiths Stadium was 50 cents per ticket. Saskatoon Concordia won that first match 7–1 over Saskatoon Hollandia,[5] with Adolf Becker the four-goal hero and George Turay scoring the first-ever goal in the Western Canada Soccer League.
The most famous player to play for a Western Canada League team, albeit not in league action, wasStanley Matthews who dressed for Calgary ATCO in two exhibition matches in July 1964.[6][7] Matthews joined the Calgary squad under player-managerLes Medley, who was one of Matthews' formerEngland teammates.
The league featured a single table from 1963 to 1969 and then separate Coast and Prairie divisions in 1970 and 1971. There was also a separate playoff (Cup) competition from 1964 to 1970. Regina Concordia SC were the first champions in 1963,[8] but they were upset in the Molson Cup by 10th place Lethbridge Hungária on 24 August 1963.[9]
| Year | Play-off champions Challenge Cup | Play-off runners-up | Regular season champions |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1963 | Lethbridge Hungária SC | Regina Concordia SC | Regina Concordia SC |
| 1964 | Regina Concordia SC | Lethbridge Hungária SC | Regina Concordia SC |
| 1966 | Calgary Buffalo Kickers FC | Regina Concordia SC | Edmonton Canadians |
| 1967 | Calgary Buffalo Kickers FC | Saskatoon City SC | Edmonton Victoria Canadians |
| 1968 | Calgary Kickers FC | Edmonton Victoria Canadians | Calgary Kickers FC |
| 1969 | Vancouver Spartans | Regina Concordia SC | Vancouver Spartans |
| 1970 | Victoria Royals | Regina Concordia SC | Coast: Victoria Royals Prairies: Regina Concordia SC |
| Team | Playoff championships | Regular season championships | Total championships | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Titles | Years | Titles | Years | ||
| Calgary Kickers FC | 3 | 1966, 1967, 1968 | 1 | 1968 | 4 |
| Regina Concordia SC | 1 | 1964 | 3 | 1963, 1964, 1970 | 4 |
| Vancouver Spartans | 1 | 1969 | 1 | 1969 | 2 |
| Edmonton Canadians / Edmonton Victoria Canadians | 0 | 2 | 1966, 1967 | 2 | |
| Victoria Royals | 1 | 1970 | 1 | 1970 | 2 |
| Lethbridge Hungária SC | 1 | 1963 | 0 | 1 | |
Twelve players from the Western Canada Soccer League have since been inducted in theCanada Soccer Hall of Fame as honoured players.
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