Lothar Spranger is a German former footballer who played as a goalkeeper.
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Place of birth | Leipzig, Weimar Republic | ||
| Position(s) | Goalkeeper | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1953–1957 | Lokomotive Leipzig | ||
| 1960–1961 | Kreuzlingen | ||
| 1962–1963 | Toronto Olympia | ||
| 1963–1965 | Germania | ||
| 1966 | Montebello | ||
| 1967 | Los Angeles Toros | 14 | (0) |
| 1968–1978 | Montebello Armenians | ||
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Career
editSpranger played in the DDR-Oberliga in the 1950s with 1. FC Lokomotive Leipzig for five seasons.[1] In 1957, he received a short-term travel visa to West Germany and as result defected.[1] In 1960, he played abroad in Switzerland with FC Kreuzlingen and played with the organization for two seasons.[1][2] In 1961, he continued his career this time in North America where he played in Canada's National Soccer League with Toronto Olympia for the 1962 season.[3][4] He would re-sign with Toronto for the 1963 season.[5]
For the remainder of the 1963 season, he played in the Greater Los Angeles Soccer League with Germania.[6] He furthered his soccer career in Southern California by playing with Germania for an additional two seasons.[7][8] In 1966, he played in the Continental Soccer League with Montebello.[9] The following season he signed with Los Angeles Toros of the National Professional Soccer League.[10] He originally was signed as a backup keeper for Blagoje Vidinić but became the starting goalkeeper after Vidinic sustained an injury for the majority of the season.[11] He would make 14 appearances for Los Angeles.[12]
In 1968, he returned to the Greater Los Angeles League to play with Montebello Armenians and was named to the All-Star team.[13] Spranger featured in the 1969 National Challenge Cup final but Montebello was defeated by reigning champions Greek American AA.[14] He was named once more to the All-Star team for the 1970 season.[15] He played his final season in the Greater Los Angeles Soccer League with Montebello in 1978.[16]
References
edit- ^ a b c Glick, Shav (June 21, 1967). "Toros' Standby Goalie Turns Into Brightest Star in League". The Los Angeles Times. p. 38.
- ^ "Kreuzlinger Kiste – Fundstücke". PORTEÑOS 2013 - The Seagulls Roar! (in German). 2016-06-08. Retrieved 2022-02-12.
- ^ Waring, Ed (July 19, 1963). "Tuff Tut!! Tut!!!: Soccer Player Found Using Padded Pants". The Globe and Mail. p. 37.
- ^ Waring, Ed (July 6, 1963). "Olympia Ends Streak Of Hakoah Squad 3-1". The Globe and Mail. p. 24.
- ^ Waring, Ed (April 29, 1963). "Olympia, Ukes Tie for 1,226 Fans". The Globe and Mail. p. 19.
- ^ "With Germania on Flashy Boot". Los Angeles Times. October 28, 1963. p. 53.
- ^ "Penalty Scores Give Germania Soccer Win". Los Angeles Times. March 29, 1965. p. 38.
- ^ "K-V Eleven Risk Clean 1964 Record". Los Angeles Evening Citizen News. October 3, 1964. p. 5.
- ^ "Orange County Seeks First Win of Season". Los Angeles Times. October 23, 1966. p. 58.
- ^ Reich, Carl (May 14, 1967). "Clippers Clobber Toros, 4-0". San Francisco Examiner. p. 51.
- ^ Heufelder, Bill (August 1, 1967). "Toros' Coach In Demand As Goaltender". The Pittsburgh Press. p. 30.
- ^ "NASL-Lothar Spranger". www.nasljerseys.com. Retrieved 2022-02-12.
- ^ "All-star soccer play tomorrow". Evening Vanguard. December 28, 1968. p. 7.
- ^ "Greeks Beat Armenians Retain Cup". Los Angeles Times. June 30, 1969. p. 44.
- ^ Morejon, Tony (March 23, 1970). "Mata's goal evens score for Latins". San Pedro News-Pilot. p. 8.
- ^ "Croatians upset Homenetmen". San Pedro News-Pilot. March 27, 1978. p. 8.