THROWBACK THURSDAY | Stokers Narrowly Miss Out On Final, Defeat Brazilian Side Santos In 1968

Clubs from abroad finished their domestic seasons and descended upon the United States to play in the United Soccer Association during the summer of 1967, a year before the NASL was formed. They included teams from England, Scotland, and Brazil as well as several others.

After the merger between the United Soccer Association and the National Premier Soccer League (NPSL), some of the teams remained.

One of those teams was the Cleveland Stokers, and while they still wore the red and white striped kits that resembled Stoke City of the English First Division, they were no longer affiliated with the club.

“Some people may have related because we did play in red and white like Stoke City and the name Stokers, but I felt we had an identity all to our own,” Turner told NASL.com.

The only other remaining link was the loan signing of young goalkeeper Paul Shardlow.

Shardlow was just one of the Stokers’ collection of English talent, but also had players from all over the globe. With a strong squad in the inaugural NASL Golden Era season, the roster included Argentina international Rubén Navarro and former Real Madrid forward Enrique Mateos.

“The team was led by two veterans - Rubén Navarro, who was a tough center half – Pelé said he was the hardest player he’s ever played against – and Enrique Mateos,” Turner said. “Those were the two kinds of leaders. We all had different roles in the team. We had had some young players, some veterans, but we definitely did jell as a team, even though we were from all different walks of life.”  

The team performed very well. Mateos scored 16 goals during the season to lead the club. Turner made 31 appearances himself and found the back of the net four times.

Cleveland went on to finish first in the Lakes Division with a record of 14 wins, 11 draws, and seven losses. Entering the postseason, the Stokers were matched up against the Atlanta Chiefs, who had beaten English champions Manchester City twice in friendlies earlier in the year, in the conference finals.

After a first leg draw, the Stokers ultimately fell to the Chiefs back in Atlanta, in sudden-death overtime.

“It was probably one of the most devastating couple of minutes, we couldn’t believe what had happened when they tied the game and won it in overtime,” Turner said. “The beginning of the year nobody felt Cleveland was one of their favorites, but we almost made it all the way.”

Outside of league play, though, may have been the Stokers most notable performance. They defeated Pelé and Brazilian club Santos, 2-1, on July 10. Santos had won seven games in the U.S. in a row prior to the defeat in Cleveland.

“I was given the responsibility of stopping him,” Turner said of the match against Pelé. “They were upset. They argued with the referee, they argued with us, but we beat them, 2-1. It was an incredible evening.

“Playing against Pelé at that time was a huge honor for myself and the rest of our team.”

Turner – although a Liverpool, England, native – went on to play for the United States later in his career after the U.S. coaching staff asked him about acquiring citizenship. He said, “I can always look back that I’m a citizen of this country by choice.”

And along with his time as a member of the Stokers in their lone season, he was a member of the Dallas Tornado for a lengthy spell after his time in Cleveland and played in Philadelphia (with the Spartans) and Toronto (Falcons) prior to linking up with the Stokers. His time in Cleveland, however, stands out as one of the best experiences of his career.

“It was one of the most memorable years playing wise,” he said. “A great team, great results, and I just think it was one of the highlights of my playing career.”