North American Soccer League (1968)
Tombstone
Born: 1968 – The Los Angeles Toros relocate to San Diego
Folded: Postseason 1968
First Game: March 31, 1968 (W 3-0 vs. Kansas City Spurs)
Last Game: September 28, 1968 (L 3-0 @ Atlanta Chiefs)
NASL Championships: None
Stadium
Balboa Stadium (33,000)
Opened: 1914
Demolished/Replaced: 1978
Marketing
Team Colors: Yale Blue & White
Ownership
Owners: William Cox, Julian Kaufman & Albert Fernandez
OUR FAVORITE STUFF
North American Soccer League
Logo T-Shirt
Pay home to the late, great North American Soccer League (1968-1984) with this great distressed logo tee from our friends at Cincinnati’s Old School Shirts!.
This design is available now in sizes Small through 4XL.
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Background
The son of a former San Diego Toros player bought this rare North American Soccer League (NASL) program (above) from us this weekend. You don’t see too much material from the Toros, so I figured I ought to write it up before it was gone for good.
The NASL was formed out of the merger of two competing pro leagues that launched in 1967, hoping to capitalize on signs of interest from Americans in the 1966 World Cup. 17 clubs from the National Professional Soccer League (NPSL) and its former rival, the United Soccer Association (USA) joined to form the new NASL in 1968. The league boasted wealthy high-powered owners such as American Football League founder Lamar Hunt (Dallas Tornado) and Los Angeles Lakers boss Jack Kent Cooke (Los Angeles Wolves)
The Toros formed in 1966 as the Los Angeles Toros, backed by Los Angeles Rams owner Dan Reeves. Reeves lost interest after one season. The club joined the NASL in the 1968 merger and moved south to San Diego’s Balboa Stadium.
Move To San Diego
William Cox headed the new ownership group in San Diego. Cox was an interesting figure. A Yale grad, he bought the floundering Philadelphia Phillies in 1943. At the age of 33, he became the youngest owner in Major League Baseball at the time. He lasted less than a year before getting ensnared in a gambling scandal. Commissioner Kenesaw Mountain Landis banned Cox from professional baseball in 1943. He was the last person banned for life from the game until Pete Rose in 1989. Cox later founded the International Soccer League (ISL) in 1960 which experienced some success importing European and South American clubs into the Eastern United States in the early 1960’s before the USSFA, soccer’s governing body in the United States, conspired to drive Cox out of business in 1965.
In Competition
The Toros finished 18-8-6 in 1968 and accumulated the highest point total (186) among the 17 NASL clubs in the league’s standings table. After dispatching the Kansas City Spurs in a two-leg semi-final series, the Toros advanced to the NASL championship series against the Atlanta Chiefs in late September. Once again, it was a two-leg series with the winner determined on aggregate scoring. After a 0-0 draw before 9,360 fans at Balboa Stadium on September 21st, the Toros lost the deciding match 3-0 in Atlanta on September 28th.
The Toros had a distinct Latin/South American bent to their roster. The Toros signed Vava, the brilliant Brazilian striker, who scored in both the 1958 and 1962 World Cup finals en route to Brazilian victories. But the club’s top scorer turned out to be a Uruguayan, Cirilo Fernandez, who tied for the NASL lead in goal scoring with 30 goals in 29 matches. Ataulfo Sanchez of Argentina was the league’s stingiest goalkeeper, with a 0.93 goals against average.
San Diego never particularly took to the Toros. The club averaged fewer than 5,000 fans per home match and folded at the end of the 1968 season.
Aftermath
The NASL returned to San Diego twice, first with the San Diego Jaws (1976) and again with the San Diego Sockers (1978-1984).
San Diego Toros Shop
Editor's Pick
Rock n' Roll Soccer
The Short Life and Fast Times of the North American Soccer League
by Ian Plenderleith
The North American Soccer League – at its peak in the late 1970s – presented soccer as performance, played by men with a bent for flair, hair and glamour. More than just Pelé and the New York Cosmos, it lured the biggest names of the world game like Johan Cruyff, Franz Beckenbauer, Eusebio, Gerd Müller and George Best to play the sport as it was meant to be played-without inhibition, to please the fans.
The first complete look at the ambitious, star-studded NASL, Rock ‘n’ Roll Soccer reveals how this precursor to modern soccer laid the foundations for the sport’s tremendous popularity in America today.
When you make a purchase through an affiliate link like this one, Fun While It Lasted earns a commission at no additional cost to you. Thanks for your support!
Downloads
8-30-1968 General Admission Tickets Only $1 For Toros-Clippers Clash at Balboa Stadium Press Release
8-30-1968 General Admission Tickets Only $1 For Toros-Clippers Clash at Balboa Stadium Press Release
Links
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