Boston Minutemen

This article is about the 1970s soccer team. For the Revolutionary War personages in/from Boston, see Minutemen.
Boston Minutemen
Full name Boston Minutemen
Founded 1974
Dissolved 1976
Stadium Alumni Stadium
Nickerson Field
Foxboro Stadium
Veterans Memorial Stadium
Sargent Field
Ground Capacity 30,000 (Alumni)
15,000 (Nickerson)
61,000 (Foxboro)
NA (Quincy)
NA (Sargent)
Chairman John Sterge
Manager Hubert Vogelsinger
League NASL

The Boston Minutemen were a soccer team based out of Boston that played in the NASL. They played from 1974 to 1976. Their home fields included Alumni Stadium in Chestnut Hill, Schaefer Stadium in Foxborough, Veterans Memorial Stadium in Quincy and Sargent Field in New Bedford.

Portuguese legend Eusébio played for the Minutemen in 1975 as did famed American player Shep Messing.

The Minutemen started well, winning the Northern Division title in their first season and drawing over 9000 fans a match to Alumni Stadium, good for 5th highest in the league. They lost in the playoffs to eventual league champion Los Angeles Aztecs. When Eusebio came to Boston in 1975 (by which time the team had relocated to Nickerson Field) it seemed as though things would continue to look up. Though the team would win the Northern Division title again for the second time in as many seasons, attendance curiously fell to around 4000 – half of what it had been. In the playoffs the Minutemen lost to Miami in extra time.

For the 1976 season, team owner John Sterge announced the Minutemen would relocate again, this time to Harvard Stadium, but that deal collapsed before the start of the season and the team ended up playing in a hodge-podge of grounds: Schaefer Stadium in Foxborough, Veteran's Memorial Stadium in Quincy, and Sargent Field in New Bedford. By this time Sterge was having financial difficulties (which ended in action by the Securities and Exchange Commission) and was compelled to sell off many of his players, including Eusebio, who went to the eventual champions Toronto Metros-Croatia. Attendance plummeted, the Minutemen lost their last 12 matches, and after the season they folded.

Former players

Year-by-year

Year League W L T Pts Regular Season Playoffs Avg. Attend.
1974 NASL 10 9 1 94 1st, Northern Division Won Quarterfinal (Baltimore)
Lost Semifinal (Los Angeles)		 9,642
1975 NASL indoor 1 1 — 2 4th, Region 2 Did Not Qualify N/A
1975 NASL 13 9 — 116 1st, Northern Division Lost Quarterfinal (Miami) 4,422
1976 NASL indoor 0 2 — 0 4th, East Regional Did Not Qualify N/A
1976 NASL 7 17 — 72 5th, Atlantic Conference, Northern Division Did Not Qualify 2,581

External links

See also

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