North American Soccer League
| North American Soccer League | |
|---|---|
| Sport | Football (soccer) |
| Founded | 1968 |
| No. of teams | Maximum of 24 |
| Country(ies) |  United States
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| Ceased | 1985 |
| Last champion(s) |
Chicago Sting, 1984 |
North American Soccer League (NASL) was a professional soccer league with teams in the United States of America (U.S.) and Canada that operated from 1968 to 1984.[1]
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History
In 1967 two professional soccer leagues started in the United States: the FIFA-sanctioned United Soccer Association and the unsanctioned National Professional Soccer League. The National Professional Soccer League had a national television contract in the U.S. with the CBS television network, but the ratings for matches were unacceptable even by weekend daytime standards and the arrangement was terminated. The leagues merged in 1968 to form the North American Soccer League (NASL). It has been suggested that the timing of the merge was related to the huge amount of attention given throughout the English-speaking world to the victory by England in the 1966 FIFA World Cup and the resulting documentary film, Goal. The league lasted until the 1984 NASL season when it suspended operations. However, four NASL teams (Chicago, Minnesota, New York, and San Diego) joined the Major Indoor Soccer League for its 1984-85 season. The NASL itself operated an indoor soccer league from 1979-80 to 1981-82 and in 1983-84.
The biggest club in the league and the organization's bellwether was the New York Cosmos, who drew upwards of 40,000 fans per game at their height while aging Brazilian superstar Pelé (considered to be the greatest player in the sport's history) played for them. Giants Stadium (actually in East Rutherford, New Jersey) sold out (73,000+) their 1978 championship win. However, the overall average attendance of the entire league never reached 15,000, with some clubs averaging fewer than 5,000.
The NASL faced obstacles in regard to selling the sport of soccer to Americans, which was then completely foreign to the majority of them. The league "Americanized" the rules in the attempt to make the game more exciting, and comprehensible, to the average American sports fan. These changes included a clock that counted time down to zero as was typical of other timed American sports, rather than upwards to 90 minutes as was traditional, a 35 yard line for offsides rather than the traditional half way line, and a shootout to decide matches that ended in a draw. 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.
Overexpansion 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. This resulted in the available personnel being spread too thinly, among other problems. Additionally, many of these new owners were not "soccer people", and once the perceived popularity started to decline, they got out as quickly as they got in. They also spent millions on aging stars to try to match the success of the Cosmos, and lost significant amounts of money in doing so.
Also, FIFA'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.
While the NASL ultimately failed, it introduced 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. In the late-1980s, FIFA did award the World Cup to the U.S., which would be staged in 1994. It has also provided lessons for its successor Major League Soccer, which has taken precautions against such problems. American college and high school soccer still use some NASL-style rules.
NASL champions
- 1968 Atlanta Chiefs
- 1969 Kansas City Spurs
- 1970 Rochester Lancers
- 1971 Dallas Tornado
- 1972 New York Cosmos
- 1973 Philadelphia Atoms
- 1974 Los Angeles Aztecs
- 1975 Tampa Bay Rowdies
- 1976 Toronto Metros-Croatia
- 1977 New York Cosmos
- 1978 New York Cosmos
- 1979 Vancouver Whitecaps
- 1980 New York Cosmos
- 1981 Chicago Sting
- 1982 New York Cosmos
- 1983 Tulsa Roughnecks
- 1984 Chicago Sting
NASL indoor champions
- 1975 San Jose Earthquakes (tournament)
- 1976 Tampa Bay Rowdies (tournament)
- 1979-80 Tampa Bay Rowdies
- 1980-81 Edmonton Drillers
- 1981-82 San Diego Sockers
- 1983-84 San Diego Sockers
Teams of NASL 1968-1984
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Annual honors
Scoring leaders
| Year | Player, team | G | A | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1967 USA | Roberto Boninsegna, Chicago | 11 | 1 | 23 |
| 1967 NPSL | Yanko Daucik, Toronto | 20 | 8 | 48 |
| 1968 | John Kowalik, Chicago | 30 | 9 | 69 |
| 1969 | Kaizer Motaung, Atlanta | 16 | 4 | 36 |
| 1970 | Carlos Metidieri, Rochester | 16 | 3 | 35 |
| 1971 | Carlos Metidieri, Rochester | 19 | 8 | 46 |
| 1972 | Randy Horton, New York | 9 | 4 | 22 |
| 1973 | Kyle Rote, Jr., Dallas | 10 | 10 | 30 |
| 1974 | Paul Child, San Jose | 15 | 6 | 36 |
| 1975 | Steve David, Miami | 23 | 6 | 52 |
| 1976 | Giorgio Chinaglia, New York | 19 | 11 | 49 |
| 1977 | Steve David, Los Angeles | 26 | 6 | 58 |
| 1978 | Giorgio Chinaglia, New York | 34 | 11 | 79 |
| 1979 | Oscar Fabbiani, Tampa Bay | 25 | 8 | 58 |
| 1980 | Giorgio Chinaglia, New York | 32 | 13 | 77 |
| 1981 | Giorgio Chinaglia, New York | 29 | 16 | 74 |
| 1982 | Giorgio Chinaglia, New York | 20 | 15 | 55 |
| 1983 | Roberto Cabanas, New York | 25 | 16 | 66 |
| 1984 | Steve Zungul, Golden Bay | 20 | 10 | 50 |
MVP, Rookie and Coach of the Year
| Year | MVP | Rookie | Coach |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1968 | John Kowalik | Kaizer Motaung | Phil Woosnam |
| 1969 | Cirilio Fernandez | Siegfried Stritzl | Janos Bedl |
| 1970 | Carlos Metidieri | Jim Leeker | Sal de Rosa |
| 1971 | Carlos Metidieri | Randy Horton | Ron Newman |
| 1972 | Randy Horton | Mike Winter | Casey Frankiewicz |
| 1973 | Warren Archibald | Kyle Rote, Jr. | Al Miller |
| 1974 | Peter Silvester | Doug McMillan | John Young |
| 1975 | Steve David | Chris Bahr | John Sewell |
| 1976 | Pelé | Steve Pecher | Eddie Firmani |
| 1977 | Franz Beckenbauer | Jim McAlister | Ron Newman |
| 1978 | Mike Flanagan | Gary Etherington | Tony Waiters |
| 1979 | Johan Cruyff | Larry Hulcer | Timo Liekoski |
| 1980 | Roger Davies | Jeff Durgan | Alan Hinton |
| 1981 | Giorgio Chinaglia | Joe Morrone, Jr. | Willy Roy |
| 1982 | Peter Ward | Pedro DeBrito | John Giles |
| 1983 | Roberto Cabanas | Gregg Thompson | Don Popovic |
| 1984 | Steve Zungul | Roy Wegerle | Ron Newman |
Selected former players
Famous and prominent players of the NASL. Players featured here are internationals, played five or more seasons in the NASL or featured prominently in NASL statistical records.
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Current professionals with parents in the NASL
- Jordan Cila, son of Renato Cila
- Kenny Cooper, son of Kenny Cooper Sr.
- Jordi Cruyff, son of Johan Cruijff
- Alecko Eskandarian, son of Andranik Eskandarian
- Julie Fleeting, daughter of Jim Fleeting
- Sasha Gotsmanov, son of Sergey Gotsmanov
- Shawn Kuykendall, son of Kurt Kuykendall
- John Kerr, Jr., son of John Kerr, Sr.
- Daniel Nardiello, son of Donato Nardiello
- John Barry Nusum, son of John Nusum
- Keith Savage, son of Bruce Savage
- Taylor Twellman, son of Tim Twellman
- Byrce Wegerle, son of Steve Wegerle and nephew of Roy Wegerle
- Chris Wingert, son of Norm Wingert
- Jamie Clark, son of Bobby Clark
- Craig Ziadie, son of Dennis Ziadie
- David Edgar, son of Eddie Edgar
- Leighton O'Brien, son of Fran O'Brien
Average Attendance
- 1968: 4,747
- 1969: 4,699
- 1970: 2,930
- 1971: 3,163
- 1972: 4,159
- 1973: 4,780
- 1974: 5,954
- 1975: 7,770
- 1976: 7,642
- 1977: 10,295
- 1978: 13,558
- 1979: 13,084
- 1980: 14,201
- 1981: 14,084
- 1982: 13,155
- 1983: 13,258
- 1984: 10,759
See also
- NASL Most Valuable Player Award
- Soccer Bowl
- Category:North American Soccer League players
Teams named after NASL teams
- Baltimore Bays (ASL)
- Baltimore Bays (USISL)
- Detroit Express (ASL)
Edmonton Drillers (CMISL)- Edmonton Drillers (NPSL)
- Fort Lauderdale Strikers (APSL)
- Fort Lauderdale Strikers (USISL)
Jomo Cosmos (ABSA Premier Soccer League)- Kaizer Chiefs FC (ABSA Premier Soccer League)
- Las Vegas Quicksilver (USISL)
- Portland Timbers (USL)
- San Diego Sockers (2001-2004)
- San Jose Earthquakes (MLS)
- Seattle Sounders (USL)
- Seattle Sounders FC (MLS)
- Tampa Bay Rowdies (USL)
- Toronto Blizzard (1986-1993)
- Tulsa Roughnecks (USISL)
- Vancouver Whitecaps (USL)
- Washington Diplomats (APSL)
References
- ↑ A-LEAGUE WRAP: Thunder to open in Metrodome, Soccer America, February 26, 2003, http://www.socceramerica.com/article.asp?Art_ID=562132961
- ↑ graphicghana.info
External links
- A site dedicated to the history of the NASL
- NASL All-time Player Register
- American Soccer History Archives
- NASL Attendance Figures
- The NASL: It's Alive But On Death Row - A salary cap has saved the soccer league from complete collapse, but its future looks forbidding indeed by Clive Gammon Sports Illustrated May 07, 1984
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North American Soccer League seasons
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1968 | 1969 |
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| Preceded by ASL II |
Division 1 Soccer League in the United States 1967-1984 |
Succeeded by Major Indoor Soccer League |