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Lothar Spranger

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Lothar Spranger
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

Lothar Spranger is a German former footballer who played as a goalkeeper.

Career

[edit]

Spranger 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]
  1. ^ a b c Glick, Shav (June 21, 1967). "Toros' Standby Goalie Turns Into Brightest Star in League". The Los Angeles Times. p. 38.
  2. ^ "Kreuzlinger Kiste – Fundstücke". PORTEÑOS 2013 - The Seagulls Roar! (in German). 2016-06-08. Retrieved 2022-02-12.
  3. ^ Waring, Ed (July 19, 1963). "Tuff Tut!! Tut!!!: Soccer Player Found Using Padded Pants". The Globe and Mail. p. 37.
  4. ^ Waring, Ed (July 6, 1963). "Olympia Ends Streak Of Hakoah Squad 3-1". The Globe and Mail. p. 24.
  5. ^ Waring, Ed (April 29, 1963). "Olympia, Ukes Tie for 1,226 Fans". The Globe and Mail. p. 19.
  6. ^ "With Germania on Flashy Boot". Los Angeles Times. October 28, 1963. p. 53.
  7. ^ "Penalty Scores Give Germania Soccer Win". Los Angeles Times. March 29, 1965. p. 38.
  8. ^ "K-V Eleven Risk Clean 1964 Record". Los Angeles Evening Citizen News. October 3, 1964. p. 5.
  9. ^ "Orange County Seeks First Win of Season". Los Angeles Times. October 23, 1966. p. 58.
  10. ^ Reich, Carl (May 14, 1967). "Clippers Clobber Toros, 4-0". San Francisco Examiner. p. 51.
  11. ^ Heufelder, Bill (August 1, 1967). "Toros' Coach In Demand As Goaltender". The Pittsburgh Press. p. 30.
  12. ^ "NASL-Lothar Spranger". www.nasljerseys.com. Retrieved 2022-02-12.
  13. ^ "All-star soccer play tomorrow". Evening Vanguard. December 28, 1968. p. 7.
  14. ^ "Greeks Beat Armenians Retain Cup". Los Angeles Times. June 30, 1969. p. 44.
  15. ^ Morejon, Tony (March 23, 1970). "Mata's goal evens score for Latins". San Pedro News-Pilot. p. 8.
  16. ^ "Croatians upset Homenetmen". San Pedro News-Pilot. March 27, 1978. p. 8.
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