The Western Canada Soccer League was a soccer 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 tot ...

. 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 1960s, the Western Canada Soccer League was one of four major leagues in Canadian soccer alongside the Pacific Coast League, the National Soccer League of Ontario/Quebec, and the

Eastern Canada Professional Soccer League The Eastern Canada Professional Soccer League was a soccer league in Canada. 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 ...

. In 1963, the league featured 10 clubs across five cities in Alberta and Saskatchewan. In 1967, the league expanded to Manitoba, thus becoming the first Canadian soccer league to operate a league schedule across three provinces. The league later added teams in British Columbia and, for one season only, a team in Washington,

United States 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 ...

. Along with a regular season schedule that usually operated from May to August, the Molson Cup playoffs took place in August or September. Teams also participated in other competitions including their provincial playoffs and Canada Soccer's national

The Challenge Trophy The Challenge Trophy (french: Trophée Challenge) is a national amateur soccer cup in Canada contested by the champions of individual provincial soccer competitions. It is one of the oldest soccer competitions in Canada, being held since 1913. ...

competition. In 1967, in the weeks after winning the league's playoff Molson Cup, the Calgary Buffalo Kickers became the first and only Western Canada Soccer League team to reach the national final (a 2-1 loss to Toronto Ballymena). The Western Canada Soccer League was co-founded by Alec Castleton and

Sam Donaghey Sam, SAM or variants may refer to: Places * Sam, Benin * Sam, Boulkiemdé, Burkina Faso * Sam, Bourzanga, Burkina Faso * Sam, Kongoussi, Burkina Faso * Sam, Iran * Sam, Teton County, Idaho, United States, a populated place People and fictio ...

, both of whom were involved with the

Alberta Soccer Association The Alberta Soccer Association (ASA) is the governing body for soccer in the Canadian province of Alberta. The association was formed in 1911 as the ''Alberta Football Association''. The ASA is a member of the national governing body, the Canadian ...

. The league's inaugural match was played on May 4, 1963 in Saskatoon, with opening weekend matches in Calgary and Edmonton postponed because of inclement weather. The price of admission to that opening match at

Griffiths Stadium Griffiths Stadium is a stadium located on the grounds of the University of Saskatchewan in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. The current stadium was opened on June 23, 1967 to host the Saskatchewan Huskies football team. There was previously a Griffiths ...

was 50 cents per ticket. Saskatoon Concordia won that first match 7-1 over Saskatoon Hollandia, with Adolf Becker the four-goal hero and George Turay scoring the first-ever goal in the Western Canada Soccer League. The most famous player to play for a Western Canada League team, albeit not in league action, was

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 ...

who dressed for Calgary ATCO in two exhibition matches in July 1964. Matthews joined the Calgary squad under player-manager

Les Medley Leslie Dennis Medley (3 September 1920 – 22 February 2001) was an English footballer who played as a left winger. Born in Edmonton, London, aged 11 he gained a scholarship place at the Latymer School in Edmonton. He played for the schoo ...

, who was one of Matthews' former

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teammates.

Champions

The league featured a single table from 1963 to 1969 and then separate Coast and Prairie divisions in 1970 and 1971. There was also a separate playoff (Cup) competition from 1964 to 1970. Regina Concordia SC were the first champions in 1963, but they were upset in the Molson Cup by 10th place Lethbridge Hungária on 24 August 1963.

Champions

Titles

Teams from 1963 to 1971

* Calgary ATCO (1964) * Calgary Kickers (1966-1969) * Calgary Croatia (1963–64) * Edmonton Canadians / Edmonton Victoria Canadians (1966- 1969) * Edmonton City (1970) / Edmonton Eagles (1971) * Edmonton Edelweiss (1963-1964) * Edmonton Excelsior (1963-1964) * Edmonton Hungária (1963-1964) * Edmonton Rangers (1963-1964) * Lethbridge Hungária SC (1963-1964) * Regina Concordia SC (1963-1964, 1966-1971) * Regina Internationals (1963) * Saskatoon City SC (1966-1969) * Saskatoon Concordia (1963-1964) * Saskatoon Hollandia (1963) * Saskatoon Internationals (1964) * Seattle Sea-Tac (1970) * Vancouver Cougars (1970) * Vancouver Spartans (1969-1971) * Victoria Royals (1970-1971) * Winnipeg International FC (1967-1968) * Winnipeg Blues (1969-1971)

Notable players

Twelve players from the Western Canada Soccer League have since been inducted in the Canada Soccer Hall of Fame as honoured players. *

Bob Bolitho Robert "Bob" Bolitho (born July 20, 1952, in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada) is a former Canadian national team, North American Soccer League and Canadian Soccer League player. He is of Cornish descent. Club career Bolitho played as a te ...

(1970) *

Tony Chursky Tony Chursky (born June 13, 1953 in New Westminster, British Columbia, Canada) is a former Canadian national soccer team and NASL goalkeeper. Playing career Chursky grew up in Vancouver, British Columbia and attended Simon Fraser University w ...

(1971) *

Neil Ellett Neil Ellett (born in Richmond, British Columbia) was a Canadian soccer player who spent his career with Vancouver teams, including the Vancouver Whitecaps of the North American Soccer League. He also played for the member of the Canadian nationa ...

(1970) *

Glen Johnson Glen McLeod Cooper Johnson (''né'' Stephens; born 23 August 1984) is an English former professional footballer who played predominantly as a right back. Johnson began his career at West Ham United, spending time on loan at Millwall, and was ...

(1969 to 1971) *

Victor Kodelja Victor Kodelja (born November 26, 1951) is a former member of the Canadian national soccer team and North American Soccer League. Professional Prior to playing professionally, Kodelja played in the Pacific Coast Soccer League, playing at least th ...

(1971) *

Bob Lenarduzzi Robert Italo Lenarduzzi, OBC (born May 1, 1955) is a former North American Soccer League player, Canadian international, and coach of the Canadian national and Olympic soccer teams. He is currently club liaison for Vancouver Whitecaps FC. H ...

(1970 and 1971) *

Sam Lenarduzzi Silvano "Sam" Lenarduzzi (born December 19, 1949) is a former Canadian soccer player. He was a two-time national champion with British Columbia Selects (1966) and Vancouver Columbus FC (1969). He represented Canada in three cycles of FIFA World ...

(1970) *

Buzz Parsons Les "Buzz" Parsons (born 16 December 1950) is a Canadian former soccer player who played at both professional and international levels as a midfielder. During his career in North America with the Vancouver Whitecaps, Parsons was affectionately kno ...

(1969 and 1970) *

Ken Pears Ken Pears (12 April 1934 – 18 December 2022) is a former Canadian soccer goalkeeper. He was a four-time national champion with Westminster Royals FC (1953), Vancouver Hale-Co FC (1956), Vancouver Columbus FC (1964), and Vancouver Firefighter ...

(1969) * Brian Robinson (1970) *

John Schepers John Schepers (27 February 1943) is a Canadian former soccer player. He was a national champion with Winnipeg AN&AF Scottish (1962) and a three-time Western Canada Soccer League winner with Regina Concordia (1963, 1964) and Calgary Buffalo Kicke ...

(1963 to 1971) * Bruce Wilson (1970)

References

External links

Canada Soccer Records & Results
{{Soccer in Canada Sports leagues in British Columbia Sports leagues in Saskatchewan 1963 establishments in Alberta Soccer in British Columbia Soccer in Alberta Soccer in Manitoba Soccer in Washington (state) Sports leagues in Alberta Sports leagues in Manitoba 1963 establishments in Saskatchewan Soccer in Saskatchewan Defunct soccer leagues in Canada Sports leagues established in 1963