Chicago Spurs
Defunct American soccer club
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Chicago Spurs were an American soccer team that was a charter member of the non-FIFA sanctioned National Professional Soccer League (NPSL) in 1967. The team was based in Chicago, Illinois and played their home games at the Soldier Field. When the NPSL merged with the rival United Soccer Association to form the North American Soccer League, the team moved and became the Kansas City Spurs, leaving the Chicago market to the Chicago Mustangs.
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| Full name | Chicago Spurs | ||
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| Nickname | Spurs | ||
| Founded | 1966 | ||
| Dissolved | 1967 (relocated) | ||
| Stadium | Soldier Field, Chicago, Illinois | ||
| Capacity | 61,500 | ||
| Owner(s) |  Michael Butler Al Kaczamarek William Cutler | ||
| Head coach |  Alan Rogers | ||
| League | National Professional Soccer League | ||
| 1967 | 3rd, Western Division Playoffs: DNQ | ||
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History
In 1966, several groups of entrepreneurs were exploring the idea of forming a professional soccer league in United States and Canada. Two of these groups merged to form the National Professional Soccer League (NPSL) and franchise rights were awarded to ten ownership groups. The Chicago franchise was awarded to Michael Butler and William Cutler, the partners appointed Alvis Kaczmarek to manage the team as team president.[1] In October, Kaczmarek hired Alan Rogers to coach the new team.[2] The Spurs opened the 1967 season at Soldier Field with a 1–0 victory over the St. Louis Stars with 4,725 fans in attendance.[3][4] The team finished the season in third place of the Western Division with a record of ten wins, eleven loses and eleven draws, with an average attendance of 2,619.[5]
Following the 1967 season, the NPSL merged with the United Soccer Association (USA) to form the North American Soccer League (NASL). The new league decided against two-team cities, and in order to keep from competing with the Chicago Mustangs of the former USA, owned by White Sox co-owner Arthur Allyn Jr., who were chosen to be the city's NASL representative, the Spurs were sold to a group from Kansas City, Missouri and moved there to become the Kansas City Spurs.[6]
Media coverage
CBS broadcast 5 matches, all on the road, with Jack Whitaker and Danny Blanchflower providing commentary. WBBM-TV was the local CBS broadcaster. 12 matches were broadcast locally, including 7 home matches, on WGN-TV, with Lloyd Pettit announcing.[7] There does not appear to have been any radio coverage.
Year-by-year
| Year | Division | W | L | T | Pts | League | Playoffs | Avg. attendance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1967 | NPSL | 10 | 11 | 11 | 142 | 3rd, Western Division | Did not qualify | 2,619 |