Treasure Trove: About Maccabi Tel Aviv’s 1956 Soccer Match in Toronto |
This June and July, Toronto will host six games in the FIFA World Cup. These are important, but Toronto is no stranger to important soccer matches. Seventy years ago, Maccabi Tel Aviv played the Ontario All Stars at Maple Leaf Stadium. The stadium was located at the foot of Bathurst Street and was the home of the Toronto Maple Leafs baseball team of the International League from 1926 to 1967. It was demolished in 1968.
Maccabi Tel Aviv toured North America in the fall of 1956 and played a Quebec all-star team at the Montreal Baseball Stadium on October 5. Maccabi won 2-1 before 6,300 spectators. According to the Montreal Gazette, the purpose of the tour “was to pay tribute to........