Toronto City

Toronto City is a former Canadian football (soccer) team based in Toronto. Between 1961 and 1967, teams using this name competed in both the Eastern Canada Professional Soccer League and the United Soccer Association.

History

ECPSL

In 1961, along with industrialist Larry Myslivec and journalist Ed Fitken, Steve Stavro, a Macedonian Canadian businessman formed the "Toronto City Soccer Club" which played in the newly created Eastern Canada Professional Soccer League. During it’s inaugural season the team featured several prominent footballers including Northern Ireland international Danny Blanchflower, England internationals Stanley Matthews and Johnny Haynes and Scottish internationals Jackie Mudie and Tommy Younger. Younger also coached the team. In January 1966 Stavro fell out with the league administrators and withdrew the team from the league.

USA

In 1966 Stavro helped form the United Soccer Association and entered a team called "Toronto City" in the new league. The USA originally intended to launch its league in the spring of 1968. However a rival league, the National Professional Soccer League, 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. "Toronto City" was subsequently represented by Hibernian of the Scottish Football League.

Together with Cleveland Stokers, Detroit Cougars, New York Skyliners, Boston Rovers and Washington Whips, City competed in the "Eastern Division". These teams were actually Stoke City, Glentoran, C.A. Cerro, Shamrock Rovers and Aberdeen respectively. City finished eventually finished a respectable third, behind the Stokers and the Whips two of the leagues strongest teams. In December 1967 the USA and the NPSL merged to form the North American Soccer League. As a result of this merger some of the USA franchises, including "Toronto City" folded. This was partly to avoid cities having more than one club in the new NASL, and City lost out to its NPSL rival Toronto Falcons.

Year-by-year

Players

Head coaches

*flagicon|Scotland Tommy Younger
*flagicon|ENG Malcolm Allison

External links

* [http://home.att.net/~nasl/rosters/toronto.htm Toronto City 1967 squad]
* [http://www.thesoccerhalloffame.ca/OSN.nsf/0/f008f4df55e8f7fa85256fc10059e0e0?OpenDocument Steve Stavro biography]