Clive Toye

Last updated

Clive Roy Toye
Born (1932-11-23) November 23, 1932 (age 92) [1]
Plymouth, England
NationalityBritish-American
Occupation(s)Journalist, author, football administrator
Known forgeneral manager of US soccer franchises

Clive Roy Toye (born 23 November 1932) was inducted to the National Soccer Hall of Fame in the United States in 2003. [2]

Contents

Toye was born in Plymouth, United Kingdom, to Thomas Roy Toye (1906–65) and Irene Turner. [2] He was a sports writer for the Express and Echo newspaper in Exeter, and later Chief Sports Writer for the Daily Express . [3]

NASL

In 1967, he went to the United States to become general manager of the Baltimore Bays and later was first general manager of the New York Cosmos of the North American Soccer League, bringing the Brazilian star Pelé to the US and helping to popularise soccer in America. [2] He provided colour commentary for CBS's broadcast of the 1974 NASL final between Los Angeles Aztecs and the Miami Toros [4] and for both legs of the 1968 Finals between the San Diego Toros and the Atlanta Chiefs. [5] In addition to the Bays (1967–1968) and Cosmos (1971–1977), [6] he was also the Chicago Sting's president from 1978 to 1979, [7] and the chairman of the Toronto Blizzard from 1980 to 1984. [8]

In the 1984 finals Toye's Blizzard would face his former club the Chicago Sting. A few weeks earlier the Sting had announced they were leaving the NASL after the playoffs concluded. [9] Just before the finals got underway, Toye made some comments regarding his hope for an all-Canadian finals that were taken by some in the media to be "anti-Sting" instead. Toye, who himself was part of the fight to keep the league afloat, appeared to have defused the situation during a half-time interview of Game 1 of the finals in Chicago. [10] However, in the immediate aftermath of the Sting's championship clinching victory in Game 2, his actions appeared to be those of a sore loser. He refused to honour the long-standing tradition of entering the winning locker room to congratulate the victors. Toye followed that up by taking verbal jabs at Chicago coach Willy Roy and star Karl-Heinz Granitza in the press, referring to them as "cheats" and the Sting as "unworthy champions" [11] among other things. He also said that Toronto did not deserve to lose. Not surprisingly, Granitza responded in-kind. In the end, the lack of sportsmanship mattered little, as Chicago walked off into the sunset with the trophy and the NASL ceased operations the following year with Toye as its interim president. [12] [13] [14] [15]

After the sudden death of Howard J. Samuels, Toye was appointed interim president of the NASL in December 1984. [15] The league ceased operations the following Spring.

He became a senior consultant for CONCACAF, and in 2009 was inducted into that organisation's Hall of Fame. [3]

Misc

Regarding the use of the word "soccer", Toye noted that even English people called the game "soccer" interchangeably with "football" until the second half of the 20th century. "A quirk of British culture is the permanent need to familiarize names by shortening them. ... Toye [said] 'They took the third, fourth and fifth letters of Association and called it SOCcer.'" [16]

In March 2016, Toye began writing a column for Soccerama, a British soccer quarterly magazine. [17]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">North American Soccer League</span> Defunct major soccer league in the United States and Canada

The North American Soccer League (NASL) was the top-level major professional soccer league in the United States and Canada that operated from 1968 to 1984. It is considered the first soccer league to be successful on a national scale in the United States. The league final was called the Soccer Bowl from 1975 to 1983 and the Soccer Bowl Series in its final year, 1984. The league was headed by Commissioner Phil Woosnam from 1969 to 1983. The NASL laid the foundations for soccer in the United States that helped lead to the country hosting the 1994 FIFA World Cup and setting up Major League Soccer (MLS) in 1996.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">New York Cosmos (1970–1985)</span> American former soccer club

The New York Cosmos were an American professional soccer club based in New York City and its suburbs. The team played home games in three stadiums around New York, including Yankee Stadium in the Bronx, before moving in 1977 to Giants Stadium in nearby East Rutherford, New Jersey, where the club remained for the rest of its history.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fort Lauderdale Strikers (1977–1983)</span> American soccer team (1977–1983)

The Fort Lauderdale Strikers were a professional soccer team based in the Miami metropolitan area. They competed in the North American Soccer League (NASL) from 1977 to 1983. They played their home matches at Lockhart Stadium.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chicago Sting</span> Former American professional soccer team based in Chicago

The Chicago Sting (1974–1988) was an American professional soccer team representing Chicago. The Sting played in the North American Soccer League from 1975 to 1984 and in the Major Indoor Soccer League in the 1982–83 season and again from 1984 to 1988. They were North American Soccer League champions in 1981 and 1984, one of only two NASL teams to win the championship twice.

Bruce Alec Wilson is a former NASL and Canadian international soccer player. He played the second most games of any player in the former league, 299. He also captained the Canadian team at the 1986 FIFA World Cup finals. In 2012 as part of the Canadian Soccer Association's centennial celebration, he was named to the all-time Canada XI men's team.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bob Lenarduzzi</span> Canadian soccer player

Robert Italo Lenarduzzi, OBC is a former North American Soccer League player, Canadian international, and coach of the Canadian national and Olympic soccer teams. He is currently club liaison for Vancouver Whitecaps FC. He is a member of the National Soccer Hall of Fame.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Montreal Manic</span> Football club

The Montreal Manic or the Manic de Montréal were a professional soccer team based in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, that played in the North American Soccer League.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Karl-Heinz Granitza</span> German footballer

Karl-Heinz Granitza is a German former professional footballer who played as a forward. In the United States, he is a member of the National Soccer Hall of Fame.

The 1984 North American Soccer League season was the 72nd season of FIFA-sanctioned soccer, the 17th with a national first-division league, in the United States and Canada. It would be the 17th and final season of the NASL.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Willy Roy</span> American soccer player

Willy Roy is a retired American soccer forward and coach. He played for several teams in the National Professional Soccer League and the North American Soccer League in the 1960s and 1970s, as well as the United States national team from 1965 to 1973. He is a member of the National Soccer Hall of Fame.

Derek Spalding is a former soccer player who played as a defender. He played for Hibernian in the Scottish Football League until he emigrated to the United States in 1977. He then played seven seasons in the North American Soccer League and at least two in the Major Indoor Soccer League. He also earned one cap with the US national team, in 1982.

Statistics of North American Soccer League in season 1977. This was the 10th season of the NASL.

Statistics of North American Soccer League in season 1981. This was the 14th season of the NASL.

The 1981–82 season was the North American Soccer League's third indoor soccer season.

The 1983–84 North American Soccer League indoor season was the fourth and last in league history. The San Diego Sockers defeated the New York Cosmos for their third straight indoor title, having won the NASL Indoor title in 1981–82 and the MISL title in 1982–83.

North American Soccer League (NASL) was a professional soccer league with teams in the United States and Canada that operated from 1968 to 1984. Beginning in 1975, the league final was called the Soccer Bowl.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Soccer Bowl '83</span> Soccer match

Soccer Bowl '83 was the 17th edition of the Soccer Bowl, the championship match of North American Soccer League (NASL), which took place on October 1, 1983. It was the final match of the 1983 North American Soccer League playoffs and was contested by the Tulsa Roughnecks and the Toronto Blizzard at the Stadium at BC Place in Vancouver, British Columbia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Soccer Bowl Series '84</span> Soccer match

Soccer Bowl Series '84, also known as Soccer Bowl '84, was the championship series of the 1984 NASL season, and the last championship of the original NASL. In a departure from previous years, it was a best-of-three series between the Chicago Sting and the Toronto Blizzard as opposed to a single-game championship. The first game of the series was held on Monday, October 1 at Comiskey Park, in Chicago, Illinois; the Sting won it, 2–1. The second game was played at Varsity Stadium, in Toronto, Ontario on October 3. Chicago won again, this time by a score of 3–2, to sweep the series and claim its second North American championship.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">NASL Final 1974</span> Soccer match

NASL Final 1974 was the championship match of the 1974 season, between the expansion Los Angeles Aztecs and the Miami Toros. The match was played on August 25, 1974 at the Orange Bowl, in Miami, Florida. The teams played to a, 3–3, draw, and after a short break the game moved directly to a penalty shoot-out. Los Angeles won the shoot-out, 5–3, and were crowned the 1974 champions. This was the second consecutive year that an expansion team won the NASL title

<span class="mw-page-title-main">NASL Final 1968</span> Soccer match

NASL Final 1968 was the North American Soccer League's postseason championship final of the 1968 season, and the first championship final for the NASL. The event was contested in a two-game aggregate match between the Atlanta Chiefs and the San Diego Toros. The first leg was played to a, 0–0, draw on September 21, 1968, at Balboa Stadium in San Diego, California. The return leg was contested on September 28, 1968, at Atlanta Stadium in Atlanta, Georgia with the Chiefs winning by the score of 3–0. After the two-day competition was completed, the Atlanta Chiefs held a 3–0 aggregate lead and were crowned the 1968 NASL champions.

References

  1. ↑ "Exeter to the Cosmos – Clive's journey was out of this world". This Is Devon. 6 July 2011. Retrieved 21 July 2013.[ permanent dead link ]
  2. 1 2 3 "Clive Toye – Class of 2003". National Soccer Hall of Fame. Archived from the original on 4 December 2009. Retrieved 8 November 2009.
  3. 1 2 "James, Toe, Rocha to be enshrined in CONCACAF Hall of Fame". CONCACAF. 14 April 2009. Archived from the original on 11 June 2011. Retrieved 8 November 2009.
  4. ↑ NASL 1968–1984 SOCCER HISTORY (19 September 2016). "1974-08-25 NASL FINAL Los Angeles Aztecs vs Miami Toros". YouTube. Archived from the original on 21 December 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  5. ↑ North American Soccer League Championship, Leg 1 program, published September 1968
  6. ↑ "Cosmos president Toye steps down". St. Petersburg Times. 14 June 1977.
  7. ↑ "Youngstown Vindicator - Google News Archive Search". news.google.com.
  8. ↑ "Record-Journal - Google News Archive Search". news.google.com.
  9. ↑ "The Albany Herald - Google News Archive Search". news.google.com.
  10. ↑ Video on YouTube
  11. ↑ "Ottawa Citizen - Google News Archive Search". news.google.com.
  12. ↑ "The Day - Google News Archive Search". news.google.com.
  13. ↑ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 18 October 2015. Retrieved 16 June 2015.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  14. ↑ "The Bryan Times - Google News Archive Search". news.google.com.
  15. 1 2 "The Sun - Google News Archive Search". news.google.com.
  16. ↑ Rogers, Martin. "It’s football to you, soccer to me". Yahoo!, 1 July 2010
  17. ↑ Soccerama 02, p47
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.