# 1974 National Soccer League season

The 1974 National Soccer League season was the fifty-first season under the National Soccer League (NSL) name. The season began in April and concluded in late October with Toronto Croatia defeating Toronto Homer for the NSL Championship. The regular-season title was clinched by the Serbian White Eagles, and as a result, faced the Challenge Trophy champions Calgary Springer Kickers for the Canadian Open Cup and successfully claimed the title. The NSL Cup was won by Toronto Italia after defeating Toronto First Portuguese.
The league experienced a further increase in match attendance and contributed an instrumental role in the construction of Lamport Stadium. Toronto Croatia became involved with the Toronto Metros to form Toronto Metros-Croatia to compete in the 1975 North American Soccer League season.

## Overview

The membership in the league increased to 19 members with the additions of Toronto Macedonia, and the Quebec Selects. The Selects were a developmental team sponsored by the Quebec government, and Macedonia was another ethnic associated club that represented the Macedonian diaspora in Toronto. The previous time the Macedonian community participated in the NSL was in the 1963 season. The increase in teams prompted the league ownership to partition the league into two separate divisions with a promotion and relegation system for the following season.
The average match attendance increased from the previous season with the Serbian White Eagles and Toronto Homer as the vanguard clubs in match attendance. The match attendance throughout the NSL would range from 10,000 to 400 spectators. The NSL experienced further riots and fan violence which was primarily fueled by ethnic rivalries amongst the ethnically associated clubs. The frequent hooliganism throughout the season caused several referees to refuse to officiate several NSL matches. The league responded by issuing heavier fines, and suspensions to the responsible parties. On the North American Soccer League front the Toronto Metros were experiencing financial difficulties, which resulted in Toronto Croatia becoming an equal financial partner to form Toronto Metros-Croatia.

## Teams

| Team | City | Stadium | Manager |
| Hamilton City | Hamilton, Ontario | Ivor Wynne Stadium | |
| Hamilton Croatia | Hamilton, Ontario | Ivor Wynne Stadium | |
| Hamilton Italo-Canadians | Hamilton, Ontario | Brian Timmis Stadium | |
| London City | London, Ontario | Cove Road Stadium | |
| Montreal Cantalia | Montreal, Quebec | CEPSUM Stadium Jarry Park Stadium | Salvatore Italiano |
| Quebec Selects | Montreal, Quebec | Jarry Park Stadium | Graham Adams |
| Ottawa Tigers | Ottawa, Ontario | Mooney's Bay Sports Complex | Nick Iulano |
| Serbian White Eagles | Toronto, Ontario | CNE Stadium | Dragan Popović |
| Srbija Kitchener | Kitchener, Ontario | | |
| St. Catharines Heidelberg | St. Catharines, Ontario | Club Heidelberg Field | Alex Crawley |
| Toronto Croatia | Toronto, Ontario | CNE Stadium | Vladimir Šimunić |
| Toronto First Portuguese | Toronto, Ontario | CNE Stadium | Luis Dabo |
| Toronto Homer | Toronto, Ontario | CNE Stadium | |
| Toronto Hungaria | Toronto, Ontario | CNE Stadium | Tom Boljkovac |
| Toronto Italia | York, Ontario | York Stadium | Franco Gallina |
| Toronto Macedonia | East York, Ontario | East York Stadium | |
| Toronto Melita | Toronto, Ontario | CNE Stadium | |
| Toronto Polonia | Toronto, Ontario | CNE Stadium | |
| Toronto Ukrainians | Toronto, Ontario | CNE Stadium | Ostap Steckiw |

### Coaching changes

| Team | Outgoing coach | Manner of departure | Date of vacancy | Position in table | Incoming coach | Date of appointment |
| Toronto Croatia | Tom Zlodre | replaced | June 1974 | | Vladimir Šimunić | June, 1974 |
| Montreal Cantalia | Ottavio Cucuraghi | replaced | June 1974 | | Salvatore Italiano | June, 1974 |

## Standings

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | Serbian White Eagles (C) | 36 | 28 | 7 | 1 | 118 | 16 | +102 | 63 | Qualification for Playoffs |
| 2 | Toronto Homer | 36 | 26 | 5 | 5 | 89 | 41 | +48 | 57 | Qualification for Playoffs |
| 3 | Toronto Croatia (O) | 36 | 23 | 5 | 8 | 78 | 32 | +46 | 51 | Qualification for Playoffs |
| 4 | Toronto Italia | 36 | 21 | 9 | 6 | 99 | 36 | +63 | 51 | Qualification for Playoffs |
| 5 | Toronto Macedonia | 36 | 22 | 7 | 7 | 102 | 42 | +60 | 51 | Qualification for Playoffs |
| 6 | Hamilton Croatia | 36 | 20 | 9 | 7 | 84 | 43 | +41 | 49 | Qualification for Playoffs |
| 7 | Toronto First Portuguese | 36 | 23 | 2 | 11 | 78 | 39 | +39 | 48 | Qualification for Playoffs |
| 8 | London City | 36 | 19 | 9 | 8 | 89 | 45 | +44 | 47 | Qualification for Playoffs |
| 9 | Hamilton City | 36 | 17 | 8 | 11 | 67 | 58 | +9 | 42 | |
| 10 | Hamilton Italo-Canadians | 36 | 16 | 8 | 12 | 39 | 38 | +1 | 40 | |
| 11 | Quebec Selects | 36 | 13 | 4 | 19 | 44 | 78 | −34 | 30 | |
| 12 | Toronto Hungaria | 36 | 12 | 5 | 19 | 70 | 83 | −13 | 29 | |
| 13 | Montreal Cantalia | 36 | 9 | 7 | 20 | 42 | 64 | −22 | 25 | |
| 14 | St. Catharines Heidelberg | 36 | 9 | 7 | 20 | 39 | 67 | −28 | 25 | |
| 15 | Toronto Melita | 36 | 7 | 9 | 20 | 41 | 80 | −39 | 23 | |
| 16 | Toronto Ukrainians | 36 | 6 | 5 | 25 | 43 | 94 | −51 | 17 | |
| 17 | Toronto Polonia | 36 | 4 | 4 | 28 | 27 | 96 | −69 | 12 | |
| 18 | Srbija Kitchener | 36 | 4 | 4 | 28 | 49 | 150 | −101 | 12 | |
| 19 | Ottawa Tigers | 36 | 4 | 1 | 31 | 31 | 126 | −95 | 9 | |

## Cup

The cup tournament was a separate contest from the rest of the season in which all nineteen teams took part. The tournament would conclude in a two-legged match final for the Cup.

### Finals
## Canadian Open Cup

The Canadian Open Cup was a tournament organized by the National Soccer League in 1971 where the NSL champion would face the Challenge Trophy winners to determine the best team throughout the country. The 1974 edition served as a qualifier match to determine the Canadian representative to the CONCACAF Champions' Cup. Serbian White Eagles were the NSL representative for the 1974 competition while their opponents were Calgary Springer Kickers, who were the Alberta Cup, and Challenge Trophy titleholders.