Boston Beacons
The Boston Beacons, based in Boston, Massachusetts, played one season, 1968, in North America's top pro soccer league. The name came from a fan suggestion contest announced in 1967.
The owners were Red Auerbach, coach of Boston's pro basketball team, and Dick O'Connell, an executive with its big-league baseball club. Jack Mansell, hired from English club Rotherham United, was the head coach. Home games were played at Fenway Park.
The Beacons won 9 games, lost 17 and drew 6, finishing fifth in the Atlantic Division and missing the playoffs. They averaged about 4,000 fans a game. The biggest crowd, 18,431, came on July 8, 1968, for a 7-1 loss to the Brazilian club Santos and the world's most famous player.
In October 1968 the general manager said the team was almost certain to leave the league. It folded soon after.
