St. Louis Stars (soccer)

Defunct American soccer club

This article is about the St. Louis Stars soccer club of the NASL. For the old Negro Leagues baseball team, see St. Louis Stars (baseball).

Soccer club

St. Louis Stars

Full name| St. Louis Stars
Founded| 1966
Dissolved| 1977; 47 years ago (1977) (relocated)
Stadium| Busch Memorial Stadium;
Francis Field at
Washington University in St. Louis
St. Louis Arena (indoor)
Capacity| 55,000 & 6,000
18,006 (indoor)
Chairman| Bob Hermann
Head coach| defunct
League| NPSL (1967)
NASL (1968–1977)
1976/77| NASL, Atlantic Conference, Northern Division 2nd

Home colors

Away colors

|

The St. Louis Stars were a soccer team based in St. Louis, Missouri that played in the original North American Soccer League from 1968 to 1977. The Stars were known for playing mostly American players, many from the St. Louis area, in contrast to other NASL teams' reliance on foreign players.[1] The team moved to Anaheim in 1978 and became the California Surf.

## History

[edit]

### 1960s

[edit]

The St. Louis Stars, founded in 1967 as a team in the National Professional Soccer League, were the first professional soccer team in St. Louis since the shuttering of the St. Louis Soccer League, although St. Louis had a long history of strong play in amateur leagues and college soccer.[2] The Stars were headed by St. Louis businessman Bob Hermann. Hermann later went on to become president of the NPSL, and to create the Hermann Trophy, college soccer's version of the Heisman Trophy. The Stars immediately stole the spotlight from the local amateur clubs and attracted many mainstream sports fans. The first Stars team included players from nine different countries, with nine players from Yugoslavia, and the majority of the team did not speak English.[2][3] The Stars' average attendance 7,613 was the highest in the league.[1] After the season, the NPSL merged with the rival United Soccer Association to form the North American Soccer League. The Stars became a member of the newly merged league.

Following the 1968 NASL season, the league was in trouble with ten franchises having folded. The team's owners cut back on players' salaries, and the team became semi-pro.[2] 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. The Stars were represented by Kilmarnock F.C. of Scotland. The Stars came in last for the Cup with a 2–5–1 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.

### 1970s

[edit]

After the first two money-losing seasons, the team's owners cut back. The Stars became a semi-pro team, with players paid by the game and holding other jobs.[4] Consequently, the team began to draw poor crowds, averaging fewer than 4,000 fans per game for the three seasons from 1969 to 1971.

On March 19, 1971, the Stars hosted the 1971 NASL Professional Hoc-Soc Tournament, which was the first indoor soccer tournament sanctioned by a Division One professional league in U.S. history.[5] The Stars lost their opening match, 2–1, but rebounded, 2–0, to win the third place match up.

The Stars best season was 1972. The Stars won the Southern Division that year, defeated the Rochester Lancers 2–1 in a semifinal match held at Busch Memorial Stadium in St. Louis, and in Final they lost 2–1 to the Cosmos in a match played at Hofstra Stadium in New York. Pat McBride (MF) and John Sewell (DF) were named first team all-stars for the 1972 season. The team's success reinvigorated fan appeal, leading the league in attendance in 1972 with close to 8,000 fans per match, and continuing to draw over 6,000 fans each season from 1972 to 1977.[1]

The Stars' legacy is one of developing American players, in particular drawing players from the local St. Louis area talent pool, instead of recruiting aging foreign players with high contracts.[1] From 1969 to 1976, the Stars' squads were mostly American players.[3][4] The Stars could afford to rely on local talent because at the time St. Louis had strong college teams and amateur competitions, with St. Louis University winning 10 NCAA national championships from 1959 to 1973.[1] This strategy is one of the reasons for the Stars' longevity (lasting ten seasons during some the NASL's most turbulent times), but often the team was mediocre. On February 13, 1974, the Stars played host (and lost, 11–4) to the Red Army team at the St. Louis Arena in the final match of Russian squad's three city, North American indoor soccer tour.[6][7][8] St. Louis went on to participate in both the 1975 and 1976 NASL indoor tournaments with little success.

In 1975 the Stars signed a foreign star in Peter Bonetti. "The Cat" was a FA Cup-winning star for Chelsea, had played for England from 1966–1970, was the backup goalkeeper to Gordon Banks on England's winning team in the 1966 World Cup, and had started one match at the 1970 World Cup. Bonetti had a solid season with the Stars, and was named a NASL first-team all-star for the 1975 season.[9] The Stars won the Central Division in 1975, defeated the L.A. Aztecs in the quarterfinals at Busch Memorial Stadium, and lost to the Portland Timbers in the semifinals. John Sewell was named NASL Coach of the Year.

In 1977, the Stars once again recruited an English goalkeeper, Bill Glazier, who was supposed to be England's backup goalkeeper at the 1966 World Cup, but had suffered a broken leg.[10] While Glazier had long been successful as Coventry City's #1, he struggled for form in St. Louis as John Jackson won the starting goalkeeper role for the 1977 season.[10] In 1977 the Stars finished second in the Northern Division, qualifying for the playoffs, where they lost in the first round to Rochester at Busch Memorial Stadium. Key players for the 1977 Stars team were DF Ray Evans (NASL second-team all-star) and MF Al Trost (NASL honorable mention).

From 1967–68 and 1971–74 the Stars played at Busch Memorial Stadium and from 1969 to 1970 and 1975–77 the home games were held at Francis Field.

### Move to California

[edit]

By 1977, the Stars emphasis on American players had begun to erode slightly. Although the 1977 squad was still mostly American, it did include eight Englishmen.[3] There was an attempt to return to Busch for 1978, but the Stars were not able to secure a lease to their liking. With only small Francis Field available as an option and player salaries rising sharply, there seemed little alternative but to move. So after the 1977 season, the Stars moved to Anaheim and became the California Surf. Although the California Surf retained their core group of American (mostly St. Louis) players, under English coach  John Sewell the California Surf imported more English players.[11]

It would not be until 2023, until a first division soccer team played in the St. Louis metro, when St. Louis City SC joined Major League Soccer.

## Year-by-year

[edit]

Year  | Record  | Regular Season Finish  | Playoffs  | Avg Attend.  | Cup

|
|
|
|
|

1967  | 14–11–7  | 2nd, Western Division (NPSL) | Did not qualify | 7,613  | Runners-up
1968  | 12–14–6  | 3rd, Gulf Division  | Did not qualify | 5,388  | n/a
1969  | 3–11–2  | 4th, NASL  | Did not qualify | 2,274  | n/a
1970  | 5–17–2  | 3rd, Eastern Division, Northern Division  | Did not qualify | 2,745  | n/a
1971 indoor | 1–1  | 3rd in Hoc-soc tournament  | won 3rd place match  | 5,060  | n/a
1971  | 6–13–5  | 4th, Southern Division  | Did not qualify | 3,579  | n/a
1972  | 7–4–3  | 1st, Southern Division  | Runners-up  | 7,773  | n/a
1973  | 7–7–5  | 2nd, Southern Division  | Did not qualify | 6,337  | n/a
1974  | 4–15–1  | 4th, Central Division  | Did not qualify | 7,374  | n/a
1975 indoor | 1–1  | 2nd, Region 1  | Did not qualify | 5,060  | n/a
1975  | 13–9  | 1st, Central Division  | Semi-Finals  | 6,071  | n/a
1976 indoor | 0–2  | 4th, Midwest Regional  | Did not qualify | 1,700  | n/a
1976  | 5–19  | 5th, Pacific Conference, Western Division  | Did not qualify | 6,150  | n/a
1977  | 12–14  | 2nd, Atlantic Conference, Northern Division  | First round  | 9,794  | n/a

## Honors

[edit]

NPSL Commissioner's Cup

* 1967 runner-up[12]

NASL championships

* 1972 runner-up

Division titles

* 1972 Southern Division
* 1975 Central Division

Rookie of the Year

* 1970 Jim Leeker
* 1972 Mike Winter

Coach of the Year

* 1972 Casey Frankiewicz
* 1975 John Sewell

U.S. Soccer Hall of Fame

* 1989 Bob Kehoe
* 1989 Willy Roy
* 1994 Pat McBride
* 2001 Bob Hermann
* 2006 Al Trost

Indoor Soccer Hall of Fame[13]

* 2012 Dragan Popović

All-Star first team selections

* 1968 Casey Frankiewicz
* 1969 Joe Puls
* 1971 Dragan Popović
* 1972 Pat McBride, John Sewell
* 1975 Peter Bonetti

All-Star second team selections

* 1970 Pat McBride
* 1971 Casey Frankiewicz
* 1972 Wilf Tranter
* 1973 Pat McBride
* 1976 Al Trost
* 1977 Ray Evans

All-Star honorable mentions

* 1972 Casey Frankiewicz, Joe Puls
* 1973 John Sewell, Al Trost
* 1977 Al Trost

Indoor All-Stars

* 1971 Dragan Popović, Miguel de Lima

|

## Leading scorers

[edit]

* 1967 –  Rudi Kölbl (15 G)[3]
* 1968 –  Kazimierz Frankiewicz (16 G)
* 1969 –  Tommy Ferguson (7 G)
* 1970 –  Pat McBride (7 G)
* 1971 –  Kazimierz Frankiewicz (14 G)
* 1972 –  Willy Roy (7 G)
* 1973 –  Willy Roy (7 G)
* 1974 –  Dennis Vaninger (6 G)
* 1975 –  John Hawley (11 G)
* 1976 –  Al Trost (12 G)
* 1977 –  Fred Binney (9 G)

## Coaches

[edit]

* George Mihaljevic (1967)
* Rudi Gutendorf (1968)
* Bob Kehoe (1969–70)
* George Meyer and  Casey Frankiewicz (1971)
* Casey Frankiewicz (1972–73)
* John Sewell (1974–78)

## See also

[edit]

* Soccer in St. Louis
* California Surf (1978–81)
* St. Louis Steamers (1979–88)
* St. Louis Storm (1989–92)
* St. Louis Ambush (1992–2000)
* AC St. Louis (2010)
* Saint Louis FC (2015–present)

## References

[edit]

1. ^ a b c d e "History of Soccer in St. Louis". Homepages.sover.net. May 31, 2010. Archived from the original on July 30, 2012. Retrieved June 28, 2016.
2. ^ a b c "Ambush return to St. Louis", St. Louis Post-Dispatch, June 22, 2013
3. ^ a b c d "NASL St. Louis Stars Rosters". Nasljerseys.com. Retrieved June 28, 2016.
4. ^ a b "Ambush return to St. Louis | Soccer". Stltoday.com. June 22, 2013. Retrieved June 28, 2016.
5. ^ Flachsbart, Harold (March 19, 1971). "Pro Soccer Sends Up Trial Balloon Tonight". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. p. 23. Retrieved August 14, 2016.
6. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on April 22, 2016. Retrieved June 27, 2015.`{{cite web}}`: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
7. ^ "NASL-St. Louis Stars Friendlies". Nasljerseys.com. Retrieved June 28, 2016.
8. ^ "International Matches in St. Louis (Updated)". Archived from the original on May 25, 2014. Retrieved May 24, 2014.
9. ^ "The Year in American Soccer – 1975". Homepages.sover.net. Archived from the original on November 5, 2015. Retrieved June 28, 2016.
10. ^ a b "The Year in American Soccer – 1977". Homepages.sover.net. Archived from the original on July 13, 2013. Retrieved June 28, 2016.
11. ^ "The Year in American Soccer – 1978". Homepages.sover.net. Archived from the original on January 3, 2017. Retrieved June 28, 2016.
12. ^ Meyers, Jeff (September 10, 1967). "Stars Take Playoff". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. p. 1B. Retrieved October 16, 2018 - via newspapers.com.
13. ^ "Hall of Famers". Indoorsoccerhall.com. Archived from the original on October 23, 2013. Retrieved June 28, 2016.

## External links

[edit]

* St. Louis Stars on FunWhileItLasted.net

* v
* t
* e

California Surf

* Founded 1966
* Based in Anaheim, California

Club history|

* St. Louis Stars (1966–1977)
* St. Louis Stars (1971, 1975–1976) (indoor)
* California Surf (1978–1981)
* California Surf (1979–1981) (indoor)

Sports facilities|

* Busch Memorial Stadium
* Francis Field
* St. Louis Arena
* Anaheim Stadium
* Anaheim Convention Center

Important figures|

* Laurie Abrahams
* Peter Bonetti
* Caju
* Paul Cahill
* Charlie Cooke
* Casey Frankiewicz
* George Graham
* Carl Humphries
* Bob Kehoe
* Pat McBride
* Steve Moyers
* Dragan Popović
* Willy Roy
* John Sewell
* Carlos Alberto Torres
* Al Trost

Other topics|

* Related articles

Honors

NASL Championship (1)|

* 1972 (Finalist)

NASL Division titles (4)|

* 1972 (Southern Division)
* 1975 (Central Division)
* 1979 (Western Division, American Conference)

NASL Indoor Division titles (1)|

* 1980–81 (Southern Division)

Seasons

North American Soccer League
(1966–85)|

* 1967
* 1968
* 1969
* 1970
* 1971
* 1972
* 1973
* 1974
* 1975
* 1976
* 1977
* 1978
* 1979
* 1980
* 1981

North American Soccer League
Indoor (1971, 1975–84)|

* 1971
* 1975
* 1976
* 1979–80
* 1980–81

* v
* t
* e

National Professional Soccer League (1967)

* Atlanta Chiefs
* Baltimore Bays
* Chicago Spurs
* Los Angeles Toros
* New York Generals
* Oakland Clippers
* Philadelphia Spartans
* Pittsburgh Phantoms
* St. Louis Stars
* Toronto Falcons

* v
* t
* e

North American Soccer League (1968–1984)

* Broadcasters
* USSF
* CSA
* Portal
* NASL (2011–2017)
* First overall draft picks

Seasons|

* 1968
* 1969
* 1970
* 1971
* 1972
* 1973
* 1974
* 1975
* 1976
* 1977
* 1978
* 1979
* 1980
* 1981
* 1982
* 1983
* 1984

Soccer Bowls|

* 1968
* 1969
* 1970
* 1971
* 1972
* 1973
* 1974
* 1975
* 1976
* 1977
* 1978
* 1979
* 1980
* 1981
* 1982
* 1983
* 1984

Predecessors|

* USA 1967
* Final
* NPSL 1967
* Final

Indoor seasons|

* 1971
* 1975
* 1976
* 1978
* 1979
* 1979–80
* 1980–81
* 1981–82
* 1983
* 1983–84

Conferences|

1968
East
West
1976–1977
Atlantic
Pacific
1978–1980
American
National

Related|

* Soccer Bowl broadcasters
* NASL Indoor Championship

Clubs|

* Atlanta Apollos
* Atlanta Chiefs
* Baltimore Bays
* Baltimore Comets
* Boston Beacons
* Boston Minutemen
* Boston Shamrock Rovers†
* Calgary Boomers
* California Surf
* Chicago Mustangs
* Chicago Spurs2
* Chicago Sting
* Cleveland Stokers
* Caribous of Colorado
* Connecticut Bicentennials
* Dallas Tornado
* Denver Dynamos
* Detroit Cougars
* Detroit Express
* Edmonton Drillers
* Fort Lauderdale Strikers
* Golden Bay Earthquakes
* Hartford Bicentennials
* Houston Hurricane
* Houston Stars
* Jacksonville Tea Men
* Kansas City Spurs
* Las Vegas Quicksilvers
* Los Angeles Aztecs
* Los Angeles Wolves
* Memphis Rogues
* Miami Gatos
* Miami Toros
* Minnesota Kicks
* Minnesota Strikers
* Montreal Manic
* Montreal Olympique
* New England Tea Men
* New York Cosmos
* New York Generals
* New York Skyliners1
* Oakland Clippers
* Oakland Stompers
* Philadelphia Spartans2
* Philadelphia Atoms
* Philadelphia Fury
* Pittsburgh Phantoms2
* Portland Timbers
* Rochester Lancers
* San Antonio Thunder
* San Diego Jaws
* San Diego Sockers
* San Diego Toros
* San Francisco Golden Gate Gales1
* San Jose Earthquakes
* Seattle Sounders
* St. Louis Stars
* Tampa Bay Rowdies
* Team America
* Team Hawaii
* Toronto Blizzard
* Toronto City1
* Toronto Metros
* Toronto Metros-Croatia
* Tulsa Roughnecks
* Vancouver Royals
* Vancouver Whitecaps
* Washington Darts
* Washington Diplomats
* Washington Whips

1 United Soccer Association team that did not join NASL upon merger with NPSL.
2 National Professional Soccer League team that did not join NASL upon merger with USA.

* v
* t
* e

Soccer in St. Louis

Professional teams|

| MLS|

St. Louis City

|

MLS Next Pro|

St. Louis City 2

Indoor|

St. Louis Ambush (MASL)

Amateur teams|

| USL2|

St. Charles FC
Scott Gallagher

|

UPSL|

St. Louis Maritsa

NCAA|

Saint Louis Billikens (men)
Saint Louis Billikens (women)
SIUE Cougars (men)

Other|

Kutis
Simpkins-Ford

Former teams|

| Men's|

* AC St. Louis
* Saint Louis FC
* St. Leo's
* St. Louis Lions
* St. Louis Shamrocks
* St. Louis Stars

|

Women's|

* Saint Louis Athletica

Indoor|

* St. Louis Ambush (NPSL)
* St. Louis Steamers
* St. Louis Storm

Rivalries|

* Bronze Boot

Competitions|

* St. Louis Soccer League

See also|

* Soccer Bowl
* 1950
* 1951
* Football at the 1904 Summer Olympics
* Keough Award
* St. Louis Soccer Hall of Fame
* St. Louis Association Foot Ball League (defunct)
* St. Louis Soccer League (defunct)

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