The New York Skyliners were a soccer team based in

the Bronx The Bronx () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the state of New York. It is south of Westchester County; north and east of the New York City borough of Manhattan, across the Harlem River; and north of the New Y ...

borough of

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

. The club were a charter member of the United Soccer Association (USA) in 1967 and played their home games as

Yankee Stadium Yankee Stadium is a baseball stadium located in the Bronx, New York City. It is the home field of the New York Yankees of Major League Baseball, and New York City FC of Major League Soccer. Opened in April 2009, the stadium replaced the orig ...

History

In 1966 several groups of entrepreneurs were exploring the idea of forming a professional soccer league in United States. One of these groups, United Soccer Association (USA) led by

Jack Kent Cooke Jack Kent Cooke (October 25, 1912 – April 6, 1997) was a Canadian-American businessman in broadcasting and professional sports. Starting in sales, Cooke was very successful, eventually becoming a partner in a network of radio stations and news ...

, selected 12 cities for team locations and the Irving Mitchell Felt purchased a franchise as part of the Madison Square Garden Corporation. The USA originally planned to start play in the spring of 1968; however the rival National Professional Soccer League, which secured a TV contract from CBS, announced it was ready to launch in 1967. Not wanting to let the rival league gain an advantage, the USA decided to launch early. Not having secured any player contracts, the league imported teams from Europe, Brazil, and Uruguay to represent the franchise cities. Uruguayan team C.A. Cerro was brought in to play as the Skyliners. The Skyliners opened the season at home against the Toronto City in a 1 - 1 draw in front of crowd of 21,871. The New York Skyliners finished the season fifth place with a record of 2 wins, 6 ties and 4 losses while drawing an average home league attendance of 8,766. Following the 1967 season 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 ...

and the National Professional Soccer League merged to form the North American Soccer League. It was announced that New York would be one of the 20-teams in play in the North American Soccer League (NASL). The merged league decided not to have two-team cities and both the owners of the NPSL's

New York Generals The New York Generals were an American professional soccer team based in New York City that competed in the National Professional Soccer League (NPSL) in 1967 and the North American Soccer League (NASL) in 1968. Founded as charter members ...

and Skyliners stepped aside and the franchise right were awarded to Peter Elser, who had held a minority interest Generals. Elser's franchise retained the New York Generals' name and front office and the New York Skyliners effectively went out of existence.

Colors and badge

While the New York Skyliners' home kits were all white, their away jerseys were the same blue and white stripes as C.A. Cerro's home kits.

Stadium

The New York Skyliners played their home matches at Yankee Stadium.

Notes

Coach

* Ondino Viera

Year-by-year

Records

* League victory: 4-1 v Dallas Tornado, June 27, 1967 * League defeat: 0-2 v

Washington Whips The Washington Whips were a soccer team based in Washington, D.C. that played in the United Soccer Association ( USA). The league was made up of teams imported from foreign leagues. The Washington Whips were the Aberdeen F.C. from Scotland. Th ...

, June 7, 1967

References

External links

* http://www.nyskyliners.net
NY Skyliners roster
{{Authority control C.A. Cerro Defunct soccer clubs in New York City Skyliners United Soccer Association franchises 1966 establishments in New York City 1968 disestablishments in New York (state) Association football clubs established in 1966 Association football clubs disestablished in 1968 Sports in the Bronx