page_title: Atlanta Chiefs
section_title: Manchester City and NASL Final (1968)
hierarchical_section_title: Atlanta Chiefs / History / Manchester City and NASL Final (1968)
caption_attribution_description: English: An aerial view of Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium, pictured from circa late 1960's/early 1970's.
context_page_description: The Atlanta Chiefs were an American professional soccer team based in Atlanta, Georgia. The team competed in the National Professional Soccer League in 1967 and the North American Soccer League from 1968 to 1973 and again from 1979 to 1981. For the 1973 season, the team played as the Atlanta Apollos.
  Founded in 1967 as a charter member of the NPSL, the club was the brainchild of Dick Cecil, then Vice President of the Atlanta Braves baseball franchise who was the Chiefs' owners. Cecil was intrigued with the 1966 FIFA World Cup in England and decided that a professional soccer team would add valuable events for Atlanta Stadium. From 1967 to 1972, the stadium would serve as the Chiefs' home field for all seasons except 1970, when the Chiefs played their home games at Tara Stadium.
  In 1973, the team was sold and rebranded as the Atlanta Apollos. They played their home games at Grant Field before folding at the end of the 1973 season. The Chiefs' brand would later be revived by Cecil and Ted Turner in 1979 after the Colorado Caribous of the NASL relocated to Atlanta.
context_section_description: In 1968, the Chiefs hosted two exhibition matches against Manchester City F.C. of the Football League First Division, which at the time was the top tier in the English football league system. In the first game, held May 28, the Chiefs upset City 3–2. Shortly after the defeat, assistant manager of Manchester City Malcolm Allison said of the Atlanta team, "They couldn't play in the fourth division in England." Following the loss, Manchester City requested a rematch, which was held June 15 and saw the Chiefs again beat the visiting team, this time 2–1. Addressing the upset status of these two games, Atlanta Chiefs captain Ray Bloomfield, an Englishman, said, "It would be like some of your boys coming over here to play American football and then beating the team that won the Super Bowl." That same season, the Chiefs would host Santos FC in an August 28 match, losing to the Brazilian team 6–2 in front of over 25,000 attendees, which was at the time the largest crowd for a soccer game in Atlanta. Notably, Pelé played in the game several years before he would join the New York Cosmos of the NASL in 1975.
  The Chiefs capped off the 1968 season by defeating the San Diego Toros in the NASL Final 1968 at Atlanta Stadium in front of approximately 15,000 spectators. In doing so, they became both the first champions of the NASL as well as the first professional sports franchise in Atlanta to win a championship. Atlanta would not host another championship-winning professional sports team until the Atlanta Braves won the 1995 World Series, and the city would not see another championship soccer team until Atlanta United FC won the MLS Cup 2018. Following the championship, state representative Elliott H. Levitas issued a congratulatory proclamation from the Georgia General Assembly, and players on the team were given championship rings by Braves owners, which is fairly common in North American sports, but was uncommon in soccer.
  Following the 1968 season, Woosnam left the team to become the commissioner of the NASL. He was succeeded as team manager by Rouse.
caption: Atlanta Stadium, the Chiefs' first home venue
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