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 of the NPSL, the team was owned by RKO General and Wall Street investor Peter Elser and played their home games at Yankee Stadium. Following the NPSL's merger with the United Soccer Association to form the NASL in 1968, the Generals became the sole professional soccer team in New York City. The Generals played on season in the NASL before folding after the 1968 season. The New York Cosmos, founded in 1970, would take the Generals place as New York City's professional soccer team and shared both the Generals' colors and home stadium. History From the founding of the National Professional Soccer League (NPSL), New York City was considered was considered a market of immense importance to the league. According to soccer historian David Wagner, New York City's "hugely influential media was likely to make or break the entire venture." The New York Generals were originally founded and owned by RKO General (which at the time also owned WOR-TV) and Wall Street investor Peter Elser. The team's gold and green color scheme was based on that of the Green Bay Packers, which had been one of the more successful gridiron football teams of that time. The contrasting colors were also chosen with consideration towards viewers of black and white television, which was still fairly common in the United States at this time (as one team director said, they were "good colors for television"). The team's name was chosen as a direct reference to their owner, RKO General. Freddie Goodwin was selected as head coach for the team and quickly assembled a team that included players such as Barrie Wright and César Luis Menotti. Pre-season training for the team was held at a high school soccer field in Florida. As part of an agreement with the New York Yankees, the Generals played their home games at Yankee Stadium. The team's held their first home game on April 22, 1967, a 2–1 victory against the Chicago Spurs. The Generals finished their sole season in the NPSL with a win–loss–tie record of 11–13–8. Following the 1967 season, the NPSL merged with the United Soccer Association (USA) to form the North American Soccer League (NASL).