Toronto City is a former Canadian

Canada

Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

 football (soccer)

Football (soccer)

Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a sport played between two teams of eleven players with a spherical ball...

 team based in Toronto

Toronto

Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...

. Between 1961 and 1967, teams using this name competed in both the Eastern Canada Professional Soccer League and the United Soccer Association

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...

.

ECPSL

In 1961, along with industrialist Larry Myslivec and journalist Ed Fitken, Steve Stavro

Steve Stavro

Steve Atanas Stavro, CM , born Manoli Stavroff Sholdas, was a Macedonian Canadian businessman, grocery store magnate, Thoroughbred racehorse owner/breeder, sports team owner, and a noted philanthropist....

, a Macedonian Canadian

Macedonian Canadians

Macedonian Canadians are a group of ethnic Macedonians who live in Canada.-History:...

 businessman formed the Toronto City Soccer Club which played in the newly created Eastern Canada Professional Soccer League. During it’s inaugural season the team featured several prominent footballers including Northern Ireland

Northern Ireland national football team

The Northern Ireland national football team represents Northern Ireland in international association football. Before 1921 all of Ireland was represented by a single side, the Ireland national football team, organised by the Irish Football Association...

 international Danny Blanchflower

Danny Blanchflower

Robert Dennis "Danny" Blanchflower was a former Northern Ireland international footballer and football manager, and journalist who captained Tottenham Hotspur F.C. during its double-winning season of 1961. He was ranked as the greatest player in Spurs history by The Times in 2009...

, England

England national football team

The England national football team represents England in association football and is controlled by the Football Association, the governing body for football in England. England is the joint oldest national football team in the world, alongside Scotland, whom they played in the world's first...

 internationals Stanley Matthews

Stanley Matthews

Sir Stanley Matthews, CBE was an English footballer. Often regarded as one of the greatest players of the English game, he is the only player to have been knighted while still playing, as well as being the first winner of both the European Footballer of the Year and the Football Writers'...

 and Johnny Haynes

Johnny Haynes

John Norman "Johnny" Haynes was an English footballer, best known for his 18 years at Fulham. He played a club-record 658 games and scored 158 goals for the club between 1952 and 1970...

 and Scottish

Scotland national football team

The Scotland national football team represents Scotland in international football and is controlled by the Scottish Football Association. Scotland are the joint oldest national football team in the world, alongside England, whom they played in the world's first international football match in 1872...

 internationals Jackie Mudie

Jackie Mudie

John "Jackie" Knight Mudie was a Scottish international footballer who played as a forward. He won seventeen caps for his country, helping the Scots to qualify for the 1958 FIFA World Cup....

 and Tommy Younger

Tommy Younger

Thomas Younger was a Scottish professional footballer of the 1950s and 60s who played as a goalkeeper.- Club career :Born in Edinburgh, Scotland, Younger signed for his hometown club Hibernian in 1948...

, notable as the last time the England, Scotland and Northern Ireland captains played on the same side. Younger also coached the team. In January 1966 Stavro fell out with the league administrators and withdrew the team from the league.

USA

In 1966 Stavro helped form the United Soccer Association

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...

 and entered a team called Toronto City in the new league. The USA originally intended to launch its league in the spring of 1968. However a rival league, the National Professional Soccer League

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...

, announced it was ready to launch in 1967. Not wanting to lose ground to its rival, the USA decided to fast track its launch. Without any players of its own, it opted to import whole teams from Europe

Europe

Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...

 and South America

South America

South America is a continent situated in the Western Hemisphere, mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere. The continent is also considered a subcontinent of the Americas. It is bordered on the west by the Pacific Ocean and on the north and east...

. It was intended that these teams would represent the franchises during the inaugural season, giving them time to build their own squads for the following season. Toronto City was subsequently represented by Hibernian

Hibernian F.C.

Hibernian Football Club are a Scottish professional football club based in Leith, in the north of Edinburgh. They are one of two Scottish Premier League clubs in the city, the other being their Edinburgh derby rivals, Hearts...

 of the Scottish Football League

Scottish Football League

The Scottish Football League is a league of football teams in Scotland, comprising theScottish First Division, Scottish Second Division and Scottish Third Division. From the league's foundation in 1890 until the breakaway Scottish Premier League was formed in 1998, the Scottish Football League...

.

Together with Cleveland Stokers

Cleveland Stokers

The Cleveland Stokers were a soccer team based out of Cleveland, Ohio that played in the United Soccer Association during 1967 and the North American Soccer League in 1968. Their home field was Cleveland Stadium....

, Detroit Cougars

Detroit Cougars (soccer)

The Detroit Cougars were a soccer team based in Detroit, Michigan, which played in the United Soccer Association. The league was made up of teams imported from foreign leagues. The Detroit club consisted of players from Glentoran F.C...

, New York Skyliners

New York Skyliners

The New York Skyliners were a soccer team based out of New York, New York that played in the United Soccer Association. The league was made up of teams imported from foreign leagues. The New York club was actually the C.A. Cerro from Montevideo, Uruguay...

, Boston Rovers

Boston Rovers

Boston Rovers were a United States soccer team that competed in the United Soccer Association league in 1967. The team was based in Lynn, Massachusetts and played their home games at the Manning Bowl. The USA league was actually made up of visiting club teams from Europe and South America...

 and Washington Whips

Washington Whips

The Washington Whips were a soccer team based in Washington, D.C. that played in the United Soccer Association. The league was made up of teams imported from foreign leagues. The Washington club was actually Aberdeen F.C...

, City competed in the Eastern Division. These teams were actually Stoke City

Stoke City F.C.

Stoke City Football Club is an English professional football club based in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire that plays in the Premier League. Founded in 1863, it is the oldest club in the Premier League, and considered to be the second oldest professional football club in the world, after Notts...

, Glentoran

Glentoran F.C.

Glentoran F.C. is a semi-professional, football club in Northern Ireland. The club was founded in 1882 and plays its home games at the Oval in east Belfast. Club colours are green, red, and black.Glentoran's biggest rivals are Linfield...

, C.A. Cerro

C.A. Cerro

Club Atlético Cerro, usually known simply as Cerro is an Uruguayan football club based in Montevideo. They currently play in the Uruguayan 1st Division....

, Shamrock Rovers

Shamrock Rovers F.C.

Shamrock Rovers Football Club are a professional football club from Dublin, Ireland. They compete in the Premier Division of the League of Ireland and are the most successful club in Irish football history. The club have won the League of Ireland title a record 17 times and the FAI Cup a record 24...

 and Aberdeen

Aberdeen F.C.

Aberdeen Football Club are a Scottish professional football club based in Aberdeen...

 respectively. City finished eventually finished third, behind the Stokers and the Whips. In December 1967 the USA and the NPSL merged to form the North American Soccer League

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:...

. As a result of this merger some of the USA franchises, including Toronto City folded. This was partly to avoid cities having more than one club in the new NASL, and City lost out to its NPSL rival Toronto Falcons

Toronto Falcons

The Toronto Falcons were a soccer team based in Toronto, Canada. They played only two years, 1967 in the National Professional Soccer League and 1968 in the North American Soccer League . Their home field was Varsity Stadium....

.

Year-by-year

Year	League	W	L	T	Pts	Regular Season	Playoffs
1961	CEPSL	11	10	3	25	1st, league	Lost in semi-final
1962	CEPSL	8	9	7	38	2nd, league	Lost in final
1963	CEPSL	3	16	6	12	Last (6th) in league	Did not qualify
1964	CEPSL	14	4	6	34	1st in league	Won championship
1965	CEPSL	5	13	6	16	Last (5th) in league	Did not qualify
1967	USA	4	3	5	13	3rd, Eastern Division	Did not qualify

Players

Errol Crossan Errol Crossan Errol Gilmour Crossan is a Canadian former professional soccer player, active primarily in England, who played as a right winger.-Early and personal life:...  Tony Book Tony Book Anthony Keith Book is a retired English footballer and manager who was born in Bath, 4 September 1934. Book spent a large part of his career in Non-League football with his home town club Bath City, before entering league football with Plymouth Argyle. At the age of 31, he joined First Division...  Johnny Haynes Johnny Haynes John Norman "Johnny" Haynes was an English footballer, best known for his 18 years at Fulham. He played a club-record 658 games and scored 158 goals for the club between 1952 and 1970...  Stanley Matthews Stanley Matthews Sir Stanley Matthews, CBE was an English footballer. Often regarded as one of the greatest players of the English game, he is the only player to have been knighted while still playing, as well as being the first winner of both the European Footballer of the Year and the Football Writers'...    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...  Danny Blanchflower Danny Blanchflower Robert Dennis "Danny" Blanchflower was a former Northern Ireland international footballer and football manager, and journalist who captained Tottenham Hotspur F.C. during its double-winning season of 1961. He was ranked as the greatest player in Spurs history by The Times in 2009...

Peter Cormack Peter Cormack Peter Barr Cormack is a Scottish former professional footballer and football manager who reached his peak as a player in the first great Liverpool side of the 1970s.-Life and playing career:...  Jackie Mudie Jackie Mudie John "Jackie" Knight Mudie was a Scottish international footballer who played as a forward. He won seventeen caps for his country, helping the Scots to qualify for the 1958 FIFA World Cup....  Pat Stanton Pat Stanton Patrick Gordon Stanton is a Scottish former football player and manager.He joined Hibs from Bonnyrigg Rose Athletic in 1963 and made his debut for the club against Motherwell in October that year. He quickly established himself in the first team, playing in defence or midfield...  Tommy Younger Tommy Younger Thomas Younger was a Scottish professional footballer of the 1950s and 60s who played as a goalkeeper.- Club career :Born in Edinburgh, Scotland, Younger signed for his hometown club Hibernian in 1948...    Walter Chyzowych Walter Chyzowych Walter Chyzowych was a Ukrainian born soccer player who played for Philadelphia Ukrainian Nationals and Newark Sitch of the American Soccer League and was later a coach for theUnited States national soccer team....

External links

• Toronto City 1967 squad
• Steve Stavro biography