Pittsburgh Canons

The Pittsburgh Canons were an American soccer club based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, that was a member of the American Soccer League during the 1972 season.

Overview

The franchise was granted by the ASL in early June 1972, and was formed largely from players on the Canonsburg Maggis club that played in the amateur Keystone Soccer League. The team's president was James T. Maggi, with Scotty Foley serving as both the coach and general manager.{{cite news |title=Maggi, Foley Head New Pro Soccer Squad|date=June 29, 1972|newspaper=The Daily Notes|url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/53147665/?terms=Canon%2Bsoccer|page=5|access-date=November 17, 2018}}{{cite news |last=Samuels |first=Jeff |title=Canons Ready To Make Debut|date=July 2, 1972|newspaper=Pittsburgh Press|url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/149226941/?terms=Canon%2Bsoccer|page=D7|access-date=November 17, 2018}} Not realizing that the team's roots were in the borough of Canonsburg, out-of-town newspapers frequently misspelled their nickname as the "Cannons."{{cite news |title=Maggi's Host Ukrans Sunday|date=June 2, 1972|newspaper=The Daily Notes|url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/88853513/?terms=Canon%2Bsoccer|page=5|access-date=November 17, 2018}}

The Canons played the first of their four home games at South Stadium (now George K. Cupples Stadium) in the South Side of Pittsburgh, drawing about a thousand fans;{{cite news |title=Cincinnati Booters Spike Canons In Local Debut|date=July 9, 1972|newspaper=The Pittsburgh Press|url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/149280426/|page=5|access-date=August 6, 2023}} the other three games were held at Memorial Stadium in Canonsburg. After losing what owner Maggi said was "a great deal of money", the club returned to amateur status and qualified for the 1973 U.S. Open Cup, losing to eventual runners-up Inter-Italian SC.

Year-by-year

class="wikitable"

!Year

!League

!Record

!GF

!GA

!Position

!Playoffs

!U.S. Open Cup

1972

|ASL

|2–1–5

|11

|18

|4th, Midwestern

|did not qualify

|did not enter

=Final conference standings=

class="wikitable" ! Midwest Conference	G	W	D	L	GF	GA	PTS
style="background:#cfc;" \|Cincinnati Comets	8	6	1	1	19	7	13
Cleveland Stars	8	6	0	2	23	10	6
Detroit Mustangs	8	2	2	4	13	28	6
Pittsburgh Canons	8	2	1	5	11	18	5
St. Louis Frogs	8	2	0	6	13	16	4
bgcolor=lightgrey \|Chicago Americans*	?	?	?	?	?	?	?

*Chicago Americans played only a few games

= Regular season results =

class="wikitable" style="font-size:95%; text-align:center"

!Date!!Opponent!!Venue!!Result!!Goal scorers!!Ref

bgcolor=

|{{left}}July 2, 1972

|{{left}}Detroit Mustangs

|2–2

|Gus Theofilos, Don Dreher

|{{cite news |title=Detroit Ties Canons, 2-2|date=July 3, 1972|newspaper=Pittsburgh Post-Gazette|url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/88853513/?terms=Canon%2Bsoccer|page=14|access-date=November 17, 2018}}

bgcolor="#ffdddd"

|{{left}}July 8, 1972

|{{left}}Cincinnati Comets

|1–2

|Nick Pascarella

|{{cite news |title=Cincinnati Booters Spike Canons In Local Debut|date=July 9, 1972|newspaper=The Pittsburgh Press|url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/149280426/?terms=Canon%2Bsoccer|page=D-2|access-date=November 17, 2018}}

bgcolor="#ffdddd"

|{{left}}July 12, 1972

|{{left}}Cleveland Stars

|0–1

| –

|{{cite news |title=Canons Lose, Game Cancelled|date=July 13, 1972|newspaper=The Pittsburgh Press|url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/149322391/?terms=Canon%2Bsoccers|page=38|access-date=November 17, 2018}}

bgcolor="#ffdddd"

|{{left}}July 22, 1972

|{{left}}St. Louis Frogs

|2–3

|Don Dreher (2)

|{{cite news |title=Frogs' Legs Show Kick, Leap Over Canons, 3-2|date=July 23, 1972|newspaper=The Pittsburgh Press|url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/149429351/?terms=Canon%2Bsoccer|page=D-2|access-date=November 17, 2018}}

bgcolor="#ddffdd"

|{{left}}July 29, 1972

|{{left}}Detroit Mustangs

|3–1

|Nick Liberati (2), Bill Smythe

|{{cite news |title=Canons Blast Detroit, 3-1|date=July 30, 1972|newspaper=The Pittsburgh Press|url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/149468118/?terms=Canon%2Bsoccer|page=D-8|access-date=November 17, 2018}}

bgcolor="#ffdddd"

|{{left}}August 5, 1972

|{{left}}Cincinnati Comets

|1–4

|Nick Liberati

|{{cite news |title=Punchless Frogs Punched Again|date=August 6, 1972|newspaper=Cincinnati Enquirer|url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/104481770/?terms=Comets%2Bsoccer|page=8-D|access-date=November 17, 2018}}

bgcolor="#ffdddd"

|{{left}}August 13, 1972

|{{left}}Cleveland Stars

|1–5

|???

|{{cite news |title=Stronger Comets Seek Title|date=August 19, 1972|newspaper=Cincinnati Enquirer|url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/104679806/?terms=American%2BSoccer%2BLeague|page=27|access-date=November 17, 2018}}

bgcolor="#ddffdd"

|{{left}}August 27, 1972

|{{left}}St. Louis Frogs

|1–0

|Don Dreher

|{{cite news |title=Frogs Outshoot Pittsburgh, But Take 1-0 Loss|date=August 28, 1972|newspaper=St. Louis Post-Dispatch|url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/140693039/?terms=soccer%2BFrogs|page=7C|access-date=November 15, 2018}}

References

External links

[https://web.archive.org/web/20150325130709/http://homepages.sover.net/~spectrum/year/1972.html#ASL The Year in American Soccer - 1972]

Category:Defunct soccer clubs in Pennsylvania

Category:Soccer clubs in Pennsylvania

Cannons

Category:American Soccer League (1933–1983) teams