The Los Angeles Express were charter members of the USFL in 1982. They played in all three of the league’s seasons before going out of business just before the USFL shut its doors. From the $41 Million Man to the final home game at a local community college, we have their story.
Formed: May 11, 1982 Ceased: August 4, 1986 (Suspended Operations) First Games: March 6, 1983 Last Game: July 14, 1985 Seasons: 3 States: 17 including
The Los Angeles Toros were a One-Year Wonder in the start-up National Professional Soccer League (NPSL) in 1967. The team was part of a soccer war between the NPSL and another 1967 start-up, the United Soccer Association (USA). Both leagues placed franchises into the L.A. Memorial Coliseum in the spring of 1967. The Toros, owned by L.A. Rams owner Dan Reeves, fought for fans and prime dates against the USA’s Los Angeles Wolves, backed by L.A. Lakers and Kings chief Jack Kent Cooke.
The Los Angeles Wolves were a pro soccer club founded in 1967 by Los Angeles Lakers and Kings owner Jack Kent Cooke. In the scramble to get ready to play the 1967 season, each United Soccer Association franchise imported an entire team from Europe or South America to cosplay as an American club. The 1967 Wolves were actually Wolverhampton of England, and the American club derived its name from the English club’s nickname. The Wolves won the 1967 United Soccer Association championship, defeating the Washington Whips at L.A. Memorial Coliseum. In 1968, the Wolves moved to the Rose Bowl and the newly formed North American Soccer League. The club disbanded following the 1968 campaign.
The Los Angeles Skyhawks were a 2nd Division pro soccer outfit that competed in the American Soccer League during the late 1970’s. The Skyhawks won a league championship in its debut season of 1976 under the direction of British coach Ron Newman, who went on to be a highly successful coach in the NASL, MISL and Major League Soccer. The club labored in the shadows of the bigger budget Los Angeles Aztecs of the NASL, who boasted international superstars such as George Best and Johan Cruyff during the same years that the Skyhawks scuffled along in obscurity.
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