Atlanta Chiefs
 |
|
| Full name | Atlanta Chiefs |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1967 (original team) 1979 (reformed team) |
| Dissolved | 1973 (original team) 1981 (reformed team) |
| Stadium |
Atlanta Fulton County Stadium Tara Stadium Grant Field Omni Coliseum (indoor) |
| Capacity | 51,383 (AFC) 10,000 (Tara) 58,121 (GF) 15,155 (OC) |
| Owners |
Atlanta Braves, Inc (1967–73), T. Cousins & C. Sanders (1973), Ted Turner & Dick Cecil (1979–81) |
| League |
NPSL (1967) NASL (1968–1973) NASL (1979–1981) |
The Atlanta Chiefs were a soccer team based in Atlanta, Georgia that played in the NPSL and NASL from 1967 to 1972. Their home fields were Atlanta Stadium (1967–1969, 1971–1972) and Tara Stadium (1970). The club was the brainchild of Dick Cecil, then Vice President of the Atlanta Braves baseball franchise who were the Chiefs' owners. Cecil was intrigued with the 1966 World Cup in England and decided that a professional soccer team would add valuable events for Atlanta Stadium. He proceeded to travel through Europe and Africa signing players including Phil Woosnam, Vic Crowe and Peter McParland of Aston Villa as well as Kaizer Motaung who went on to found Kaizer Chiefs FC, who now play in the South African Premier Soccer League. The Kaizer Chiefs name and logo were inspired by those of the Atlanta club.
On August 9, 1966, Atlanta Braves, Inc., received a franchise in the newly created National Professional Soccer League. A month later, the corporation hired Phil Woosnam as the team's first head coach which did not gain its name, "Chiefs", until January 8, 1967. By the end of February 1967, Woosnam had brought numerous players to Emory University for trials. After he selected his players, Woosnam led the team through several exhibition games before the Chiefs opened their first season with a 1–0 loss to the Baltimore Bays on April 16, 1967. Following the 1967 season, the NPSL merged with the United Soccer Association to form the North American Soccer League. Atlanta won the 1968 NASL championship. That season, the Chiefs famously twice beat Manchester City after the English Division One side's manager Malcolm Allison described the local talent as "Fourth Division" standard.
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