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1974 Vancouver Whitecaps season

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Vancouver Whitecaps FC
1974 season
ChairmanHerb Capozzi
Head coachJim 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]
1975 →

Division 1 professional soccer returned to Vancouver in 1974 with the Vancouver Whitecaps as interest began to grow in U.S. 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.

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

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

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

NASL

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Main article: 1974 North American Soccer League season

League Standings

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Western Division

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Pos Club Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts
1 Los Angeles Aztecs 20 11 2 7 41 36 +5 110
2 San Jose Earthquakes 20 9 8 3 43 38 +5 103
3 Seattle Sounders 20 10 3 7 37 17 +20 101
4 Vancouver Whitecaps 20 5 4 11 29 30 –1 70

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

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Pos Club Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts
1 Los Angeles Aztecs 20 11 2 7 41 36 +5 110
2 Miami Toros 20 9 6 5 38 24 +14 107
3 Baltimore Comets 20 10 2 8 42 46 –4 105
4 San Jose Earthquakes 20 9 8 3 43 38 +5 103
5 Seattle Sounders 20 10 3 7 37 17 +20 101
6 Dallas Tornado 20 9 3 8 39 27 +12 100
7 Boston Minutemen 20 10 1 9 41 36 +5 94
8 Toronto Metros-Croatia 20 4 12 14 28 40 –12 87
9 Rochester Lancers 20 4 12 14 28 40 –12 77
10 Philadelphia Atoms 20 8 1 11 25 25 0 74
11 Vancouver Whitecaps 20 5 4 11 29 30 –1 70
12 Washington Diplomats 20 7 1 12 29 36 –7 70
13 New York Cosmos 20 4 12 14 28 40 –12 58
14 St. Louis Stars 20 4 1 15 42 54 –12 54
15 Denver Dynamos 20 5 0 15 21 42 –21 49

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

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Results by round

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

Match results

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May 5, 1974 1 Vancouver Whitecaps 1–1 (a.e.t.) San Jose Earthquakes Vancouver, British Columbia
Niel Ellett Report Hernandez Stadium: Empire Stadium
Attendance: 17,343
May 11, 1974 2 Vancouver Whitecaps 1–0 Denver Dynamos Vancouver, British Columbia
Brian Gant Report Stadium: Empire Stadium
Attendance: 10,232
May 17, 1974 3 Miami Toros 2–2 (a.e.t.) Vancouver Whitecaps Miami, Florida
George McLean Report Derek Watts Stadium: Miami Orange Bowl
Attendance: 4195
May 19, 1974 4 Toronto Metros 2–1 Vancouver Whitecaps Toronto, Ontario
Vojin Lazarevic
Tadeusz Polak 		Report George McLean Stadium: Varsity Stadium
Attendance: 5,130
May 25, 1974 5 Vancouver Whitecaps 1–0 Boston Minutemen Vancouver, British Columbia
Brian Gant Report Stadium: Empire Stadium
Attendance: 11,148
May 27, 1974 6 Los Angeles Aztecs 3–0 (a.e.t.) Vancouver Whitecaps Los Angeles, California
Jerry Kazarian
Doug McMillan
Tony Douglas 		Report Stadium: Weingart Stadium
Attendance: 6,248
June 1, 1974 7 Denver Dynamos 0–0 (a.e.t.) Vancouver Whitecaps Denver, Colorado
Report Stadium: Mile High Stadium
Attendance: 3,325
June 2, 1974 8 Dallas Tornado 1–1 (a.e.t.) Vancouver Whitecaps Dallas, Texas
Rote Report Victor Kodelja Stadium: Texas Stadium
Attendance: 9,286
June 9, 1974 9 Vancouver Whitecaps 0–2 Seattle Sounders (1974–83) Vancouver, British Columbia
Report David Butler
Jimmy Gabriel 		Stadium: Empire Stadium
Attendance: 11,258
June 16, 1974 10 Vancouver Whitecaps 4–1 Baltimore Comets Vancouver, British Columbia
Brian Gant
Bruce Wilson
Victor Kodelja 		Report Hank Kazmierski Stadium: Empire Stadium
Attendance: 6,130
June 23, 1974 11 Vancouver Whitecaps 0–0 (a.e.t.) Philadelphia Atoms Vancouver, British Columbia
Report Stadium: Empire Stadium
Attendance: 8,816
June 29, 1974 12 Washington Diplomats 2–1 Vancouver Whitecaps Washington DC
Gary Darrell
George Ross 		Report Chris Bennett Stadium: Robert F. Kennedy Stadium
Attendance: 3,156
June 30, 1974 13 New York Cosmos 0–2 Vancouver Whitecaps New York, New York
Report Chris Bennett
George McLean 		Stadium: Downing Stadium
Attendance: 2,835
July 7, 1974 14 Vancouver Whitecaps 1–1 (a.e.t.) St. Louis Stars Vancouver, British Columbia
Glen Johnson Report Dennis Vaninger Stadium: Empire Stadium
Attendance: 8,142
July 10, 1974 15 St. Louis Stars 1–1 (a.e.t.) Vancouver Whitecaps St. Louis, Missouri
Jim Bokern Report Glen Johnson Stadium: Busch Memorial Stadium
Attendance: 9,990
July 14, 1974 16 Vancouver Whitecaps 2–2 (a.e.t.) Dallas Tornado Vancouver, British Columbia
Brian Gant
Bob Lenarduzzi 		Report Ilija Mitic
Garcia 		Stadium: Empire Stadium
Attendance: 11,814
July 26, 1974 17 San Jose Earthquakes 3–1 Vancouver Whitecaps San Jose, California
Own Goal
Paul Child
Archie Roboostoff		 Report George McLean Stadium: Spartan Stadium
Attendance: 17,670
July 28, 1974 18 Vancouver Whitecaps 3–1 Los Angeles Aztecs Vancouver, British Columbia
Brian Budd
Darryl Sampson 		Report Doug McMillan Stadium: Empire Stadium
Attendance: 8,024
August 4, 1974 19 Vancouver Whitecaps 2–2 (a.e.t.) Rochester Lancers Vancouver, British Columbia
Bob Lenarduzzi
George McLean 		Report Rudi Sacher
David Proctor 		Stadium: Empire Stadium
Attendance: 7,892
August 11, 1974 20 Seattle Sounders 2–1 Vancouver Whitecaps Seattle, Washington
John Rowlands
Jimmy Gabriel 		Report Charlie Palmer Stadium: Kingdome
Attendance: 14,876

Overall

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See also

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History of Vancouver Whitecaps FC

References

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  1. ^ a b "Vancouver Whitecaps All-time Game Results | SoccerStats.us".
  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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