The Soccer Bowl was the annual championship game of 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 b ...

(NASL), which ran from 1968 to 1984. The two top teams from the playoffs faced off in the final to determine the winner of the NASL Trophy. From the league's founding in 1968 through 1974, the championship game (or series, as it was played through 1971) was known as the NASL Championship Final, and in 1984 the single game was replaced by a best-of-three series known as the Soccer Bowl Series.

History

The NASL championships began as a two-game aggregate goal series in 1968 and switched to a best-of-three series in 1971. In 1972, the league adopted a single-game championship hosted by the higher-seeded club. SPStaSJ

Then-NASL Commissioner

Phil Woosnam Phillip Abraham Woosnam (22 December 1932 – 19 July 2013) was a Welsh association football inside-right and manager. A native of Caersws, Powys, Wales, Woosnam played for five clubs in England and one in the United States. He played internat ...

wanted to build excitement for the championship game. He envisioned a week-long, neutral-site championship event in the mold of the NFL's Super Bowl. On August 24, 1975, the first Soccer Bowl was played Spartan Stadium in

San Jose, California San Jose, officially San José (; ; ), is a major city in the U.S. state of California that is the cultural, financial, and political center of Silicon Valley and largest city in Northern California by both population and area. With a 2020 popu ...

, as the

Tampa Bay Rowdies The Tampa Bay Rowdies are an American professional soccer team based in St. Petersburg, Florida. The club was founded in 2008 and first took the pitch in 2010. Since 2017, the Rowdies have been members of the USL Championship in the second tie ...

defeated the Portland Timbers. Unlike the Super Bowl, the NASL's annual numbering scheme did not use Roman numerals (e.g.,

Super Bowl IX Super Bowl IX was an American football game played between the American Football Conference (AFC) champion Pittsburgh Steelers and the National Football Conference (NFC) champion Minnesota Vikings to decide the National Football League (NFL) cha ...

), but instead used the last two digits of the year played (e.g.,

Soccer Bowl '78 Soccer Bowl '78 was the North American Soccer League's championship final for the 1978 season. It was the fourth NASL championship under the Soccer Bowl name. The match was played at Giants Stadium in the New York City suburb of East Ruther ...

Under Woosnam's guidance, the Soccer Bowl became a major sporting event. The biggest attendance was for Soccer Bowl '78, when 74,091 filled Giants Stadium in the

New York metropolitan area The New York metropolitan area, also commonly referred to as the Tri-State area, is the largest metropolitan area in the world by urban landmass, at , and one of the most populous urban agglomerations in the world. The vast metropolitan area ...

, still the highest attendance to date for any club soccer championship in the United States. The last Soccer Bowl returned to a best-of-three series format and occurred in early October 1984. The league ceased operation in 1985.

Format

The NASL used several different formats for its championship matches over the course of its history. The

1968 The year was highlighted by protests and other unrests that occurred worldwide. Events January–February * January 5 – " Prague Spring": Alexander Dubček is chosen as leader of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia. * Janu ...

and 1970 NASL Finals were contested with a two-game series, one in each of the two teams' stadiums, and the winner decided by aggregate goals. The NASL contracted from 17 teams to 5 for the 1969 season, so no final was held. Instead, as in many leagues in Europe, the championship was awarded to the team with the most points at season's end. The

1971 NASL Final NASL Final 1971 was the championship series of the 1971 season. It was contested as a best-of-three series between the Dallas Tornado and the Atlanta Chiefs. The matches were held on September 9, 15, and 19, 1971. Games one and three were played ...

was played in a best-of-three series, with games one and three hosted by the higher-seeded team. After 1971, the NASL Championship Final switched to a single game. The

1972 Within the context of Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) it was the longest year ever, as two leap seconds were added during this 366-day year, an event which has not since been repeated. (If its start and end are defined using mean solar tim ...

through 1974 were hosted by the highest-seeded team. In

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. ...

, Woosnam's dream of a neutral-site event became reality, and the Soccer Bowl was born. That format continued through the 1983 final. For the league's final season in 1984, the

finals Final, Finals or The Final may refer to: *Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which decides a winner for an event ** Another term for playoffs, describing a sequence of cont ...

reverted to a best-of-three series, although it retained the "Soccer Bowl" moniker, used alternately with "Soccer Bowl Series".

Legacy

A new minor league

began play in 2011, borrowing much of the iconography of the original. This second league used the name "Soccer Bowl" for their championship match in 2013, and then only for the championship trophy itself from 2014 through the end of the league in 2017.

Results

''Sources:'' WildStat, NASL, Steve Dimitry, Soccer Times ;Notes

References

External links