1974 Vancouver Whitecaps season

Division 1 professional soccer returned to Vancouver in 1974 with the Vancouver Whitecaps as interest began to grow in US soccer, and the NASL grew after stabilizing in terms of attendance and number of teams with six to eight teams. In 1974 the Whitecaps were one of five expansion teams that were the first teams since 1968 (when Vancouver previously had a team) west of Dallas, Texas and St Louis, Missouri.

Vancouver Whitecaps FC
1974 season
ChairmanHerb Capozzi
ManagerJim Easton
NASLDivision: 5th
Overall: 11th
NASL PlayoffsDid not qualify
Highest home attendance17,343 vs San Jose Earthquakes May 5, 1974[1]
Lowest home attendance6,310 vs Baltimore Comets June 16, 1974[1]
Average home league attendance10,098[2]

The 1974 Vancouver Whitecaps season was the inaugural season of the Whitecaps and their debut season in the North American Soccer League. The Whitecaps were born on December 11, 1973, with the franchise announcement on the top floor of a downtown Vancouver Davie Street hotel. The city had officially amateur teams with regional leagues going back to the 1930s in the Pacific Coast Soccer League. The city was also home to NASL professional soccer in 1967 and 1968 when the Vancouver Royal Canadians competed at Empire Stadium.

The team played in colours of red and white. Their logo was a standard shield-shaped crest decorated only by a red soccer ball, with a maple leaf in the middle and the words 'Vancouver Whitecaps' above. The Whitecaps hit the pitch on May 5, 1974, with an attendance of 17,343 at Empire Stadium for their first NASL regular season match against the San Jose Earthquakes, losing 2-1 in a shootout.

Jim Easton who had moved from his native Scotland in 1973 to take the 'Caps coaching role after playing the previous season for the Miami Toros, missed the playoffs the first season with a team from the local Vancouver area reinforced with four Scottish players. Locals included players from the University of British Columbia, Pacific Coast Soccer League, and returned local players who had gone abroad to train with European clubs.

Squad

The 1974 squad[3]

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Position Player
0 GK Sam Nusum
1 GK Greg Weber
2 DF Neil Ellett
3 DF Bruce Wilson
4 MF Doug Scorse
5 DF Bob Lenarduzzi
6 DF Sam Lenarduzzi
7 FW Victor Kodelja
8 FW Glen Johnson
No. Position Player
9 FW George McLean
10 MF Billy Stevenson
11 MF Brian Gant
12 FW Brian Budd
13 FW Chris Bennett
14 FW Gary Thompson
15 MF Darryl Samson
16 DF Gerry Heaney
17 DF Charlie Palmer
19 DF Les Wilson

Midfielder Billy Stevenson and defender Sam Lenarduzzi were captains of the 1974 Vancouver Whitecaps.

NASL
Main article: 1974 North American Soccer League season

League Standings

Western Division
Pos Club Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts
1Los Angeles Aztecs 2011274136+5110
2San Jose Earthquakes 209834338+5103
3Seattle Sounders 2010373717+20101
4Vancouver Whitecaps 2054112930–170

Pld = Matches played; W = Matches won; D = Matches drawn; L = Matches lost; F = Goals for; A = Goals against; GD = Goal difference; Pts = Points
Source: [1]

Overall
Pos Club Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts
1Los Angeles Aztecs 2011274136+5110
2Miami Toros 209653824+14107
3Baltimore Comets 2010284246–4105
4San Jose Earthquakes 209834338+5103
5Seattle Sounders 2010373717+20101
6Dallas Tornado 209383927+12100
7Boston Minutemen 2010194136+594
8Toronto Metros-Croatia 20412142840–1287
9Rochester Lancers 20412142840–1277
10Philadelphia Atoms 2081112525074
11Vancouver Whitecaps 2054112930–170
12Washington Diplomats 2071122936–770
13New York Cosmos 20412142840–1258
14St. Louis Stars 2041154254–1254
15Denver Dynamos 2050152142–2149

Pld = Matches played; W = Matches won; D = Matches drawn; L = Matches lost; F = Goals for; A = Goals against; GD = Goal difference; Pts = Points
Source: [1]

Results

Results by round
Round1234567891011121314151617181920
GroundHHAAHAAAHHHAAHAHAHHA
ResultDWDLWLDDLWDLWDDDLWDL
Source: soccerstats.us
A = Away; H = Home; W = Win; D = Draw; L = Loss

Match results
May 5, 1974 1Vancouver Whitecaps1–1 (a.e.t.)San Jose EarthquakesVancouver, British Columbia
Niel Ellett Report Hernandez Stadium: Empire Stadium
Attendance: 17,343
May 11, 1974 2Vancouver Whitecaps1–0Denver DynamosVancouver, British Columbia
Brian Gant Report Stadium: Empire Stadium
Attendance: 10,232
May 17, 1974 3Miami Toros2–2 (a.e.t.)Vancouver WhitecapsMiami, Florida
George McLean Report Derek Watts Stadium: Miami Orange Bowl
Attendance: 4195
May 19, 1974 4Toronto Metros2–1Vancouver WhitecapsToronto, Ontario
Vojin Lazarevic
Tadeusz Polak 		Report George McLean Stadium: Varsity Stadium
Attendance: 5,130
May 25, 1974 5Vancouver Whitecaps1–0Boston MinutemenVancouver, British Columbia
Brian Gant Report Stadium: Empire Stadium
Attendance: 11,148
May 27, 1974 6Los Angeles Aztecs3–0 (a.e.t.)Vancouver Whitecaps Los Angeles, California
Jerry Kazarian
Doug McMillan
Tony Douglas 		Report Stadium: Weingart Stadium
Attendance: 6,248
June 1, 1974 7Denver Dynamos0–0 (a.e.t.)Vancouver Whitecaps Denver, Colorado
Report Stadium: Mile High Stadium
Attendance: 3,325
June 2, 1974 8Dallas Tornado1–1 (a.e.t.)Vancouver WhitecapsDallas, Texas
Rote Report Victor Kodelja Stadium: Texas Stadium
Attendance: 9,286
June 9, 1974 9Vancouver Whitecaps0–2Seattle Sounders (1974–83)Vancouver, British Columbia
Report David Butler
Jimmy Gabriel 		Stadium: Empire Stadium
Attendance: 11,258
June 16, 1974 10Vancouver Whitecaps4–1Baltimore CometsVancouver, British Columbia
Brian Gant
Bruce Wilson
Victor Kodelja 		Report Hank Kazmierski Stadium: Empire Stadium
Attendance: 6,130
June 23, 1974 11Vancouver Whitecaps0–0 (a.e.t.)Philadelphia AtomsVancouver, British Columbia
Report Stadium: Empire Stadium
Attendance: 8,816
June 29, 1974 12Washington Diplomats2–1Vancouver WhitecapsWashington DC
Gary Darrell
George Ross 		Report Chris Bennett Stadium: Robert F. Kennedy Stadium
Attendance: 3,156
June 30, 1974 13New York Cosmos0–2Vancouver WhitecapsNew York, New York
Report Chris Bennett
George McLean 		Stadium: Downing Stadium
Attendance: 2,835
July 7, 1974 14Vancouver Whitecaps1–1 (a.e.t.)St. Louis StarsVancouver, British Columbia
Glen Johnson Report Dennis Vaninger Stadium: Empire Stadium
Attendance: 8,142
July 10, 1974 15St. Louis Stars1–1 (a.e.t.)Vancouver WhitecapsSt. Louis, Missouri
Jim Bokern Report Glen Johnson Stadium: Busch Memorial Stadium
Attendance: 9,990
July 14, 1974 16Vancouver Whitecaps2–2 (a.e.t.)Dallas TornadoVancouver, British Columbia
Brian Gant
Bob Lenarduzzi 		Report Ilija Mitic
Garcia 		Stadium: Empire Stadium
Attendance: 11,814
July 26, 1974 17San Jose Earthquakes3–1Vancouver WhitecapsSan Jose, California
Own Goal
Paul Child
Archie Roboostoff		 Report George McLean Stadium: Spartan Stadium
Attendance: 17,670
July 28, 1974 18Vancouver Whitecaps3–1Los Angeles AztecsVancouver, British Columbia
Brian Budd
Darryl Sampson 		Report Doug McMillan Stadium: Empire Stadium
Attendance: 8,024
August 4, 1974 19Vancouver Whitecaps2–2 (a.e.t.)Rochester LancersVancouver, British Columbia
Bob Lenarduzzi
George McLean 		Report Rudi Sacher
David Proctor 		Stadium: Empire Stadium
Attendance: 7,892
August 11, 1974 20Seattle Sounders2–1Vancouver WhitecapsSeattle, Washington
John Rowlands
Jimmy Gabriel 		Report Charlie Palmer Stadium: Kingdome
Attendance: 14,876

Overall

See also

History of Vancouver Whitecaps FC

References
  1. http://soccerstats.us/teams/vancouver-whitecaps/games/
  2. "The Year in American Soccer - 1974". Homepages.sover.net. October 4, 2003. Archived from the original on November 5, 2015. Retrieved January 21, 2014.
  3. "NASL Vancouver Whitecaps Rosters". Nasljerseys.com. Retrieved January 21, 2014.
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