1974 National Soccer League season

Last updated
National Soccer League
Season1974
Champions
League cup Toronto Italia
Top goalscorer Momčilo Stojanović (54) [1]
Best goalkeeper Blagoje Tamindžić [2]
← 1973
1975 →

The 1974 National Soccer League season was the fifty-first season under the National Soccer League (NSL) name. The season began in April and concluded in late October with Toronto Croatia defeating Toronto Homer for the NSL Championship. [3] The regular-season title was clinched by the Serbian White Eagles, and as a result, faced the Challenge Trophy champions Calgary Springer Kickers for the Canadian Open Cup and successfully claimed the title. [3] [4] The NSL Cup was won by Toronto Italia after defeating Toronto First Portuguese. [5] [6]

Contents

The league experienced a further increase in match attendance and contributed an instrumental role in the construction of Lamport Stadium. [7] [8] Toronto Croatia became involved with the Toronto Metros to form Toronto Metros-Croatia to compete in the 1975 North American Soccer League season. [9]

Overview

The membership in the league increased to 19 members with the additions of Toronto Macedonia, and the Quebec Selects. [10] The Selects were a developmental team sponsored by the Quebec government, and Macedonia was another ethnic associated club that represented the Macedonian diaspora in Toronto. [11] [12] The previous time the Macedonian community participated in the NSL was in the 1963 season. [13] The increase in teams prompted the league ownership to partition the league into two separate divisions with a promotion and relegation system for the following season. [14] [8]

The average match attendance increased from the previous season with the Serbian White Eagles and Toronto Homer as the vanguard clubs in match attendance. [15] [16] The match attendance throughout the NSL would range from 10,000 to 400 spectators. [17] The NSL experienced further riots and fan violence which was primarily fueled by ethnic rivalries amongst the ethnically associated clubs. [18] [19] The frequent hooliganism throughout the season caused several referees to refuse to officiate several NSL matches. [20] [21] The league responded by issuing heavier fines, and suspensions to the responsible parties. [22] On the North American Soccer League front the Toronto Metros were experiencing financial difficulties, which resulted in Toronto Croatia becoming an equal financial partner to form Toronto Metros-Croatia. [9]

Teams

TeamCityStadiumManager
Hamilton City Hamilton, Ontario Ivor Wynne Stadium [23]
Hamilton Croatia Hamilton, Ontario Ivor Wynne Stadium
Hamilton Italo-Canadians Hamilton, Ontario Brian Timmis Stadium
London City London, Ontario Cove Road Stadium
Montreal Cantalia Montreal, Quebec CEPSUM Stadium [24]

Jarry Park Stadium [24]

Salvatore Italiano [25]
Quebec Selects Montreal, Quebec Jarry Park Stadium [26] Graham Adams [26]
Ottawa Tigers Ottawa, Ontario Mooney's Bay Sports Complex [27] Nick Iulano [28]
Serbian White Eagles Toronto, Ontario CNE Stadium [12] Dragan Popović [3]
Srbija Kitchener Kitchener, Ontario
St. Catharines Heidelberg St. Catharines, Ontario Club Heidelberg Field [29] Alex Crawley [30]
Toronto Croatia Toronto, Ontario CNE Stadium [12] Vladimir Šimunić [31]
Toronto First Portuguese Toronto, Ontario CNE Stadium [12] Luis Dabo [28]
Toronto Homer Toronto, Ontario CNE Stadium [12]
Toronto Hungaria Toronto, Ontario CNE Stadium [12] Tom Boljkovac [32]
Toronto Italia York, Ontario York Stadium [12] Franco Gallina [25]
Toronto Macedonia East York, Ontario East York Stadium [12]
Toronto Melita Toronto, Ontario CNE Stadium [12]
Toronto Polonia Toronto, Ontario CNE Stadium [12]
Toronto Ukrainians Toronto, Ontario CNE Stadium [12] Ostap Steckiw [33]

Coaching changes

TeamOutgoing coachManner of
departure		Date of
vacancy		Position in tableIncoming coachDate of
appointment
Toronto Croatia Tom Zlodre [31] replacedJune 1974 Vladimir Šimunić [31] June, 1974
Montreal Cantalia Ottavio Cucuraghi [25] replacedJune 1974Salvatore Italiano [25] June, 1974

Standings

PosTeamPldWDLGFGAGDPtsQualification
1 Serbian White Eagles (C)36287111816+10263Qualification for Playoffs
2Toronto Homer3626558941+4857
3 Toronto Croatia (O)3623587832+4651
4 Toronto Italia 3621969936+6351
5Toronto Macedonia36227710242+6051
6 Hamilton Croatia 3620978443+4149
7Toronto First Portuguese36232117839+3948
8 London City 3619988945+4447
9 Hamilton City 36178116758+942
10 Hamilton Italo-Canadians 36168123938+140
11Quebec Selects36134194478−3430
12Toronto Hungaria36125197083−1329
13 Montreal Cantalia 3697204264−2225
14 St. Catharines Heidelberg 3697203967−2825
15Toronto Melita3679204180−3923
16 Toronto Ukrainians 3665254394−5117
17Toronto Polonia3644282796−6912
18Srbija Kitchener36442849150−10112
19Ottawa Tigers36413131126−959
Updated to match(es) played on October 30, 1974. Source: http://canadiansoccerleague.ca/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/NSL_1921_1992.pdf
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored.
(C) Champions; (O) Play-off winners

Playoffs

Finals

October 20, 1974 Toronto Croatia 1–0 Toronto Homer Toronto, Ontario
Psaker Soccerball shade.svg[ [3] Report]Stadium: CNE Stadium
Attendance: 3150

Cup

The cup tournament was a separate contest from the rest of the season in which all nineteen teams took part. The tournament would conclude in a two-legged match final for the Cup.

Finals

October 4, 1974 Toronto First Portuguese 1–0 Toronto Italia Toronto, Ontario
Jorge Félix Soccerball shade.svg44'[ [6] Report]Stadium: CNE Stadium
October 6, 1974 Toronto Italia 2–0 Toronto First Portuguese Toronto, Ontario
Barbieri Soccerball shade.svg
Romanovic Soccerball shade.svg		 Report Stadium: CNE Stadium

Canadian Open Cup

The Canadian Open Cup was a tournament organized by the National Soccer League in 1971 where the NSL champion would face the Challenge Trophy winners to determine the best team throughout the country. [34] [35] The 1974 edition served as a qualifier match to determine the Canadian representative to the CONCACAF Champions' Cup. [36] Serbian White Eagles were the NSL representative for the 1974 competition while their opponents were Calgary Springer Kickers, who were the Alberta Cup, and Challenge Trophy titleholders. [3] [37]

October 19, 1974 Serbian White Eagles 3–1 Calgary Springer Kickers Toronto, Ontario
Fahy Soccerball shade.svg15'
Stojanović Soccerball shade.svg25'
Mile Skoric Soccerball shade.svg60'		[ [38] Report]Ray Cannon Soccerball shade.svg62'Stadium: CNE Stadium
Attendance: 366

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References

  1. ↑ "PROCESSION OF INCOMING TALENT KEY TO SUCCESS OF 2016 CHAMPIONS....never ending arrivals keep Serbian White Eagles on top". Canadian Soccer League. 2016-11-13. Retrieved 2021-04-30.
  2. ↑ "National Soccer League 1926 to 1992" (PDF). canadiansoccerleague.ca. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2014-06-28. Retrieved May 22, 2021.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 Waring, Ed (October 21, 1974). "White Eagles romp to Canadian title, defeat Calgary 3-1". The Globe and Mail . p. S6.
  4. ↑ "CSL Past Champions" (PDF). canadiansoccerleague.ca. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2021-04-14. Retrieved April 30, 2021.
  5. ↑ Jose, Colin (2001). On-Side - 125 Years of Soccer in Ontario. Vaughan, Ontario: Ontario Soccer Association and Soccer Hall of Fame and Museum. p. 117.
  6. 1 2 "1st Portuguese has 1-0 victory". Toronto Star . October 5, 1974. p. D5.
  7. ↑ Waring, Ed (October 15, 1974). "President of NSL wants new stadium to bear his name". The Globe and Mail . p. 41.
  8. 1 2 Waring, Ed (April 16, 1974). "NSL primary tenant: Stadium to be built on reformatory site". The Globe and Mail . p. 37.
  9. 1 2 Kernaghan, Jim (November 9, 1974). "Soccer's Metros are given a reprieve by Toronto Croatia". Toronto Star . p. D6.
  10. ↑ Waring, Ed (December 10, 1973). "Eight of NSL's ten teams will call CNE Stadium home". The Globe and Mail . p. S2.
  11. ↑ Waring, Ed (May 27, 1974). "Quebec-financed soccer team loses both weekend matches". The Globe and Mail . p. S6.
  12. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 "Hungaria to meet Croatia in opener of NSL season". The Globe and Mail . April 20, 1974. p. 49.
  13. ↑ Waring, Ed (June 29, 1963). "Macedonians Quit NSL, Player Costs Major Factor". The Globe and Mail . p. 34.
  14. ↑ Kernaghan, Jim (April 17, 1974). "Soccer battle means spiraling costs". Toronto Star . p. C2.
  15. ↑ Krivel, Peter (June 25, 1974). "Share NSL lead - Serbians could doff bridesmaid's role". Toronto Star . p. C2.
  16. ↑ "Eagles, Homer stay unbeaten, tie 1-1 before 10,951 fans". The Globe and Mail . May 20, 1974. p. S8.
  17. ↑ "Five shutouts in a row: Toronto Serbians boast perfect record". The Globe and Mail . May 13, 1974. p. S9.
  18. ↑ Krivel, Peter (July 15, 1974). "Police quell angry soccer mob after referee stops the game". Toronto Star . p. B5.
  19. ↑ Proudfoot, Jim (July 17, 1974). "National League must eliminate soccer brawling". Toronto Star . p. C2.
  20. ↑ Krivel, Peter (October 15, 1974). "Getting referee a problem after NSL game abandoned". Toronto Star . p. C3.
  21. ↑ Waring, Ed (October 16, 1974). "Toronto soccer refs strike against teams for attacks on field". The Globe and Mail . p. 32.
  22. ↑ "NSL cracks down fines, suspensions, for violent game". Toronto Star . July 22, 1974. p. B5.
  23. ↑ "Extra police called to quell NSL fracas". Toronto Star . June 19, 1974. p. C5.
  24. 1 2 Guernsey, Betty (March 8, 1974). "Did You Know? - Soccer". Montreal Gazette . p. 19.
  25. 1 2 3 4 Onorato, Andre (June 8, 1974). "Revamped Cantalia facing tough match". Montreal Gazette . p. 32.
  26. 1 2 Ziolkowski, Tony (May 3, 1974). "Only 15 parks for our 28, 000 soccer players". Montreal Gazette . p. 31.
  27. ↑ "Soccer Tigers play two". Ottawa Citizen . May 3, 1974. p. 21.
  28. 1 2 "Want more goals: Fans berate players despite 1-0 victory". The Globe and Mail . July 1, 1974. p. S3.
  29. ↑ Gatecliff, Jack (18 April 1974). "Through the Sports Gate - Soccer time again". St. Catharines Standard . p. 27.
  30. ↑ "Club Heidelberg Explains Position on New Soccer Club". St. Catharines Standard . 1 February 1974. p. 22.
  31. 1 2 3 Krivel, Peter (July 5, 1974). "Croatia is showing signs of recapturing soccer glory". Toronto Star . p. C3.
  32. ↑ Koep, Bob (April 22, 1974). "NSL champs look ready to repeat as powerhouse". Toronto Star . p. B2.
  33. ↑ Waring, Ed (June 10, 1974). "Geiger thwarts Hamilton City, improved Ukraing gains 0-0 draw". The Globe and Mail . p. S1.
  34. ↑ Jose, Colin (1998). Canadian Encyclopedia of Soccer - Keeping Score. Vaughan, Ontario: Canadian Soccer Hall of Fame and Museum. p. 121. ISBN   0-9683800-0-X.
  35. ↑ "Toronto meets B.C. in Canadian Open". The Globe and Mail . October 21, 1975. p. 34.
  36. ↑ Kernaghan, Jim (July 12, 1975). "Eagles want to win but it is costly". Toronto Star . p. D5.
  37. ↑ "Kickers capture cup". Calgary Herald . July 8, 1974. p. 17.
  38. ↑ "White Eagles Put Boot to Kickers". Calgary Herald . October 21, 1974. p. 27.
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