The original Vancouver Whitecaps were a professional soccer team founded on December 11, 1973. During the 1970s and 1980s they played in the North American Soccer League (NASL).
In 1979, the team from the "Village of Vancouver" (a reference to ABC TV sportscaster Jim McKay's observation that "Vancouver must be like the deserted village right now", with so many people watching the game on TV) beat the powerhouse New York Cosmos in one of the most thrilling playoff series in NASL history to advance to the 1979 Soccer Bowl. Saturday, September 8, 1979, they triumphed against the Tampa Bay Rowdies at the Giants Stadium before a crowd of 50,699 (66,843 tickets had been sold for the game).[2]
It was during this short period that soccer interest peaked in Vancouver. The Whitecaps attendance at Empire Stadium grew to an average of 28,000 per game with playoff matches reaching the 32,000 capacity.[3] The team also recorded two tracks, with "White Is the Colour" (a takeoff on Chelsea's "Blue Is the Colour") becoming a hit on local radio during the run-up to their championship win.
After playing at Vancouver's 32,000-seat Empire Stadium for most of their existence, the team moved into the new 60,000-seat BC Place Stadium in 1983.
Vancouver was announced as an expansion franchise in the North American Soccer League on December 11, 1973, set to enter the league in 1974 alongside Seattle, Los Angeles, and San Jose. The seven-person ownership group was led by Herb Capozzi and included several businesspeople from the Lower Mainland.[5] The city had previously hosted the Vancouver Royal Canadians, a United Soccer Association team that played for the 1967 season with players from Sunderland A.F.C and in 1968 as the Royals before folding.[6] The team announced their name, the Whitecaps, in February 1974 and signed their first player, former West Bromwich Albion striker and Vancouver native Glen Johnson.[7]
The record home attendance for a Whitecaps game was on June 20, 1983. 60,342 came to watch the caps take on the Seattle Sounders in the first game at BC Place Stadium. It was also the largest crowd to ever see a club soccer match in Canada until the Montreal Impact surpassed the mark with 60,860 on May 12, 2012.
Original NASL Whitecaps Logo.
Average yearly attendance
1974 10,098
1975 7,579
1976 8,656
1977 11,897
1978 15,724
1979 22,962
1980 26,834
1981 23,236
1982 18,251
1983 29,164
1984 15,208
References
^"'Caps Coaches – The NASL Days | Vancouver Whitecaps FC". Whitecapsfc.com. August 29, 2010. Retrieved January 17, 2012.
^"The Morning Record and Journal - Google News Archive Search". google.com. Retrieved February 17, 2015.
^"Vancouver's soccer boom kicks sports scene up a notch". Vancouver Sun. November 6, 2015. Retrieved March 2, 2020. Five years later, the average was 28,000 and the club was selling out playoff games at 32,000.
^"The Vancouver Sun - Google News Archive Search". google.com. Retrieved February 17, 2015.
^Kearney, Jim (December 11, 1973). "Capozzi brings pro soccer back to city". The Vancouver Sun. p. 23. Retrieved December 5, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
^Cross, Jeff (December 12, 1973). "Professional soccer back in town". The Province. p. 25. Retrieved December 5, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
^Cross, Jeff (February 5, 1974). "Whitecaps the name, soccer's the game". The Province. p. 11. Retrieved December 5, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
^"NASL Soccer North American Soccer League Players-Brian Gant". Nasljerseys.com. April 23, 1952. Retrieved March 7, 2012.
^Holroyd, Steven (January 31, 2010). . American Soccer Archives. Archived from the original on November 5, 2015. Retrieved March 13, 2011.
^"Vancouver Whitecaps Rosters – 1976". Nasljerseys.com. April 23, 1952. Retrieved April 3, 2013.
^Holroyd, Steven (October 21, 2003). . American Soccer Archives. Archived from the original on July 13, 2013. Retrieved March 31, 2013.
^Litterer, David (October 27, 2003). . American Soccer Archives. Archived from the original on February 17, 2015. Retrieved March 31, 2013.
^Litterer, David (May 30, 2010). . American Soccer Archives. Archived from the original on May 10, 2013. Retrieved March 31, 2013.
^Litterer, David (January 31, 2010). . American Soccer Archives. Archived from the original on November 5, 2015. Retrieved March 31, 2013.
^Litterer, David (June 6, 2004). . American Soccer Archives. Archived from the original on January 7, 2015. Retrieved March 31, 2013.
^Litterer, David (August 15, 2012). . American Soccer Archives. Archived from the original on November 28, 2015. Retrieved March 31, 2013.
^Litterer, David (August 17, 2011). . American Soccer Archives. Archived from the original on February 5, 2019. Retrieved March 31, 2013.
^Holroyd, Steve (January 31, 2010). . American Soccer Archives. Archived from the original on July 13, 2013. Retrieved March 31, 2013.
^"Home". indoorsoccerhall.com. Retrieved February 17, 2015.
^"Hey Now, You're An All-Star". kenn.com. Retrieved February 17, 2015.
^"NASL all-stars". Chicago Tribune. April 10, 1984. p. 4; sec 4. Retrieved January 12, 2017.
^"The New York Cosmos, who won the regular-season point..."
^Henderson, Jim (April 21, 1981). "For Keith Bailey, The Long Wait Is Finally Over". The Tampa Tribune. p. 5-C. Retrieved January 6, 2021.
^. Archived from the original on August 10, 2014. Retrieved August 9, 2014.
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This article is about the defunct Vancouver Whitecaps team from the North American Soccer League For the MLS team see Vancouver Whitecaps FC For the former USL team see Vancouver Whitecaps 1986 2010 The original Vancouver Whitecaps were a professional soccer team founded on December 11 1973 During the 1970s and 1980s they played in the North American Soccer League NASL Vancouver WhitecapsFull nameVancouver WhitecapsNickname s The CapsFoundedDecember 11 1973 1 Dissolved1984 39 years ago 1984 StadiumEmpire Stadium 1974 1983 BC Place 1983 1984 Indoor Pacific Coliseum 1980 81 1983 84 PNE Agrodome 1981 1982 Capacity30 000 Empire 60 000 BC Place 15 613 Coliseum 3 200 Agrodome LeagueNASLHome coloursAway coloursThe Whitecaps of that era included international players such as Alan Ball Ruud Krol and Bruce Grobbelaar but also British Columbian stars like Bobby and Sam Lenarduzzi Buzz Parsons and Bruce Wilson In 1979 the team from the Village of Vancouver a reference to ABC TV sportscaster Jim McKay s observation that Vancouver must be like the deserted village right now with so many people watching the game on TV beat the powerhouse New York Cosmos in one of the most thrilling playoff series in NASL history to advance to the 1979 Soccer Bowl Saturday September 8 1979 they triumphed against the Tampa Bay Rowdies at the Giants Stadium before a crowd of 50 699 66 843 tickets had been sold for the game 2 It was during this short period that soccer interest peaked in Vancouver The Whitecaps attendance at Empire Stadium grew to an average of 28 000 per game with playoff matches reaching the 32 000 capacity 3 The team also recorded two tracks with White Is the Colour a takeoff on Chelsea s Blue Is the Colour becoming a hit on local radio during the run up to their championship win After playing at Vancouver s 32 000 seat Empire Stadium for most of their existence the team moved into the new 60 000 seat BC Place Stadium in 1983 The team played indoor soccer on and off during their existence The Pacific Coliseum served as the home field for their 1980 81 and 1983 84 NASL indoor seasons However for the 1981 82 indoor season the Whitecaps used the much smaller PNE Agrodome as the Pacific Coliseum became unavailable 4 With the demise of the NASL in 1984 the Whitecaps along with many other teams in the NASL were forced to fold Contents 1 History 2 Year by year 2 1 Indoor 3 Honours 4 Statistics 4 1 Attendance 4 1 1 Average yearly attendance 5 References 6 See alsoHistory EditVancouver was announced as an expansion franchise in the North American Soccer League on December 11 1973 set to enter the league in 1974 alongside Seattle Los Angeles and San Jose The seven person ownership group was led by Herb Capozzi and included several businesspeople from the Lower Mainland 5 The city had previously hosted the Vancouver Royal Canadians a United Soccer Association team that played for the 1967 season with players from Sunderland A F C and in 1968 as the Royals before folding 6 The team announced their name the Whitecaps in February 1974 and signed their first player former West Bromwich Albion striker and Vancouver native Glen Johnson 7 Year by year EditMain article History of Vancouver Whitecaps FC This is a complete list of seasons for the NASL club For a season by season history including the current MLS franchise see History of Vancouver Whitecaps FC For solely MLS results see List of Vancouver Whitecaps FC seasons Season League Position Playoffs Continental Average attendance Top goalscorer s Div League Pld W L D GF GA GD Pts PPG Conf Overall Name Goals1974 1 NASL 20 5 11 4 29 31 2 70 3 50 4th 12th DNQ Ineligible 10 098 Brian Gant 8 61975 NASL 22 11 11 0 38 28 10 99 4 50 4th 11th 7 579 Glen Johnson 9 81976 NASL 24 14 10 0 38 30 8 120 5 00 4th 9th R1 8 655 3 players 10 51977 NASL 26 14 12 0 43 36 7 124 4 77 4th 7th R1 11 897 Derek Possee 11 111978 NASL 30 24 6 0 68 29 39 199 6 63 2nd 2nd QF 15 736 Kevin Hector 12 211979 NASL 30 20 10 0 54 34 20 172 5 73 3rd 4th W 22 962 Kevin Hector 13 151980 NASL 32 16 16 0 52 47 5 139 4 34 7th 14th R1 26 834 Trevor Whymark 14 151981 NASL 32 21 11 0 74 43 31 186 5 81 1st 3rd R1 23 236 Carl Valentine 15 101982 NASL 32 20 12 0 58 48 10 160 5 00 3rd 5th QF 18 254 Ray Hankin 16 111983 NASL 30 24 6 0 63 34 29 187 6 23 1st 2nd QF 29 166 David Cross 17 191984 NASL 24 13 11 0 51 48 3 117 4 88 2nd 4th SF 15 190 Peter Ward 18 16Total 302 182 116 4 568 408 160 1573 5 21 Unknown 167 1 Avg Attendance include statistics from league matches only 2 Top Goalscorer s includes all goals scored in League League Playoffs Canadian Championship CONCACAF Champions League FIFA Club World Cup and other competitive continental matches Indoor Edit Season League Position PlayoffsLeague Pld W L GF GA GD Conf Overall1975 NASL 2 1 1 18 11 7 2nd 6th DNQ1976 NASL 2 0 2 8 29 21 4th 12th1980 81 NASL 18 11 7 91 96 5 1st 5th SF1981 82 NASL 18 10 8 93 94 1 3rd 6th R1Total 40 22 18 210 230 20Honours EditNASL Championship 1979Conference titles 1979 National Conference ChampionsDivision titles 1978 Western Division National Conference 1979 Western Division National Conference 1981 Northwest Division 1980 81 Northwest Division indoor 1983 Western DivisionNASL attendance leader 1983 29 164 per game 1984 15 208 per game NASL coach of the year 1978 Tony Waiters 1982 Johnny GilesNorth American player of the year 1978 Bob Lenarduzzi 1983 Tino LettieriNASL playoff MVP 1979 Alan BallNASL leading goalkeeper 1978 Phil Parkes GAA 0 95 Wins 23 SO 10 1979 Phil Parkes GAA 0 96 SO 7 1982 Tino Lettieri GAA 1 23 1983 Tino Lettieri GAA 0 86 GA 25 SO 11 U S Soccer Hall of Fame members 2003 Bob Lenarduzzi Arnie Mausser Bruce WilsonIndoor Soccer Hall of Fame members 2014 Dale Mitchell 19 Indoor All Star game 1983 84 Reserves Carl Valentine Peter Ward Tino Lettieri 20 All Star First Team selections 1977 Bruce Wilson 1979 Phil Parkes 1980 Rudi Krol 1983 David Watson Frans Thijssen 1984 Frans Thijssen Peter WardAll Star Second Team selections 1977 Buzz Parsons 1978 John Craven Kevin Hector 1979 Alan Ball Bob Lenarduzzi 1981 Peter Lorimer Pierce O Leary 1983 Tino Lettieri 1983 84 Carl Valentine 21 indoor 1984 Bob Lenarduzzi Fran O BrienAll Star honourable mentions 1976 Tommy Ord 1982 Carl Valentine John Wile 1983 Peter Beardsley David Cross Fran O Brien 22 1984 Paul Bradshaw Carl ValentineIndoor All Stars 1980 81 Carl Valentine Gerry Gray Bruce Grobbelaar 23 Canadian Soccer Hall of Fame members 2000 Sam Lenarduzzi Luigi Moro Bruce Wilson 2001 Gerry Gray Bob Lenarduzzi Tino Lettieri Tony Waiters 2002 Dale Mitchell Mike Sweeney 2003 Ian Bridge Buzz Parsons Carl Valentine 2004 Bob Bolitho 2005 Garry Ayre 2006 Brian Robinson Randy Samuel 2007 Herb Capozzi Glen Johnson 2008 Bruce Twamley Les Wilson 2009 Neil Ellett 2011 Victor Kodelja Soccer Bowl 79 Champions 2014 Chris Bennett 24 Statistics EditAttendance EditThe record home attendance for a Whitecaps game was on June 20 1983 60 342 came to watch the caps take on the Seattle Sounders in the first game at BC Place Stadium It was also the largest crowd to ever see a club soccer match in Canada until the Montreal Impact surpassed the mark with 60 860 on May 12 2012 Original NASL Whitecaps Logo Average yearly attendance Edit 1974 10 098 1975 7 579 1976 8 656 1977 11 897 1978 15 724 1979 22 962 1980 26 834 1981 23 236 1982 18 251 1983 29 164 1984 15 208References Edit Caps Coaches The NASL Days Vancouver Whitecaps FC Whitecapsfc com August 29 2010 Retrieved January 17 2012 The Morning Record and Journal Google News Archive Search google com Retrieved February 17 2015 Vancouver s soccer boom kicks sports scene up a notch Vancouver Sun November 6 2015 Retrieved March 2 2020 Five years later the average was 28 000 and the club was selling out playoff games at 32 000 The Vancouver Sun Google News Archive Search google com Retrieved February 17 2015 Kearney Jim December 11 1973 Capozzi brings pro soccer back to city The Vancouver Sun p 23 Retrieved December 5 2021 via Newspapers com Cross Jeff December 12 1973 Professional soccer back in town The Province p 25 Retrieved December 5 2021 via Newspapers com Cross Jeff February 5 1974 Whitecaps the name soccer s the game The Province p 11 Retrieved December 5 2021 via Newspapers com NASL Soccer North American Soccer League Players Brian Gant Nasljerseys com April 23 1952 Retrieved March 7 2012 Holroyd Steven January 31 2010 The Year in American Soccer 1975 American Soccer Archives Archived from the original on November 5 2015 Retrieved March 13 2011 Vancouver Whitecaps Rosters 1976 Nasljerseys com April 23 1952 Retrieved April 3 2013 Holroyd Steven October 21 2003 The Year in American Soccer 1977 American Soccer Archives Archived from the original on July 13 2013 Retrieved March 31 2013 Litterer David October 27 2003 The Year in American Soccer 1978 American Soccer Archives Archived from the original on February 17 2015 Retrieved March 31 2013 Litterer David May 30 2010 The Year in American Soccer 1979 American Soccer Archives Archived from the original on May 10 2013 Retrieved March 31 2013 Litterer David January 31 2010 The Year in American Soccer 1980 American Soccer Archives Archived from the original on November 5 2015 Retrieved March 31 2013 Litterer David June 6 2004 The Year in American Soccer 1981 American Soccer Archives Archived from the original on January 7 2015 Retrieved March 31 2013 Litterer David August 15 2012 The Year in American Soccer 1982 American Soccer Archives Archived from the original on November 28 2015 Retrieved March 31 2013 Litterer David August 17 2011 The Year in American Soccer 1983 American Soccer Archives Archived from the original on February 5 2019 Retrieved March 31 2013 Holroyd Steve January 31 2010 The Year in American Soccer 1984 American Soccer Archives Archived from the original on July 13 2013 Retrieved March 31 2013 Home indoorsoccerhall com Retrieved February 17 2015 Hey Now You re An All Star kenn com Retrieved February 17 2015 NASL all stars Chicago Tribune April 10 1984 p 4 sec 4 Retrieved January 12 2017 The New York Cosmos who won the regular season point Henderson Jim April 21 1981 For Keith Bailey The Long Wait Is Finally Over The Tampa Tribune p 5 C Retrieved January 6 2021 Soccer Hall of Fame and Museum Website gt Hall of Fame gt Hall of Fame Inductee Announcements gt 2014 Inductees Archived from the original on August 10 2014 Retrieved August 9 2014 See also EditVancouver Royals History of Vancouver Whitecaps FC Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Vancouver Whitecaps 1974 1984 amp oldid 1130677899, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
