May 8, 1964 – Liverpool FC draws a (15,000) crowd in Boston

The Boston Globe listed attendance at 10,000, “the biggest crowd of people to ever watch a soccer game in the Boston area.” Several sources who were at the game as players or spectators are convinced the crowd was greater than 10,000. My primary source is Frank Mirisola, a South Boston businessman and former Boston SC player/long-time supervisor of referees for the Boston Public Schools league. Mirisola said he “saw the ticket receipts and it was 15,000 … it wasn’t quite full.” Everett Memorial Stadium held 18,000 on bleacher seats, according to Sal LoGrasso, a long-time Everett resident and former Boston SC and Boston Minutemen defender.

Boston SC, which went by the “Metros” in ’64, was organized by Umberto Atria, who owned Sal’s Pizza on Cambridge Street and had coached Boston and District league power Boston Italia, and Gino Carpintieri, once a high-level local player while working as an illustrator at the Globe. Atria coached the team, recruiting players from Toronto Italia, which had imports from Europe and South America. The Boston team proved no match for Liverpool, but went on to finish second to the Ukrainian Nationals in the ASL standings with a 9W-1L-3D record, reaching the quarterfinals of the U.S. Open Cup. The Boston team competed in the ASL through the 1968 season, its demise coinciding with the advent of the Boston Beacons, who lasted one season in the NASL.

Liverpool was the reigning champion of England and would go on to win the 1965 FA Cup. Some of the Reds were on international duty (Roger Hunt, Gordon Milne, Peter Thompson), skipping Liverpool’s U.S. tour and playing for England (including a 10-0 win over the U.S. May 27, 1964). But the Liverpool team, coached by Bill Shankly, that visited the Boston area included regulars such as Alan A’Court, 21-year-old Alf Arrowsmith, Jerry Byrne, Ian Callaghan, Phil Chisnall, Phil Ferns, Chris Lawler, goalkeeper Tommy Lawrence, Ronnie Moran, Ian St. John, Tommy Smith, Willie Stevenson, Ron Yeats, plus Bobby Graham, 19, and Gordon Wallace, 20, who were on the verge of breaking through to the first team. The Globe story listed the Liverpool team’s average age at 23.

The Boston team included former U.S. national team goalkeeper Henry Noga, high-level players from South America such as Nestor Caceres and Hector Marinaro Sr., plus Hubert Vogelsinger (future Boston Minutemen coach), and several local players, such as Vincenzo Mauro, who would go on to referee in the 1990 World Cup in Italy. Mauro set up Boston’s goal with a free kick, according to Francis Rosa’s story in the Globe. Oscar Sapis listed as the goal-scorer – his name probably should be spelled “Sapia.”

Four months later, the Beatles would play at Boston Garden to a similar crowd. Rosa’s lede noted “The Red Devils from the land of the Beatles yah-yahed the Boston Metros … 8-1 … ”

Below are lineups published by the Globe.

May 8, 1964 – Boston SC 1:8 Liverpool FC at Everett Memorial Stadium (Att.: 15,000)

LIVERPOOL – G, Tommy Lawrence; rfb Jerry Byrne; lfb Ronnie Moran; rh Phil Ferns; ch Ronnie Yeats; lh Willie Stevenson; or Ian Callaghan; ir Alfred Arrowsmith; cf Ian St. John; il Phil Chisnoll (sic); ol Gordan (sic) Wallace.

Subs: Alan A’Court, Tommy Smith, Bobby Graham, Chris Lawler

BOSTON – G Henry Noga; rfb Sal Gulino, lfb Hubert Vogelsinger, rh Hector Fernandez, ch Hector Marianaro (sic), lh Hugo Fernero, or Vincente Nido, ir Nestor Caceres, cf George Havanidis, il Sanchez Garcia, ol Frank DiReda.

Subs: Oscar Sapis (sic), Sal LoGrasso, Vincenzo Mauro

Goals: OG (Vogelsinger) 3^d, Chisnoll 29^th, Arrowsmith 34^th, 53^d; Smith 47^th, Lawler 50^th, St. John 71^st, Graham 76^th, Sapis 83^d.

TODAY IN NEW ENGLAND SOCCER HISTORY