American Soccer League (1965-1968)
Tombstone
Born: The Boston Metros re-brand as the Boston Tigers1Ballou, Art. “New Boston Tigers: U.N. on Soccer Pitch.” The Globe (Boston, MA). September 12, 1965
Folded: 1968
First Game: September 19, 1965 (T 1-1 vs. Hartford SC)
Last Game:
ASL Championships: None
Stadia
1965-1967: Chelsea Memorial Stadium
1967: Manning Bowl
Marketing
Team Colors: Red & Blue21967 Washington Britannica Program
Ownership
Owners: Dom Russo, Frank Vinci, et al.
Background
The Boston Tigers were a semi-professional soccer team that played in Chelsea and Lynn, Massachusetts, melting pot cities that bordered the northern edge of Boston. The Tigers competed in the American Soccer League (ASL) against competition from other Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic cities.
When the Tigers formed in 1965, the ASL was the highest level of “professional” soccer in the U.S., though that wasn’t saying much of anything. The era of Major League soccer arrived in 1967 with the arrival of two rival air travel leagues – the National Professional Soccer League (NPSL) and the United Soccer Association (USA).
The USA included a Boston franchise, the Shamrock Rovers, owned by Boston Bruins boss Weston Adams. A February 1967 Boston Globe article indicated that the Tigers had been designated at the Shamrock Rovers “number one farm team”.3Ralby, Herb. “U.S. Soccer Players Show Great Promise”. The Globe (Boston, MA). February 9, 1967 The Tigers began to use Lynn’s Manning Bowl, the same field used by the Shamrock Rovers.
But the Shamrock Rovers folded after a single season of play in 1967 and the Tigers followed their parent club into oblivion soon afterwards. Another Massachusetts-based ASL club, the Fall River Astros, took up the Boston market in 1969, becoming the Boston Astros.
Notable Names
One notable player to suit up for the Tigers in 1967 was 5′ 4″ Brazilian forward Carlos Metidieri. The “Little Mouse” would go on to win back-to-back Most Valuable Player awards in the North American Soccer League in 1970 and 1971 as a member of the Rochester Lancers. Metidieri’s even smaller cousin, Gilson (5′ 1″, 110 pounds), also played for Tigers in 1967 was the team’s other top scoring threat.4Ballou, Art. “‘Mini-Tigers’ Spark Boston Soccer Pros”. The Globe (Boston, MA). October 23, 1967
Another interesting alum of the Boston Tigers was former Massachusetts Institute of Technology soccer captain Bob Mehrabian. Mehrabian received his doctorate from M.I.T. while playing for the Tigers and went on to become president of Pittsburgh’s Carnegie Mellon University and later CEO and Executive Chairman of $3 billion dollar Teledyne Technologies during the 2000’s.
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