1974 Vancouver Whitecaps season

Division 1 professional soccer returned to Vancouver in 1974 with the Vancouver Whitecaps as interest began to grow in U.S. soccer, and the NASL grew after stabilizing in terms of attendance and number of teams with six to eight teams. In 1974 the Whitecaps were one of five expansion teams that were the first teams since 1968 (when Vancouver previously had a team) west of Dallas, Texas and St. Louis, Missouri.

Vancouver Whitecaps FC
1974 season
ChairmanHerb Capozzi
Head coachJim Easton
NASLDivision: 5th
Overall: 11th
NASL PlayoffsDid not qualify
Highest home attendance17,343 vs San Jose Earthquakes May 5, 1974[1]
Lowest home attendance6,310 vs Baltimore Comets June 16, 1974[1]
Average home league attendance10,098[2]
1975 →

The 1974 Vancouver Whitecaps season was the inaugural season of the Whitecaps and their debut season in the North American Soccer League. The Whitecaps were born on December 11, 1973, with the franchise announcement on the top floor of a downtown Vancouver Davie Street hotel. The city had officially amateur teams with regional leagues going back to the 1930s in the Pacific Coast Soccer League. The city was also home to NASL professional soccer in 1967 and 1968 when the Vancouver Royal Canadians competed at Empire Stadium.

The team played in colours of red and white. Their logo was a standard shield-shaped crest decorated only by a red soccer ball, with a maple leaf in the middle and the words 'Vancouver Whitecaps' above. The Whitecaps hit the pitch on May 5, 1974, with an attendance of 17,343 at Empire Stadium for their first NASL regular season match against the San Jose Earthquakes, losing 2–1 in a shootout.

Jim Easton who had moved from his native Scotland in 1973 to take the 'Caps coaching role after playing the previous season for the Miami Toros, missed the playoffs the first season with a team from the local Vancouver area reinforced with four Scottish players. Locals included players from the University of British Columbia, Pacific Coast Soccer League, and returned local players who had gone abroad to train with European clubs.

Squad

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The 1974 squad[3]

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
0 GK   BER Sam Nusum
1 GK   CAN Greg Weber
2 DF   CAN Neil Ellett
3 DF   CAN Bruce Wilson
4 MF   CAN Doug Scorse
5 DF   CAN Bob Lenarduzzi
6 DF   CAN Sam Lenarduzzi
7 FW   ITA Victor Kodelja
8 FW   CAN Glen Johnson
No. Pos. Nation Player
9 FW   SCO George McLean
10 MF   SCO Billy Stevenson
11 MF   CAN Brian Gant
12 FW   CAN Brian Budd
13 FW   ENG Chris Bennett
14 FW   CAN Gary Thompson
15 MF   CAN Darryl Samson
16 DF   SCO Gerry Heaney
17 DF   SCO Charlie Palmer
19 DF   ENG Les Wilson

Midfielder Billy Stevenson and defender Sam Lenarduzzi were captains of the 1974 Vancouver Whitecaps.

NASL

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League Standings

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Western Division

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Pos Club Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts
1 Los Angeles Aztecs 20 11 2 7 41 36 +5 110
2 San Jose Earthquakes 20 9 8 3 43 38 +5 103
3 Seattle Sounders 20 10 3 7 37 17 +20 101
4 Vancouver Whitecaps 20 5 4 11 29 30 –1 70

Pld = Matches played; W = Matches won; D = Matches drawn; L = Matches lost; F = Goals for; A = Goals against; GD = Goal difference; Pts = Points
Source: [1]

Overall

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Pos Club Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts
1 Los Angeles Aztecs 20 11 2 7 41 36 +5 110
2 Miami Toros 20 9 6 5 38 24 +14 107
3 Baltimore Comets 20 10 2 8 42 46 –4 105
4 San Jose Earthquakes 20 9 8 3 43 38 +5 103
5 Seattle Sounders 20 10 3 7 37 17 +20 101
6 Dallas Tornado 20 9 3 8 39 27 +12 100
7 Boston Minutemen 20 10 1 9 41 36 +5 94
8 Toronto Metros-Croatia 20 4 12 14 28 40 –12 87
9 Rochester Lancers 20 4 12 14 28 40 –12 77
10 Philadelphia Atoms 20 8 1 11 25 25 0 74
11 Vancouver Whitecaps 20 5 4 11 29 30 –1 70
12 Washington Diplomats 20 7 1 12 29 36 –7 70
13 New York Cosmos 20 4 12 14 28 40 –12 58
14 St. Louis Stars 20 4 1 15 42 54 –12 54
15 Denver Dynamos 20 5 0 15 21 42 –21 49

Pld = Matches played; W = Matches won; D = Matches drawn; L = Matches lost; F = Goals for; A = Goals against; GD = Goal difference; Pts = Points
Source: [1]

Results

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Results by round

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Round1234567891011121314151617181920
GroundHHAAHAAAHHHAAHAHAHHA
ResultDWDLWLDDLWDLWDDDLWDL
Source: soccerstats.us
A = Away; H = Home; W = Win; D = Draw; L = Loss

Match results

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May 5, 1974 1 Vancouver Whitecaps 1–1 (a.e.t.) San Jose Earthquakes Vancouver, British Columbia
Niel Ellett   Report Hernandez   Stadium: Empire Stadium
Attendance: 17,343
May 17, 1974 3 Miami Toros 2–2 (a.e.t.) Vancouver Whitecaps Miami, Florida
George McLean   Report Derek Watts     Stadium: Miami Orange Bowl
Attendance: 4195
May 19, 1974 4 Toronto Metros 2–1 Vancouver Whitecaps Toronto, Ontario
Vojin Lazarevic  
Tadeusz Polak  
Report George McLean   Stadium: Varsity Stadium
Attendance: 5,130
May 27, 1974 6 Los Angeles Aztecs 3–0 (a.e.t.) Vancouver Whitecaps Los Angeles, California
Jerry Kazarian  
Doug McMillan  
Tony Douglas  
Report Stadium: Weingart Stadium
Attendance: 6,248
June 2, 1974 8 Dallas Tornado 1–1 (a.e.t.) Vancouver Whitecaps Dallas, Texas
Rote   Report Victor Kodelja   Stadium: Texas Stadium
Attendance: 9,286
June 29, 1974 12 Washington Diplomats 2–1 Vancouver Whitecaps Washington DC
Gary Darrell 
George Ross  
Report Chris Bennett   Stadium: Robert F. Kennedy Stadium
Attendance: 3,156
June 30, 1974 13 New York Cosmos 0–2 Vancouver Whitecaps New York, New York
Report Chris Bennett  
George McLean  
Stadium: Downing Stadium
Attendance: 2,835
July 14, 1974 16 Vancouver Whitecaps 2–2 (a.e.t.) Dallas Tornado Vancouver, British Columbia
Brian Gant  
Bob Lenarduzzi  
Report Ilija Mitic  
Garcia  
Stadium: Empire Stadium
Attendance: 11,814
July 28, 1974 18 Vancouver Whitecaps 3–1 Los Angeles Aztecs Vancouver, British Columbia
Brian Budd    
Darryl Sampson  
Report Doug McMillan   Stadium: Empire Stadium
Attendance: 8,024
August 4, 1974 19 Vancouver Whitecaps 2–2 (a.e.t.) Rochester Lancers Vancouver, British Columbia
Bob Lenarduzzi  
George McLean  
Report Rudi Sacher  
David Proctor  
Stadium: Empire Stadium
Attendance: 7,892
August 11, 1974 20 Seattle Sounders 2–1 Vancouver Whitecaps Seattle, Washington
John Rowlands  
Jimmy Gabriel  
Report Charlie Palmer   Stadium: Kingdome
Attendance: 14,876

Overall

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See also

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History of Vancouver Whitecaps FC

References

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  1. ^ a b "Vancouver Whitecaps All-time Game Results | SoccerStats.us".
  2. ^ "The Year in American Soccer - 1974". Homepages.sover.net. October 4, 2003. Archived from the original on November 5, 2015. Retrieved January 21, 2014.
  3. ^ "NASL Vancouver Whitecaps Rosters". Nasljerseys.com. Retrieved January 21, 2014.