The Kansas City Spurs were an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

professional

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 ...

team who played in the

North American Soccer League The North American Soccer League may refer to: *North American Soccer League (1968–1984), a former Division I league *North American Soccer League (2011–2017) The North American Soccer League (NASL) was a professional men's soccer league ba ...

, based in

Kansas City, Missouri Kansas City (abbreviated KC or KCMO) is the largest city in Missouri by population and area. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the city had a population of 508,090 in 2020, making it the List of United States cities by populat ...

. They played their home games at

Kansas City Municipal Stadium Kansas City Municipal Stadium was an American baseball and football stadium in the central United States, located in Kansas City, Missouri. It was located at the corner of Brooklyn Avenue and E. 22nd Street. Municipal Stadium hosted both the mi ...

, former home of the

Kansas City Chiefs The Kansas City Chiefs are a professional American football team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Chiefs compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West division. The t ...

Kansas City Athletics The history of the Athletics Major League Baseball franchise spans the period from 1901 to the present day, having begun as a charter member franchise in the new American League in Philadelphia before moving to Kansas City in 1955 for 13 sea ...

, and

Kansas City Royals The Kansas City Royals are an American professional baseball team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Royals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team was founded as an expans ...

. The club was previously known as the Chicago Spurs of the National Professional Soccer League but were relocated to Kansas City following the merger of the NPSL and 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 ...

to form the NASL in 1967. The Spurs won the NASL Championship in

1969 This year is notable for Apollo 11's first landing on the moon. Events January * January 4 – The Government of Spain hands over Ifni to Morocco. * January 5 **Ariana Afghan Airlines Flight 701 crashes into a house on its approach to ...

but were dissolved shortly after the 1970 NASL season. The club's colors were red and white.

History

The Kansas City Spurs were founded in 1968 following the merger of the National Professional Soccer League (NPSL) and the

(USA) to form the new first division professional league, the North American Soccer League (NASL). The team was relocated from

Chicago, IL (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = List of sovereign states, Count ...

, where the Chicago Spurs had only played a single season in 1967 in the NPSL before the formation of the new league. The Spurs left for Kansas City to avoid competition with the Chicago Mustangs, who had also joined the NASL from the old USA. Following the 1968 NASL season, the league was in trouble with ten franchises having folded. 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 United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and ...

. The Spurs were represented by

Wolverhampton Wanderers Wolverhampton Wanderers Football Club (), commonly known as Wolves, is a professional football club based in Wolverhampton, England, which compete in the . The club has played at Molineux Stadium since moving from Dudley Road in 1889. The club' ...

, who had won the 1967

championship as the

Los Angeles Wolves The Los Angeles Wolves were an American professional soccer team that played for two seasons. In 1967 they played in the United Soccer Association, finishing as champions, and in 1968 they were founding members of the North American Soccer Leagu ...

. The Spurs won the Cup with a 6–2–0 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. The club would capture the regular season championship in the same season, with players such as

Willy Roy Willy or Willie is a masculine, male given name, often a diminutive form of William or Wilhelm, and occasionally a nickname. It may refer to: People Given name or nickname * Willie Aames (born 1960), American actor, television director, and scr ...

and Pepe Fernandez, also leading the league in attendance with an average of 4,273 fans during the difficult year. The Spurs finished in last place in the Northern Division in 1970 and ceased operations shortly thereafter. The club was initially coached by Hungarian

Janos Bedl János or Janos may refer to: * János, male Hungarian given name, a variant of John Places * Janos Municipality, a municipality of Chihuahua ** Janos, Chihuahua, town in Mexico ** Janos Biosphere Reserve, a nature reserve in Chihuahua * Janos ...

, who would lead the club to victory in only its second season but he would be replaced the following year by

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ...

manager, Alan Rogers, who had debuted with the Chicago Spurs in 1967 and would return to coach the club for its final season in 1970.

Year-by-year

Honors

NASL Championships *

NASL Season Premierships *

NASL Division titles *

1968 The year was highlighted by protests and other unrests that occurred worldwide. Events January–February * January 5 – " Prague Spring": Alexander Dubček is chosen as leader of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia. * J ...

: Gulf Division NASL International Cup *

NASL Coach of the Year * 1969:

NASL MVP * 1969:

Pepe Fernández Cirilo "Pepe" Fernández (born on 14 July 1943) is a former Uruguayan footballer who competed in several soccer leagues in the United States and Netherlands during the 1960s and 1970s. He played as a forward for one season in the National Prof ...

All-Star First Team Selections * 1969:

Leonel Conde Leonel Conde (1937 – 2001) was a Uruguayan professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper in Uruguay, Mexico, Netherlands, and the United States. Career Conde played for Cerro and Mexican club Atletico Morelia, before moving to the Unite ...

Manfred Seissler Manfred "Manny" Seissler ''(German: Manfred Seißler)'' (born August 8, 1939) is a former soccer player who began his career in the lower German divisions before moving to the United States. He played one season in the National Professional Soc ...

, William Quiros * 1970:

All-Star Second Team Selections * 1968: Eric Barber * 1970:

, Miranda Oliveira U.S. Soccer Hall of Fame * 1989:

Canada Soccer Hall of Fame * 2008: Les Wilson Indoor Soccer Hall of Fame * 2011:

Don Popovic Don, don or DON and variants may refer to: Places * County Donegal, Ireland, Chapman code DON *Don (river), a river in European Russia * Don River (disambiguation), several other rivers with the name * Don, Benin, a town in Benin * Don, Dang, a ...

Coaches

(1968-1969) * Alan Rogers (1970)

References

{{North American Soccer League (1966–85) Association football clubs established in 1967 Association football clubs disestablished in 1970 Defunct soccer clubs in Missouri North American Soccer League (1968–1984) teams Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C. Soccer clubs in Kansas City, Missouri Soccer clubs in Missouri 1968 establishments in Missouri 1970 disestablishments in Missouri

History

Year-by-year

Honors

Coaches

See also

References