Oakland Clippers
{{Use mdy dates|date=December 2022}}
{{Use American English|date=March 2023}}
{{short description|Defunct soccer club from Oakland, California, U.S.}}
{{For|the 1930s ice hockey team|Oakland Clippers (ice hockey)}}
{{Infobox football club
| American = true
| clubname = Oakland Clippers
| image = Oakland clippers.png
| fullname = Oakland Clippers
| nickname =
| founded = 1966
| dissolved= June 4, 1969{{cite news |date=June 5, 1969 |title=Clippers Rip Soccer Group |page=41 |work=Oakland Tribune |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/115303924/clippers-rip-soccer-group/ |via=Newspapers.com |accessdate=December 27, 2022}}
| stadium = Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum,
Oakland, California
| capacity = 47,416
| chairman = Joseph O'Neill & H.T. Hilliard
| manager =
| league = NPSL (1967)
NASL (1968)
| season =
| position =
| pattern_la1=_blueborder
| pattern_b1=_bluecollar_2
| pattern_ra1=_blueborder
| leftarm1=ffffff
| body1=ffffff
| rightarm1=ffffff
| shorts1=ffffff
| socks1=ffffff
| pattern_la2=_whiteborder
| pattern_b2=_whitecollar
| pattern_ra2=_whiteborder
| leftarm2=0000ff|body2=0000ff
| rightarm2=0000ff
| shorts2=0000ff
| socks2=0000ff
}}
The Oakland Clippers (active 1967–1968, also named the California Clippers) were an American soccer team based in Oakland, California. They played in the non-FIFA sanctioned National Professional Soccer League (NPSL) in 1967 and the North American Soccer League (NASL) in the following season. Their home field was Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum.
Overview
The Clippers brought the first-ever national professional championship in any sport to the San Francisco Bay Area and the City of Oakland.{{cite web |last1=Newhouse |first1=Dave |title=Bay Area's First Professional National Championship |url=https://myemail.constantcontact.com/Sports-Today---Issue-No--223.html?soid=1102520666012&aid=p7zi7C9bpOo |website=Sports Today |access-date=August 28, 2020}} Team owners originally planned to play in San Francisco until General Manager Derek Liecty convinced them that the new Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum was a better choice than San Francisco's old and windy Kezar stadium.{{cite web |last1=Chazaro |first1=Alan |title=The Forgotten Legacy of Oakland's 'Outlaw' Soccer Team |url=https://thebolditalic.com/the-forgotten-legacy-of-oaklands-outlaw-soccer-team-452c2f2ad88e |website=thebolditalic |publisher=Medium |access-date=August 28, 2020}} Through connections in Yugoslavia,{{cite news |last1=Sullivan |first1=Prescott |title=The Doctor's Melting Pot |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/458476561/ |access-date=September 21, 2020 |agency=San Francisco Examiner |publisher=San Francisco Examiner |page=49 |date=February 10, 1967}} the Clippers were able to hire Dr. Aleksandar Obradovic, former Team Manager of Red Star of Belgrade. Obradovic brought with him Red Star coach and former Yugoslav international Ivan Toplak as well as a nucleus of six first-division players who were willing to play in the non-sanctioned league.{{cite book |last1=Wangerin |first1=David |title=Distant Corners |date=2011 |publisher=Temple University Press |isbn=978-1-4399-0630-9 |page=174-207}} During the 1967/1968 season the Clippers had players from ten countries.{{Cite web|url=https://www.justsportsstats.com/soccerroster.php?team=NAOAC&year=1967|title=1967 Oakland Clippers Roster|website=JustSportsStats.com|access-date=August 25, 2018}}
In 1967 they won the NPSL Western Division and overall regular season titles. They went on to win the NPSL Final over the Baltimore Bays by a two-game, home-and-home aggregate score of 4-2. They also won the Commissioner's Cup over the St. Louis Stars by a score of 6-3.{{cite news |last1=Meyers |first1=Jeff |title=Clippers Down Stars, Win Cup |newspaper=St. Louis Post-Dispatch |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/115304064/clippers-down-stars-win-cup/ |via=Newspapers.com |access-date=December 27, 2022 |agency=St. Louis Post-Dispatch |page=5C |date=September 19, 1967}} Following the 1967 season, the team joined the newly formed North American Soccer League (NASL), the result of the merger between the NPSL and the United Soccer Association (USA).{{cite book |last1=Seese |first1=Dennis J. |title= The Rebirth of Professional Soccer in America |date=2011 |publisher=Rowman & Littlefield |isbn=978-1-4422-3894-7 |page=167-192}}
In 1968, the Clippers had an identical record to the Western Division Champion San Diego Toros and a higher goal-differential, but the Toros had more league points. As the result of a disputed referee’s off-side call in their final regular season game against the San Diego Toros, a 3-3 tie,{{cite news |last1=Newhouse |first1=Dave |title=Clipper Tie Toros |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/477737128/ |access-date=September 21, 2020 |agency=Oakland Tribune |publisher= The Tribune Publishing Company |page=37 |date=September 5, 1968}} the Clippers finished in second place and were eliminated from the playoffs.{{cite news |title=Toro Win Ends Hope Of Clippers |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/477740960/ |access-date=September 11, 2020 |agency=The Oakland Tribune |publisher=The Tribune Publishing Company |page=51 |date=September 8, 1968}} The unique points system denied them the chance to defend their 1967 NPSL title in 1968’s merged league.
The North American Soccer League was near collapse in September 1968. Having no possible League opponents west of Dallas, Texas and wanting to maintain the team while waiting for the NASL to become reconstituted, the Clippers began playing an independent schedule as the California Clippers against top foreign club teams. These efforts included bringing to the United States for the first time a team from the Soviet Union, league club champion Dynamo Kiev. The three-game match up was split with a win and a tie for each.{{cite news |last1=Newhouse |first1=Dave |title=Clippers Edge Russians, 1-0 |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/478137601/?terms=Clippers%2BDynamo%2Bsoccer |access-date=September 21, 2020 |agency=Oakland Tribune |publisher= The Tribune Publishing Company |date=March 10, 1969}}
Alarmed by the success of the Clippers and concerned that such an independent schedule might thwart plans for a reconstituted NASL, the United States Soccer-Football Association placed restrictions on the Clippers and prevented them from arranging any further international games. Just before the ban, the Clippers defeated Italian league champion Fiorentina in their final game by a score of 4-2 and posted an exhibition match record of 7-6-2. The Clippers ceased operations on June 4, 1969.{{cite book |last1=Seese |first1=Dennis J. |title= The Rebirth of Professional Soccer in America |date=2011 |publisher=Rowman & Littlefield |isbn=978-1-4422-3894-7 |page=167-192}} The team's owners had lost $1.5 million while running the team and cited the dysfunctional relationship between various governing bodies as a reason for folding the team.
Several Clippers players, as well as coach Ivan Toplak, went on to join the original San Jose Earthquakes team founded as a member of the North American Soccer League in 1974: Goalkeeper Mirko Stojanovic, leading scorer Ilija Mitić, Momčilo "Gabbo" Gavrić, and Milan Čop.
Year-by-year
Honors
{{col-begin}}
{{col-2}}
National Professional Soccer League
1967 First Team All-Stars
{{col-2}}North American Soccer League
1968 First Team All-Stars
1968 Second Team All-Stars
{{col-end}}
Team Roster
= 1967 Roster =
| class="wikitable sortable mw-collapsible"
! Position ! Birth Date ! Height ! Weight ! Hometown |
| Baesso, Mario
| D | September 5, 1945 | 5'7 | -- | São Paulo, Brazil |
| Bena, Stevan
| D | August 23, 1935 | 5'11" | 170 | Serbia |
| Conde, Leonel
| G | 1937 | 6'2" | 174 | Uruguay |
| Constancia, Jose
| F | March 19, 1945 | -- | -- | Willemstad, Curaçao |
| Čop, Milan
| M, D | October 5, 1941 | 5'10" | 168 | Slavonski Brod, Croatia |
| Crawford, Roel
| M | October 7, 1947 | -- | -- | Limón, Costa Rica |
| Davidović, Dimitri
| D, M | May 21, 1944 | 5'10" | 160 | Aleksandrovac, Serbia |
| Djukic, Dragan
| M | March 29, 1939 | 6'1" | 160 | Belgrade, Serbia |
| Gavrić, Momčilo
| D | August 4, 1938 | 5'10" | 170 | Sinj, Croatia |
| Hoftvedt, Trond
| M | May 30, 1941 | 5'10" | 166 | Oslo, Norway |
| Lievano, George
| F | -- | -- | -- | San Salvador, El Salvador |
| Lukić, Ilija
| F | December 12, 1942 | 5'9" | 150 | Serbia |
| Lunnis, Roy
| D | November 4, 1939 | -- | -- | London, England |
| Marin, Edgar
| F, M | March 22, 1943 | 5'5" | 135 | San Jose, Costa Rica |
| Milosevic, Sele
| F | April 4, 1940 | 6'0" | 167 | Šabac, Serbia |
| Mitić, Ilija
| M, F | July 19, 1940 | 5'10" | 160 | Belgrade, Serbia |
| Quiros, William
| F, M | October 10, 1941 | 5'5" | 143 | Alajuela, Costa Rica |
| Rowan, Barry
| F | April 24, 1942 | 5'9" | 163 | Willesden, England |
| Saccone, Ademar
| F, M | October 11, 1934 | 5'10" | 160 | Montevideo, Uruguay |
| Scott, Melvyn
| M | September 26, 1939 | -- | -- | Claygate, England |
| Stojanović, Mirko
| G | July 11, 1939 | 6'0" | 190 | Zagreb, Croatia |
| Wiestal, Kay-Arne
| F | -- | 5'10" | 165 | Sweden |
| Zuniga, Jose
| F | -- | -- | -- | Costa Rica |
References
{{Oakland Clippers}}
{{NPSL 1967}}
{{North American Soccer League (1966–85)}}
Category:Defunct soccer clubs in California
Category:Sports clubs and teams in Oakland, California
Category:National Professional Soccer League (1967) franchises
Category:North American Soccer League (1968–1984) teams
Category:1967 establishments in California
Category:1969 disestablishments in California
Category:Soccer clubs in California