The Eastern Canada Professional Soccer League was a

soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...

league in

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by to ...

. The league operated for six seasons from 1961 to 1966 across four cities in two Canadian provinces and one American state. In the 1960s, the Eastern Canada Professional Soccer League was one of four major leagues in Canadian soccer alongside the

Pacific Coast League The Pacific Coast League (PCL) is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in the Western United States. Along with the International League, it is one of two leagues playing at the Triple-A level, which is one grade below Major League Ba ...

, the

Western Canada Soccer League The Western Canada Soccer League was a soccer league in Canada. The league operated for eight seasons over a nine-year period from 1963 to 1971 and eventually operated across nine cities in four Canadian provinces and one American state. In the 1 ...

, and the

National Soccer League The National Soccer League (NSL) was the top-level soccer league in Australia, run by Soccer Australia and later the Australian Soccer Association. The NSL, the A-League's predecessor, spanned 28 seasons from its inception in 1977 until its d ...

of Ontario/Quebec. The league was founded in 1961 by George Gross and Peter Bosa. According to Gross, the genesis for the league was formed from a conversation the two men had during the Christmas 1960 holidays. Bosa promised the inclusion of his club Toronto Italia (champions of the

) and arranged for the inclusion of the Hamilton Steelers (backed by John Agro and Arnold Martini); Gross helped form Toronto City FC (with Ed Fitkin,

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and Laddie Myslivec) and arranged for the inclusion of Montréal Cantalia FC (run by Dr. Ernest Stastny). The league was officially launched on 30 March 1961 at a press conference in Toronto with Sarto Marchand the league's first president and William Simpson as the league's secretary.

Harold Ballard Harold Edwin Ballard (born Edwin Harold Ballard, July 30, 1903 – April 11, 1990) was a Canadian businessman and sportsman. Ballard was an owner of the Toronto Maple Leafs of the National Hockey League (NHL) as well as their home arena, Maple ...

, initially the league's executive vice-president, succeeded Marchand as league president and held the position until March 1964. Simpson thereafter served as league president (1964) and then Chairman (1965 and 1966). After six seasons, the Eastern Canada Professional Soccer League amalgamated with the

on 20 December 1966. The league typically operated from May to September, which initially allowed Canadian clubs to sign European-based players for the summer season. In the first year, stars like

Danny Blanchflower Robert Dennis Blanchflower (10 February 1926 – 9 December 1993) was a former Northern Ireland footballer, football manager and journalist who played for and captained Tottenham Hotspur, including during their double-winning season of 1960 ...

Stanley Matthews Sir Stanley Matthews, CBE (1 February 1915 – 23 February 2000) was an English footballer who played as an outside right. Often regarded as one of the greatest players of the British game, he is the only player to have been knighted while sti ...

and Johnny Haynes all joined the new league for part of the 1961 summer season, then returned to England for the 1961-62

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season. The practice proved unpopular with European clubs, prompting British clubs to ban their players from traveling to Canada to join the rival league. On 19 April 1962, FIFA ruled that players could not switch clubs without a proper transfer.

Champions

In each season, there was both a regular-season champion and playoff champion. The regular-season champions managed to win the playoff championship only twice in six years (1963 and 1964).

Champions

Titles

1961 Season

The 1961 season featured a 48-match schedule from 14 May to 20 September, with all four teams playing 24 matches each. Matches were played at

Varsity Stadium Varsity Stadium is an outdoor collegiate football stadium located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is home to the Toronto Varsity Blues, the athletic teams of the University of Toronto. Athletic events have been hosted on the site since 1898; the ...

in Toronto, Civic Centre in Hamilton, and Stade Delorimier in Montréal. Hamilton Steelers won the league's opening match 2-1, although it was Montréal Cantalia's

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who scored the league's first goal in the 14 May opener. An all-star match was played on 4 September featuring stars from Toronto's two teams against stars from Hamilton-Montréal. The regular season was then followed by two rounds of playoffs from 21 September to 9 October.

1962 Season

The 1962 season featured a 60-match schedule from 5 May to 9 August, with five teams playing 24 matches each. Montréal Cantalia, the 1961 playoff champions, withdrew from the league, as did proposed entries

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and Hungária SC from the same city. Toronto Roma FC and Buffalo White Eagles were both added. With Buffalo in the league, this was the first and only season in which matches were played outside of Canada. The regular season was followed by two rounds of playoffs from 12 to 18 August (one match per series).

1963 Season

The 1963 season featured a 74-match schedule from 5 May to 1 September, with six teams playing up to 25 matches each. Montréal Cantalia rejoined the league, Ukraina Montréal were added, while Buffalo dropped out. The regular season was followed by two rounds of playoffs from 4 to 18 September.

1964 Season

The 1964 season featured a 60-match schedule from 3 May to 26 August, with five teams playing up to 24 matches each. Ukraina Montréal dropped out while Cantalia were replaced by Montréal Italica. A league all-star team played touring Heart of Midlothian F.C. on 5 June in Toronto. The regular season was followed by two rounds of playoffs from 29 August to 13 September.

1965 Season

The 1965 season featured a 60-match schedule from 5 May to 5 September, with five teams playing 24 matches each. In the second half of the season, Wednesday night matches at Varsity Stadium were broadcast live through a television deal with O'Keefe beer. The regular season was followed by two rounds of playoffs from 8 to 22 September.

1966 Season

The 1966 season featured a 48-match schedule from 8 May to 28 August, with four teams playing 24 matches each. Toronto City, one of the league's original teams, withdrew from the league in January. The regular season was followed by two rounds of playoffs from 31 August to 7 September (one match per series).

Teams from 1961 to 1966

* Buffalo White Eagles (1962) * Hamilton Steelers (1961-1964) / Primo Hamilton FC (1965-1966) * Montréal Cantalia FC (1961, 1963) * Montréal Italica (1964-1965) / Inter Italica (1966) * Ukraina Montréal (1963) * Toronto City FC (1961-1965) * Toronto Roma FC (1962-1964 / Inter-Roma (1965-1966) * Toronto Italia FC (1961-1964) / Italia Falcons (1965–66)

References

External links

Canada Soccer Records & Results
{{Soccer in Canada Sports leagues in Quebec 1961 establishments in Quebec Soccer in Quebec Sports leagues in Ontario 1961 establishments in Ontario Soccer in Ontario Defunct soccer leagues in Canada Sports leagues established in 1961