North American Soccer League (1968–84)
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The North American Soccer League (NASL) was the top-level major professional
soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 Football player, players who almost exclusively use their feet to propel a Ball (association football), ball around a rectangular f ...
league in the
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and
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that operated from 1968 to 1984. It is considered the first soccer league to be successful on a national scale in the United States. The league final was called the Soccer Bowl from
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. ...
to
1983 1983 saw both the official beginning of the Internet and the first mobile cellular telephone call. Events January * January 1 – The migration of the ARPANET to TCP/IP is officially completed (this is considered to be the beginning of the ...
and the Soccer Bowl Series in its final year, 1984. The league was headed by Commissioner Phil Woosnam from 1969 to 1983. The NASL laid the foundations for soccer in the United States that helped lead to the country hosting the 1994 FIFA World Cup and setting up
Major League Soccer Major League Soccer (MLS) is a professional Association football, soccer league in North America and the highest level of the United States soccer league system. It comprises 30 teams, with 27 in the United States and 3 in Canada, and is sanc ...
(MLS) in 1996. The United States did not have a truly national top-flight league until the
FIFA The Fédération Internationale de Football Association (), more commonly known by its acronym FIFA ( ), is the international self-regulatory governing body of association football, beach soccer, and futsal. It was founded on 21 May 1904 to o ...
-sanctioned United Soccer Association (USA) and the National Professional Soccer League (NPSL), which had operated separately for one season in 1967, merged in December 1967 to form the NASL. The NASL considered the two pre-merge forerunner leagues as part of its history. The league's popularity peaked in the late 1970s. The league averaged over 13,000 fans per game in each season from 1977 to 1983, and the league's matches were broadcast on network television from 1975 to 1980. The league's most prominent team was the
New York Cosmos New York Cosmos may refer to * New York Cosmos (1970–1985), a team in the North American Soccer League (then the top-tier soccer league in the United States and Canada) * New York Cosmos (2010), a team playing since 2020 in the National Indepen ...
. During the mid-to-late 1970s, the Cosmos signed a number of the world's best players —
Pelé Edson Arantes do Nascimento (; 23 October 1940 – 29 December 2022), better known by his nickname Pelé (), was a Brazilian professional Association football, footballer who played as a Forward (association football), forward. Widely reg ...
, Franz Beckenbauer, Carlos Alberto— and the Cosmos averaged over 28,000 fans per game for each season from 1977 to 1982 while having three seasons of the average attendance topping 40,000 spectators per game. Other internationally well-known players in the league included Giorgio Chinaglia, Johan Cruyff, Johan Neeskens, Gerd Müller, Bobby Moore, Eusébio, and George Best. However, over-expansion, the economic recession of the early 1980s, and disputes with the players union ultimately led to the collapse of the NASL following the 1984 season. Also,
FIFA The Fédération Internationale de Football Association (), more commonly known by its acronym FIFA ( ), is the international self-regulatory governing body of association football, beach soccer, and futsal. It was founded on 21 May 1904 to o ...
's decision to award the hosting of the 1986 FIFA World Cup to Mexico after Colombia withdrew, rather than the U.S., is considered a factor in the NASL's demise. Former New York Cosmos president Clive Toye called the league "a magnificent success that eventually failed as a single entity. But, what it left behind is a knowledge of the game that didn't even existed (sic) in this country before and enthusiasm for the game which never existed before." The league additionally sanctioned indoor soccer in various tournament and season formats between 1971 and 1984.


History


Founding

150px, Original logo of the NASL (1968–1974) The surprisingly large North American TV audience of over 1 million for the 1966 FIFA World Cup and the resulting
documentary film A documentary film (often described simply as a documentary) is a nonfiction Film, motion picture intended to "document reality, primarily for instruction, education or maintaining a Recorded history, historical record". The American author and ...
, '' Goal!'', led American sports investors to believe there was an untapped market for the sport in the U.S. and Canada. In 1967, two professional soccer leagues started in the United States: the
FIFA The Fédération Internationale de Football Association (), more commonly known by its acronym FIFA ( ), is the international self-regulatory governing body of association football, beach soccer, and futsal. It was founded on 21 May 1904 to o ...
-sanctioned United Soccer Association (USA), which consisted of entire European and South American teams brought to the U.S. and given local names, and the unsanctioned National Professional Soccer League (NPSL). The NPSL did not receive sanctioning by the USSFA, as it refused to pay the $25,000 fee, was branded an outlawed entity by FIFA, and players faced penalties for signing with it. While the USA had FIFA sanction, the foreign teams that were rebranded with American names for the summer 1967 season viewed the league as little more than a training exercise for their off-season, and most did not field their best players. The NPSL had a two-year national television contract in the U.S. with the CBS television network. Officials were instructed to whistle fouls and delay play to allow CBS to insert commercials. The ratings for matches were unacceptable even by weekend daytime standards and the arrangement with CBS was soon terminated. Bill MacPhail, head of CBS Sports, attributed NPSL's lack of TV appeal to empty stadiums with few fans, and to undistinguished foreign players who were unfamiliar to American soccer fans. The two leagues merged on December 7, 1967, to form the North American Soccer League (NASL). NASL began the 1968 season with 17 of the 22 teams that had participated during the 1967 season, folding five redundant teams in cities where both USA and NPSL had operated. The teams relied mostly on foreign talent, including the Brazilian Vavá, one of the leading scorers of the 1958 and 1962 World Cups. International friendlies included victories against Pelé's Santos and against English champions Manchester City.The Year in American Soccer – 1968, Steve Holroyd, http://homepages.sover.net/~spectrum/year/1968.html Though the league had a few successes, it experienced significant problems gaining acceptance in the American sports community. The 17 teams included only 30 North American players. The expenses of high salaries for foreign players and renting of large stadiums, coupled with low attendances, resulted in every team losing money in 1968, and investors quickly pulled the plug after their year's commitment ended. At the end of the year, CBS pulled its TV contract, and all but five of the teams folded. The league moved its offices to a basement of Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium, and at the end of the sixteen-game 1969 season, the league declared Kansas City the league champions on the basis of most points in the round-robin, and the Baltimore Bays announced they would fold. It appeared top-tier professional soccer would not survive in North America. Desperate to keep the league afloat, the league approached two American Soccer League teams, the Rochester Lancers and the Washington Darts about transferring to the NASL. Despite coming from the ASL (which had a nearly 40-year history as a semi-pro league), the two teams were immediately the most successful, and won their respective divisions. Rochester beat Washington in a two-game final, and the league survived. In
1971 * The year 1971 had three partial solar eclipses (Solar eclipse of February 25, 1971, February 25, Solar eclipse of July 22, 1971, July 22 and Solar eclipse of August 20, 1971, August 20) and two total lunar eclipses (February 1971 lunar eclip ...
, NASL added three teams—the
New York Cosmos New York Cosmos may refer to * New York Cosmos (1970–1985), a team in the North American Soccer League (then the top-tier soccer league in the United States and Canada) * New York Cosmos (2010), a team playing since 2020 in the National Indepen ...
, Montreal Olympique, and the Toronto Metros—each of which paid a $25,000 expansion fee. The Dallas Tornado won the title after a number of multiple overtime playoff games, including a 173-minute marathon against Rochester. Realizing it needed to sell to North Americans the sport of soccer, which was still foreign to most people, the NASL modified its game rules in an attempt to make its product more exciting, and comprehensible, to the average sports fan. These changes included the following: *Utilizing a clock that counted game time down to zero, as was typical of other timed American sports, rather than the traditional upwards direction to 90 minutes. *The introduction during the 1972 season of a line from the goal to determine offside calls, rather than the usual midfield line. Meant to increase scoring opportunities and reduce the frequency of defenses
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an attacking player into an offside position, this rule allowed the attacker to no longer be offside unless he had crossed that 35-yard line. Though it was ridiculed outside the NASL, the experiment did have FIFA's blessing until 1982. *The implementation in 1974 of a penalty shootout to decide matches that ended in a draw. By the 1977 season the shootout was modified to somewhat resemble, in spirit at least, a penalty shot in
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. The attacking player would start at the 35-yard line and attempt his shot within five seconds, but he could make as many breakaway moves as he could; likewise, the goalkeeper could take on the attacker without restriction. The format was best-of-5-kicks, with each team attempting extra rounds if the score was still tied after five rounds. *The carryover of the NPSL's 1967 points system, in which teams were awarded six points for a regulation (and later extra time) win, and initially three points for a draw. When the penalty shootout eliminated tie games in 1974, the winning team was awarded three points for a win rather than six; this was later reduced to one point in 1975–1976, raised to the traditional six points from 1977 to 1980, and reduced again to four points from 1981 to 1984. **The most notable variation on the points system that was also carried over from the NPSL was awarding a team a bonus point for each goal (up to a three-goal maximum) they scored in the game, regardless of its outcome. On five occasions this nontraditional system gave the regular season title to a team other than the one with the best record; this most notably occurred in
1983 1983 saw both the official beginning of the Internet and the first mobile cellular telephone call. Events January * January 1 – The migration of the ARPANET to TCP/IP is officially completed (this is considered to be the beginning of the ...
, when the Cosmos, buoyed by their league-leading 87 goals, were awarded the regular season title despite having two fewer wins than the Vancouver Whitecaps.


Interest begins to grow

The NASL of the early 1970s was, to a large extent, a semi-pro league, with many of the players holding other jobs. On September 3, 1973, ''
Sports Illustrated ''Sports Illustrated'' (''SI'') is an American sports magazine first published in August 1954. Founded by Stuart Scheftel, it was the first magazine with a circulation of over one million to win the National Magazine Award for General Excellen ...
'' featured a soccer player on its cover for the first time – Philadelphia Atoms goalkeeper Bob Rigby. SI profiled the Philadelphia Atoms' victory in the NASL championship, the first time an American expansion sports team won a title in its first season. Philadelphia averaged 11,500 fans in
1973 Events January * January 1 – The United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland and Denmark 1973 enlargement of the European Communities, enter the European Economic Community, which later becomes the European Union. * January 14 - The 16-0 19 ...
, the first time since 1967 that any North American professional soccer team had averaged over 10,000 fans.North American Soccer League Players, Stats, Standings, http://www.nasljerseys.com/Stats/Standings.htm The cover title declared "Soccer Goes American", as Philadelphia had started six Americans in the championship match. Despite the "Soccer Goes American" title, however, in no season after 1974 did any American player win the MVP award or finish as league top scorer, as the mid-1970s saw an influx of foreign talent. SI predicted continued success for the Philadelphia Atoms, but the Atoms dissolved in 1976. NASL's average attendance had grown steadily from a low of 2,930 in 1969 to 7,770 in 1974, and by 1974 four teams were averaging over 10,000 attendance. The 1974 NASL Championship game between the Los Angeles Aztecs and the Miami Toros was televised live on CBS, the first national broadcast of a pro soccer match in the United States since 1968. The 1974 and 1975 seasons saw rapid expansion for NASL. In 1974, eight new teams paid the $75,000 franchise fee (equivalent to $ in ) and joined the league, although two existing teams folded.The Year in American Soccer – 1974, Steve Holroyd, http://homepages.sover.net/~spectrum/year/1974.html The 1974 expansion saw teams on the west coast, giving NASL a national presence for the first time. The west coast expansion was a success, with three of the teams – San Jose,
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and
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– averaging over 10,000 fans in 1974. In 1975, five more franchises were added. Two of these five additions –
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and
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– were in cities that had successful franchises in Division II American Soccer League, which at the time saw itself as a potential challenger to NASL as the U.S.'s top professional soccer league.Steve Holroyd, The Year in American Soccer – 1975, http://homepages.sover.net/~spectrum/year/1975.html The expansions of 1974 and 1975 meant that NASL had grown from 9 teams in 1973 to 20 teams by 1975. The 1975 season saw the signing of internationally known players, including Portuguese star Eusébio to
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, and former England goalkeeper Peter Bonetti to St. Louis.


Pelé and the New York Cosmos

In 1975, the
New York Cosmos New York Cosmos may refer to * New York Cosmos (1970–1985), a team in the North American Soccer League (then the top-tier soccer league in the United States and Canada) * New York Cosmos (2010), a team playing since 2020 in the National Indepen ...
created a media sensation and overnight transformed the fortunes of
soccer in the United States Association football, Soccer is the fourth most popular sport in the United States behind American football, basketball, and baseball, respectively. The United States Soccer Federation (USSF) governs most levels of soccer in the United States ...
by signing
Pelé Edson Arantes do Nascimento (; 23 October 1940 – 29 December 2022), better known by his nickname Pelé (), was a Brazilian professional Association football, footballer who played as a Forward (association football), forward. Widely reg ...
. From the moment he signed his contract at the 21 Club on June 10, 1975, in front of a crush of ecstatic worldwide media, Pelé's every move was followed, bringing attention and credibility to soccer in America. The Cosmos' home attendance tripled in just half the season Pelé was there, and on the road the Cosmos also played in front of huge crowds that came to watch Pelé play. Pelé's arrival resulted in greater TV exposure for the Cosmos and for the league overall. Ten million people tuned in to watch CBS' live broadcast of Pelé's debut match—a record American TV audience for soccer—with the Cosmos on June 15, 1975, against the Dallas Tornado at Downing Stadium in New York. CBS also televised another Cosmos match plus the 1975 Soccer Bowl championship match, and in 1976 ABC signed a contract to broadcast matches during the 1976 season. By 1976, NASL was being picked up by the mainstream media, with the sports pages of newspapers covering the league. The NASL was shown on the TVS network (a syndicated television service) during 1977 and
1978 Events January * January 1 – Air India Flight 855, a Boeing 747 passenger jet, crashes off the coast of Bombay, killing 213. * January 5 – Bülent Ecevit, of Republican People's Party, CHP, forms the new government of Turkey (42nd ...
, although some games were tape delayed or not carried in certain markets. The biggest club in the league and the organization's bellwether was the Cosmos, who drew upwards of 40,000 fans per game at their height, during the period that older soccer superstars, like Pelé of Brazil and Franz Beckenbauer of Germany, played for the club. Although both well past their prime by this stage of their careers, the two were considered to have previously been the best attacking/offensive (Pelé) and defensive (Beckenbauer) players in the world. Giants Stadium sold out (73,000+) their 1978 Soccer Bowl win. However, the overall average attendance of the entire league never reached 15,000, with some clubs averaging less than 5,000.


Expansion and star players

The Los Angeles Aztecs signed
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star George Best in 1976. NASL had been trying to persuade Best to move to America and place him in a major media market, but once the New York Cosmos had signed Pelé, Los Angeles was the logical placement for Best.US Soccer Players, George Best in America
/ref> Best was traded to the Fort Lauderdale Strikers (a club based in the Miami area) in 1978, and in 1979 Los Angeles signed its next big star, Johan Cruyff. Cruyff was an instant success, doubling the team's attendance, and winning the league's MVP award. L.A. also brought in a new head coach from 1979 to 1980, Rinus Michels, who had coached Ajax Amsterdam,
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, and the Dutch national team, the man credited with the invention of the Dutch playing style of " Total Football" in the 1970s. The Minnesota Kicks were established in 1976 and quickly became one of the league's more popular teams, drawing an average attendance of 23,120 fans per game in 1976 to the Metropolitan Stadium in a Minneapolis-Saint Paul suburb. The Kicks won their division four years in a row from 1976 to 1979, drawing over 23,000 fans in each of those four seasons (peaking at 32,775 in 1977). After L.A., Cruyff then moved on to the Washington Diplomats. The Washington Diplomats had been purchased by Madison Square Garden Corp. and its chairman Sonny Werblin in October 1978. Cruyff's presence was a huge boost, as was Wim Jansen, a midfielder who had played for the Netherlands at the 1974 and
1978 Events January * January 1 – Air India Flight 855, a Boeing 747 passenger jet, crashes off the coast of Bombay, killing 213. * January 5 – Bülent Ecevit, of Republican People's Party, CHP, forms the new government of Turkey (42nd ...
World Cups. For the 1980 season, the Diplomats attendance was 19,205 spectators per match. Despite NASL's apparent success, of NASL's 18 teams in 1977, six were considered franchises that needed to be relocated, bought out, or folded. A planning committee of owners issued a report recommending that NASL strengthen its existing teams, and limit expansion to two franchises for 1978, with one additional franchise per year for the following years. Despite this recommendation, NASL brought in six new teams at $3 million per team, raising the league's teams from 18 to 24 for the 1978 season. San Diego Sockers President Jack Daley later described NASL's boom years of the late 1970s: "It became fashionable to chase the Cosmos. Everyone had to have a Pelé. Coaches went around the world on talent searches, forcing the prices up." The Portland Timbers tripled their team payroll from 1979 to 1980 in an effort to keep up with the league average. The league began a college draft in 1972 in an attempt to increase the number of U.S.- and Canadian-born players in the league. The foreign image of soccer was not helped, however, by a league that brought in many older, high-profile foreign players, and frequently left Americans on the bench. This effort was often doubly futile, as while many of the foreign players were perhaps "big names" in their home countries, almost none of them qualified as such in North America, and they quickly absorbed most of the available payroll, such as it was, which could have otherwise been used to pay North American players better. After the 1977 season, the team owners voted to mandate an increase in the number of North American players by limiting the number of non-North American players a team was permitted to have on the field at one time and reducing the total of non-citizens on a club's rosters to a total of 11 by 1984. As of 1979, NASL rules required that each squad start two U.S. or Canadian players—often a goalkeeper and an outside defender—and that each 17-man roster carry six native players. The U.S. had lacked sufficient quality youth soccer programs in the 1950s, resulting in the dearth of U.S.-born talent in NASL in the 1970s. NASL suffered a minor blow with a players strike at the start of the 1979 season, but the strike was honored by only one third of the players and lasted only five days. In 1980, the minimum number of U.S. and Canadian starters was raised to three. The 1980 season was referred to as "the year of the North American player" with a renewed emphasis on "native players." With the increased requirements for teams to field U.S. and Canadian players, demand for quality native players boomed, with Jim McAlister setting a transfer record for an American player at $200,000 (or $ in ). With the end of the 1970s, NASL seemed poised for moderate success. The 1979 season had seen attendance increase by 8%. ABC televised several matches during the 1979 and 1980 seasons. An apparent era of stability seemed to have arrived, with the 1980 season expecting no planned expansion, relocations or failed teams among its 24 franchises, and with most rosters remaining relatively stable.


FIFA disputes

The NASL was often in dispute with FIFA due to its rules changes. In April 1978, FIFA threatened the
United States Soccer Federation The United States Soccer Federation (USSF), commonly referred to as U.S. Soccer, is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization and the official governing body of soccer in the United States. It is a full member of FIFA and governs American soccer ...
with banning NASL players from playing international games, due to the unsanctioned soccer rule changes by the NASL.


Financial problems and contraction

At the close of the 1980 season, NASL's woes were beginning to mount, as NASL was feeling the effects of over-expansion, the economic recession, and disputes with the players union. In the early 1980s the U.S. economy went into the doldrums, with unemployment reaching 10.8% in 1982, its highest level since World War II. NASL's owners, who were losing money, were not immune from the broader economy. Perhaps most troubling of all, NASL owners were spending sums on player salaries that could not be covered by league revenue. Whereas NFL owners in 1980 were spending on average 40% of the team's budget on player salaries, NASL owners were averaging over 70% of their budget on player salaries. The Cosmos, in particular, owned by Warner Communications, were spending lavish sums on player salaries, and while other teams—such as Los Angeles, Jacksonville, Portland,
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, and
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—that were owned by major corporations could keep up with the Cosmos, owners without deep pockets could not keep pace with the spending levels. Owners spent millions on aging stars to try to match the success of the Cosmos and lost significant amounts of money in doing so. Another headache for NASL was competition from the resurgent Major Indoor Soccer League.This Year in American Soccer – 1981, http://homepages.sover.net/~spectrum/year/1981.html The MISL began during the 1978–79 season, grew quickly, and by the early 1980s MISL was averaging over 8,000 fans per game. MISL's growth meant that throughout the early 1980s the NASL and the MISL engaged in a bidding war for U.S.-based soccer players, putting further pressure on league salaries and heightening NASL's financial problems. In an effort to vie for MISL's expanding audiences, the NASL operated an indoor soccer league from 1979–80 to 1981–82 and in 1983–84. As a result, the league ran a collective deficit in 1980 of about $30 million (or $ in ), with each team losing money. The San Diego Sockers lost $10 million from 1978 to 1983, and Tulsa lost $8 million from 1980 to 1983. The Washington Diplomats folded in November 1980, after owners MSG Corp. lost a rumored $5 million on the team in 1979 and 1980. NASL had also decided to sell TV advertising locally, instead of recruiting national sponsors.Los Angeles Times, WORLD CUP USA '94: A Model Failure: The NASL's Collapse Serves as a Painful Reminder of What a New League Should Not Do, July 3, 1994, https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1994-07-03-ss-11408-story.html During the 1980 offseason, the NASL Players' Association was in dispute with the league over projected payments for the indoor season, causing the players to file a lawsuit against the league. The 1981 season was even worse for the league, with the league's 24 teams again running a collective deficit of $30 million (or $ in ) and every team losing money.
Ted Turner Robert Edward Turner III (born November 19, 1938) is an American entrepreneur, television producer, media proprietor, and Philanthropy, philanthropist. He founded the CNN, Cable News Network (CNN), the first 24-hour United States cable news, ...
's
Atlanta Chiefs The Atlanta Chiefs were an American professional soccer team based in Atlanta, Georgia. The team competed in the National Professional Soccer League (1967), National Professional Soccer League (NPSL) in 1967 and the North American Soccer League ...
lost $7 million (or $ in ), the Minnesota Kicks lost $2.5 million (or $ in ), the Calgary Boomers lost over $2 million (or $ in ), and Lamar Hunt's Dallas Tornado had lost $1 million annually. At the close of the 1981 season five teams folded, with another two teams—the L.A. Aztecs and Minnesota Kicks—later folding during the 1981–82 offseason after failing to find buyers. NASL shrank from 21 teams to 14. Many of these new owners were not soccer savvy, and once the perceived popularity started to decline, they got out as quickly as they got in. Over-expansion without sufficient vetting of ownership groups was a huge factor in the death of the league. Once the league started growing, new franchises were awarded quickly, and it doubled in size in a few years, peaking at 24 teams. Many have suggested that cash-starved existing owners longed for their share of the expansion fee charged of new owners, even though '' Forbes Magazine'' reported this amount as being only $100,000.


Decline and demise

With the league declining rapidly in the early 1980s and losing many franchises, the NASL made several changes in an attempt to keep going. Phil Woosnam, who had served as NASL Commissioner since 1969 and had been a strong proponent of expansion during the 1970s, was removed by the league's 14 owners in April 1982 by a reported 11–3 vote. NASL tried to help bring the 1986 World Cup to the United States after Colombia withdrew from its commitment to host, but FIFA decided in 1983 to award the hosting of the 1986 FIFA World Cup to Mexico, rather than the U.S. In early 1984, NASL reached a collective bargaining agreement with the NASL Players Association that included a $825,000 salary cap to be achieved by annual 10% reductions, and a reduction in roster sizes from 28 to 19. The league lasted until the 1984 NASL season with only nine teams taking the field. On March 28, 1985, the NASL suspended operations for the 1985 season, when only the Minnesota Strikers and Toronto Blizzard were interested in playing. At the time, the league planned to relaunch in 1986. Of those final nine teams, the Chicago Sting, Minnesota Strikers, New York Cosmos, and San Diego Sockers joined the Major Indoor Soccer League for its 1984–85 season. The Tulsa Roughnecks independently played 11 matches in 1985, before suspending operations on July 17. The Golden Bay Earthquakes and Tampa Bay Rowdies managed to survive as independent franchises until they joined the WSA and AISA respectively. The Rowdies were the last surviving NASL franchise to play outdoor soccer, lasting until February 1994. The Sockers were the final league franchise to dissolve. They survived playing exclusively indoor soccer until 1996.


Heritage

After the
United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
' early elimination in 1982 World Cup qualifying, American manager Walt Chyzowych stated the NASL had failed to offer much of a foundation for his team, since the league had largely failed to develop American players.
Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...
fared better, coming a win short of qualification for the 1982 World Cup with a squad exclusively made up of NASL players. Although the NASL ultimately failed, it did introduce soccer to the North American sports scene on a large scale for the first time, and was a major contributing factor in soccer becoming one of the most popular sports among American youth. On July 4, 1988, FIFA awarded the hosting of the 1994 World Cup to the United States. NASL has also provided lessons for its successor
Major League Soccer Major League Soccer (MLS) is a professional Association football, soccer league in North America and the highest level of the United States soccer league system. It comprises 30 teams, with 27 in the United States and 3 in Canada, and is sanc ...
, which has taken precautions against such problems, particularly a philosophy of financial restraint (mainstream American sports, by the time of MLS' startup in 1996, had adopted financial restraint rules, which MLS adopted). American college and high school soccer still use some NASL-style rules (with shortened halves, although the time does stop for certain reasons). 18 of the 22 players on the Canadian squad at the 1986 World Cup were former NASL players. The
United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
did not have any former NASL players on their squad at the
1990 World Cup The 1990 FIFA World Cup was the 14th FIFA World Cup, a quadrennial Association football, football tournament for men's senior national teams. It was held from 8 June to 8 July 1990 in Italy, the second country to host the event for a second ...
but had three on the 1994 team ( Fernando Clavijo, Hugo Pérez and Roy Wegerle) and one on the 1998 team (Wegerle). Several NASL team names have been reused by teams in later soccer leagues. Currently the Portland Timbers, San Jose Earthquakes,
Seattle Sounders FC Seattle Sounders FC is an American professional association football, soccer club based in Seattle. The Sounders compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference (MLS), Western Conference. The club was established on ...
, and Vancouver Whitecaps FC are all successor teams in
Major League Soccer Major League Soccer (MLS) is a professional Association football, soccer league in North America and the highest level of the United States soccer league system. It comprises 30 teams, with 27 in the United States and 3 in Canada, and is sanc ...
. Four other well known names (
New York Cosmos New York Cosmos may refer to * New York Cosmos (1970–1985), a team in the North American Soccer League (then the top-tier soccer league in the United States and Canada) * New York Cosmos (2010), a team playing since 2020 in the National Indepen ...
, Tampa Bay Rowdies, Fort Lauderdale Strikers, and Tulsa Roughnecks) have resurfaced in the new NASL and the USL, which are both Division II leagues. Two of the oldest derbies in North American professional soccer ''(
Cascadia Cup The Cascadia Cup is the name of the trophy created in 2004 by supporters of the Portland Timbers, Seattle Sounders, and Vancouver Whitecaps, which is awarded each season to the best soccer team in the Pacific Northwest. The cup is named for t ...
and Fort Lauderdale–Tampa Bay)'' began in the NASL of the 1970s, and continue today via successor clubs.


NASL indoor

The NASL first staged an indoor tournament in
1971 * The year 1971 had three partial solar eclipses (Solar eclipse of February 25, 1971, February 25, Solar eclipse of July 22, 1971, July 22 and Solar eclipse of August 20, 1971, August 20) and two total lunar eclipses (February 1971 lunar eclip ...
at the St. Louis Arena with a $2,800 purse. After a couple of years of experimenting, including a three-city tour by the Red Army team from Moscow in 1974, the league again staged tournaments 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. ...
and
1976 Events January * January 2 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights enters into force. * January 5 – The Pol Pot regime proclaims a new constitution for Democratic Kampuchea. * January 18 – Full diplomatic ...
. For many years Tampa Bay owner George W. Strawbridge, Jr. lobbied his fellow owners to start up a winter indoor season, but was repeatedly stone-walled by other owners. For several years, his Rowdies and several other teams used winter indoor "friendlies" as part of their training and build-up to the outdoor season. In the meantime, pressed by the rival Major Indoor Soccer League (MISL), which inaugurated play in 1978, two-day mini-tournaments like the Skelly Invitational and the NASL Budweiser Invitational were held with varying degrees of success. The NASL finally started a full indoor league schedule, a 12-game season with 10 teams, in 1979–80. For the 1980–81 season, the number of teams playing indoor soccer increased to 19 and the schedule grew to 18 games. The schedule remained at 18 games, but the teams participating decreased to 13 for the 1981–82 season. The league canceled the 1982–83 indoor season and three teams (Chicago, Golden Bay, and San Diego) played in the MISL for that season. Four other teams (Fort Lauderdale, Montreal, Tampa Bay and Tulsa) competed in a short NASL Grand Prix of Indoor Soccer Tournament in early 1983. The NASL indoor season returned for 1983–84 with only seven teams but a 32-game schedule.


NASL champions


By year

''* Due to the NASL's nontraditional points system, in 1968, 1969, 1980, 1983 & 1984 the team with the best win–loss record did not win the regular season.''
''# The
New York Cosmos New York Cosmos may refer to * New York Cosmos (1970–1985), a team in the North American Soccer League (then the top-tier soccer league in the United States and Canada) * New York Cosmos (2010), a team playing since 2020 in the National Indepen ...
dropped "New York" from its name for the 1977 and 1978 seasons, then returned to the full name.''


By club

''# The New York Cosmos dropped "New York" from its name for the 1977 and 1978 seasons, then returned to the full name.''


NASL indoor champions


By year


By club


Teams


Outdoor season

;Legend: '' – existed before 1968 NASL formation. – continued after 1984 NASL demise. – existed before 1968 and after 1984'' ''*Operated as Toronto Croatia from 1956 until they merged with the NASL's Toronto Metros in 1975, and then again after they sold out of the NASL in 1979.'' Of the 67 teams that played in the NASL over the course of its 17 seasons, many represent relocated franchises, and a handful represent the same franchise in the same location with changed names such as the Apollos, Cosmos and Earthquakes. The total number of unique clubs was 43.


Teams that played indoor seasons or tournaments (1971, 1975–76, 1978–84)

*Atlanta Chiefs (1979–81) *Baltimore Comets (1975) *Boston Minutemen (1975–76) *Calgary Boomers (1980–81) *California Surf (1979–81) *Chicago Sting (1976, 1980–82, 1983–84) *Dallas Tornado (1971, 1975–76, 1979, 1980–81) *Detroit Express (1979–81) *Edmonton Drillers (1980–82) *Fort Lauderdale Strikers (1979–81, 1983) *Golden Bay Earthquakes (1983–84) *Hartford Bicentennials (1975) *Houston Hurricane (1978) *Jacksonville Tea Men (1980–82) *Los Angeles Aztecs (1975, 1979–81) *Memphis Rogues (1979–80) *Miami Toros (1975–76) *Minnesota Kicks (1978–81) *Montreal Manic (1981–82, 1983) *New England Tea Men (1979–80) *New York Cosmos (1975, 1981–82, 1983–84) *Philadelphia Atoms (1975) *Portland Timbers (1980–82) *Rochester Lancers (1971, 1975–76) *St. Louis Stars (1971, 1975–76) *San Diego Jaws (1976) *San Diego Sockers (1980–82, 1983–84) *San Jose Earthquakes (1975–76, 1980–82) *Seattle Sounders (1975, 1980–82) *Tampa Bay Rowdies (1975–76, 1979–84) *Toronto Blizzard (1980–82) *Toronto Metros-Croatia (1975–76) *Tulsa Roughnecks (1978–84) *Vancouver Whitecaps (1975–76, 1980–82, 1983–84) *Washington Darts (1971) *Washington Diplomats (1975–76, 1978)


Commissioners

*1967: Dick Walsh (USA) – After 18 years with the
Los Angeles Dodgers The Los Angeles Dodgers are an American professional baseball team based in Los Angeles. The Dodgers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League West, West Div ...
, he was chosen to serve as commissioner of first the United Soccer Association (USA) in 1966, then the North American Soccer League (NASL), which resulted from the merger of the US and the National Professional Soccer League (NPSL) prior to the 1968 season. He served the NASL through its first full season, 1968, then returned to baseball. *1967: Ken Macker (NPSL) *1968: Walsh and Macker co-commissioners *1969–83: Phil Woosnam – He is credited as an important factor in the development of the NASL, and had been a major figure in promoting the league and had secured TV contracts from CBS and ABC. He played a key role during 1970 in recruiting executives at Warner Communications to invest in an expansion team—the
New York Cosmos New York Cosmos may refer to * New York Cosmos (1970–1985), a team in the North American Soccer League (then the top-tier soccer league in the United States and Canada) * New York Cosmos (2010), a team playing since 2020 in the National Indepen ...
. Woosnam oversaw the westward expansion of NASL in the early 1970s, establishing teams in Los Angeles, the Bay Area, Seattle, and Vancouver. However, he also guided the league into several poor business decisions, such as over-expansion to 24 teams, that led to team owners' significant financial losses. He was removed from his duties as commissioner of the NASL in 1983 following a vote of the club owners. *1983–84: Howard J. Samuels – His pioneering methods in the petrochemical industry and success in the then-niche household
consumer A consumer is a person or a group who intends to order, or use purchased goods, products, or services primarily for personal, social, family, household and similar needs, who is not directly related to entrepreneurial or business activities. ...
market translated into posts as Vice President of the Mobil Oil Corporation, Commissioner of the North American Soccer League, and chairman to Elms Capital Management, Alexander Proudfoot PLC, and Communities in Schools. *1984–85: Clive Toye (acting) – After the sudden death of Howard J. Samuels, Toye was appointed interim president of the NASL in December 1984. The league ceased operations early the following year.


Awards


Most Valuable Player, Rookie of the Year, Coach of the Year


Teams named after NASL teams

The Heritage Cup in
Major League Soccer Major League Soccer (MLS) is a professional Association football, soccer league in North America and the highest level of the United States soccer league system. It comprises 30 teams, with 27 in the United States and 3 in Canada, and is sanc ...
was developed as a way to remember the NASL's heritage by having teams named after NASL teams to participate for a special trophy. Today, two MLS teams, San Jose and Seattle, play for this trophy, although Portland and Vancouver are both eligible for the trophy if they decide to participate in this derby. NASL clubs' names still active in some form today are listed in bold. * Baltimore Bays (1972–1973) * Baltimore Bays (1993–1998) * Boston Tea Men * Chicago Stingers * Chicago Mustangs (2012–) * DFW Tornados * Detroit Express (1981–1983) * East Bay FC StompersNPSL * Edmonton Drillers (1996–2000) * Edmonton Drillers (2007–2010) * Florida StrikersUSISL * Fort Lauderdale Strikers (1988–1994) * Fort Lauderdale Strikers (1994–1997) * Fort Lauderdale Strikers (2006–2016) *
Houston Hurricanes Houston ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the seat of Harris County, as well as the principal city of ...
* Houston Hurricanes FC * Houston Stars (WPSL) * Jomo CosmosNational First Division * Kaizer Chiefs FCPremier Soccer League * L.A. Wolves FC * Las Vegas Quicksilver * Maryland Bays * Memphis Rogues – AISA & SISL * New York Cosmos (2010) * Philadelphia Atoms SCASL * Philadelphia FuryNISL * Portland TimbersWSL * Portland TimbersUSL * Portland TimbersMLS * Rochester Lady LancersUWS * Rochester Lancers (2011–2015) * Rochester Lancers – NPSL * Santa Cruz SurfUSISL * San Diego Sockers (2001–2004) * San Diego Sockers (2009–) * San Diego SurfPASL * San Jose EarthquakesHeritage Cup (MLS) * San Fernando Valley Quakes * Seattle Sounders – USL *
Seattle Sounders FC Seattle Sounders FC is an American professional association football, soccer club based in Seattle. The Sounders compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference (MLS), Western Conference. The club was established on ...
– Heritage Cup (MLS) * SoCal SurfPDL * South Florida Strikers – WPSL * Tampa Bay Rowdies * Toronto Blizzard (1986–1993) * Toronto Falcons (NSL) * Tulsa Roughnecks (1993–2000) * Tulsa Roughnecks (1995) – W-League * Tulsa Roughnecks FC (2015–2019) – USL ''(now called FC Tulsa)'' * Vancouver Whitecaps – USL * Vancouver Whitecaps FC – MLS * Washington Diplomats (1988–1990)


Players

The NASL brought some of the world's best soccer players to the United States. The trend started early as players such as Vavá, Peter McParland, Rubén Marino Navarro, Co Prins and Juan Santisteban appeared in the league in 1968. However, after the Cosmos signed Pele in 1975, the number of famous names increased during the NASL's peak during the late 1970s and early 1980s. In fact, 20 of the 44 World Cup Best XI selections between 1966 and 1978 spent time in the NASL. At one time NASL squads fielded the captains of the past three World Cup-winning teams—Beckenbauer (1974), Alberto (1970), and Moore (1966). Of the European Footballer of the Year awards from 1965 to 1976, eight of the twelve awards—Eusébio (1965), Best (1968), Muller (1970), Cruyff (1971, '73, '74), Beckenbauer (1972, '76) —were given to players who went on to play in NASL. In addition, several players went on to greater acclaim after leaving the NASL, among them Peter Beardsley, Bruce Grobbelaar, Julio César Romero, Hugo Sánchez and Graeme Souness. Two players appeared in both the NASL and MLS, spanning a 12-year gap in North American professional soccer: Hugo Sánchez and Roy Wegerle.


Attendance


Yearly average attendance

''*Cosmos dropped "New York" from name for 1977 and 1978 seasons''


Single-game attendance records

The New York Cosmos hold 21 of the 24 top attendance records in NASL history. Of the 107 games involving NASL clubs that have drawn 40,000+ fans, 65 were Cosmos' home matches at Giants Stadium (excludes Soccer Bowl '78). The table below ranks teams by the number of 40,000+ crowds they attracted.


See also

*
List of American and Canadian soccer champions Despite each receiving FIFA-affiliated status in 1913, both the Soccer in the United States, United States and Soccer in Canada, Canada have lacked a consistent, multi-division soccer system until recently. Consequently, the determination of champ ...
* North American Soccer League on television * Record attendances in United States club soccer * Soccer Bowl


References


External links


The American Soccer History Archives


on Steve Dimitry's Extinct Sports League


Complete Results from 1968–1984
on Soccer Stats
All-Time NASL Attendance

All-Time NASL Coaching Records

NASL Mini-Games

All-Time NASL Indoor Standings

All-Time NASL Indoor Attendance

All-Time NASL Indoor Coaching Records

All-Time NASL Indoor Scores
* {{DEFAULTSORT:North American Soccer League (1968-84) Sports leagues established in 1968 Sports leagues disestablished in 1984 1984 disestablishments in North America Defunct soccer leagues in the United States Defunct indoor soccer leagues in the United States Defunct soccer leagues in Canada Defunct top-level association football leagues in North America 1968 establishments in North America