London Marconi

London Marconi Soccer Club is a Canadian soccer club based in London, Ontario, that plays in the Western Ontario Soccer League. The club was founded in 1962 and originally competed in the London and District League. After several notable achievements at the amateur level the organization joined the National Soccer League (NSL) in 1984. After competing in the NSL for five seasons they returned to the amateur level by joining the Western Ontario Soccer League.

Full nameLondon Marconi Soccer Club
Founded1962 (as London Italia Marconi)
StadiumLondon Marconi Soccer Field
London, Ontario
LeagueWestern Ontario Soccer League

The club has won the national Challenge Trophy twice in 2014, 2015, and the Ontario Cup four times in 1966, 1978, 2014, and 2015.[1] In 1985, the club was the National Soccer League's regular season champions.

History

The club was formed in 1962 between a merger with Italo Canadian and Juventus and became known as London Italia Marconi.[2] The parent company of London Marconi was the Marconi Club of London which originally was formed as a social club for the Italian Canadian community in London, Ontario.[3] The club would ordinally play in the London and District League, and in 1965 reached the finals of the Ontario Cup, but were defeated by Oshawa Italia.[4][5] The following season the Western Ontario club were once more finalists to the Ontario Cup tournament as the Oshawa Thistles originally defeated Marconi in a series of matches, but Oshawa was revoked of the title for using several illegal players and as result the title was given to London.[5][6] In 1978, London secured their second Ontario Cup by defeating Thorold City.[7]

Throughout the 1980s the parent company constructed a soccer field known as the London Marconi Soccer Field for its soccer programs.[3] In 1984, the club entered the professional ranks by becoming a member in the National Soccer League (NSL).[8] London's most notable season in the NSL was in the 1985 season where the club secured the regular season championship.[9][10][11] In the postseason for the NSL Championship London was eliminated in the second round to Windsor Roma.[12] The following season Marconi reached the NSL league cup final, but were defeated in a series of matches to Toronto Blizzard.[13] In the 1987 season London faced Toronto Italia for the NSL Championship, but failed in defeating the Toronto side.[14][15] As a result of the early success the club experienced in the NSL the club ownership contemplated the idea of potentially securing a franchise in the Canadian Soccer League.[16] Though the proposal was ultimately fruitless as London took a sabbatical for the 1989 season, and eventually sold their franchise rights to former NSL member London City in 1990.[17]

London Marconi returned to the amateur level and after 36 years Marconi secured their third Ontario Cup in 2014 after defeating Vaughan Azzurri.[18] The Ontario Cup victory qualified London for the 2014 Challenge Trophy, and under head coach Tyler Hemming the club secured their first national title after defeating Calgary Callies.[19] The club repeated their success the following season by successfully defending both titles against Mississauga Portofino and Edmonton Scottish.[20][21] Since their departure from the NSL the club has primarily competed in the Western Ontario Soccer League where they have won several titles throughout their tenure in the league.[22]

Head Coach history

Honours

References
  1. "Men's Ontario Cup Champions". www.ontariosoccer.net. Retrieved December 11, 2020.
  2. "History of London Marconi Soccer". londonmarconisoccer.com. Archived from the original on April 25, 2018. Retrieved December 10, 2020.
  3. "About Us". Event Venue | Marconi Club of London. Retrieved December 11, 2020.
  4. Gillespie, Bill (August 11, 1965). "Banks Makes Late Comeback For 2-1 Soccer Victory". Newspapers.com. Montreal Gazette. p. 33. Retrieved December 11, 2020.
  5. Jose, Colin (2001). On-Side - 125 Years of Soccer in Ontario. Vaughan, Ontario: Ontario Soccer Association and Soccer Hall of Fame and Museum. p. 87.
  6. "Three players suspended for illegal registration". Toronto Daily Star. October 4, 1966. p. 13.
  7. Hoyle, Bill (August 4, 1979). "National Senior Amateur Championship and The Ontario Senior Women's Championship London, Ontario". The Globe and Mail. p. S11.
  8. Kennedy, Peter (August 8, 1984). "Busy time for Portuguese fans". Toronto Star. p. F8.
  9. "Roma's title hunt down to two games". Windsor Star. October 12, 1985. p. 19.
  10. "London Marconi Soccer Club History". web.archive.org. Archived from the original on February 12, 2013. Retrieved December 11, 2020.
  11. "1985 NSL Season" (PDF). canadiansoccerleague.ca. Retrieved December 12, 2020.
  12. Waddell, Dave (October 7, 1985). "Roma gains berth in NSL final". Newspapers.com. Windsor Star. p. 39. Retrieved December 11, 2020.
  13. "Blizzard claim 2nd soccer title". Toronto Star. September 20, 1986. p. D5.
  14. Waddell, Dave (October 1, 1987). "Dreadful effort flattens Wheels". Windsor Star. p. B3.
  15. Da Costa, Norman (November 2, 1987). "Major Toronto soccer tourney in the works". Toronto Star. p. D8.
  16. Da Costa, Norman (September 21, 1987). "Rockets heading overseas for a coach". Toronto Star. p. D8.
  17. Waddell, Dave (March 15, 1989). "NSL adds second tier but drops youth league". Windsor Star. p. B7.
  18. Pyette, Ryan (September 16, 2014). "Marconi back on top". London Free Press. p. D1.
  19. Dalla Costa, Morris (October 14, 2014). "Marconi national champs". London Free Press. p. D1.
  20. Dalla Costa, Morris (September 14, 2015). "Marconi cruises in title defence". London Free Press. p. D1.
  21. Dalla Costa, Morris (October 13, 2015). "Marconi success truly amazing". London Free Press.
  22. "Western Ontario Soccer League: About". wosl.e2esoccer.com. Retrieved December 11, 2020.
  23. Waddell, Dave (October 4, 1985). "Back four lead Roma past London". Newspapers.com. Windsor Star. p. 33. Retrieved December 17, 2020.
  24. Waddell, Dave (September 1, 1988). "Wheels advance to final". Newspapers.com. Windsor Star. p. 16. Retrieved October 29, 2020.
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