The Boston Minutemen were an American professional

soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...

team based out of

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

that played in the

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 ba ...

(NASL). They played from 1974 to 1976. Their home fields included

Alumni Stadium Alumni Stadium is a football stadium located on the lower campus of Boston College in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts, approximately west of downtown Boston. It is the home of the Boston College Eagles. Its present seating capacity is 44,500. Offic ...

in Chestnut Hill,

Schaefer Stadium Foxboro Stadium, originally Schaefer Stadium and later Sullivan Stadium, was an outdoor stadium in the New England region of the United States, located in Foxborough, Massachusetts. It opened in 1971 and served as the home of the New England Pa ...

in Foxborough, Veterans Memorial Stadium in Quincy and Sargent Field in New Bedford. Portuguese legend

Eusébio Eusébio da Silva Ferreira (; 25 January 1942 – 5 January 2014), nicknamed the "Black Panther", the "Black Pearl" or "O Rei" ("The King"), was a Portuguese footballer who played as a striker. He is considered one of the greatest players of ...

played for the Minutemen in 1975 as did famed

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

player

Shep Messing Shep Norman Messing (born October 9, 1949) is a retired American soccer goalkeeper and current broadcaster who works as the lead analyst for New York Red Bulls matches on the MSG Network. In 2021 he took the position of chairman of the Major Arena ...

. The Minutemen started well, winning the Northern Division title in their first season and drawing over 9000 fans a match to Alumni Stadium, good for 5th highest in the league. They lost in the playoffs to eventual league champion

Los Angeles Aztecs The Los Angeles Aztecs was an American professional soccer team based in Los Angeles, California that existed from 1974 to 1981. The Aztecs competed in the North American Soccer League (NASL) from 1974 to 1981 as well as the 1975 NASL Indoor tourn ...

. When Eusébio came to Boston in 1975 (by which time the team had relocated to

Nickerson Field Nickerson Field is an outdoor athletic stadium in the Northeastern United States, on the campus of Boston University (BU) in Boston, Massachusetts. The stadium is owned by BU, and is the home field for some Boston University Terriers athletics pr ...

) it seemed as though things would continue to look up. Though the team would win the Northern Division title again for the second time in as many seasons, attendance fell to around 4000 – half of what it had been. In the playoffs, the Minutemen lost to Miami in extra time. For the 1976 season, team owner John Sterge announced the Minutemen would relocate again, this time to

Harvard Stadium Harvard Stadium is a U-shaped college football stadium in the northeast United States, located in the Allston neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts. The stadium is owned and operated by Harvard University and is home to the Harvard Crimson footb ...

, but that deal collapsed before the start of the season and the team ended up playing in a hodge-podge of grounds throughout

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut Massachusett_writing_systems.html" ;"title="nowiki/> məhswatʃəwiːsət.html" ;"title="Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət">Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət'' En ...

in Foxborough, Veterans Memorial Stadium in Quincy, and Sargent Field in

New Bedford New Bedford (Massachusett: ) is a city in Bristol County, Massachusetts. It is located on the Acushnet River in what is known as the South Coast region. Up through the 17th century, the area was the territory of the Wampanoag Native American p ...

. By this time Sterge was having financial difficulties (which ended in action by the

Securities and Exchange Commission The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is an independent agency of the United States federal government, created in the aftermath of the Wall Street Crash of 1929. The primary purpose of the SEC is to enforce the law against market ...

) and was compelled to sell off many of his players, including Eusebio, who went to the eventual champions

Toronto Metros-Croatia Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the anchor ...

. Attendance plummeted, the Minutemen lost their last 12 matches, and after the season they folded.

Former players

(1975) *

Mickey Cohen Meyer Harris "Mickey" Cohen (September 4, 1913 – July 29, 1976) was an American gangster, boxer and entrepreneur based in Los Angeles during the mid-20th century. Early life Mickey Cohen was born on September 4, 1913, in New York City to Je ...

(1976) *

Bert Bowery Bertram Nathanial Bowery (born 29 October 1954) is an English former professional footballer who played in England and the United States as a striker. Early and personal life Bowery was born in Saint Kitts and Nevis, and grew up in England. H ...

(1976) * John Coyne (1974

* Geoff Davies (footballer), Geoff Davies (1975–76

*

Paddy Greenwood Paddy Greenwood (born 17 October 1946) is an English retired professional footballer who played in England and the United States as a left back. Career Born in Hull, Greenwood began his career with the youth teams of hometown club Hull City. ...

(1974, 1976

*

(1975) *

Ian McKechnie Ian Hector McKechnie (4 October 1941 – 11 June 2015) was a Scottish association football, footballer, who played as a goalkeeper (football), goalkeeper. Ian McKechnie was born at a maternity unit in Bellshill, North Lanarkshire but was raised ...

(1974

Year-by-year

Honors

NASL Division Titles * 1974 North American Soccer League season, 1974: Northern Division *

1975 It was also declared the ''International Women's Year'' by the United Nations and the European Architectural Heritage Year by the Council of Europe. Events January * January 1 - Watergate scandal (United States): John N. Mitchell, H. R. ...

: Northern Division NASL Leading Goalkeeper *1975:

''(0.93 goals against avg.)'' All-Star Selections *1974: Ade Coker ''(second team)'' *1974:

''(honorable mention)'' *1974:

''(honorable mention)'' *1975:

António Simões António Simões da Costa (; born 14 December 1943), known as Simões, is a Portuguese former footballer who played as a left winger. He spent 14 professional seasons with Benfica, playing 449 official games and scoring 72 goals. In the late ...

''(first team)'' *1975:

Wolfgang Sühnholz Wolfgang Sühnholz (14 September 1946 – 27 December 2019) was a German-American soccer coach and former player. He won in the 1971–72 Bundesliga with Bayern Munich and in 1976 the North-American Soccer Bowl with Toronto Metros-Croatia. Late ...

''(honorable mention)'' *1976:

''(indoor All-Regional)'' Indoor Soccer Hall of Fame members * 2019:

References

{{North American Soccer League (1966–85) M Soccer clubs in Massachusetts North American Soccer League (1968–1984) teams 1974 establishments in Massachusetts 1976 disestablishments in Massachusetts

Former players

Year-by-year

Honors

See also

References