![]() | |||
Full name | San Diego Toros | ||
---|---|---|---|
Founded | 1966 (Los Angeles Toros) 1968 (San Diego Toros) | ||
Dissolved | 1968 | ||
Stadium | Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum (1967) Los Angeles, California Balboa Stadium (1968) San Diego, California | ||
Capacity | 93,000 34,000 | ||
League | North American Soccer League | ||
The San Diego Toros were a professional soccer team based in San Diego, California. Founded in 1967 as the Los Angeles Toros, the team was one of the ten charter members of the National Professional Soccer League (NPSL). When the NPSL and the rival United Soccer Association (USA) merged in 1968 to form the North American Soccer League (NASL), the team was relocated to San Diego as a member of the new league. While in Los Angeles, the Toros played its home matches at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum and at Balboa Stadium when it moved to San Diego. The team folded at the conclusion of the 1968 NASL season.
In 1966 several groups of entrepreneurs were exploring the idea of forming a professional soccer league in United States. Two of these groups merged to form the National Professional Soccer League (NPSL) and franchise rights were awarded to ten ownership groups, with one given to Los Angeles Rams owner Dan Reeves. [1] [2] The Toros secured a lease at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, which would also host the Los Angeles Wolves of the rival USA during the 1967 season. [3]
The Toros began the season on April 16, 1967, with a home 3-2 win against the New York Generals in front of a crowd of over nine thousand. [4] The team finished the season in fifth place in the Western Division with a record of 7 wins 10 loses and 15 draws with an average attendance for the season of 3,595. [5] Dan Reeves sold the team to a group that included Bill Cox who acted as general manager. [2]
With the merger of the NPSL with the United Soccer Association it was announced that Los Angeles would be one of the 20-teams in play in the North American Soccer League (NASL). [6] [lower-alpha 1] Prior to the 1968 season, the Toros were moved to San Diego to avoid the league having two teams in the same market of Los Angeles [7] playing their home games at Balboa Stadium. [8] Midway through the 1968 NASL season, Cox took a position with the St. Louis Stars and sold the team to Emilio Azcárraga Milmo. [2] The team finished the season in first place of the Pacific Division with a record of 18 wins, 8 loses and 6 draws earning the highest points total in the league. [9] [5] The team defeated the Kansas City Spurs with an aggregate score of 2 - 1 over 2 matches in the Conference Finals, but were defeated by the Atlanta Chiefs with an aggregate score of 3 - 0 in the NASL Final 1968. [10] [11] [12] [13] The Toros were one of 12 teams that folded between the 1968 and 1969 NASL seasons.
Year | League | W | L | T | Pts | Reg. Season | Playoffs |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1967 | NPSL | 7 | 10 | 15 | 114 | 5th, Western Division | did not qualify |
1968 | NASL | 18 | 8 | 6 | 186 | 1st, Pacific Division | Won Playoff (Kansas City) Lost Championship (Atlanta) |
Source: [14]
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 was 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 the set-up of Major League Soccer (MLS) in 1996.
The United Soccer Association (USA) was a professional soccer league featuring teams based in the United States and Canada. The league survived only one season before merging with the National Professional Soccer League to form the North American Soccer League. Every team in the league was actually an imported European or South America club, that was then outfitted with a "local" name. Dick Walsh served as the commissioner.
The Los Angeles Wolves were an American professional soccer team that played for two seasons. In 1967 they played in the United Soccer Association, finishing as champions, and in 1968 they were founding members of the North American Soccer League.
The Houston Stars were an American professional soccer team based out of Houston, Texas. The Stars were a charter member of the United Soccer Association (USA) in 1967 and when the USA and rival National Professional Soccer League (NPSL) merged in 1968 to form the North American Soccer League (NASL), the team moved to the new league. The Stars played its home matches at the Astrodome. The team folded at the conclusion of the 1968 NASL season.
The Kansas City Spurs were an American professional soccer team who played in the North American Soccer League, based in Kansas City, Missouri. They played their home games at Kansas City Municipal Stadium, former home of the Kansas City Chiefs, Kansas City Athletics, and Kansas City Royals. The club was previously known as the Chicago Spurs of the National Professional Soccer League but were relocated to Kansas City following the merger of the NPSL and the United Soccer Association to form the NASL in 1967. The Spurs won the NASL Championship in 1969 but were dissolved shortly after the 1970 NASL season. The club's colors were red and white.
The Atlanta Chiefs were an American professional soccer team based in Atlanta, Georgia. The team competed in the National Professional Soccer League (NPSL) in 1967 and the North American Soccer League (NASL) from 1968 to 1973 and again from 1979 to 1981. For the 1973 season, the team played as the Atlanta Apollos.
The Baltimore Bays were a professional soccer team based in Baltimore, Maryland founded in 1967 as one of the ten charter members of the National Professional Soccer League (NPSL). When the NPSL and the rival United Soccer Association (USA) merged in 1968 to form the North American Soccer League (NASL), the team moved to the new league. The Bays played its home matches at Memorial Stadium during its first two seasons and moved to Kirk Field, a high school football stadium, in 1969. The team folded at the conclusion of the 1969 NASL season.
The Boston Beacons were an American soccer professional team that competed in the North American Soccer League (NASL) in 1968. The team was based in Boston and played their home games at Fenway Park. Originally intended to be a charter member of the National Professional Soccer League (NPSL) in 1967, the team played its first and only season in the 1968 NASL following the merger of the NPSL and rival United Soccer Association.
The Chicago Mustangs were an American professional soccer team based out of Chicago, Illinois, and were a charter member of the United Soccer Association (USA) in 1967. When the USA and rival National Professional Soccer League (NPSL) merged in 1968 to form the North American Soccer League (NASL), the team moved to the new league. The Mustangs played its home matches at Comiskey Park. The team folded at the conclusion of the 1968 NASL season.
The Oakland Clippers were an American soccer team based in Oakland, California. They played in the non-FIFA sanctioned National Professional Soccer League (NPSL) in 1967 and the North American Soccer League (NASL) in the following season. Their home field was Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum.
The Vancouver Royals were a Canadian professional soccer team based in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Founded in 1967 as the Vancouver Royal Canadians, they were a charter member of the United Soccer Association (USA), and when the USA and rival National Professional Soccer League (NPSL) merged in 1968 to form the North American Soccer League (NASL), the team, rebranded as the Royals, moved to the new league. The Royals played its home matches at the Empire Stadium. The team folded at the conclusion of the 1968 NASL season.
Boston Shamrock Rovers were an American soccer team that competed in the United Soccer Association (USA) league in 1967. The team was based in Lynn, Massachusetts and played their home games at the Manning Bowl. The team folded when the USA merged with the National Professional Soccer League to form the North American Soccer League.
The National Professional Soccer League (NPSL) was a North American professional soccer league that existed for only the 1967 season before merging with the United Soccer Association (USA) to form the North American Soccer League. 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 name National Professional Soccer League was revived in 1990 and used by a United States professional indoor soccer league.
Cirilo "Pepe" Fernández is a former Uruguayan footballer who competed in several soccer leagues in the United States and Netherlands during the 1960s and 1970s. He played as a forward for one season in the National Professional Soccer League, four in the North American Soccer League, one in the American Soccer League, and five in the Netherlands.
The 1968 North American Soccer League season was the 56th season of FIFA-sanctioned soccer in the United States and Canada, and the 1st with a national first-division league with the inaugural season of the NASL.
Eli Durante is a Brazilian retired footballer who played in the North American Soccer League from 1967 to 1975.
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.
The 1968 Vancouver Royal Canadians season was the second season in the history of the Vancouver Royal Canadians soccer club. The club played in the North American Soccer League (NASL) at Empire Stadium in Vancouver, British Columbia.
Soccer has enjoyed longstanding popularity in Los Angeles. As of 2023, Los Angeles County has three top-level professional teams. The LA Galaxy and Los Angeles FC play in Major League Soccer, and Angel City FC plays in the National Women's Soccer League. The Greater Los Angeles area is also home to one 2nd division professional team, Orange County SC, of the USL Championship, and four 3rd division professional teams, LAFC2 and LA Galaxy II, of MLS Next Pro, and Los Angeles Force and California United Strikers FC of the National Independent Soccer Association. There are also many semi-professional clubs and leagues including the United Premier Soccer League, SoCal Premier League and National Premier Soccer League, among others. In 2019, two more professional teams, Cal FC and California United Strikers FC joined a new, unsanctioned, professional league called the NPSL Founders Cup They both later left, with Cal FC joining the United Premier Soccer League.