1968 Vancouver Royals season explained

The 1968 Vancouver Royal Canadians season was the second season in the history of the Vancouver Royal Canadians soccer club. The club played in the North American Soccer League (NASL) at Empire Stadium in Vancouver, British Columbia.

Following the 1967 season, the USA and the FIFA-blacklisted National Professional Soccer League merged to form the North American Soccer League.^{[1] [2]} The merger meant that teams from the predecessor leagues competing against each other in the same markets needed to be moved, combined, or folded. As part of this process, George Fleharty bought the Vancouver Royal Canadians from E.G. Eakins and folded his NPSL team, the San Francisco Golden Gate Gales.^[1] The new owner shortened the name to Vancouver Royals and chose player-coach Ferenc Puskás over future England coach Bobby Robson, the previous owner's new manager for the Vancouver Royals; he resigned when offered the demotion to assistant coach.^[2] The 1968 Vancouver Royals' roster was put together without the preparation or advantage of importing an entire team.^[3] A significant amount of the team was recruited by Bobby Robson including two brothers from Hong Kong playing in England. Ferenc Puskás also brought in several Europeans, a few players with connections to the Golden Gate Gaels, as well as at least two local players from local leagues. A few foreign players settled in Vancouver after their playing careers including Peter Dinsdale.^[4] The Vancouver Royals had the third highest average attendance in the league at 6,197. The club folded after the 1968 season as the NASL contracted from seventeen clubs to five for the 1969 NASL season. The five remaining teams were located roughly in the U.S. Midwest with one team on the east coast.

Coaches

• Bobby Robson
• Ferenc Puskás

Players

Num	Name	Pos	Height	Weight	Apps	G	A
1	Chris Varnavas	G	183	77	26	0	0
2		D	180	78	32	2	0
3		D	173	73	5	1	0
4	Antonio Collar	M	180	76	20	0	0
5	Tomas Krivitz	D	175	77	25	0	0
6		D	180	80	30	0	0
7	Lajos Vicek	F	170	67	15	2	0
8	Janos Hanek	F	173	74	12	3	0
9		F	175	68	25	4	0
10		F	173	71	11	2	0
11	Kirk Apostolidis	F	178	77	7	0	0
11	Leif Claesson	F	183	79	16	3	0
12		F	170	69	32	2	0
13	Mirko Casic				2	0	0
13	Atilla Sandor	F	170	63	1	0	0
14	Brian "Pat" O'Connell	F	173	72	27	6	0
15	Henry Hill	D	175	75	3	0	0
16	Gyorgy Liptak	D	178	83	12	0	0
17	Jose Arranz	F	175	76	4	0	0
17	Ike MacKay	F	183	79	15	2	0
18	Joaquin Rey	M	178	72	22	4	0
19	Jean-Pierre Chaillat	F	165	70	2	0	0
20	Gary DeLong	G	178	71	9	0	0
21	Henry Klein	F	180	79	26	20	4
	Ken Pears	G			0	0	0
	Reg Stratton	F			4	0	0

Num = Number, Pos = Position, Height in cm, Weight in kg, Apps = Appearances, G = Goals, A = Assists

Results

Standings

Pacific Division	W	L	T	GF	GA	Pts
align=left	San Diego Toros	18	8	6	65	38	186
align=left	Oakland Clippers	18	8	6	71	38	185
align=left	Los Angeles Wolves	11	13	8	55	52	139
align=left	Vancouver Royals	12	15	5	51	60	136

Match results

See also

• Vancouver Royals
• Vancouver Whitecaps

External links

• Ken Pears 1986 BC Sports Hall of Fame

References

• Web site: Litterer. Dave. North American Soccer League I (NASL) 1967-1984. American Soccer History Archives. November 2, 2012. https://web.archive.org/web/20130907102955/http://homepages.sover.net/~spectrum/nasl/naslhist.html. September 7, 2013. dead.
• Web site: Severino. Carlos. North American Soccer League 1968. Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation. November 2, 2012.

Notes and References

1. News: Associated Press. Associated Press. 20 cities picked for soccer loop. The New York Times. December 14, 1967. 80.
2. Web site: The Year in American Soccer - 1968 . David . Litterer . January 31, 2010 . American Soccer Archives . February 6, 2014 . https://web.archive.org/web/20150726055314/http://homepages.sover.net/~spectrum/year/1968.html . July 26, 2015 . dead .
3. Web site: 1967-1968 Vancouver Royal Canadians / Vancouver Royals . Andy. Crossley. 2013. Fun While It Lasted. February 6, 2014.
4. Web site: Vancouver Royals. Dave. Morrison. February 6, 2014.