The Dallas Tornado was a soccer team based in

Dallas, Texas Dallas () is the third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 million people. It is the largest city in and seat of Dallas County ...

that played in the North American Soccer League (NASL) from 1967 to 1981. Of the twelve teams that comprised the U.S. in 1967, the Tornado franchise played the longest–15 seasons. Their home fields were Cotton Bowl (1967–1968), P.C. Cobb Stadium (1969),

Franklin Field Franklin Field is a sports stadium in Philadelphia, United States, at the eastern edge of the University of Pennsylvania's campus. It is the home stadium for the Penn Relays, and the University of Pennsylvania's stadium for American football, foo ...

(1970–1971),

Texas Stadium Texas Stadium was an American football stadium located in Irving, Texas, a suburb west of Dallas. Opened on October 24, 1971, it was known for its distinctive hole in the roof, the result of abandoned plans to construct a retractable roof (Cowboy ...

(1972–1975, 1980–1981) and

Ownby Stadium Ownby Stadium was a stadium in the University Park suburb of Dallas, Texas. It was the home of the Southern Methodist University Mustang football team. In late 1998, the stadium was demolished to build Gerald J. Ford Stadium at the site. Back ...

on the SMU campus (1976–1979). The club played Indoor soccer at

Reunion Arena Reunion Arena was an indoor arena located in the Reunion district of downtown Dallas, Texas. The arena served as the primary home of the National Hockey League's Dallas Stars and the National Basketball Association's Dallas Mavericks. The ...

for one season (1980–81), and hosted the two-day 1975 Regionals at Fair Park Coliseum.

History

1967–1971

The franchise was one of the original clubs that played in the

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 S ...

, one of the two precursors to the NASL, in 1967. That year overseas clubs played in U.S. cities as American teams. The team that played as the Dallas Tornado were

Dundee United Dundee United Football Club is a Scottish professional football club based in the city of Dundee. The club name is usually abbreviated to Dundee United. Formed in 1909, originally as Dundee Hibernian, the club changed to the present name in 1 ...

of the Scottish Football League. The following season when the USA merged with the NPSL, owners

Lamar Hunt Lamar Hunt (August 2, 1932 – December 13, 2006) was an American businessman most notable for his promotion of American football, soccer, and tennis in the United States. He was the principal founder of the American Football League (AFL) and ...

and Bill McNutt had to build a new team from scratch. They hired

Bob Kap Bob, BOB, or B.O.B. may refer to: Places *Mount Bob, New York, United States * Bob Island, Palmer Archipelago, Antarctica People, fictional characters, and named animals *Bob (given name), a list of people and fictional characters * Bob (surnam ...

, a Serbian born soccer coach who had escaped with his family during the

1956 Hungarian Revolution The Hungarian Revolution of 1956 (23 October – 10 November 1956; hu, 1956-os forradalom), also known as the Hungarian Uprising, was a countrywide revolution against the government of the Hungarian People's Republic (1949–1989) and the Hung ...

. Kap had studied with Ferenc Puskás at the Soccor Academy in Hungary. Kap was recruited from Toronto, Canada, where he had relocated after the 1956 Revolution. During the first 6 months as coach, Kap traveled throughout Europe to form the new Dallas Tornado, hiring young players from England to Turkey. The fledgling Dallas Tornado learned to play as a team on their world tour during seven months in 1967–68, where they played 45 games in 26 countries spanning five continents. Their world tour took them from England to India, from Indonesia to Vietnam during the height of the war. The Tornado consisted 8 players from England, 5 from Norway, 2 each from Sweden and the Netherlands; there was only one American player, Jay Moore. The Tornado played in front of crowds of up to 50,000, and they played several well-established teams, such as a 2–2 draw against Fenerbahçe, as well as playing Spanish second-division side Real Oviedo, and the Japan national team. The tour gave the new Dallas Tornado team an international face at a time when American soccer was relatively unknown; the effort resulted in a record of 10 wins, nine draws and 26 defeats. When the actual 1968 NASL season started, though, the exhausted Tornado quickly blew itself out; they won just two league matches all year, against four ties and 26 losses, easily the worst record in NASL history. Things turned dark after the season when no fewer than ten NASL franchises folded, with Dallas one of the surviving five clubs. 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 Tornado was represented again by

. The Tornado came in tied for third in the Cup with a 2–4–2 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. Fortunes improved for the club as they won the NASL championship in 1971, defeating the Atlanta Chiefs 2–0 in the final game of a three-game series, Mike Renshaw scoring the winning goal. The road to that title was marathon that, barring a rule change, might never be duplicated. In Game 1 of the best-of-three semifinal against the Rochester Lancers, league scoring champion

Carlos Metidieri Jose Carlos Metidieri (born December 18, 1942, in Votorantim (SP), Brazil) is a retired Brazilian-born United States, American soccer Striker (association football), forward. He played professionally in Canada with Toronto Italia. In an exhibition ...

mercifully ended the match 2–1, late in the 6th 15 minute-overtime period in the 176th minute, less than four minutes shy of playing two complete games in one day. Three days later Dallas evened the series at one game each with a 3–1 regulation win. In the rubber match four days later, the two teams ended regulation tied again at 1 goal apiece. The game reached 4OTs before

Bobby Moffat Bobby Moffat is an English retired footballer who played eight seasons with the Dallas Tornado of the North American Soccer League. Moffat began his career with Portsmouth before moving to Gillingham in 1965. He made only twenty-four appear ...

sent Dallas into the Finals in the 148 minute. Four days after that, Dallas lost Game 1 of the NASL Championship Series, 2–1 in the 3OTs to

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...

after 123 minutes. All totaled, Dallas had played 537 minutes of football (3 minutes short of six games) in 13 days time. Finally the Tornado were able to get control of the series pulling away in games 2 and 3 by scores of 4–1 and 2–0 respectively.

1972–1981

Several division titles followed in the years after that league title. The face of the team was Kyle Rote, Jr., son of former New York Giants wide receiver and TV broadcaster

Kyle Rote William Kyle Rote, Sr. (October 27, 1928 – August 15, 2002) was an American football player, a running back and receiver for eleven years in the National Football League (NFL) for the New York Giants. He was an All-American running back at S ...

. In 1973, Rote Jr. led the league in scoring and won the league Rookie of the Year award. Rote Jr. further boosted his public profile by winning ABC Sports ''Superstars'' competition in 1974, 1976, and 1977. On June 15, 1975, the Tornado played the

New York Cosmos New York Cosmos may refer to * New York Cosmos (1970–1985), a team in the North American Soccer League (then the top-tier soccer league in the United States and Canada) * New York Cosmos (2010), a team playing since 2020 in the National Independ ...

in Pelé's NASL debut, a match broadcast nationally on

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainm ...

. Steve Pecher won the league Rookie of the Year award in 1976. The Tornado sold Rote Jr. at the end of the 1978 season to the

Houston Hurricane The Houston Hurricane was a soccer team based out of Houston that played in the NASL. They played from 1978 to 1980. Their home field was the Astrodome. Their colors were orange, white and red. History The team was the last of six expansion t ...

for $250,000. As was the case with most NASL clubs, a drop in attendance contributed to the demise of the club in 1981. The '' Dallas Morning News'' estimated Hunt and McNutt's cumulative financial loss over 15 years at a minimum of $20 million. After the 1981 season Hunt and McNutt decided to merge their team with the

Tampa Bay Rowdies The Tampa Bay Rowdies are an American professional soccer team based in St. Petersburg, Florida. The club was founded in 2008 and first took the pitch in 2010. Since 2017, the Rowdies have been members of the USL Championship in the second tie ...

franchise, while retaining a minority stake in the Florida club.

did not give up on soccer in America, however, and was one of the founding owners in Major League Soccer. Ex- Manchester United goalkeeper, Alex Stepney played for Dallas.

Year-by-year

Indoor seasons

In March 1971 the league staged its first ever indoor event, a four-team Hoc-Soc tournament at the St. Louis Arena. Dallas won both of its matches, 2–1 and 3–0, and the title. In the winter of

1975 It was also declared the ''International Women's Year'' by the United Nations and the European Architectural Heritage Year by the Council of Europe. Events January * January 1 - Watergate scandal (United States): John N. Mitchell, H. R. ...

, the NASL organized a two-tiered, 16 team indoor tournament with four regional winners meeting in a "final-four" style championship. Dallas hosted their region at the Fair Park Coliseum and won the group. Though they lost in the semi-final, the Tornado rebounded to win the 3rd place game 2–0 over New York at the

Cow Palace The Cow Palace (originally the California State Livestock Pavilion) is an indoor arena located in Daly City, California, situated on the city's northern border with neighboring San Francisco. Because the border passes through the property, a por ...

. In

1976 Events January * January 3 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights enters into force. * January 5 – The Pol Pot regime proclaims a new constitution for Democratic Kampuchea. * January 11 – The 1976 ...

they again advanced out of their group, this time as a wild card, but lost both the semi-final and the third-place match at the

Bayfront Center Bayfront Center was an indoor arena located in St. Petersburg, Florida that hosted many concerts, sporting and other events. Depending on the configuration, it could hold up to 8,600 people. The arena was opened in 1965 and demolished in 2004. It ...

. In January 1979 the Tornado joined the Tulsa Roughnecks, Ft. Lauderdale Strikers and host

for the two-day Budweiser Invitational. They won both games, and the mini-tournament itself on goal differential. Tornado forward Jimmy Ryan was the leading scorer of the invitational with 7 goals. Dallas participated in only one full NASL indoor season, 1980–81, before folding.

Honors

NASL Championships (1) * 1971 *

1973 Events January * January 1 - The United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland and Denmark 1973 enlargement of the European Communities, enter the European Economic Community, which later becomes the European Union. * January 15 – Vietnam War: ...

''(runner up)'' NASL Season Premierships (1) *

NASL Indoor Championships (2) * 1971 *

1979 Events January * January 1 ** United Nations Secretary-General Kurt Waldheim heralds the start of the '' International Year of the Child''. Many musicians donate to the '' Music for UNICEF Concert'' fund, among them ABBA, who write the so ...

Division/Region Titles (5) *

Southern Division * 1974 Central Division *

Region 1 ''(indoor)'' *

1977 Events January * January 8 – Three bombs explode in Moscow within 37 minutes, killing seven. The bombings are attributed to an Armenian separatist group. * January 10 – Mount Nyiragongo erupts in eastern Zaire (now the Democrat ...

Southern Division, Pacific Conference * 1980 Central Division, National Conference Rookie of the Year *1973 Kyle Rote, Jr. *1976 Steve Pecher League Scoring Champion * 1970 Kirk Apostolidis ''(16 goals, 3 assists, 35 points)'' * 1973 Kyle Rote, Jr. ''(10 goals, 10 assists, 30 points)'' League Goal Scoring Champion * 1970 Kirk Apostolidis ''(16 goals)'' * 1973 Ilija Mitic ''(12 goals)'' League Leading Goaltender * 1971 Mirko Stojanovic ''(GAA: 0.79)'' * 1972 Ken Cooper ''(GAA: 0.86)'' * 1977 Ken Cooper ''(GAA: 0.90)'' Indoor MVP *1971

Mike Renshaw Michael Lawrence Renshaw (28 April 1948 – 17 February 2021) was an English-American football left winger. He began as a youth player with Blackpool before moving to the United States to join the Dallas Tornado of the North American Soccer ...

Indoor Scoring Champion * 1971

''(2 goals, 1 assist)'' * 1979 Jimmy Ryan ''(7 goals)'' Indoor Leading Goaltender *1971 Ken Cooper ''(GAA: 0.50)'' All-Star First Team Selections *1969 Kirk Apostolidis, John Best, Ilija Mitic *1970 John Best *1971 John Best, Dick Hall, Mirko Stojanovic *1972 John Best, Ken Cooper *1973 John Best, Ken Cooper, Ilija Mitic *1974 Dick Hall, Albert Jackson, Ilija Mitic All-Star Second Team Selections *1967 (

USA The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

) Doug Smith *1970 Kirk Apostolidis,

, Roy Turner *1972 Dick Hall *1973 Dick Hall, Rick Reynolds *1975 Ken Cooper *1976

Jeff Bourne Jeffrey Albert Bourne (19 June 1948 – 31 July 2014) was an English footballer who played as a striker. Born in Linton, Derbyshire, he spent most of his early career in the lower English divisions before moving to the United States where he ...

Bob Hope Leslie Townes "Bob" Hope (May 29, 1903 – July 27, 2003) was a British-American comedian, vaudevillian, actor, singer and dancer. With a career that spanned nearly 80 years, Hope appeared in Bob Hope filmography, more than 70 short and ...

George Ley Oliver Albert George Ley (born 7 April 1946) is an English former footballer who played professionally in both England and the United States. Ley played for Exeter City, Portsmouth, Brighton & Hove Albion and Gillingham between 1963 and 1976 ...

*1977

, Steve Pecher All-Star Honorable Mentions *1971 Gabbo Gavric, Oreco *1972

*1973 John Collins, Nicky Jennings, Kyle Rote, Jr., Roy Turner Indoor All-Stars *1971

Jim Benedek Janos "Jim" Benedek (June 9, 1941 – March 30, 2009) was a Hungarian-American soccer forward who later coached at both the collegiate and national team levels. Benedek was an All American collegiate soccer player before spending six seasons in ...

*1975 Ilija Mitic,

, Ken Cooper U.S. Soccer Hall of Fame *1982

*1992 Ron Newman *1995 Al Miller *2009 Kyle Rote, Jr. *2015

Glenn Myernick Glenn "Mooch" Myernick (December 29, 1954 in Trenton, New Jersey – October 9, 2006 in Thornton, Colorado) was an American soccer player and coach. He won the 1976 Hermann Trophy as that year’s outstanding collegiate player. He then spent eig ...

Indoor Soccer Hall of Fame *2012 Kenny Cooper, Sr., Ron Newman *2013

Kai Haaskivi Kai Haaskivi (born 28 December 1955 in Lahti) is a retired Finnish soccer player. He starred in the North American Soccer League, playing outdoor as well as indoor soccer. He also played for the Finland national football team. He now coaches ...

, Mike Stankovic *2019 Roy Turner

Players

Notable players

* Koulis Apostolidis (1969–1971) *

(1970–1973) *

(1978–1979) *

Cliff Calvert Clifford Alistair Calvert (born 21 April 1954) is an English former professional footballer. Career Born in York, Calvert joined York City as an amateur in the early 1970s and signed full-time professional terms in July 1972. He was capped by th ...

(1981) *

Len Cantello Len Cantello (born 11 September 1951) is a former football midfielder. Career West Bromwich Albion: 1967–1979 Cantello joined West Bromwich Albion as an apprentice in 1967. Aged 18, Cantello played in the 1970 League Cup Final. Cantello sco ...

(1981) * Dave Chadwick (1974–1975) * Frank Hason (1970–1973) * Alan Hinton (1977) * John Stewart (1967–1969) * Bobby Hope (1976–1978) * Tim Huff (1981) * Bill Irwin (1981) * Nicky Jennings (1973) * Brian Kettle (197

* Kevin Kewley (1976–197

* Willi Lippens (1979) * Oreco (1970–1971) * Angel Pichardo (1977–1980) *

Wolfgang Rausch Wolfgang Rausch (born 30 April 1947) is a German former professional footballer who played as a defender. He made a total of 257 appearances in the Bundesliga during his playing career. Career Rausch was born in Aachen. In 1979, he left German ...

(1979–1981) * Kyle Rote Jr. (1972–1978) * Jimmy Ryan (1976–197

* Alex Stepney (1979–1980) *

Klaus Toppmöller Klaus Toppmöller (born 12 August 1951) is a German football manager and former professional player. Playing career A forward, Toppmöller scored 108 Bundesliga goals for 1. FC Kaiserslautern in 204 matches in the West German top flight. He e ...

(1980–1981) * Gert Trinklein (1979–8

* Zequinha (footballer, born 1948), Zequinha (1979–1981) * Stephen L Tatum (1975–1976) * Charlie Williams (1968) *

Walter Smith Walter Ferguson Smith (24 February 1948 – 26 October 2021) was a Scottish association football player, manager and director, primarily associated with his two spells as manager of Glasgow club Rangers. A defender, Smith's playing car ...

(On Loan 1967)

Head coaches

Jerry Kerr John 'Jerry' Kerr (1 June 1912 – 8 November 1999) was a Scottish football player and manager, best known as manager of Dundee United from 1959 to 1971. He is credited with taking the club from third bottom of the Scottish League to being an ...

1967 *

196

* Keith Spurgeon 1968 * Ron Newman 1969–1975 * Al Miller 1976–1980 *

1981 * Peter Short 1981

References

External links

Dallas Tornado Rosters on NASLJerseys.comThe Adventures of the Dallas Tornado on BBC World Service
{{North American Soccer League (1968–84) Association football clubs established in 1967 Association football clubs disestablished in 1981 Defunct indoor soccer clubs in the United States Defunct soccer clubs in Texas North American Soccer League (1968–1984) teams

Tornado A tornado is a violently rotating column of air that is in contact with both the surface of the Earth and a cumulonimbus cloud or, in rare cases, the base of a cumulus cloud. It is often referred to as a twister, whirlwind or cyclone, altho ...

Dundee United F.C. Soccer clubs in Texas United Soccer Association franchises 1967 establishments in Texas 1981 disestablishments in Texas