1972 National Soccer League season
- Toronto Croatia (regular season, 3rd title)
- Toronto Italia (playoffs, 4th title)
The 1972 National Soccer League season was the forty-ninth season under the National Soccer League (NSL) name. The season began in late April and concluded in October with the Canadian Open Cup final. Toronto Croatia successfully defended its regular-season title for the third consecutive season with an undefeated regular season streak.[2][3] Toronto would also defeat the Serbian White Eagles for the NSL Cup.[4] The Croatians would secure a treble by winning the Open Canada Cup against Vancouver Columbus.[5] In the playoffs, Toronto Italia defeated the Serbian White Eagles for the NSL Championship.[6]
Overview
The ownership of the National Soccer League (NSL) was in discussions with the British Columbia Premier League to form a western division, but the project failed to materialize.[7] The membership in the NSL increased to 15 clubs with the return of Toronto Italia, and the acceptance of the Hamilton Italo-Canadians which competed in the Inter-City Soccer League.[8][9] The return of Toronto Italia further intensified the rivalry between the NSL and the Toronto Metros of the North American Soccer League as the Italian diaspora played a decisive factor in the potential increase in match attendance.[10] Another point of contention between the Metros and the NSL was a dispute stemming from a potential player raid on the NSL's youth division.[11] The Hamilton club was granted an NSL franchise and had credentials in the Inter-City Soccer League.[4] After a change in ownership the Kitchener-based club was renamed Maple Leafs.[12]
The league became once more centered in Southern Ontario as it lost its presence in Northern Ontario with the departure of Sudbury City.[13][14] The NSL began to experience an increase in match attendance since its initial decrease and stagnation in the mid-1960s.[15][16]
Teams
Team | City | Stadium | Manager |
---|---|---|---|
Hamilton Apollos | Hamilton, Ontario | Ivor Wynne Stadium[9] | Otto Negovetic[17] |
Hamilton Croatia | Hamilton, Ontario | Ivor Wynne Stadium[18] | Joe Dundovic[9] |
Hamilton Italo-Canadians | Hamilton, Ontario | Ivor Wynne Stadium[9] | Fiorigi Pagliuso[19] |
London German Canadians | London, Ontario | Cove Road Stadium[20] | |
Ottawa Tigers | Ottawa, Ontario | St. Joseph's High School[21] | Manuel Ramalho[21] |
Serbian White Eagles | Toronto, Ontario | Stanley Park Stadium[22] | Dragan Popović[23] |
Kitchener Maple Leafs | Kitchener, Ontario | Centennial Stadium[24] | Nobert Englisch[25] |
St. Catharines Heidelberg | St. Catharines, Ontario | Club Heidelberg Field[26] | Eddie Brown[27] |
Toronto Croatia | Toronto, Ontario | Stanley Park Stadium[22] | Vladimir Šimunić[28] |
Toronto First Portuguese | Toronto, Ontario | CNE Stadium[29] Stanley Park Stadium[22] | Luis Vilas[30] |
Toronto Hellas | Toronto, Ontario | Stanley Park Stadium[22] | |
Toronto Hungaria | Toronto, Ontario | Stanley Park Stadium[22] | |
Toronto Italia | Toronto, Ontario | CNE Stadium[29] Stanley Park Stadium[22] | Luis Dabo[31] |
Toronto Olympia | Toronto, Ontario | Stanley Park Stadium[22] | |
Toronto Ukrainians | Toronto, Ontario | Stanley Park Stadium[22] |
Coaching changes
Team | Outgoing coach | Manner of departure | Date of vacancy | Position in table | Incoming coach | Date of appointment |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Toronto Croatia | Alan Harvey[32] | End of caretaker spell | May 1, 1972 | Gordan Irović[32] | May 4, 1972 | |
Hamilton Apollos | Andy Pollack[9] | Resigned | May 17, 1972 | Otto Negovetic[17] | May 17, 1972 | |
Toronto Croatia | Gordan Irović | Replaced | May, 1972 | 1st in May | Vladimir Šimunić[28] | May 29, 1972 |
Kitchener Maple Leafs | Hans Koebli[24] | Replaced | July 15, 1972 | Nobert Englisch[25] | July 15, 1972 |
![]() ![]() Hamilton ![]() Kitchener ![]() London ![]() Ottawa ![]() St. Catharines ![]() TORONTO class=notpageimage| Location of NSL teams outside of Toronto for the 1972 NSL season.![]()
|
Standings
Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Toronto Croatia (C) | 28 | 21 | 7 | 0 | 83 | 10 | +73 | 49 | Qualification for Playoffs |
2 | Serbian White Eagles | 28 | 20 | 3 | 5 | 69 | 20 | +49 | 43 | |
3 | Toronto Italia (O) | 28 | 17 | 8 | 3 | 76 | 14 | +62 | 42 | |
4 | Hamilton Croatia | 28 | 17 | 8 | 3 | 75 | 30 | +45 | 42 | |
5 | Toronto First Portuguese | 28 | 16 | 6 | 6 | 72 | 32 | +40 | 38 | |
6 | Toronto Ukrainians | 28 | 13 | 6 | 9 | 56 | 42 | +14 | 32 | |
7 | Hamilton Italo-Canadians | 28 | 13 | 6 | 9 | 45 | 52 | −7 | 32 | |
8 | St. Catharines Heidelberg | 28 | 11 | 8 | 9 | 36 | 30 | +6 | 30 | |
9 | London German Canadians | 28 | 12 | 5 | 11 | 49 | 45 | +4 | 29 | |
10 | Hamilton Apollos | 28 | 10 | 3 | 15 | 39 | 46 | −7 | 23 | |
11 | Toronto Hungaria | 28 | 7 | 6 | 15 | 45 | 53 | −8 | 20 | |
12 | Ottawa Tigers | 28 | 7 | 4 | 17 | 36 | 56 | −20 | 18 | |
13 | Toronto Olympia | 28 | 3 | 3 | 22 | 30 | 98 | −68 | 9 | |
14 | Kitchener Maple Leafs | 28 | 4 | 1 | 23 | 26 | 102 | −76 | 9 | |
15 | Toronto Hellas | 28 | 2 | 2 | 24 | 25 | 122 | −97 | 6 |
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored.
(C) Champions; (O) Play-off winners
Playoffs
Finals
October 5, 1972 | Toronto Italia | 0–0 (a.e.t.) (3–2 p) | Serbian White Eagles | Toronto, Ontario |
[[6] Report] | Stadium: Stanley Park Stadium Attendance: 4237 Referee: Bill Divorski |
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.[33] Toronto Croatia was the NSL representative for the second consecutive year while their opponents were the British Columbia Premier League champions Vancouver Columbus.[34] New Westminster Blues was the 1972 Challenge Trophy winner but declined the invitation which allowed Vancouver Columbus to compete for the title.[35][36]
October 15, 1972 | Toronto Croatia | 1–0 | Vancouver Columbus | Toronto, Ontario |
Pilas ![]() | [[5] Report] | Stadium: Stanley Park Stadium Attendance: 2300 |
References
- ^ a b "National Soccer League 1926 to 1992" (PDF). canadiansoccerleague.ca. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2014-06-28. Retrieved May 22, 2021.
- ^ "CSL Past Champions" (PDF). canadiansoccerleague.ca. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2021-04-14. Retrieved April 30, 2021.
- ^ Kernaghan, Jim (September 15, 1972). "Croatia's record is remarkable". Toronto Star. p. 20.
- ^ a b Jose, Colin (2001). On-Side - 125 Years of Soccer in Ontario. Vaughan, Ontario: Ontario Soccer Association and Soccer Hall of Fame and Museum. pp. 117, 119.
- ^ a b "Croatia defeats Vancouver side in controversial Canadian final". The Globe and Mail. October 16, 1972. p. S10.
- ^ a b Waring, Ed (October 6, 1972). "Penalty kick hands Italia soccer crown". The Globe and Mail. p. 41.
- ^ "Summer Circuit with Six Teams". Times Colonist. December 21, 1971. p. 14.
- ^ "Expansion in east and west for National Soccer League". The Globe and Mail. December 8, 1971. p. 44.
- ^ a b c d e Lovegrove, Don (28 April 1972). "Apollos open city soccer season". Hamilton Spectator. p. 18.
- ^ Kernaghan, Jim (April 27, 1972). "Soccer battle developing here". Toronto Star. p. 30.
- ^ Kernaghan, Jim (November 24, 1972). "Canada soccer team threatened". Toronto Star. p. 22.
- ^ "Soccer Leafs start tonight". Waterloo Region Record. 11 January 1972. p. 12.
- ^ Pascal, Randy (June 20, 2020). "The Sudbury Cyclones and their semi-pro soccer stint". Sudbury Star. p. B1.
- ^ Gatecliff, Jack (30 March 1972). "Through the Sports Gate". St. Catharines Standard. p. 31.
- ^ Kernaghan, Jim (August 5, 1972). "Soccer game is booming". Toronto Star. p. 50.
- ^ Waring, Ed (July 30, 1970). "Brazilian rookie now NSL's Pele". The Globe and Mail. p. 35.
- ^ a b Lovegrove, Don (17 May 1972). "Soccer dream shattered". Hamilton Spectator. p. 22.
- ^ "CNE field doesn't impress: Italia holds Italian Military team to tie". The Globe and Mail. July 24, 1972. p. S7.
- ^ "2018 Wall of Fame Induction". torontoazzurri.com. p. 17. Archived from the original on 2022-01-02. Retrieved January 2, 2022.
- ^ "London Ontario Competitive Soccer History". www.gcfclondon.com. Retrieved 2021-09-23.
- ^ a b "Ottawa Tigers set for soccer opener". Ottawa Journal. May 6, 1972. p. 19.
- ^ a b c d e f g h "Under-23 all-stars under-staffed in 6-1 loss to Italia: Soccer exhibition raises funds, gives young talent experience". The Globe and Mail. July 17, 1972. p. S3.
- ^ Kernaghan, Jim (May 25, 1972). "Coach really has soccer bug". Toronto Star. p. 23.
- ^ a b "Kitchener's NSL Entry - Soccer Leafs not ethnic club". Waterloo Region Record. 12 April 1972. p. 18.
- ^ a b "Englisch will coach soccer Maple Leafs". Waterloo Region Record. 15 July 1972. p. 18.
- ^ "Nationals Sell Henry to Hamilton Croatia". St. Catharines Standard. 29 April 1972. p. 35.
- ^ Gatecliff, Jack (30 March 1972). "Through the Sports Gate". St. Catharines Standard. p. 31.
- ^ a b Kernaghan, Jim (May 29, 1972). "Leaderless Croatia club manages to tie Italia". Toronto Star. p. 18.
- ^ a b "Soccer loop to probe CNE Stadium brawl". The Globe and Mail. August 1, 1972. p. 30.
- ^ Kernaghan, Jim (April 27, 1972). "Soccer battle developing here". Toronto Star. p. 30.
- ^ "NSL fines fighters". The Globe and Mail. August 8, 1972. p. 35.
- ^ a b Waring, Ed (May 1, 1972). "Blaskovic broke ice then leg in '72 soccer season opener". The Globe and Mail. p. S4.
- ^ 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.
- ^ "Croatia gets alternative foe". Toronto Star. October 7, 1972. p. 130.
- ^ Kernaghan, Jim (October 3, 1972). "National League champs to play New Westminster". Toronto Star. p. 24.
- ^ Kernaghan, Jim (October 5, 1972). "New Westminster win protested by San Fili". Toronto Star. p. 21.
External links
- RSSSF CNSL page
- thecnsl.com - 1972 season
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