This article is about the original Baltimore Bays of the NPSL/NASL. For the second team to use the name in the ASL

American Soccer League

The American Soccer League has been a name used by three different professional soccer leagues in the United States. The first American Soccer League was established in 1921 by the merger of teams from the National Association Football League and the Southern New England Soccer League. For...

, see Baltimore Bays (ASL)

Baltimore Bays (ASL)

The second Baltimore Bays were a soccer team based out of Baltimore, Maryland that played in the American Soccer League. They were called the Baltimore Stars in 1972.-Year-by-year:...

. For the third team to use the name in the USISL

USL Second Division

The United Soccer Leagues Second Division was a professional men's soccer league in the United States, part of the United Soccer Leagues league pyramid...

, see Baltimore Bays (USISL)

Baltimore Bays (USISL)

-USISL:The third Baltimore Bays were a soccer team based out of Baltimore, Maryland that played in the USISL. They became the Eastern Shore Sharks in 1998 when they moved to Salisbury, Maryland.-Year-by-year:...

.

The first Baltimore Bays were a professional soccer team based out of Baltimore, Maryland

Baltimore

Baltimore is the largest independent city in the United States and the largest city and cultural center of the US state of Maryland. The city is located in central Maryland along the tidal portion of the Patapsco River, an arm of the Chesapeake Bay. Baltimore is sometimes referred to as Baltimore...

. It was one of ten charter members of the National Professional Soccer League (NPSL)

National Professional Soccer League (1967)

The National Professional Soccer League was a North American professional soccer league that existed for only the 1967 season before merging with the United Soccer Association to form the North American Soccer League. It had ten charter members, nine from the United States and one from Canada...

 in 1967. The team would become a part of the North American Soccer League (NASL)

North American Soccer League

North American Soccer League was a professional soccer league with teams in the United States and Canada that operated from 1968 to 1984.-History:...

, which was the result of a merger between the NPSL and the rival United Soccer Association (USA)

United Soccer Association

The United Soccer Association is a former professional soccer league featuring teams from the United States and Canada. The league survived only one season before merging with the National Professional Soccer League to form the North American Soccer League. All the teams in the league were imported...

. The owner was Jerold Hoffberger

Jerold Hoffberger

Jerold Charles 'Jerry' Hoffberger was an American businessman. He was president of the National Brewing Company from 1946 to 1973. He was also part-owner of the Baltimore Orioles of the American League from 1954 to 1965, and majority owner from 1965 to 1979.-Biography:Hoffberger was a lifelong...

, who also held the same capacity with the National Brewing Company

National Bohemian

National Bohemian Beer, colloquially called Natty Boh, National Boh or just plain Boh, is an American beer originally brewed in Baltimore, Maryland, but now brewed by the Miller Brewing Company in Eden, North Carolina, and distributed by the Pabst Brewing Company...

 and Major League Baseball

Major League Baseball

Major League Baseball is the highest level of professional baseball in the United States and Canada, consisting of teams that play in the National League and the American League...

's Baltimore Orioles

Baltimore Orioles

The Baltimore Orioles are a professional baseball team based in Baltimore, Maryland in the United States. They are a member of the Eastern Division of Major League Baseball's American League. One of the American League's eight charter franchises in 1901, it spent its first year as a major league...

. The Bays played its home matches at Memorial Stadium

Memorial Stadium (Baltimore)

Memorial Stadium was a sports stadium in Baltimore, Maryland, that formerly stood on 33rd Street on an over-sized block also bounded by Ellerslie Avenue , 36th Street , and Ednor Road...

 during its first two seasons and Kirk Field, a high school football stadium in Baltimore, in 1969. The team wore National Brewing's colors of red

Red

Red is any of a number of similar colors evoked by light consisting predominantly of the longest wavelengths of light discernible by the human eye, in the wavelength range of roughly 630–740 nm. Longer wavelengths than this are called infrared , and cannot be seen by the naked eye...

 and gold

Gold (color)

Gold, also called golden, is one of a variety of orange-yellow color blends used to give the impression of the color of the element gold....

.

Following the 1968 NASL season, the league was in trouble with ten franchises having folded. 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

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

. The Bays were represented by West Ham United F.C.

West Ham United F.C.

West Ham United Football Club is an English professional football club based in Upton Park, Newham, East London. They play in The Football League Championship. The club was founded in 1895 as Thames Ironworks FC and reformed in 1900 as West Ham United. In 1904 the club relocated to their current...

. They were runners-up for the Cup with a 5-2-1 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. Gordon Jago

Gordon Jago

Gordon Harold Jago MBE is a former English association football player and manager.Born in Poplar, London, Jago began his career in the Football League with , whom he joined in the 1954–55 season from non-league team . He made a total of 147 appearances, scoring one goal, at The Valley...

 coached the Bays.

Year-by-year

Year	League	W	L	T	Pts	Regular Season	Playoffs
1967	NPSL National Professional Soccer League (1967) The National Professional Soccer League was a North American professional soccer league that existed for only the 1967 season before merging with the United Soccer Association to form the North American Soccer League. It had ten charter members, nine from the United States and one from Canada...	14	9	9	162	1st, Eastern Division	Lost Championship (Oakland Oakland Clippers The Oakland Clippers were a soccer team based out of Oakland, California that played in the non-FIFA sanctioned National Professional Soccer League . Their home field was Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum.... )
1968	NASL	13	16	3	128	4th, Atlantic Division	Did Not Qualify
1969	NASL	2	13	1	42	5th	Did Not Qualify

Notable players

Terry Adlington

Terry Adlington

Terry Adlington was an English professional football goalkeeper. He began his career in England, but ended it in the United States with the North American Soccer League.-Football career:...

 Gordon Bradley

Gordon Bradley

Gordon Bradley was an English-American football midfielder born and raised on Wearside who played several seasons with lower division English clubs before moving to play in Canada at the age of 30. During the Canadian off-season, he played and coached in the U.S. based German American Soccer...

 Carmelo Cedrún David Primo

David Primo

David Primo , is a former Israeli international footballer who was part of the squad that competed at the 1970 World Cup, Israel's only world cup appearance.-External links:*...

 Juan Santisteban

Juan Santisteban

Juan Santisteban Troyano is a retired Spanish football midfielder and manager.-Player:Real Madrid*Intercontinental Cup: 1960*European Cup: 1956–57, 1957–58, 1958–59, 1959–60*Spanish League: 1956–57, 1957–58, 1960–61, 1963–64...

 Joe Speca Dennis Viollet

Dennis Viollet

Dennis Sydney Viollet was an English footballer best remembered for his time with Manchester United in the 1950s and early 1960s.-Club career:...

 Wilf Tranter

Wilf Tranter

Wilfred Tranter was an English footballer. His regular position was at full back. He was born in Pendlebury, Lancashire. He played for Manchester United, Brighton & Hove Albion, Baltimore Bays, St Louis Stars, and Fulham.-External links:...

 Art Welch

Art Welch

Art Welch is a retired Jamaican-American soccer player who played in the North American Soccer League and Major Indoor Soccer League....

 Asher Welch

Asher Welch

Asher Welch is a Jamaican former professional soccer player who played in the NASL between 1967 and 1970 for the Baltimore Bays and Kansas City Spurs. He began his career in Jamaica with Cavaliers FC, alongside twin brother Art....