The Modern Era
The pros brought promise that never came to fruition
The beginning of the 1960's saw a Hamilton team enter the newly formed Eastern Canada Professioal Soccer League (ECPSL). This venture, beginning in 1961, was the first serious attempt to form a top-class professional soccer league in Canada. In addition to the Hamilton team, known as the Steelers, the other teams in the ICPSL were Toronto City, Toronto Italia, and Montreal Cantalia. Toronto City were the leagues's glamour franchise importing such famous players as English internationals 'Sir' Stanley Matthews and Johnny Haynes, Irish international Danny Blanchflower and Scottish international Jackie Mudie, for part of the season.
The opening game of that season between Toronto City and Toronto Italia drew a crowd of 16,509 to Toronto's Varsity Stadium, while 8,000 showed up at the then Civic Stadium on June 4 for Hamilton's home opener against Toronto City. The average wage for imported players in that season was said to be $125 a week wkith the star players like Matthews earning $400 per week. The average ticket price was $1.50.
President of the league was Harold Ballard, later to become the owner of teh Toronto Maople Leaf hockey club. Later in that first season, on September 6, 1961, Ballard is quoted in the Toronto Globe and Mail as saying: ' We are in big-time soccer and I bnelieve in the next five yuears soccer will become the major summer sport in Canada'. Unfortunately, Mr Ballard was wrong. Oddly enough, Steve Stavro, who owned the Toronto City franchise, took over from Mr Ballard as the top man at Maple Leaf Gardens.
The Steelers remained in operation in the ECPSL form 1961 to 1964 before the franchise was sold and changed its name to Hamilton Primos for the 1965 and 1966 seasons, after which the ECPSL, like so many of its predecessors, folded in a flood of red ink. However, before that time the Primos reached the ECPSL final in 1965 kisubg to Toronto Italia. After the collapse oif the ECPSL. Primos carried on for one more season, playing in, and winning the National Soccer League regular season schedule.
Two members of the Primos,goalkeeper Dick Howard and winger Johnny Kerr, were later to make names for themselves with the Canadian national team and in the North American Soccer League, Howard with the Rochester Lancers and Toronto Metros and Kerr with Detroit Cougars and Washinton Darts. Kerr later headed the NASL Player Association.
A Hamilton referee of that era, Alex Weir, was named to the Canadian list of FIFA referees, the hightest honour an offical can attain. Weir was then chosen to the panel of referees who would handle the Pan American Games held in Winnipeg in 1967.
Through the 1960's and 1970's the ethnic makeup of the local game shows in the winners of the Spectator Cup. Croatia Sports Club, Superga Alemannia, Italio-Canadians and Serbians all won the Cup along with Burlington United and Hamilton Legion. A key member o fthe Superga team when it won the Spectator Cup in 1966 was Frank Donlavey, whose playing career had also included a spell with the famous New York Cosmos of the NASL,. Donlavey later went on to make a name for himself as coach of the national youth team.
The first serious attempt at forming a coast-to-coast professional soccer league across North America took place in 1967. The National Professional Soccer League and the United Soccer Association were in opposition to one another, but eventually merged to form the North American Soccer League (NASL) in 1968. Neither of the three leagues included a Hamilton team.
Griowth in interest in the professional game, spurred by the ECPSL and the NASL, brought with it a corresponding growth at the grass roots level. Minor soccer boomed and for the first time since the 1920's Canada started producing top-class players of its own. Among them were Hamilton's Kevin Grant and John McGrane.
Early in 1980's Hamilton was one of the cities hosting games in what was known as the Red Leaf Cup, the firal between the Italian club Ascoli and Glasgow Rangers being played at Ivor Wynne Stadium, with Ascoli winning 2-0.
The second edition of the Hamilton Steelers was formed in 1981 by Mario DiBartolemeo and won the National Soccer League championship in the team's first year before joining the disastrous Canadian Professional Soccer League in 1983. The CPSL did not complete its season and the league lasted about three monthls.
But by this time another power had appeared in local soccer , Dundas United. The Valley Town, with its long soccer history dating back to th early 1800's had placed one player H Pirie on the Canadian team that toured BHritain as far bgack as 1888. Dundas, in the modern era, won the spectator Cup in 1979, 1980, 1986 adn 1989 and the Ontario Cup in 1984. Dundas' great rivals in the 1980's were Hamilton Serbians, but it was United who became the thrid local team to reach the final of the national championship.
Unfortunately , Dundas who qualified for the nationals final after winning the Ontario Cup, had to travel the 4,500 kilometres to Victoria, B.C. to compete in the national playoffs. Their semi-final opponents were Dartmouth Oland, who they beat 2-1, but in the final they faced Victoria West for whom it was a home game and were narrowly beaten 1-0.
Two years later it was the Steelers who reached the national finals played in Rock Hill, Sherbrooke, Quebec. The field was a disgrace, but the Hamilton team overcame the conditions to defeat Vancouver Croatia 1-0 on a late goal by Billy Johnstone and bring the championship to Hamilton for the first time since 1920.
The following year the Steelers entered the newly-formed Candian Soccer League. Playing in the same league were Galgary Kickers, Edmonton Brickmen , North York Rockets, Ottaswa National Capital Pioneers, Toronto Blizzard, Vancouver 86'ers and Winnipeg Fury. The Steelers reached ther final only to lose 2-1 to Calgary to Calgary.
It proved the start of a very familiar pattern as the Steelers reached the final in each of the next three seasons only to lose each time. Hamilton were beaten by Vancouver 86'ers in 1988 (4-1), 1989 (3-2) and 1990 (6-1). All three finals were played on the 86'ers home field in Burnaby, a right they won by finishing with the leagues best record.
Among the many outstanding Canadian players who represented Hamuilton duing those great years were Paul James, Alex Bunbury, Billy Domazetis, John DiPasquale, Lucio Ianicro, Iain Fraser, Cosimo Commisso, Guido Boin, Billy Johnstone, Colin Miller, Paul Doilan, Drew Ferfuson, Gary Morrow, Gerry Graty, Grian Rosenfeld, Geoff Aunger, and Mark Watson. Notable imported polayers were Zeljko Akzic, Amadeo Gasparinim, Brian Quinn and John Kerr Jr.
Part of the World University games were staged in Hamilton in July 1993. The main competition took place in Buffalo, N.Y., but the women;s soccer tournament was played in Hamilton featuring some of th finest women players in the world. Games were played at Brian Timmis Stadium and McMaster University with the final between the United States and China being staged at McMaster. China upset the favoured Americans. The Hamilton part of the competition was considered a great success.
Soccer in Hamilton has struggled ever since the CSL folded at the end of 1992 season. A Scottish festival did bring Glasgow Celtic, Aberdeen and Hears of the Soittish Premier League and Montreal Impact of the American Professional Soccer League to the city in 1995 but poor attendances, with the exception of the games played by Celtic, were the order of the day,.
In the meantime, another Hamilton product, Iain Fraser has becmoe a regular with the national team at fullback. He now has 15 full international appearances to his credit. Last season, Hamilton had a team in the National Socceer League (now renamed the Canadian National Soccer League) for the first time since 1986. Hamilton White Eagles made theri home debut against Scarborough Astros at Brian Timmis Stadium in early June, but struggled throuhout most of the season. This year, the White Eagles have moved to the Puma League formed in Toronto in 1995.
Through it all, the highlights and the disappointments, the venerable Spectator Cup, which is one of the oldest team sport trophy in continuous competition in North America, has lived on . 1996, Hamilton Star won the Spectator Cup for a record sixth consecutive year by defeating Slovenia 3-1 at Sackville Hill Park on September 9. On August 17 1996, at Mohawk Park, a special Hamilton and District Soccer Association champion was crowed. - a Centennial champion - as the Spectator Cup prepres for it's second century of competition.
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