Chicago Spurs were an American
soccer team that was a charter member of the non-
FIFA sanctioned
National Professional Soccer League (NPSL) in 1967. The team was based in
Chicago
(''City in a Garden''); I Will
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,
Illinois
Illinois ( ) is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolitan areas include, Peoria and Roc ...
and played their home games at the
Soldier Field
Soldier Field is a multi-purpose stadium on the Near South Side, Chicago, Near South Side of Chicago, Illinois, United States. Opened in 1924 and reconstructed in 2003, the stadium has served as the home of the Chicago Bears of the National Foot ...
. When the NPSL merged with the rival
United Soccer Association
The United Soccer Association was a professional soccer league featuring teams based in the United States and Canada. The league survived only one season before merging with the National Professional Soccer League to form the North American ...
to form the
North American Soccer League, the team moved and became the
Kansas City Spurs, leaving the Chicago market to the
Chicago Mustangs
History
In 1966, several groups of entrepreneurs were exploring the idea of forming a professional soccer league in United States and Canada. Two of these groups merged to form the
National Professional Soccer League (NPSL) and franchise rights were awarded to ten ownership groups. The Chicago franchise was awarded to Michael Butler and William Cutler, the partners appointed Alvis Kaczmarek to manage the team as Team President. In October, Kaczmarek hired
Alan Rogers to coach the new team. The Spurs opened the 1967 season at
Soldier Field
Soldier Field is a multi-purpose stadium on the Near South Side, Chicago, Near South Side of Chicago, Illinois, United States. Opened in 1924 and reconstructed in 2003, the stadium has served as the home of the Chicago Bears of the National Foot ...
with a 1–0 victory over the
St. Louis Stars with 4,725 fans in attendance. The team finished the season in third place of the Western Division with a record of ten wins, eleven loses and eleven draws, with an average attendance of 2,619.
Following the 1967 season, the NPSL merged with the
United Soccer Association (USA) to form the
North American Soccer League (NASL). The new league decided against two-team cities, and in order to keep from competing with the
Chicago Mustangs of the former USA, owned by
White Sox co-owner
Arthur Allyn Jr.
Arthur Allyn Jr. (December 24, 1913 – March 22, 1985) was the co-owner of the Chicago White Sox of the American League with his brother John Allyn from through . A few years after purchasing the franchise from Bill Veeck, Allyn tried to se ...
, who were chosen to be the city's NASL representative, the Spurs were sold to a group from
Kansas City, Missouri and moved there to become the
Kansas City Spurs.
Year-by-year
Coaches
*
Alan Rogers
See also
*
Kansas City Spurs
*
Chicago Mustangs (1967–68)
*
Chicago Sting
*
Chicago Fire Soccer Club
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References
{{North American Soccer League (1966–85)
Defunct soccer clubs in Illinois
Spurs
National Professional Soccer League (1967) franchises
1967 establishments in Illinois
1967 disestablishments in Illinois
Soldier Field
Association football clubs established in 1967
Association football clubs disestablished in 1967