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St. Louis Stars (soccer)

January 01, 1970

This article is about the St. Louis Stars soccer club of the NASL. For the old Negro Leagues baseball team, see St. Louis Stars (baseball).

The St. Louis Stars were a soccer team based in St. Louis, Missouri that played in the original North American Soccer League from 1968 to 1977. The Stars were known for playing mostly American players, many from the St. Louis area, in contrast to other NASL teams' reliance on foreign players.[1] The team moved to Anaheim in 1978 and became the California Surf.

St. Louis Stars
Full nameSt. Louis Stars
Founded1966
Dissolved1977 (relocated)
StadiumBusch Memorial Stadium;
Francis Field at
Washington University in St. Louis
St. Louis Arena (indoor)
Capacity55,000 & 6,000
18,006 (indoor)
ChairmanBob Hermann
Head coachdefunct
LeagueNPSL (1967)
NASL (1968–1977)
1976/77NASL, Atlantic Conference, Northern Division 2nd

History edit

1960s edit

The St. Louis Stars, founded in 1967 as a team in the National Professional Soccer League, were the first ever professional soccer team in St. Louis, although St. Louis had a long history of strong play in amateur leagues and college soccer.[2] The Stars were headed by St. Louis businessman Bob Hermann. Hermann later went on to become president of the NPSL, and to create the Hermann Trophy, college soccer's version of the Heisman Trophy. The Stars immediately stole the spotlight from the local amateur clubs and attracted many mainstream sports fans. The first Stars team included players from nine different countries, with nine players from Yugoslavia, and the majority of the team did not speak English.[2][3] The Stars' average attendance 7,613 was the highest in the league.[1] After the season, the NPSL merged with the rival United Soccer Association to form the North American Soccer League. The Stars became a member of the newly merged league.

Following the 1968 NASL season, the league was in trouble with ten franchises having folded. The team's owners cut back on players' salaries, and the team became semi-pro.[2] The 1969 season was split into two halves. The first half was called the International Cup, a double round-robin tournament in which the remaining NASL clubs were represented by teams imported from the United Kingdom. The Stars were represented by Kilmarnock F.C. of Scotland. The Stars came in last for the Cup with a 2–5–1 record. For the second half of the 1969 season, the teams returned to their normal rosters, and played a 16-game schedule with no playoffs.

1970s edit

After the first two money-losing seasons, the team's owners cut back. The Stars became a semi-pro team, with players paid by the game and holding other jobs.[4] Consequently, the team began to draw poor crowds, averaging fewer than 4,000 fans per game for the three seasons from 1969 to 1971.

On March 19, 1971, the Stars hosted the 1971 NASL Professional Hoc-Soc Tournament, which was the first indoor soccer tournament sanctioned by a Division One professional league in U.S. history.[5] The Stars lost their opening match, 2–1, but rebounded, 2–0, to win the third place match up.

The Stars best season was 1972. The Stars won the Southern Division that year, defeated the Rochester Lancers 2–1 in a semifinal match held at Busch Memorial Stadium in St. Louis, and in Final they lost 2–1 to the Cosmos in a match played at Hofstra Stadium in New York. Pat McBride (MF) and John Sewell (DF) were named first team all-stars for the 1972 season. The team's success reinvigorated fan appeal, leading the league in attendance in 1972 with close to 8,000 fans per match, and continuing to draw over 6,000 fans each season from 1972 to 1977.[1]

The Stars' legacy is one of developing American players, in particular drawing players from the local St. Louis area talent pool, instead of recruiting aging foreign players with high contracts.[1] From 1969 to 1976, the Stars' squads were mostly American players.[3][4] The Stars could afford to rely on local talent because at the time St. Louis had strong college teams and amateur competitions, with St. Louis University winning 10 NCAA national championships from 1959 to 1973.[1] This strategy is one of the reasons for the Stars' longevity (lasting ten seasons during some the NASL's most turbulent times), but often the team was mediocre. On February 13, 1974, the Stars played host (and lost, 11–4) to the Red Army team at the St. Louis Arena in the final match of Russian squad's three city, North American indoor soccer tour.[6][7][8] St. Louis went on to participate in both the 1975 and 1976 NASL indoor tournaments with little success.

In 1975 the Stars signed a foreign star in Peter Bonetti. "The Cat" was a FA Cup-winning star for Chelsea, had played for England from 1966–1970, was the backup goalkeeper to Gordon Banks on England's winning team in the 1966 World Cup, and had started one match at the 1970 World Cup. Bonetti had a solid season with the Stars, and was named a NASL first-team all-star for the 1975 season.[9] The Stars won the Central Division in 1975, defeated the L.A. Aztecs in the quarterfinals at Busch Memorial Stadium, and lost to the Portland Timbers in the semifinals. John Sewell was named NASL Coach of the Year.

In 1977, the Stars once again recruited an English goalkeeper, Bill Glazier, who was supposed to be England's backup goalkeeper at the 1966 World Cup, but had suffered a broken leg.[10] While Glazier had long been successful as Coventry City's #1, he struggled for form in St. Louis as John Jackson won the starting goalkeeper role for the 1977 season.[10] In 1977 the Stars finished second in the Northern Division, qualifying for the playoffs, where they lost in the first round to Rochester at Busch Memorial Stadium. Key players for the 1977 Stars team were DF Ray Evans (NASL second-team all-star) and MF Al Trost (NASL honorable mention).

From 1967–68 and 1971–74 the Stars played at Busch Memorial Stadium and from 1969 to 1970 and 1975–77 the home games were held at Francis Field.

Move to California edit

By 1977, the Stars emphasis on American players had begun to erode slightly. Although the 1977 squad was still mostly American, it did include eight Englishmen.[3] There was an attempt to return to Busch for 1978, but the Stars were not able to secure a lease to their liking. With only small Francis Field available as an option and player salaries rising sharply, there seemed little alternative but to move. So after the 1977 season, the Stars moved to Anaheim and became the California Surf. Although the California Surf retained their core group of American (mostly St. Louis) players, under English coach John Sewell the California Surf imported more English players.[11]

Year-by-year edit

Year Record Regular Season Finish Playoffs Avg Attend. Cup
1967 14–11–7 2nd, Western Division (NPSL) Did not qualify 7,613 Runners-up
1968 12–14–6 3rd, Gulf Division Did not qualify 5,388 n/a
1969 3–11–2 4th, NASL Did not qualify 2,274 n/a
1970 5–17–2 3rd, Eastern Division, Northern Division Did not qualify 2,745 n/a
1971 indoor 1–1 3rd in Hoc-soc tournament won 3rd place match 5,060 n/a
1971 6–13–5 4th, Southern Division Did not qualify 3,579 n/a
1972 7–4–3 1st, Southern Division Runners-up 7,773 n/a
1973 7–7–5 2nd, Southern Division Did not qualify 6,337 n/a
1974 4–15–1 4th, Central Division Did not qualify 7,374 n/a
1975 indoor 1–1 2nd, Region 1 Did not qualify 5,060 n/a
1975 13–9 1st, Central Division Semi-Finals 6,071 n/a
1976 indoor 0–2 4th, Midwest Regional Did not qualify 1,700 n/a
1976 5–19 5th, Pacific Conference, Western Division Did not qualify 6,150 n/a
1977 12–14 2nd, Atlantic Conference, Northern Division First round 9,794 n/a

Honors edit

Leading scorers edit

Coaches edit

See also edit

References edit

  1. ^ a b c d e . Homepages.sover.net. May 31, 2010. Archived from the original on July 30, 2012. Retrieved June 28, 2016.
  2. ^ a b c "Ambush return to St. Louis", St. Louis Post-Dispatch, June 22, 2013
  3. ^ a b c d "NASL St. Louis Stars Rosters". Nasljerseys.com. Retrieved June 28, 2016.
  4. ^ a b "Ambush return to St. Louis | Soccer". Stltoday.com. Retrieved June 28, 2016.
  5. ^ Flachsbart, Harold (March 19, 1971). "Pro Soccer Sends Up Trial Balloon Tonight". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. p. 23. Retrieved August 14, 2016.
  6. ^ . Archived from the original on April 22, 2016. Retrieved June 27, 2015.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  7. ^ "NASL-St. Louis Stars Friendlies". Nasljerseys.com. Retrieved June 28, 2016.
  8. ^ . Archived from the original on May 25, 2014. Retrieved May 24, 2014.
  9. ^ . Homepages.sover.net. Archived from the original on November 5, 2015. Retrieved June 28, 2016.
  10. ^ a b . Homepages.sover.net. Archived from the original on July 13, 2013. Retrieved June 28, 2016.
  11. ^ . Homepages.sover.net. Archived from the original on January 3, 2017. Retrieved June 28, 2016.
  12. ^ Meyers, Jeff (September 10, 1967). "Stars Take Playoff". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. p. 1B. Retrieved October 16, 2018 – via newspapers.com.
  13. ^ . Indoorsoccerhall.com. Archived from the original on October 23, 2013. Retrieved June 28, 2016.

External links edit

  • St. Louis Stars on FunWhileItLasted.net

January 01, 1970
louis, stars, soccer, this, article, about, louis, stars, soccer, club, nasl, negro, leagues, baseball, team, louis, stars, baseball, louis, stars, were, soccer, team, based, louis, missouri, that, played, original, north, american, soccer, league, from, 1968,. This article is about the St Louis Stars soccer club of the NASL For the old Negro Leagues baseball team see St Louis Stars baseball The St Louis Stars were a soccer team based in St Louis Missouri that played in the original North American Soccer League from 1968 to 1977 The Stars were known for playing mostly American players many from the St Louis area in contrast to other NASL teams reliance on foreign players 1 The team moved to Anaheim in 1978 and became the California Surf St Louis StarsFull nameSt Louis StarsFounded1966Dissolved1977 relocated StadiumBusch Memorial Stadium Francis Field at Washington University in St Louis St Louis Arena indoor Capacity55 000 amp 6 000 18 006 indoor ChairmanBob HermannHead coachdefunctLeagueNPSL 1967 NASL 1968 1977 1976 77NASL Atlantic Conference Northern Division 2ndHome colorsAway colors Contents 1 History 1 1 1960s 1 2 1970s 1 3 Move to California 2 Year by year 3 Honors 4 Leading scorers 5 Coaches 6 See also 7 References 8 External linksHistory edit1960s edit The St Louis Stars founded in 1967 as a team in the National Professional Soccer League were the first ever professional soccer team in St Louis although St Louis had a long history of strong play in amateur leagues and college soccer 2 The Stars were headed by St Louis businessman Bob Hermann Hermann later went on to become president of the NPSL and to create the Hermann Trophy college soccer s version of the Heisman Trophy The Stars immediately stole the spotlight from the local amateur clubs and attracted many mainstream sports fans The first Stars team included players from nine different countries with nine players from Yugoslavia and the majority of the team did not speak English 2 3 The Stars average attendance 7 613 was the highest in the league 1 After the season the NPSL merged with the rival United Soccer Association to form the North American Soccer League The Stars became a member of the newly merged league Following the 1968 NASL season the league was in trouble with ten franchises having folded The team s owners cut back on players salaries and the team became semi pro 2 The 1969 season was split into two halves The first half was called the International Cup a double round robin tournament in which the remaining NASL clubs were represented by teams imported from the United Kingdom The Stars were represented by Kilmarnock F C of Scotland The Stars came in last for the Cup with a 2 5 1 record For the second half of the 1969 season the teams returned to their normal rosters and played a 16 game schedule with no playoffs 1970s edit After the first two money losing seasons the team s owners cut back The Stars became a semi pro team with players paid by the game and holding other jobs 4 Consequently the team began to draw poor crowds averaging fewer than 4 000 fans per game for the three seasons from 1969 to 1971 On March 19 1971 the Stars hosted the 1971 NASL Professional Hoc Soc Tournament which was the first indoor soccer tournament sanctioned by a Division One professional league in U S history 5 The Stars lost their opening match 2 1 but rebounded 2 0 to win the third place match up The Stars best season was 1972 The Stars won the Southern Division that year defeated the Rochester Lancers 2 1 in a semifinal match held at Busch Memorial Stadium in St Louis and in Final they lost 2 1 to the Cosmos in a match played at Hofstra Stadium in New York Pat McBride MF and John Sewell DF were named first team all stars for the 1972 season The team s success reinvigorated fan appeal leading the league in attendance in 1972 with close to 8 000 fans per match and continuing to draw over 6 000 fans each season from 1972 to 1977 1 The Stars legacy is one of developing American players in particular drawing players from the local St Louis area talent pool instead of recruiting aging foreign players with high contracts 1 From 1969 to 1976 the Stars squads were mostly American players 3 4 The Stars could afford to rely on local talent because at the time St Louis had strong college teams and amateur competitions with St Louis University winning 10 NCAA national championships from 1959 to 1973 1 This strategy is one of the reasons for the Stars longevity lasting ten seasons during some the NASL s most turbulent times but often the team was mediocre On February 13 1974 the Stars played host and lost 11 4 to the Red Army team at the St Louis Arena in the final match of Russian squad s three city North American indoor soccer tour 6 7 8 St Louis went on to participate in both the 1975 and 1976 NASL indoor tournaments with little success In 1975 the Stars signed a foreign star in Peter Bonetti The Cat was a FA Cup winning star for Chelsea had played for England from 1966 1970 was the backup goalkeeper to Gordon Banks on England s winning team in the 1966 World Cup and had started one match at the 1970 World Cup Bonetti had a solid season with the Stars and was named a NASL first team all star for the 1975 season 9 The Stars won the Central Division in 1975 defeated the L A Aztecs in the quarterfinals at Busch Memorial Stadium and lost to the Portland Timbers in the semifinals John Sewell was named NASL Coach of the Year In 1977 the Stars once again recruited an English goalkeeper Bill Glazier who was supposed to be England s backup goalkeeper at the 1966 World Cup but had suffered a broken leg 10 While Glazier had long been successful as Coventry City s 1 he struggled for form in St Louis as John Jackson won the starting goalkeeper role for the 1977 season 10 In 1977 the Stars finished second in the Northern Division qualifying for the playoffs where they lost in the first round to Rochester at Busch Memorial Stadium Key players for the 1977 Stars team were DF Ray Evans NASL second team all star and MF Al Trost NASL honorable mention From 1967 68 and 1971 74 the Stars played at Busch Memorial Stadium and from 1969 to 1970 and 1975 77 the home games were held at Francis Field Move to California edit By 1977 the Stars emphasis on American players had begun to erode slightly Although the 1977 squad was still mostly American it did include eight Englishmen 3 There was an attempt to return to Busch for 1978 but the Stars were not able to secure a lease to their liking With only small Francis Field available as an option and player salaries rising sharply there seemed little alternative but to move So after the 1977 season the Stars moved to Anaheim and became the California Surf Although the California Surf retained their core group of American mostly St Louis players under English coach John Sewell the California Surf imported more English players 11 Year by year editYear Record Regular Season Finish Playoffs Avg Attend Cup 1967 14 11 7 2nd Western Division NPSL Did not qualify 7 613 Runners up 1968 12 14 6 3rd Gulf Division Did not qualify 5 388 n a 1969 3 11 2 4th NASL Did not qualify 2 274 n a 1970 5 17 2 3rd Eastern Division Northern Division Did not qualify 2 745 n a 1971 indoor 1 1 3rd in Hoc soc tournament won 3rd place match 5 060 n a 1971 6 13 5 4th Southern Division Did not qualify 3 579 n a 1972 7 4 3 1st Southern Division Runners up 7 773 n a 1973 7 7 5 2nd Southern Division Did not qualify 6 337 n a 1974 4 15 1 4th Central Division Did not qualify 7 374 n a 1975 indoor 1 1 2nd Region 1 Did not qualify 5 060 n a 1975 13 9 1st Central Division Semi Finals 6 071 n a 1976 indoor 0 2 4th Midwest Regional Did not qualify 1 700 n a 1976 5 19 5th Pacific Conference Western Division Did not qualify 6 150 n a 1977 12 14 2nd Atlantic Conference Northern Division First round 9 794 n aHonors editNPSL Commissioner s Cup 1967 runner up 12 NASL championships 1972 runner up Division titles 1972 Southern Division 1975 Central Division Rookie of the Year 1970 Jim Leeker 1972 Mike Winter Coach of the Year 1972 Casey Frankiewicz 1975 John Sewell U S Soccer Hall of Fame 1989 Bob Kehoe 1989 Willy Roy 1994 Pat McBride 2001 Bob Hermann 2006 Al Trost Indoor Soccer Hall of Fame 13 2012 Dragan Popovic All Star first team selections 1968 Casey Frankiewicz 1969 Joe Puls 1971 Dragan Popovic 1972 Pat McBride John Sewell 1975 Peter Bonetti All Star second team selections 1970 Pat McBride 1971 Casey Frankiewicz 1972 Wilf Tranter 1973 Pat McBride 1976 Al Trost 1977 Ray Evans All Star honorable mentions 1972 Casey Frankiewicz Joe Puls 1973 John Sewell Al Trost 1977 Al Trost Indoor All Stars 1971 Dragan Popovic Miguel de LimaLeading scorers edit1967 nbsp Rudi Kolbl 15 G 3 1968 nbsp Kazimierz Frankiewicz 16 G 1969 nbsp Tommy Ferguson 7 G 1970 nbsp Pat McBride 7 G 1971 nbsp Kazimierz Frankiewicz 14 G 1972 nbsp Willy Roy 7 G 1973 nbsp Willy Roy 7 G 1974 nbsp Dennis Vaninger 6 G 1975 nbsp John Hawley 11 G 1976 nbsp Al Trost 12 G 1977 nbsp Fred Binney 9 G Coaches edit nbsp George Mihaljevic 1967 nbsp Rudi Gutendorf 1968 nbsp Bob Kehoe 1969 70 nbsp George Meyer and nbsp Casey Frankiewicz 1971 nbsp Casey Frankiewicz 1972 73 nbsp John Sewell 1974 78 See also editSoccer in St Louis California Surf 1978 81 St Louis Steamers 1979 88 St Louis Storm 1989 92 St Louis Ambush 1992 2000 AC St Louis 2010 Saint Louis FC 2015 present References edit a b c d e History of Soccer in St Louis Homepages sover net May 31 2010 Archived from the original on July 30 2012 Retrieved June 28 2016 a b c Ambush return to St Louis St Louis Post Dispatch June 22 2013 a b c d NASL St Louis Stars Rosters Nasljerseys com Retrieved June 28 2016 a b Ambush return to St Louis Soccer Stltoday com Retrieved June 28 2016 Flachsbart Harold March 19 1971 Pro Soccer Sends Up Trial Balloon Tonight St Louis Post Dispatch p 23 Retrieved August 14 2016 Archived copy Archived from the original on April 22 2016 Retrieved June 27 2015 a href Template Cite web html title Template Cite web cite web a CS1 maint archived copy as title link NASL St Louis Stars Friendlies Nasljerseys com Retrieved June 28 2016 International Matches in St Louis Updated Archived from the original on May 25 2014 Retrieved May 24 2014 The Year in American Soccer 1975 Homepages sover net Archived from the original on November 5 2015 Retrieved June 28 2016 a b The Year in American Soccer 1977 Homepages sover net Archived from the original on July 13 2013 Retrieved June 28 2016 The Year in American Soccer 1978 Homepages sover net Archived from the original on January 3 2017 Retrieved June 28 2016 Meyers Jeff September 10 1967 Stars Take Playoff St Louis Post Dispatch p 1B Retrieved October 16 2018 via newspapers com Hall of Famers Indoorsoccerhall com Archived from the original on October 23 2013 Retrieved June 28 2016 External links editSt Louis Stars on FunWhileItLasted net Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title St Louis Stars soccer amp oldid 1181325689, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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