Conflicting dates, scores and opponents’ names are entered in parentheses. Attendances are more difficult to confirm, I have used the numbers given in Billy Crosbie’s and Dave Morrison’s World Tour account. Also noted are those I have obtained through newspapers (Media reported), and left blank a number I was unable to confirm. Other publications have printed the numbers that have eluded me, and offered a few that conflict with those I believe are accurate.
Members of the touring Tornado team have told me, and are convinced, that they played in front of crowds numbering 70,000 and more. Unfortunately, I have been unable to confirm this.
Author’s Note: It takes more than one read-through of the Combined Game Records for the scale of the Tornado’s epic journey to fully sink in.
1967:
TRAINING CAMP GAMES (5)
August 24 Cordoba, Spain – Cordoba CF 4 – Tornado 0 – Crowd 15,000/Tornado Game Report
August 29 (or September 2) Alcala de Guadaria RSD, Spain – Alcala 4-Tornado 5
September 8 Seville, Spain – Coria CF 2-Tornado 3
September 15 Tangier, Morocco – Union Sportive Tanger 2-Tornado 3
September 20 Oviedo, Spain – Real Oviedo CF 4-Tornado 0
September 26, Short of players, Kap returned to Northern Europe. Team remains in Nice, France.
WORLD TOUR GAMES (40)
October 10 Istanbul, Turkey – Fenerbahce SK 2-Tornado 2 – Crowd 25,000
October 13 Nicosia, Cyprus (or Limassol) Apoel 4-Tornado 2 – Crowd 6,000
October 14 Limassol, Cyprus (or Nicosia) Apollon FC 5-Tornado 2
October 17 Tehran, Iran – Iranian Air Force 2-Tornado 1 – Crowd 8,000
October 18 Tehran, Iran – Tehran X1 (or Showa) 1-Tornado 1
October 20 Shiraz, Iran – Shiraz X1 (or Governor’s X1 or Iranian National FC) 2-Tornado 1 (or 1-1)
October 22 Rasht X1 (or Rasht FC) 4-Tornado 1
October 24 Shahi, Iran – Shahi X1 (or Shasi FC) 2-Tornado 2
October 27 Karachi, W. Pakistan (now Islamist Republic of Pakistan) Pakistan X1 0-Tornado 2 – Crowd 35,000
October 29 Lahore W. Pakistan (now the Islamist Republic of Pakistan) 4-Tornado 1 – Crowd 25,000
October 31 Dacca, E. Pakistan (now Dhaka, Bangladesh) PFF X1 5-Tornado 2 – Crowd 25,000
November 1 Chittagong E. Pakistan (now Bangladesh) E. Pakistan PFF X1 0-Tornado 0
November 5 Calcutta, India – IFA 0-Tornado 0 – Crowd 30,000
November 8 New Delhi, India – Two 40 minute halves played-President’s X1 1-Tornado 0 – Crowd 35,000
November 12 Bombay, India – President’s X1 5-Tornado 1 – Crowd 25,000
November 15 Bangalore, India – Governor’s X1 3-Tornado 1 – Crowd 30,000
November 17 Hyderabad, India – Andhra Pradesh X1 0-Tornado 0 – Crowd 23,000
November 19 Madras, India – South India X1 (or National team) 1-Tornado 4 – Crowd 30,000
November 22 Colombo, Ceylon – Ceylon FA 2-Tornado 1
November 24 Colombo, Ceylon – Ceylon FA 3-Tornado 0 (or 3-1)
November 28 (or 29) Rangoon, Burma (now Myanmar) Aung San Selected 4-Tornado 0 – Crowd 45,000
December 1 (or November 30) Rangoon, Burma (now Myanmar) Aung San Selected 3-Tornado 1 – Crowd 47,000 December 3 Singapore, Singapore – Singapore FC 4-Tornado 2
December 5 Singapore, Singapore – Sino-Malays-CANCELLED due to crowd problems in December 3 game
December 8 Djakarta, Indonesia – Persija (or Indonesian National Team) 2-Tornado 0 – Crowd 22,000
December 10 Djakarta, Indonesia – PSSI Kombinisi (or Indonesian National team) 6-Tornado 1 – Crowd 20,000 December 14 Saigon, S. Vietnam – VN Youth Selection Team 1-Tornado 1 – Crowd 15,000
December 16 Saigon, S. Vietnam – Saigon Selection Team 2-Tornado 2 – Crowd 20,000
December 20 Taipei, Taiwan (Nationalist China-Formerly Formosa) Chinese All-Stars 2-Tornado 3 – Crowd 43,000 (Media reported)
December 24 Tokyo, Japan – Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Team (comprised of Japanese Olympic players) 2- Tornado 1 Crowd 30,000
December 26 Osaka, Japan – West Japan All-Stars 3-Tornado 2 – Crowd 25,000
(Odd Lindberg was diagnosed with hepatitis in late December)
1968:
January 1 Manilla, Philippines FICFRA X1 0-Tornado 7 – Crowd (Media reported) Paper #1 reported 2,000, #2 7,000, #3 25,000; paper #3 also gave the Tornado total attendance to that point at 546,000
January 6 Manilla, Philippines – Philippines National Team X1 2-Tornado 1 – Crowd 2,000 (Media reported). Paper claimed Lamar Hunt candidate for FIFA Presidency
January 10 Brisbane, Australia – Queensland 1-Tornado 0 – Crowd 5,000
January 13 Newcastle, Australia – Cancelled due to heavy rains
January 17 Adelaide, Australia – South Australia 2-Tornado 3 – Crowd 5,000 (Media reported)
January 19 Sydney, Australia – Sydney X1 2-Tornado 1 – Crowd 3,661 (Media reported)
January 25 Christchurch, New Zealand – Canterbury 2-Tornado 2
January 27 Auckland, New Zealand – Auckland X1 3-Tornado 2 – Crowd 5,000 (Media reported)
February 3 Suva, Fiji – Southern Division X1 (Hurricanes) 2-Tornado 10-Two 30 minute halves due to 100 degree weather – Crowd 3,000
February 4 Latouka, Fiji – National Team (North-West Team) 1-Tornado 3-Two 30 minute halves due to 102 degree weather – Crowd 5,000 (Media reported)
February 11 (or February 8) Papette, Tahiti-Selectie Van Tahiti 3-Tornado 0
February 15 Tornado land in Dallas
February 16 to March 5 Hotel stay – Acclimatization – apartment hunting – preparation for 1968 NASL season.
MINI-TOUR GAMES CENTRAL AMERICA (4)
March 6 Costa Rica – Saprissa 3-Tornado 1-Crowd: (Media reported) Paper #1 3,595, #2 3,400
March 8 Puntarenas, Costa Rica – Puntarenas FC 3-Tornado 3-Crowd 689 (Media reported)
March 10 Queseda, Costa Rica – San Carlos 2 – Tornado 0
March 14 Tegucigalpa, Honduras – CD Olimpia 2-Tornado 0 (or 2-1)
March 15th Team returned to Dallas to prepare for the season opener against the Houston Stars.
The Tornado’s 49-game statistics were: 10 wins, 10 ties and 29 losses, goals for 81, goals against 119
THE COMBINED TRAINING CAMP, WORLD TOUR and MINI-TOUR GAME RECORDS have been gathered from the following sources:
Dallas Tornado 1967-68 World Tour, by Billy Crosbie and Dave Morrison.
Dallas Tornado World Tour 1967-68, by Neil Morrison.
Phil Stephen’s article in the 1975 summer edition of USSF’s Soccer Monthly Magazine
Newspaper and magazine reports, a number provided by Jan Book, Chris Bachofner, Chris Tonning and Brian Harvey.
Note: Billy Crosbie’s and Dave Morrison’s account, and Neil Morrison’s account, can be accessed online by title…Neil and Dave are not related.
The Dallas Tornado Soccer Team, their preferred team formation 4-3-3, played their first training camp game in Cordoba, Spain, August 24, 1967, and their last Mini-Tour game in Tegucigalpa, Honduras, March 14, 1968. They played on five continents (Europe, Africa, Asia, Australia and North America – Costa Rica and Honduras) and a number of Pacific Islands, New Zealand the largest, with a high concentration of games in Asia, 29 of 49. They played on an assortment of good to appallingly bad fields, in hot, well over 100-degree weather, as well as in cooler conditions; and covered an estimated 25,000 miles. It was an amazing, daring, absolutely intriguing, totally engaging, truly ‘stand alone’ project-one that surely will not again be seriously considered, for in the words of Brian Harvey: “It could never be done today.”
I have spoken with 10 of the 15 players who landed in Dallas on February 15, 1968, and communicated by e-mail with Odd Lindberg. All expressed their delight at having been part of the World Tour, their statements often tinged with wonderment and pride as they relived many of the events they were part of. All mentioned the camaraderie within the squad (many have kept in touch) the world education they received and the life lessons learned. Not one expressed regret.
Their sentiments may best be summed up by Jay Moore, a player from the city of St. Louis. He said, “It was the highlight of my life. I wouldn’t have missed it for the world.” The most insightful quote came in an e-mail, sent by Chris Tonning after he returned to Sweden from the 2014 reunion. Tonning, who played 29 times for the club in the 1968 NASL season, told me he was pleased that “Approximately, 800,000 spectators saw us in life (live) during the tour (including Costa Rica and Honduras). It tells us a little more what we were doing and we have never thought that way.”
Fifteen of the squad of 16 players landed at Love Field, Dallas, on February 15th 1968: Goalkeeper: Hans Petter Enger (Norwegian). Defenders: John Stewart – Bobby Roach – Billy Crosbie – Eddie Hall – Dave Moorcroft/Captain (All English) – Chris Bachofner (Dutch). Midfielders: Brian Harvey – (English) – Anders Fagri (Norwegian)… Bachofner and Tonning also played in the midfield. Forwards: Fons Stoffels (Dutch) – Chris Tonning – Jan Book (Both Swedish) – Per Larsen (Norwegian) – Mike Renshaw (English) – Jay Moore (American). The 16th, Odd Lindberg (Norwegian) was there to greet them.
The 10 players who did not make it to Dallas were: Fred Egmond -Neils Overweg – Johan Panhorst – Joe Rump – Bart Van Pol (All Dutch) – Graham Stirland (English) – Chris Hackberg – Olle Svenson (Both Swedish) – Tom Weinholdt* (Norwegian) – Frank Randorf (Denmark?).
*Kap was extremely lucky on the injury-illness front, with only two players forced to leave the tour. Weinholdt left for knee surgery, and Lindberg, with hepatitis. Twenty-six names are included in the above lists of players, though others may have passed through the Tornado ranks during the World Tour. If so, I have been unable to identify them.
The tour staff:
Coach/Supervisor-Bob Kap – With the tour from beginning to end
Assistant-Frank Randorf – With the tour from the beginning – left it in Australia
Public Relations Officer – Gene Wilson-Joined the tour in Spain – left it in Australia
Paul Waters – ‘The glue that kept the tour operational’ – Ahead of the tour from beginning to end
Of the 16 World Tour players who played for the Tornado in the 1968 NASL season (the club used a total of 35) only Mike Renshaw, the notable exception, proved of long term value to the club, eventually coaching the team for part of the 1981 season. He, plus Neils Overweg, who left the tour early, graduated to the most recognized (at that time) level of the game.
Overweg played for the Dutch national team, then one of the best in the world. Renshaw, who was on the World Tour throughout and still lives in Dallas, played for the U.S. National Team, then a developing program. His appearances are classic demonstrations of assumption and lack of attention to procedure, that is covered in this book. And the 18-year-old player Kap touted as a future U.S. national team player? He didn’t ‘make him so.’
A CHAMPIONAHIP IN 1971: The Dallas Tornado, the worst team in the North American Soccer League in 1968, won the league championship in 1971, beating the Atlanta Chiefs. 2-0. It came on September 19 at Atlanta Stadium in the deciding game of a three-game series. Renshaw and this author scored the Dallas goals. It marked the club’s first step on the road to becoming one of the NASL’s most successful on-field franchises.
THE NASL EXPERIENCE, which includes many of the league’s pivotal moments, chronicles my journey, and my family’s, through the NASL with the DALLAS TORNADO: From the professional side of the game and the Tornado’s and the league’s involvement in the development of the sport across North America, to our (as well as my teammates’) integration into the community, which further helped to spread the message of the round ball game. YET TO BE PRINTED, THE BOOK IS IN THE EDITING PROCESS.
The Author: Bobby Moffat, Allen, Texas, November, 2017.