Vic Crowe
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Victor Herbert Crowe (born Abercynon, Glamorgan, 31 January 1932) is a former Welsh footballer.
Vic Crowe signed for Aston Villa in 1951 and established himself in the team when Danny Blanchflower vacated the right-half berth in 1954. He missed the 1957 FA Cup Final due to injury but captained the side to the Second Division title in 1960 and League Cup Final success in 1961. He was capped 16 times by Wales.
As manager, Crowe was unable to prevent Villa being relegated when he took charge towards the end of the 1969/70 season. The following season he led his Third Division team to the League Cup Final against Tottenham Hotspur, which Villa lost. However he saw his side finish top of Division Three in 1972, breaking many records along the way. He was sacked in 1974 after his side finished 14th in Division Two.
In 1975 Vic went to the United States to take part in the North American Soccer League, taking the manager's position with Portland Timbers. He brought a cast of English players with him, many of them young players from the Midlands area, and they proceeded to win the Western Division championship and advanced all the way to the NASL final, losing 2-0 to Tampa Bay Rowdies. In their two home playoff games, "The Lads" success forced the club to add temporary seating to accommodate their fans, and the team played before two crowds in excess of 30,000, totals unheard of in US soccer at the time. Vic stayed in Portland through the 1976 season before returning to England. However, the Timbers beckoned again in 1980 and he returned for three more seasons in America. Although his teams never captured the success of that first year, he left an indelible mark on soccer in the Pacific Northwest by introducing thousands of Portland area residents to the joys of the game. Today, Portland is a soccer hotbed. The Timbers still live as members of the professional USL First Division, and they play in the same stadium where Vic and the boys excelled that first year in 1975.
