Los Angeles Wolves 1734329 214293961 2008-05-22T22:27:24Z Cydebot 1215485 Robot - Moving category Defunct United States soccer clubs to Defunct soccer clubs in the United States per [[WP:CFD|CFD]] at [[Wikipedia:Categories for discussion/Log/2008 May 16]]. {{Football club infobox | clubname = Los Angeles Wolves | image = [[Image:Los Angeles Wolves.gif|200px|center]]| fullname = Los Angeles Wolves| nickname = ''Wolves'' | founded = [[1966]] | dissolved = [[1968]] | ground = [[Los Angeles Coliseum]]: 1967 <br>[[Rose Bowl (stadium)|Rose Bowl]]: 1968| capacity = | chairman = [[Jack Kent Cooke]] | manager = {{flagicon|England}} [[Ronnie Allen]]: 1967<br> {{flagicon|England}} [[Ray Wood]]: 1968 | league = [[United Soccer Association]]: 1967<br>[[North American Soccer League]]: 1968|}} '''Los Angeles Wolves''' are a former [[United States]] professional [[football (soccer)|soccer]] team, owned by [[Jack Kent Cooke]], that played for two seasons during the 1960s. In 1967 they played in the [[United Soccer Association]], finishing as champions, and in 1968 they were founding members of the [[North American Soccer League]]. ===USA=== In 1966 a group of [[United States]] and [[Canada|Canadian]] sports entrepreneurs, led by [[Jack Kent Cooke]], formed the [[United Soccer Association]] with the intention of organising a professional [[football (soccer)|soccer]] league. The USA originally intended to launch its league in the spring of 1968. However a rival league, the [[National Professional Soccer League I|National Professional Soccer League]], announced it was ready to launch in 1967. Not wanting to lose ground to its rival, the USA decided to fast track its launch. Without any players of its own, it opted to import whole teams from [[Europe]] and [[South America]]. It was intended that these teams would represent the franchises during the inaugural season, giving them time to build their own squads for the following season. [[Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C.|Wolverhampton Wanderers]], who had won promotion to the [[Football League First Division|English First Division]] at the end of the [[1966-67_in_English_football#Second_Division|1966-67]] season subsequently represented the [[Los Angeles]] franchise. Cooke had originally intended to call the team the Los Angeles Zorros, but when the agreement with Wolverhampton was made, it was decided to use their nickname of Wolves. Wolves played in the ''Western Division'' alongside [[San Francisco Golden Gate Gales]], [[Chicago Mustangs]], [[Houston Stars]], [[Vancouver Royal Canadians]] and [[Dallas Tornado]]. These teams were represented by [[ADO Den Haag]], [[Cagliari Calcio]], [[Bangu Atlético Clube|Bangu AC]], [[Sunderland A.F.C.|Sunderland]] and [[Dundee United F.C.|Dundee United]]. Of the twelve teams in the league, Wolves with a team coached by [[Ronnie Allen]] and featuring [[Derek Dougan]], emerged as one of the strongest sides. After winning the ''Western Division'', a flip of a coin gave them the right to host the championship play-off game against the ''Eastern Division'' champions, [[Washington Whips]], who were represented by [[Aberdeen F.C.|Aberdeen]]. The match drew 17,824 to [[Los Angeles Coliseum]]. Wolves won the championship beating the Whips 6-5 after 36 minutes of extra-time. Four goals were scored within a 4 minute period midway through the second half and each team scored during extra time. The game was decided after Whips defender [[Ally Shewan]] scored an own goal. ===NASL=== In December 1967 the USA merged with the [[National Professional Soccer League I|National Professional Soccer League]] to form the [[North American Soccer League]]. As a result Wolves became founding members of the new league. During the inaugural 1968 season Wolves played in the ''Pacific Division'' alongside the [[San Diego Toros]], [[Oakland Clippers]] and [[Vancouver Royals]]. With a team coached by [[Ray Wood]] and featuring [[Carlos Metidieri]], but no [[Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C.|Wolverhampton Wanderers]] players, they failed to repeat the success of the previous season. After finishing third in their division, Wolves were one of several NASL franchises that folded after just one season. The idea of importing teams to represent franchises was revived during the 1969 NASL season and [[Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C.|Wolverhampton Wanderers]] returned to the [[United States]], this time representing [[Kansas City Spurs]], and winning the [[North American Soccer League|NASL International Cup]]. ==Year-by-year== {| class="wikitable" !Year !League !W !L !T !Pts !Reg. Season !Playoffs |- |1967 |USA |5 |5 |2 |15 |bgcolor="B3B7FF"|1st, Western Division |bgcolor="B3B7FF"|'''Champions''' |- |1968 |NASL |11 |8 |13 |139 |3rd, Pacific Division |''Did not qualify'' |} ==Selected players== {| |- style="vertical-align:top" || * {{flagicon|Brazil}} {{flagicon|United States}} [[Carlos Metidieri]] * {{flagicon|England}} [[Alun Evans]] * {{flagicon|England}} [[Ernie Hunt]] * {{flagicon|England}} [[Peter Knowles]] * {{flagicon|England}} [[Phil Parkes (footballer born 1947)|Phil Parkes]] * {{flagicon|England}} [[David Wagstaffe]] * {{flagicon|Northern Ireland}} [[Derek Dougan]] |} ==Coaches== {| |- style="vertical-align:top" || * {{flagicon|England}} [[Ronnie Allen]] * {{flagicon|England}} [[Ray Wood]] |} ==External links== *[http://mywebpages.comcast.net/dulyjs/strikers/nasl/la2.html Team stats A] *[http://home.att.net/~nasl/teams/wolves.htm Team stats B] *[http://home.att.net/~nasl/rosters/wolves.htm List of LA Wolves players] *[http://www.sover.net/~spectrum/year/1966.html 1966 in American soccer] *[http://www.sover.net/~spectrum/year/1967.html 1967 in American soccer] *[http://www.sover.net/~spectrum/year/1968.html 1968 in American soccer] *[http://www.sover.net/~spectrum/year/1969.html 1969 in American soccer] [[Category:Los Angeles soccer teams|Wolves]] [[Category:North American Soccer League teams]] [[Category:Defunct soccer clubs in the United States]] [[Category:Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C.]] [[Category:United Soccer Association franchises]] [[it:Los Angeles Wolves]]