Statistics of

North American Soccer League The North American Soccer League may refer to: *North American Soccer League (1968–1984), a former Division I league *North American Soccer League (2011–2017) The North American Soccer League (NASL) was a professional men's soccer league b ...

in season 1973. This was the 6th season of the NASL.

Overview

Nine teams took part in the league with the

Philadelphia Atoms The Philadelphia Atoms were an American soccer team based out of Philadelphia that played in the North American Soccer League (NASL). They played from 1973 to 1976, at Veterans Stadium (1973–75) and Franklin Field (1976). The club's colors wer ...

winning the championship. During the season,

Tiburones Rojos de Veracruz Club Deportivo Veracruz, commonly known as Tiburones Rojos de Veracruz, was a Mexican professional Association football, football club based in the city of Veracruz, Veracruz, Veracruz. ''El Aston'' was founded in 1943, and played in the Liga M ...

from Vera Cruz, Mexico, played each of the nine NASL clubs in exhibition games that counted in the league's final standings. The 1973 season would be the last season in which games from non-league clubs counted in league standings. A week before the

NASL Final 1973 NASL Final 1973 was the championship match of the 1973 season, between the expansion Philadelphia Atoms and the Dallas Tornado. The match was played on August 25, 1973 at Texas Stadium in Irving, Texas. The Philadelphia Atoms won the match, 2� ...

, commissioner Phil Woosnam announced that no team in the league made a profit during the season. In a unique twist, the team with home field for the NASL Championship Game determined the date and time the game was to be played. When the

Dallas Tornado The Dallas Tornado was a soccer team based in Dallas, Texas that played in the North American Soccer League (NASL) from 1967 to 1981. Of the twelve teams that comprised the U.S. in 1967, the Tornado franchise played the longest–15 seasons. ...

won their semi-final, setting up the final with Philadelphia, they chose August 25 as the date of the game. They did this because the NASL loan agreements with players from the

English First Division The Football League First Division was a division of the Football League in England from 1888 until 2004. It was the top division in the English football league system from the season 1888–89 until 1991–92, a century in which the First ...

(the precursor to today's Premier League) expired before that date. Because of this, Philadelphia's two leading scorers, Andy "The Flea" Provan and

Jim Fryatt James Fryatt (2 September 1940 – 5 June 2020) was an English footballer who played as a striker. During his playing career he was nicknamed ''Pancho''. Football League A regular scorer for all of his club sides, the stockily built forward w ...

, were on their way back to England when the championship match was played on the 25th. Despite this, Philadelphia coach, Al Miller, put

Bill Straub William ''("Bill" or "Billy")'' Straub (born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) is a former U.S. soccer player. He spent five seasons in the North American Soccer League. He also earned three caps with the United States in 1975. College Straub atte ...

, a defender who had not played a minute for the club prior to the championship game, into the lineup at forward. The move paid off as Straub headed home the second goal in a 2–0 win with under five minutes remaining in the final.

Changes from the previous season

New teams

*Philadelphia Atoms

Teams folding

*None

Teams moving

*None

Name changes

*Atlanta Chiefs to Atlanta Apollos *Miami Gatos to Miami Toros

Regular season

''W = Wins, L = Losses, T= Ties, GF = Goals For, GA = Goals Against, BP = Bonus Points, PTS= Total Points'' POINT SYSTEM
6 points for a win, 3 points for a tie, 0 points for a loss, 1 bonus point for each goal scored up to three per game. :''-Premiers (most points). -Other playoff teams.''

NASL All-Stars

Playoffs

All playoff games in all rounds including the NASL Final were single game elimination match ups.

Bracket

Semifinals

----

NASL Final 1973

1973 NASL Champions:

Post season awards

*Most Valuable Player:

Warren Archibald Warren "Laga" Archibald (born 1949) is a Trinidadian former soccer forward who spent one season in the United Soccer Association and nine in the North American Soccer League, earning 1973 MVP honours. He also played professionally in Mexico an ...

, Miami *Coach of the year: Al Miller, Philadelphia *Rookie of the year:

Kyle Rote, Jr. Kyle Rote Jr. (born December 25, 1950) is an American former professional soccer forward who played seven seasons in the North American Soccer League (NASL) and earned five caps with the United States men's national soccer team between 1973 a ...

, Dallas

References

External links

* Video highlights of NASL in 1973
Complete Results and Standings
{{DEFAULTSORT:1973 North American Soccer League Season North American Soccer League (1968–1984) seasons

1973 Events January * January 1 - The United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland and Denmark enter the European Economic Community, which later becomes the European Union. * January 15 – Vietnam War: Citing progress in peace negotiations, U.S. ...

1973 in Canadian soccer