SOCCER
Sport Magazine Remembers the NASL!
North American Soccer League or (NASL) was a professional soccer league with teams in the
United States and Canada that operated from 1968 to 1984.
History
In 1967, two pro soccer leagues started in the United States: the FIFA-sanctioned United Soccer
Association and the unsanctioned National Professional Soccer League. It has been suggested
that the timing of this 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 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). 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 1979-82 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 played
for them. Giants Stadium 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 less
than 5,000.
The NASL faced challenges 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 45 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 qualifed 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 new owners, even though Forbes Magazine reported this amount as being only
$100,000. This resulted in the available talent 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 1986 FIFA World Cup to Mexico after Colombia withdrew, rather
than the US, 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 the number
one participatory sport among American youth. In the late-1980s, FIFA did award the World Cup
to the US, which would be staged in 1994. It has also provided lessons for its successor Major
League Soccer, which has tried to build soccer-specific stadiums for each of its teams, rather than
following the NASL's example of depending on large NFL venues which it had little hope of ever
filling. MLS has enforced a limit on foreign players, forcing teams to develop primarily American
talent rather than following the NASL's example of relying on highly-paid imports who were often
well past their prime (although some have criticized the league for going too far, arguing that the
league needs more marketable names). Initially, MLS also tried to "Americanize" its rules with
shootouts and the clock counting down, much as the NASL did, but since 2000 the league has
adopted strict adherence to FIFA Laws as set by the IFAB. American college soccer still uses
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
1982-83 No NASL indoor league
1983-84 San Diego Sockers
Teams of NASL 1968-84
Atlanta Apollos (1968-73, as Atlanta Chiefs in 1968-72)
Atlanta Chiefs (1978-81, as Caribous of Colorado in 1978)
Baltimore Bays (1968-69)
Boston Beacons (1968)
Boston Minutemen (1974-76)
Calgary Boomers (1978-81, as Memphis Rogues in 1978-80)
California Surf (1968-81, as St. Louis Stars in 1968-77)
Chicago Mustangs (1968)
Chicago Sting (1975-84)
Cleveland Stokers (1968)
Dallas Tornado (1968-81)
Detroit Cougars (1968)
Edmonton Drillers (1975-82, as Hartford Centennials in 1975-76, as Connecticut Bicentennials in
1977, as Oakland Stompers in 1978)
Houston Stars (1968)
Houston Hurricane (1978-80)
Jacksonville Tea Men (1978-82, as New England Tea Men in 1978-80)
Kansas City Spurs (1968-70)
Los Angeles Wolves (1968)
Los Angeles Aztecs (1974-81)
Minnesota Strikers (1970-84, as Washington Darts in 1970-71, as Miami Gatos in 1972, as Miami
Toros in 1973-76, as Fort Lauderdale Strikers in 1977-83)
Minnesota Kicks (1974-81, as Denver Dynamo in 1974-75)
Montreal Olympique (1971-73)
Montreal Manic (1978-83, as Philadelphia Fury in 1978-80)
New York Generals (1968)
New York Cosmos (1971-84, as Cosmos in 1977-78)
Oakland Clippers (1968)
Philadelphia Atoms (1973-76)
Portland Timbers (1975-82)
Rochester Lancers (1970-80)
San Diego Toros (1968)
San Diego Sockers (1974-84, as Baltimore Comets in 1974-75, as San Diego Jaws in 1976, as
Las Vegas Quicksilver in 1977)
San Jose Earthquakes (1974-84, as Golden Bay Earthquakes in 1983-84)
Seattle Sounders (1974-83)
Tampa Bay Rowdies (1975-84)
Team America (1983)
Tulsa Roughnecks (1975-84, as San Antonio Thunder in 1975-76, as Team Hawaii in 1977)
Toronto Falcons (1968)
Toronto Blizzard (1971-84, as Toronto Metros in 1971-74, as Toronto Metros-Croatia in 1975-78)
Tulsa Roughnecks (1978-84)
Vancouver Royals (1968)
Vancouver Whitecaps (1974-84)
Washington Whips (1968)
Washington Diplomats (1974-80)
Washington Diplomats (1978-81, as Detroit Express in 1978-80)
NASL yearly statistical leaders
NASL scoring leaders
Year, Player, team, G A PTS
1967 USA Robert Boninsegna, Chicago 11 1 23
1967 NPSL Yanko Daucik, Toronto 20 848
1968 John Kowalik, Chicago 30 9 69
1969 Kaiser Motaung, Atlanta 16 4 36
1970 Kirk Apostolidis, Dallas 16 3 35
1971 Carlos Metidieri, Rochester 19 8 46
1972 Randy Horton, New York 9 4 22
1973 Kyle Rote 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
Famous and prominent players of the NASL
Laurie Abrahams
Dick Advocaat
Javier Aguirre
Carlos Alberto
Ricardo Alonso
Willie Anderson
Warren Archibald
John Bain
Alan Ball
Boris Bandov
Gordon Banks
Barry Barto
Clyde Best
George Best
John Best
Peter Beardsley
Franz Beckenbauer
Herbert Birkenmeier
Roberto Bettega
Zeljko Bilecki
Vladislav Bogićević
Bob Bolitho
Peter Bonetti
Jeff Bourne
David Bradford
Jack Brand
Alan Brazil
Ian Bridge
Brian Budd
Steve Buttle
David Byrne
Roberto Cabañas
Paul Cannell
Ringo Cantillo
Billy Caskey
/Paul Child
Giorgio Chinaglia
Cho Jeung Young
Tony Chursky
Dave Clements
/Ade Coker
/Mike Connell
Jimmy Conway
Charlie Cooke
Kenny Cooper Sr.
Johan Cruijff
Teófilo Cubillas
Leonardo Cuellar
Steve Daley
Iraj Danaeifard
Chris Dangerfield
Steve David
Roger Davies
Rick Davis
Leroy DeLeon
/John Dempsey
Dave D'Errico
Kazimierz Deyna
Willie Donachie
Mike England
Andranik Eskandarian
Ray Evans
Willie Evans[1]
Oscar Fabbiani
Eusébio
Pepe Fernandez
Luis Fernando
Elías Figueroa
Mike Flanagan
Trevor Francis
Casey Frankiewicz
Ron Futcher
Jimmy Gabriel
Archie Gemmill
Johnny Giles
Jan Goossens
George Graham
Karl-Heinz Granitza
Alan Green
Bruce Grobbelaar
Kai Haaskivi
Dick Hall
Ian Hamilton
Paul Hammond
David Harvey
Mike Hewitt
Gordon Hill
Jozsef Horvath
Randy Horton
Alan Hudson
Ray Hudson
Steve Hunt
Geoff Hurst
Gerry Ingram
David Irving
Wim Jansen
Tommy Jenkins
Jimmy Kelly
John Kerr, Sr.
Brian Kidd
Victor Kodelja
Jorgen Kristensen
Ruud Krol
Bob Lenarduzzi
Tino Lettieri
Mark Lindsay
Mirko Liveric
Peter Lorimer
Ivan Lukacevic
Willie Johnston
Pato Margetic
Marinho
Rodney Marsh
Frantz Mathieu
Alan Mayer
Jimmy McAlister
Pat McBride
John McGrane
Wes McLeod
Peter McParland
Alan Merrick
Shep Messing
Carlos Metidieri
Charlie Mitchell
Dale Mithcell
Ilija Mitic
Victor Moreland
Willie Morgan
Bobby Moore
Kaizer Motaung
Steve Moyers
Gerd Müller
Johan Neeskens
Jimmy Nicholl
Peter Nogly
Björn Nordqvist
Patrick Ntsoelengoe
Bill Nuttall
Fran O'Brien
Tommy Ord
Peter Osgood
Phil Parkes
Andrew Parkinson
Pelé
Mark Peterson
Harry Redknapp
Rob Rensenbrink
Peter Ressel
Bob Rigby
Wim Rijsbergen
Bruce Rioch
Neill Roberts
Julio César Romero
Thomas Rongen
Kyle Rote, Jr.
Werner Roth
Brian Rowan
John Rowlands
Willy Roy
Hugo Sánchez
Stewart Scullion
Elson Seale
Branko Segota
Manfred Seissler
Peter Short
Peter Silvester
Antonio Simoes
Derek Smethurst
Bobby Smith
Jomo Sono
Graeme Souness
Arno Steffenhagen
Nobby Stiles
Mike Stojanovic
Mirko Stojanovic
Carl Strong
Wim Suurbier
Colin Todd
Al Trost
Dennis Tueart
Carl Valentine
Jan van Beveren
François Van Der Elst
Jan van der Veen
Julie Veee
Jose Velazquez
Roger Verdi
Barry Wallace
Peter Ward
Barry Watling
Steve Wegerle
Art Welch
Alan Willey
Jean Willrich
Bruce Wilson
Dennis Wit
Peter Withe
Steve Zungul
North American Soccer League or (NASL) was a professional soccer league with teams in the
United States and Canada that operated from 1968 to 1984.
History
In 1967, two pro soccer leagues started in the United States: the FIFA-sanctioned United Soccer
Association and the unsanctioned National Professional Soccer League. It has been suggested
that the timing of this 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 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). 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 1979-82 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 played
for them. Giants Stadium 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 less
than 5,000.
The NASL faced challenges 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 45 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 qualifed 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 new owners, even though Forbes Magazine reported this amount as being only
$100,000. This resulted in the available talent 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 1986 FIFA World Cup to Mexico after Colombia withdrew, rather
than the US, 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 the number
one participatory sport among American youth. In the late-1980s, FIFA did award the World Cup
to the US, which would be staged in 1994. It has also provided lessons for its successor Major
League Soccer, which has tried to build soccer-specific stadiums for each of its teams, rather than
following the NASL's example of depending on large NFL venues which it had little hope of ever
filling. MLS has enforced a limit on foreign players, forcing teams to develop primarily American
talent rather than following the NASL's example of relying on highly-paid imports who were often
well past their prime (although some have criticized the league for going too far, arguing that the
league needs more marketable names). Initially, MLS also tried to "Americanize" its rules with
shootouts and the clock counting down, much as the NASL did, but since 2000 the league has
adopted strict adherence to FIFA Laws as set by the IFAB. American college soccer still uses
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
1982-83 No NASL indoor league
1983-84 San Diego Sockers
Teams of NASL 1968-84
Atlanta Apollos (1968-73, as Atlanta Chiefs in 1968-72)
Atlanta Chiefs (1978-81, as Caribous of Colorado in 1978)
Baltimore Bays (1968-69)
Boston Beacons (1968)
Boston Minutemen (1974-76)
Calgary Boomers (1978-81, as Memphis Rogues in 1978-80)
California Surf (1968-81, as St. Louis Stars in 1968-77)
Chicago Mustangs (1968)
Chicago Sting (1975-84)
Cleveland Stokers (1968)
Dallas Tornado (1968-81)
Detroit Cougars (1968)
Edmonton Drillers (1975-82, as Hartford Centennials in 1975-76, as Connecticut Bicentennials in
1977, as Oakland Stompers in 1978)
Houston Stars (1968)
Houston Hurricane (1978-80)
Jacksonville Tea Men (1978-82, as New England Tea Men in 1978-80)
Kansas City Spurs (1968-70)
Los Angeles Wolves (1968)
Los Angeles Aztecs (1974-81)
Minnesota Strikers (1970-84, as Washington Darts in 1970-71, as Miami Gatos in 1972, as Miami
Toros in 1973-76, as Fort Lauderdale Strikers in 1977-83)
Minnesota Kicks (1974-81, as Denver Dynamo in 1974-75)
Montreal Olympique (1971-73)
Montreal Manic (1978-83, as Philadelphia Fury in 1978-80)
New York Generals (1968)
New York Cosmos (1971-84, as Cosmos in 1977-78)
Oakland Clippers (1968)
Philadelphia Atoms (1973-76)
Portland Timbers (1975-82)
Rochester Lancers (1970-80)
San Diego Toros (1968)
San Diego Sockers (1974-84, as Baltimore Comets in 1974-75, as San Diego Jaws in 1976, as
Las Vegas Quicksilver in 1977)
San Jose Earthquakes (1974-84, as Golden Bay Earthquakes in 1983-84)
Seattle Sounders (1974-83)
Tampa Bay Rowdies (1975-84)
Team America (1983)
Tulsa Roughnecks (1975-84, as San Antonio Thunder in 1975-76, as Team Hawaii in 1977)
Toronto Falcons (1968)
Toronto Blizzard (1971-84, as Toronto Metros in 1971-74, as Toronto Metros-Croatia in 1975-78)
Tulsa Roughnecks (1978-84)
Vancouver Royals (1968)
Vancouver Whitecaps (1974-84)
Washington Whips (1968)
Washington Diplomats (1974-80)
Washington Diplomats (1978-81, as Detroit Express in 1978-80)
NASL yearly statistical leaders
NASL scoring leaders
Year, Player, team, G A PTS
1967 USA Robert Boninsegna, Chicago 11 1 23
1967 NPSL Yanko Daucik, Toronto 20 848
1968 John Kowalik, Chicago 30 9 69
1969 Kaiser Motaung, Atlanta 16 4 36
1970 Kirk Apostolidis, Dallas 16 3 35
1971 Carlos Metidieri, Rochester 19 8 46
1972 Randy Horton, New York 9 4 22
1973 Kyle Rote 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
Famous and prominent players of the NASL
Laurie Abrahams
Dick Advocaat
Javier Aguirre
Carlos Alberto
Ricardo Alonso
Willie Anderson
Warren Archibald
John Bain
Alan Ball
Boris Bandov
Gordon Banks
Barry Barto
Clyde Best
George Best
John Best
Peter Beardsley
Franz Beckenbauer
Herbert Birkenmeier
Roberto Bettega
Zeljko Bilecki
Vladislav Bogićević
Bob Bolitho
Peter Bonetti
Jeff Bourne
David Bradford
Jack Brand
Alan Brazil
Ian Bridge
Brian Budd
Steve Buttle
David Byrne
Roberto Cabañas
Paul Cannell
Ringo Cantillo
Billy Caskey
/Paul Child
Giorgio Chinaglia
Cho Jeung Young
Tony Chursky
Dave Clements
/Ade Coker
/Mike Connell
Jimmy Conway
Charlie Cooke
Kenny Cooper Sr.
Johan Cruijff
Teófilo Cubillas
Leonardo Cuellar
Steve Daley
Iraj Danaeifard
Chris Dangerfield
Steve David
Roger Davies
Rick Davis
Leroy DeLeon
/John Dempsey
Dave D'Errico
Kazimierz Deyna
Willie Donachie
Mike England
Andranik Eskandarian
Ray Evans
Willie Evans[1]
Oscar Fabbiani
Eusébio
Pepe Fernandez
Luis Fernando
Elías Figueroa
Mike Flanagan
Trevor Francis
Casey Frankiewicz
Ron Futcher
Jimmy Gabriel
Archie Gemmill
Johnny Giles
Jan Goossens
George Graham
Karl-Heinz Granitza
Alan Green
Bruce Grobbelaar
Kai Haaskivi
Dick Hall
Ian Hamilton
Paul Hammond
David Harvey
Mike Hewitt
Gordon Hill
Jozsef Horvath
Randy Horton
Alan Hudson
Ray Hudson
Steve Hunt
Geoff Hurst
Gerry Ingram
David Irving
Wim Jansen
Tommy Jenkins
Jimmy Kelly
John Kerr, Sr.
Brian Kidd
Victor Kodelja
Jorgen Kristensen
Ruud Krol
Bob Lenarduzzi
Tino Lettieri
Mark Lindsay
Mirko Liveric
Peter Lorimer
Ivan Lukacevic
Willie Johnston
Pato Margetic
Marinho
Rodney Marsh
Frantz Mathieu
Alan Mayer
Jimmy McAlister
Pat McBride
John McGrane
Wes McLeod
Peter McParland
Alan Merrick
Shep Messing
Carlos Metidieri
Charlie Mitchell
Dale Mithcell
Ilija Mitic
Victor Moreland
Willie Morgan
Bobby Moore
Kaizer Motaung
Steve Moyers
Gerd Müller
Johan Neeskens
Jimmy Nicholl
Peter Nogly
Björn Nordqvist
Patrick Ntsoelengoe
Bill Nuttall
Fran O'Brien
Tommy Ord
Peter Osgood
Phil Parkes
Andrew Parkinson
Pelé
Mark Peterson
Harry Redknapp
Rob Rensenbrink
Peter Ressel
Bob Rigby
Wim Rijsbergen
Bruce Rioch
Neill Roberts
Julio César Romero
Thomas Rongen
Kyle Rote, Jr.
Werner Roth
Brian Rowan
John Rowlands
Willy Roy
Hugo Sánchez
Stewart Scullion
Elson Seale
Branko Segota
Manfred Seissler
Peter Short
Peter Silvester
Antonio Simoes
Derek Smethurst
Bobby Smith
Jomo Sono
Graeme Souness
Arno Steffenhagen
Nobby Stiles
Mike Stojanovic
Mirko Stojanovic
Carl Strong
Wim Suurbier
Colin Todd
Al Trost
Dennis Tueart
Carl Valentine
Jan van Beveren
François Van Der Elst
Jan van der Veen
Julie Veee
Jose Velazquez
Roger Verdi
Barry Wallace
Peter Ward
Barry Watling
Steve Wegerle
Art Welch
Alan Willey
Jean Willrich
Bruce Wilson
Dennis Wit
Peter Withe
Steve Zungul
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