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Imagine Real Madrid or Manchester United. Any sports club for that matter could play 49 matches across 27 countries. This competition would span five continents in a seven-month period.
It may seem logistically impossible. It may seem brutal for the athletes and staff alike. But the Dallas Tornado did just that in 1967. They played in front of tens of thousands of fans in war-torn Vietnam. The team missed a flight that would eventually be blown up by Greek-Cypriot terrorists. They lost half the team in the Bengali jungle without food or water. They were stoned by anti-American fans in Singapore.
The Dallas Tornado World Tour of 1967 might be the greatest sports globetrotting event ever witnessed. This was possible thanks to two men who were passionately invested in soccer. Club founder and Vice President Lamar Hunt had a dream. He wanted to bring the beautiful game to the United States. Head coach Bob Kap shared this dream.
Hunt fell in love with the game of soccer after seeing the broadcast of the 1966 World Cup Final. In a thrilling contest, England beat West Germany in overtime, 4-2. It was a historic moment for England. It was also a pivotal moment for the hope of the sport in the United States. One man’s dream began – to bring professional soccer to the country. Just a year later, he helped form the North American Soccer League. It was the country’s first sustaining professional league. He also launched the Dallas Tornado as its first professional team.
The franchise was one of the original clubs in the United Soccer Association. This league was one of the two precursors to the NASL in 1967. That year overseas clubs played in U.S. cities as American teams. The team that played as the Dallas Tornado were Dundee United of the Scottish Football League. Scandinavian players Finn Seemann and Mogens Berg were in the squad. Seemann a Norwegian international and Berg being capped for Denmark. Former Rangers, Everton and Scotland manager Walter Smith were also among the players in the group.
The Father of Soccer in North America wanted to show the world that the U.S. could breathe the game just like any other country. He understood that one of the biggest aspects of the sport was its global unification among people and nations. And it was the motivation behind his unthinkable tour around the world 50 years ago.
“Without Lamar, soccer would not have succeeded in America so quickly. It would have taken a lot longer,” original Tornado forward Jan Book said. “I have only good things to say about Lamar. I love the man. When I go to Toyota Stadium and see Hunt’s statue here, it’s like a world of difference. This is compared to when we were first starting here. I think we all owe Lamar a big thank you for putting all of this together.”
Hunt wanted his Tornado to serve as soccer ambassadors for the U.S. The team also provided a brutal training regiment in preparation for the NASL’s debut season in 1968. Additionally, Hunt aimed to repair the stigma the world carried over Dallas – the city where President John F. Kennedy was assassinated just four years prior. The players were recruited from England, Norway, Sweden, and the Netherlands. They had never been to Dallas, or the United States. However, they quickly learned to embrace the city they represented. They carried cowboy hats and vests wherever they went.
Dallas Tornado hired Bob Kap. He was a Serbian born soccer coach. Kap had escaped with his family during the 1956 Hungarian Revolution. Kap had studied with Ferenc Puskás at the Soccer Academy in Hungary. Kap was recruited from Toronto, Canada, where he had relocated after the 1956 Revolution.
The fledgling Dallas Tornado learned to play as a team on their world tour. During seven months in 1967–68, they played 45 games in 26 countries. These countries spanned five continents. Their world tour took them from England to India, from Indonesia to Vietnam during the height of the war.
Dallas lost their first match 4-0. Kap feared for his coaching career before it had even really started. Hunt was content with the result. It was a newly-built team around players who barely knew one another. In seven months time, that would all change, and the newly recruited players would become lifelong friends.
The Tornado would lose another 28 matches during the tour by its end in March of 1968. However, it picked up results along the way, which dismayed many and caused uproars across the world. In October, during their visit to Turkey, the Tornado achieved their first surprising result against European-giants Fenerbahce. Forward Brian Harvey, previously with Chester in England, scored, the game ended in a 2-2 draw. The club secured wins against the Pakistan National Team. They also routed the Manila Chinese XI, 7-0. This prompted excitement wherever they went. Everyone wanted their turn against the American club. The team was playing almost every three days throughout their tour. In between, they were either traveling, sightseeing or interacting with the locals.
In October 1967, the Tornado players toured Athens during a pit stop in Greece. As a result, they missed their scheduled flight to Nicosia, Cyprus. Little did they know, it was a mistake that would save their life. Terrorists blew up their original flight in mid-air. They aimed to assassinate Greek Cypriot General George Grivas, who also missed the flight. Coincidentally, both the General and the Tornado players were on the next flight to Cyprus together.
Later in November, the Tornado would again cheat death, this time in amidst a civil war in India. “While leaving Pakistan to enter India, only the British players’ and coach Kap’s Visa documentation were accepted. The rest (eleven players total) were stuck in a little border town, in the middle of nowhere. We were told, to just to wait a few hours, to get our proper Entry Visa. However, no one showed up with the papers. Nighttime came and the players had to take shelter in a jungle hut. Eventually by foot, further into the Bengali Jungle they cut a hole in the fence and crawled through. Truly expected to get shot, or even worse, get attacked by a Tiger or some other wild dangerous animal. What a sight it must have been. Eleven young soccer players, scared to death, wore their Texas cowboy hats. They carried their suitcases as they entered India through a fence hole.” Once on the other side of the fence, the players were safe. They were taken to their hotel in Calcutta, where they arrived at 6 AM. Just hours later, they played in a 0-0 draw against the Indian National Team.
Kap and Lamar settled down in Texas for just two weeks. They had one final mission before their NASL season debut. They embarked on a two-week mini-tour of Central America, playing matches in Costa Rica and Honduras. When the NASL season commenced, the Dallas Tornado and its young world-forged stars were exhausted. They were playing against seasoned professionals from Europe who had joined the league. The American club suffered a horrific debut season. During their 32-game campaign, they only won two matches, drew four and lost 26, compiling a goal difference of minus-81. At the end of the 1968 season, the Tornado released almost all of the touring players.
Pioneer Kap was eventually replaced with Ron Newman. Newman became a key figure in establishing Dallas Tornado as an influential team in the NASL. He was the Tornado coach from 1969 to 1976. Brian Harvey, Mike Renshaw and Mustafa Sabankaya were three players who also stayed on after the tour.
One important player for Dallas Tornado was Bobby Moffat. He was a former Gillingham forward and a former teammate of coach Ron Newman. He played for Dallas Tornado from 1970 to 1977. John Best, a former Liverpool recruit, joined from Cleverland Stokers in 1969, playing to 1973. Best was later seen as major pioneer for US Soccer.
Dallas Tornado faulded as a club in 1981. By the time a number of special men had been playing for the club. Former European Cup winner with Manchester United, Alex Stepney played for Dallas Tornado in the 1979 and 1980 season. Danish interinational Flemming Lund, Derby league winner Jeff Bourne and ex Bayern Munich forward Wolfgang Rausch were among their players.
Other players to mention was German midfielder Peter Gruber who also had a past at Bayern Munich. He later played for Tampa Bay Rowdies and Chicago Sting in the NASL. Former Man Utd and Luton attacker Jim Ryan had his spell here from 1976 to 1979. Midfielder Egwin Wolf previously with Borussia Dortmund was also a brilliant player. Former Sheffield United defender Cliff Calvert also played one season with Dallas Tornado.
Other internationals to mention is former Derby winger, Alan Hinton, playing here in 1977. Klaus Toppmoller turned for Dallas Tornado in the 1980 season. They also recruited a number of Brazilian players over the years.
They won the Soccer Bowl in 1971, ended runners-up in the final in 1973. So actually one team who have won the tournament. Midfielder Ilia Mitic is also one to mention beeing in the 1973 team. Another Yugoslavian, goalkeeper Mirco Stojanovic, 4 caps, was in goal in 1971. Oreco, a Brazilian left back with a past at Corinthians was another to mention from that 1971 winning team. Mike Renshaw was the only tour member of 1968, to also have won the Soccer Bowl with Dallas Tornados.
The team had a great history. It was also part of the legacy of FC Dallas. Today, FC Dallas is the top team in the city, competing in the MLS.