After the 1967 season, the USA and NPSL leagues merged into the NASL. The Dallas Tornado sent coach Bob Kap to northern Europe to put together a team of young "All American" looking players. Before the NASL season started this new Dallas Tornado team was sent on an amazing six month tour of Africa, Europe, the Middle East, Asia, Australia, and Central America.
This is the story of that trip. A team of 18 young, unknown players who had never been to Dallas went into some of the world's most difficult locations as the "Dallas Tornado" soccer team. This included games in Saigon in the middle of the Vietnam War. Imagine taking a trip to Baghdad to play a game today. It was an amazing trip that will never be repeated again.
Most of the content has been provided by Bill Crosbie who was an 19 year old with a dream to play professional soccer. This is not meant to be his story. Hopefully someday, a better writer than me will collect the other stories and publish a book. For now, it will be primarily his memories of the trip.
|
The beginning of the tour started with training camp in Spain. The first games were played in Spain and in Morocco.
Date | Location | Opponent | Score |
Bob Kap Coach, Lamar Hunt Tornado Owner July 1967 Photo from http://www.dallasnews.com/ |
|
Aug. 22 | Cordoba, Spain | Cordoba CF | Lost 0-4 | ||
Aug. 29 | Madrid, Spain | RSD Alcala | Won 5-4 | ||
Sept. 8 | Seville, Spain | Coria CF | Won 3-2 | ||
Sept. 15 | Tangier, Morocco | UDT | Won 3-2 | ||
Sept. 20 | Oviedo, Spain | Real Oviedo | Lost 0-4 | ||
Brian Harvey with posters from the Tornado World Tour. Photo from http://www.dallasnews.com/ |
|
||
|
||
|
||
September 15, 1967 |
||
Monaco, October 1967 |
Dallas Tornado in Nice, France Back: Dave Moorcroft, Chris Bachofner, Jay Moore, Eddie Hall, Bob Kap (coach), Jan Book, Odd Lindberg, Hans Petter Enger, Chris Tonning, Frank Randorf Front: Bobby Roach, John Stewart, Anders Fagri, Mike Renshaw, Brian Harvey, Per Larsen, Fons Stoffels, Bill Crosbie, Gene Wilson (PR) |
|
Sept.30: Nice, France Bill Crosbie and Bobby Roach join the team.
"I do not know who`s idea the tour was, if it was Lamar Hunt's or Bob Kap's. The idea was to have a very young "All American" style look about us. To this end, we all had to have very short hair and even had to travel the world with Stetsons, jackets, and ties.
Dallas Tornado arrive Istanbul, Turkey |
Istanbul, Turkey |
Oct. 6: Istanbul, Turkey Fenerbache Drew 2-2 Crowd 25,000
Oct. 12: Athens, Greece Transit and sightseeing. "The team was scheduled to take a flight from Athens to Nicosia, Cyprus. Because we had been sightseeing too long at the Acropolis, we missed our plane by half an hour. It was the best thing the we ever did. The plane we should have been on was blown up in mid air by a bomb. It was a flight from Athens to Nicosia Cyprus. 63 people died on that planed. They were after the Greek Cypriot leader General George Grivas. He was booked on that flight with us. He also missed the flight and caught the very same flight we were on." Bill Crosbie
Note: Here is a link to an article about the bombing. http://www.aerospaceweb.org/question/planes/q0283.shtml
Bill Crosbie at the Acropolis October 12 1967 |
Dallas Tornado Team touring the Acropolis October 12 1967 | Dallas Tornado Team touring the Acropolis October 12 1967 |
Oct. 13: Cyprus Apollon of Limmasol
Lost 2-4 Crowd 6,000
Goals: Apollon-Pelendrides, Constantinou, Georghiou pen, Panayides
Oct. 14: Cyprus Apoel of Nicosia Lost 0-2 95 degrees
Oct. 16: Beirut, Lebanon transit
Oct. 17: Tehran, Iran Iranian Air Force team 1-2 crowd 8,000 The Air Force team had 7 Internationals. Brian Harvey scored.
Dallas Tornado vs. Iranian Air Force Tehran, Iran October 17, 1967 |
Governor's Mansion Shiraz, Iran October 19, 1967 |
Dallas Tornado at Governors Select 11 Shiraz, Iran October 20, 1967 |
Bill Crosbie (C) Dallas Tornado at Governors Select 11 Shiraz, Iran October 20, 1967 |
Bill Crosbie (L) Dallas Tornado at Governors Select 11 Shiraz, Iran October 20, 1967 |
Bill Crosbie (R) Dallas Tornado at Governors Select 11 Shiraz, Iran October 20, 1967 |
Oct. 18: Tehran Tehran Select 11 Drew 1-1 This team had 5 Internationals. Chris Tonning scored.
Oct. 20: Shiraz Governors 11 Drew 1-1
Oct. 21: Tehran "We flew back from Shiraz to Tehran. We got a shock at the airport. A new player called Graham Stirland had joined the tour in the south of France. He was a winger. A fantastic player who beside being good going forward was always getting back to help his fullback out. The manager Bob Kap did not think he was mixing with the rest of the squad and kept himself to himself. We arrived in for our next flight and Graham was asked to follow Frank Randorf (an assistant to Bob Kap) to the gents toilets. Ten minutes later, Frank arrived alone. We asked where Graham was. We were told that Mr. Kap did not think he was mixing with the other players and he was sent home to England. We were not even allowed to say goodbye and that was the last we saw of him." Bill Crosbie
Oct. 22: Rasht Team? Lost 0-1 We had a 7 hour coach ride across the mountains to Rasht.
Oct. 23: We stayed at Bablasar on the Caspian sea.
Oct. 24: Shahi Team? Drew 2-2 Took a 7.5 hour coach ride to Shahi. Played the same afternoon. Shahi is 5,000 feet up in the mountains.
Oct. 26: Took a 7 hour coach ride back to Tehran. We stayed the night readying for a flight to Karachi, Pakistan.
Oct. 27: Karachi, Pakistan Before we leave Tehran, Norwegian player Tom Weinholdt goes home to have knee surgery. The team is now down to 16 players.
Oct. 28: Karachi Pakistan National Team Won 2-0 Crowd of 35,000
Oct. 29: Lahore, Pakistan Pakistan National Team (11 new players) Lost 2-4 Crowd of 25,000
Oct. 31: Dacca, East Pakistan Pakistan U23 team Drew 1-1 Crowd 25,000 This is now Dhaka, Bangladesh.
Nov. 1: Chittagong, East Pakistan Team? Drew 0-0 Don't know the temperature, but it was very hot.
"We were up at
Nov. 3: "We took a 4 hour ride on a rickety old bus to the border of India. We get to the border. We have to take our suitcases off that bus walk 400 yards to the border. There were local rioters screaming and hurling abuse because the country we were walking to was India. We go through passport control and walk 400 yards with suitcases to our next bus where the people were laying garlands at our feet!
To make matters
worse, when we got through those thousands of screaming agitators in
Nov. 3: Calcutta, India
Dave Moorcroft November 5, 1967 |
||
November 7, 1967 |
Dallas Tornado and Presidents 11 New Delhi, India November 7, 1967 |
Tornado vs. Presidents 11 New Delhi, India November 7, 1967 |
Mahatma Gandhi Tomb Notice the team is wearing jackets and ties. The temperature was 95 degrees. New Dehli, India November 8, 1967 |
Mahatma Gandhi Tomb New Dehli, India November 8, 1967 |
|
|
Date | Location | Opponent | Score | Notes |
Nov. 5 | Calcutta, India | Indian National Team | Draw 0-0 | Crowd 30,000 |
Nov. 7 | New Delhi, India | President's 11 | Lost 0-1 | Crowd 35,000, 95 degrees |
Nov. 8 | New Delhi, India | Sightseeing at Mahatma Gandhi tomb | ||
Nov. 9 | Bombay, India | President's 11 | Lost 0-1 | Crowd 25,000, 105 degrees |
Nov. 15 | Bangalore, India | Governor's 11 | Draw 1-1 | Crowd 30,000 |
Nov. 17 | Hydrabad, India | Governor's 11 | Draw 2-2 | Crowd 23,00 Different Governor's 11 team |
Nov. 19 | Madras, India | Indian National Team | Won 4-1 | Crowd 30,000 |
Dallas Tornado arriving in Madras, India |
Dallas Tornado in India |
|
Nov. 20: Ceylon (Sri Lanka)
Nov. 22: Colombo, Ceylon Ceylon National Team Lost 1-2
Goals: Ceylon-Noor, Zainulabdeen Tornado-Chris Tonning Eddie Hall
was sent off
Nov. 24: Colombo, Ceylon Ceylon
National Team Lost 0-3
Goals: Ceylon-Hassim Deen, Zainulabdeen, Noor
Nov. 25: "On this day, we should have flown from Ceylon to Burma via Madras and Calcutta. When we got to Calcutta there were political riots going on and all flights were cancelled. We had to hide in our hotel for two days and left on the 28th at 4:00 AM to sneak out of India." Bill Crosbie
Nov. 28: Rangoon, Burma Burma U21 Team Lost 0-4 Crowd 45,000 "This was a fantastic team." Bill Crosbie
Nov. 30: Rangoon, Burma Burma
National Team Lost 1-3 Crowd 47,000
Played in front of 92,000 people within 48 hours!
Note: Burmese papers indicate this was probably a Youth team or National
B team. It is unclear exactly which
Rangoon, Burma |
Dallas Tornado at Rangoon's Schwedagon Pagoda |
|
November 30, 1967 |
Bangkok, Thailand December 2 |
Bangkok, Thailand December 2 |
Dec 2: Bangkok-Singapore The Tornado stopped over in Bangkok on for a few hours on the way to Singapore
Dec 3: Singapore
Singapore
Lost 2-4
"On the way to the stadium, there were Chinese
militants chanting slogans like "Go Home Yanks" and "Yankee
Imperialists." In the stadium things were not much better even the
team we played were taking chunks out of us. When one of our
players, Per Larsen fouled one of theirs, they started throwing stones
and other things onto the pitch. He then incensed them by bowing.
We had to be escorted from the pitch and had to stay in the dressing
room for 2 hours after the game while the mob outside left!" Bill Crosbie
Dec. 4: "The game against a different
|
From Pittsburgh Gazette |
From The Guardian |
Dec. 6: Djakarta, Indonesia
Dec 8: Djakarta, Indonesia Persidja Djakarta Lost 0-2 Crowd 22,000
Dec 10: Djakarta, Indonesia Indonesian National Team Lost 1-6 Crowd 20,000
Bill Crosbie in Djakarta, Indonesia |
Dallas Tornado at Persikja Jarkarta |
|
Dallas Tornado vs. Indonesian National Team December 10 game |
Bobby Roach, John Stewart, Hans Petter Enger Dallas Tornado vs. Indonesian National Team December 10 game Thanks http://naslmemories.blogspot.com/ |
|
Program for Games in Saigon, Vietnam |
||
Another program for the games in Saigon |
||
|
Probably from the December 14 game. |
|
Jay Moore, David Moorcroft, Petter Hans Enger, Jan Book, Mike Renshaw |
Dec 12: Saigon, Vietnam
Dec 14: Saigon, Vietnam Vietnam U23 Team Drew 1-1 Crowd 15,000
Dec 16: Saigon, Vietnam Club Saigon Drew 2-2 Crowd 20,000
"As an American, my life has been highly influenced by the Vietnam War. It was on the news morning and night. Every teenage boy feared being drafted and sent to Vietnam. There were riots in the streets protesting the war. American soldiers shot and killed American citizens for protesting the war. Everyone had a brother, cousin or neighbor who had been sent to Vietnam. There wasn't a day that you didn't discuss the war.
For this reason, the Vietnam portion of the Tornado tour amazes me the most. They didn't just go to a war zone to play soccer. They went at a critical time in the history of the war. The turning point in the war was the Tet offensive which started just 45 days after the Tornado played their last game in Saigon. During the Tet offensive the North Vietnamese attacked the Presidential Palace in the heart of Saigon. The City of Hue was leveled in the fighting. For Bill and the team, it appears to have been just another stop on the trip." Dave Morrison
Read more about the Tet Offensive: http://www.u-s-history.com/pages/h1862.html
Bill Crosbie in Saigon |
Eddie Hall and Bill Crosbie in Saigon |
American soldier in Saigon |
Bill Crosbie touring American military base |
Tornado touring American military base |
Bill Crosbie |
US Navy docked in Saigon |
American GIs on Mekong River |
Bill Crosbie on the Mekong River |
Dec. 17: Hong Kong In transit overnight
Dec. 18:
Dec. 20:
Tornado in Taipei, Taiwan |
Tornado in Taipei, Taiwan |
|
Dec. 21:
Dec. 24:
Dec. 25: Christmas Day in
Dec. 26:
Olympic Stadium in Tokyo |
Japan |
Bill Crosbie at Imperial Palace Tokyo Japan December, 1967 |
Program for the games on 12/24 and 12/26 |
||
Manila, Philippines |
||
Dec. 30: Manila, Philippines
Dec. 31: Manila, Philippines New Year's Eve
Jan 1: Manila, Philippines Manila Chinese Select 11 Won 7-0 Crowd 10,000
Jan 6: Manila, Philippines Philippines National Team Lost 1-2
Jan. 7: Brisbane, Australia Arrive after traveling for 18 hours!
Relaxing in Adelaide, Australia January 1968 |
January 17, 1968 |
|
Program from the Canterbury game |
||
Program from game in Auckland, New Zealand |
||
Date | Location | Opponent | Score | Notes |
Jan. 9 | Brisbane, Australia | Queensland State | Lost 0-1 | Crowd 5,000 |
Jan. 12 | Newcastle, Australia | Newcastle | Game was called off because the pitch was waterlogged. | |
Jan. 17 | Adelaide, Australia | South Australia | Won 3-2 | Crowd 4,000 |
Jan. 19 | Sydney, Australia | Newcastle SW | Lost 1-2 | |
Jan. 23 | Christchurch, New Zealand | Governor's 11 | Draw 2-2 | |
Jan. 25 | Christchurch, New Zealand | Canturbury FA | Game is listed in a program, but appears to have been canceled. | |
Jan. 27 | Auckland, New Zealand | Auckland | Lost 2-3 | |
Jan 30 | New Caledonia, New Zealand | New Caledonia | ||
Feb. 2 | Suva, Fiji |
Fiji Southern Division | Won 10-2 | Crowd 3,000 Played 60 minute game because of 100 degree heat. |
Feb. 4 | Lautoka, Fiji | Fiji North-Western XI | Won 3-1 | Played 60 minute game because of 102 degree heat. |
Feb. 11 | Papeete, Tahiti | Tahiti National Team | Lost 1-2 |
Fiji Fiji |
Federation pins given to the Tornado players |
|
Tahiti |
Tahiti |
Tahiti |
Feb. 15: "Left
Date | Location | Opponent | Score | Notes |
March 6 | San Jose, Costa Rica | Saprissa | Lost 1-3 | |
March 8 | Puntarenas, Costa Rica | Puntarenas | Draw 3-3 | |
March 10 | Quesada, Costa Rica | San Carlos | Lost 0-2 | |
March 12 | Tegucigalpa, Honduras | Olympia | Lost 1-2 | |
Dallas Tornado in Costa Rica March 1967 |
||
Costa Rica |
"By this time all of the players were completely exhausted both mentally and physically. Not the best way to prepare for the upcoming 1st season." Bill Crosbie
Bill's comment is borne out by the 1968 NASL results. The Tornado had only 2 wins and 4 ties to go with 26 losses. This turned out to be the lowest winning percentage in the history of the league. The Tornado were outscored by an almost 4-1 ratio.
1968 Tornado home attendance was miserable. They only drew at total of 46,832 for the entire 16 game home season. Compare this to the 92,000 they drew in Burma in just 2 days.
Tour Players | Citizen |
Team picture taken in Dallas at the beginning of the 1968 NASL season |
||
Chris Bachofner | Holland | |||
Jan Book | Sweden | |||
Bill Crosbie | England | |||
Hans Petter Enger | Norway | |||
Anders Fagri | Norway | |||
Eddie Hall | England | |||
Brian Harvey | England | |||
Per Larsen | Norway | |||
Odd Lindberg | Norway | |||
Dave Moorcroft | England | |||
Jay Moore | USA | |||
Mike Renshaw | England | |||
Bobby Roach | England | |||
John Stewart | England | |||
Fons Stoffels | Holland | |||
Graham Stirland | England | |||
Chris Tonning | Sweden | |||
Tom Weinholdt | Norway | |||
Niels Overweg | Holland | |||
Bob Kap | Coach | |||
Frank Randorf | Assistant to Mr. Kap | |||
Players in camp, but cut before world tour | ||||
Fred Egmond | Holland | |||
Christer Hackberg | Sweden | |||
Johan Panhorst | Holland | |||
Joe Rump | ||||
Olle Svensson |
Fred Egmond was cut after two weeks in camp.
Christer Hackberg played as a sub in a few games in Spain. He left the team after 3 weeks in training camp for personal reasons.
Johan Panhorst played a few games in Spain. He also left the training camp after 3 weeks.
Joe Rump was cut after 10 days. He did not play in any games.
Olle Svenson was also cut before playing any games.
Other Resources: