Welland Lions Croatia

Welland Lions Croatia was a soccer club based in Welland, Ontario. The club was founded in 1970 and originally played in Hamilton, Ontario as Hamilton Apollos. It was later renamed Hamilton City in 1973 and ultimately relocated to Welland in 1976. The club played in the National Soccer League (NSL) for seven seasons from 1970 until 1976. In 1977, St. Catharines Roma replaced Welland in the NSL by acquiring their franchise rights.

Full nameWelland Lions Croatia
Founded1970 (as Hamilton Apollos)
Dissolved1977
StadiumPlymouth Park
Welland, Ontario
Ivor Wynne Stadium
Hamilton, Ontario
LeagueNational Soccer League

The club's home venue was originally at Ivor Wynne Stadium, and later when relocated to Welland at Plymouth Park.

History

Hamilton Apollos was granted a franchise in the National Soccer League (NSL) in 1970.[1] In 1971, Andy Pollock served in a dual capacity of general manager and head coach.[2][3] Hamilton's player recruitment policy was generally geared towards a developmental approach with the average player being 20 years old.[3] In 1973, the club was rebranded as Hamilton City and became associated with the Croatian Canadian community in Hamilton, Ontario.[4][5] In 1975, the NSL ownership decided to partition the league into two separate divisions with a promotion and relegation system with Hamilton being placed in the First Division.[6]

Andy Pollock returned as head coach for the 1975 season, and the club avoided relegation by finishing in seventh place.[7][8] The following season the club was relocated to Welland, Ontario, and became known as Welland Lions Croatia.[9] Their home venue was located at Plymouth Park.[10] After the 1976 season, Welland was relegated to the Second Division by finishing at the bottom of the table.[8] In 1977, the club's franchise rights were purchased by St. Catahrines Roma.[11]

Coaches
  • Andy Pollock (1971)[2]
  • Andy Pollock (1975)[7]

Seasons
Season League Teams Record Rank Playoffs Ref
1970 National Soccer League 14 6–4–16 12th – [12]
1971 14 3–5–18 13th – [12]
1972 15 10–3–15 10th – [12]
1973 17 8–7–15 12th – [13]
1974 19 17–8–11 9th – [13]
1975 National Soccer League (First Division) 10 15–6–17 7th – [13]
1976 10 3–2–22 10th – [14]

References
  1. "NSL accepts four new teams; three droped". The Globe and Mail. March 2, 1970. p. 20.
  2. Waring, Ed (June 4, 1971). "Apollos' coach pleased with feam despite 4 defeats in 5 games". The Globe and Mail. p. 28.
  3. Waring, Ed (July 30, 1971). "Apollos' new goalkeeper stops Hellas 1-0". The Globe and Mail. p. 34.
  4. "Indoor loop ignores NSL player ban". The Globe and Mail. February 5, 1973. p. S5.
  5. Waring, Ed (June 10, 1974). "Geiger thwarts Hamilton City, improved Ukraing gains 0-0 draw". The Globe and Mail. p. S1.
  6. Kernaghan, Jim (January 28, 1975). "National loop ready to plug soccer gap". Toronto Star. p. C3.
  7. McKay, Jim (September 2, 1975). "Stars still sparkle at home". Windsor Star. p. 30.
  8. "National Soccer League 1926 to 1992" (PDF). canadiansoccerleague.ca. Retrieved September 8, 2021.
  9. "William B McIlveen". Hamilton Soccer Hall of Fame. Retrieved 2021-09-08.
  10. "Play it again". Welland Tribune. May 8, 2001. p. B2.
  11. "Roma too much for Cyclones". Sudbury Star. May 30, 1977. p. 15.
  12. "Hamilton Apollos | SoccerStats.us". soccerstats.us. Retrieved 2021-09-09.
  13. "Hamilton City | SoccerStats.us". soccerstats.us. Retrieved 2021-09-09.
  14. "Welland | SoccerStats.us". soccerstats.us. Retrieved 2021-09-09.
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