Good morning, Uni Watchers! And a good Tuesday to one and all.
UW pal/contributor/author Leo Strawn, Jr. joins us again today, with a new topic that’s been generally outside of my wheelhouse, but I know a lot of readers enjoy — soccer. Even though I grew up playing it (the NASL was also becoming a powerhouse at this time), I never quite got the football (soccer) bug they way I did the four major sports.
But for you fans (and even non-fans) of the beautiful game, we’ve got another fun edition of Leo’s World to scratch your soccer itch.
And now, here’s Leo with…
Futbol, American Style
by Leo Strawn, Jr.
I’m Leo…welcome to my world!
I have a few futbol soccer items I thought you might like to see.
Rather than compete against one another for the few soccer fans there were here at the time, the United Soccer Association and National Professional Soccer League merged after their 1967 seasons to create the North American Soccer League. The NASL enjoyed a bit of success, thanks in large part to Pelé, George Best, Carlos Alberto and Franz Beckenbauer in the mid-1970s, as well as the 1981 MLB mid-season strike that left sports fans searching for an alternative that summer, before finally folding following the 1984 season.
Prior to Pelé’s arrival, the NASL appreciated any attention it could get, like this Sports Illustrated issue from 1973, the first time the magazine had featured a soccer player on its cover. This hooped, color-on-color match featured the Philadelphia Atoms (light blue with darker blue hoops) playing the Dallas Tornado (blue with orange hoops).
Speaking of Pelé, here he is in his first season with the Cosmos in a jersey you’ll rarely see him pictured in.
And, speaking of George Best, here he is prior to a Los Angeles Aztecs match in 1976, next to some singer who also hailed from the UK.
The NASL was a source of some great looking uniforms, like the Chicago Sting…
Vancouver Whitecaps…
Atlanta Chiefs…
and, in my humble opinion, the best-looking soccer kit of all time, worn by the Tampa Bay Rowdies.
There were some NASL oddities, too. For example, you can’t be more patriotic while being stormy at the same time than the San Antonio Thunder.
The New England Tea Men actually wore a huge “T” on their jersey that led to an interesting front number placement.
I’m sure we’ve all seen the infamous Caribous of Colorado, but this edition would be lacking without including it.
The NASL produced some cool logos. From left to right, top image: Tulsa Roughnecks, Memphis Rogues (I have a soft spot in my heart for cartoony logos) and Portland Timbers (a variation of which is used by the MLS Timbers club). In the second image: San Diego Sockers and Seattle Sounders (who also have an MLS club named after them).
In 1971, the league experimented with indoor soccer, then revived it from 1975 through the end of the NASL in 1984. While that indoor league died with its outdoor big brother, it did give rise to a league that focused solely on the indoor game and stuck around for 14 seasons, outlasting NASL by nearly a decade, the Major Indoor Soccer League.
The late, great Pete Rose helped get the league get much-needed attention straight out of the gate, kicking the first ball in the inaugural match between the Cincinnati Kids and the New York Arrows. In the MISL’s first season, 2 of the 6 franchises were located in the state of Ohio. The Kids only played for one season, but the Cleveland Force played on for 9 more seasons after that, averaging just under 13,000 fans per game during their last five. By way of comparison, the NBA Cavaliers shared Richfield Coliseum with the Force, but averaged just over 9,000 a game during those same 5 seasons.
When the NASL folded in 1984, four teams joined the MISL.
MLS has some pretty cool logos, too. My favorite has to be the LAFC art deco logo.
I can’t say the same for MLS billboard kits, though. The worst offender is in New York. I never understood why the Red Bulls felt the need for this redundancy.
Until next time…
Cheers!
Obviously I’m a huge soccer fan, INCLUDING American soccer. The Force (and successor Crunch) were huge here in Cleveland. Crunch would get big crowds to the Wolstein Center downtown.
It’s wild to me that Stoke sent their squad to Cleveland to play a season in the 60s. Depressed industrial towns gotta stick together.
The Force games were a bright spot in Cleveland sports of the 80s. Fun games and Darth Vader walking around the crowd. The Force was my intro to soccer and the first kit I owned, starting my collection (or obsession if you ask my wife) Kai Haaskivi and Keith Furphy forever!
In 1967, moving from Stoke to Cleveland (which still had around 800K residents in the late 60s) must have felt like a big jump for a lot of guys.
And the Stokers beat Pele and Santos at Municipal Stadium!
GTGFTS: Nov 9, 1958 Yankee Stadium. NYG 24, Colts 21. The photo depicts Kyle Rote catching a TD pass from Charley Connerly to tie the game.
I miss those stubby glass Pepsi bottles the white cap is holding. So much better than plastic – kept the soda cold and bubbly.
The San Jose Earthquakes also honor their NASL roots, even going so far as to put their NASL year of establishment in their crest
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It was a disappointment that NYCFC and SDFC didn’t continue on with the Cosmos’ and Sockers’ legacies when their MLS franchises were awarded.
I don’t know how popular/unpopular this opinion is, but I wish MLS would stop trying to be Euro Lite and make the FC/SC teams go the traditional City-Nickname like the other sports do. Some of the unofficial monikers would work quite well without redesigns (e.g. Minnesota Loons, Orlando Purple Lions, Toronto Reds)
The Sounders do also.
All of Cascadia does, but they were mentioned in the article.
I absolutely loathe some of the more forced names, like Inter Miami CF and Sporting Kansas City. Or the absolute bottom of the barrel, Real Salt Lake.
Agreed. I would much prefer the Miami Herons (or Fusion, which I think fits Miami better) and Kansas City Wizards (the Cauldron was such a great Supporters name). As for RSL, switch that nonsense to Utah Monarchs to go with the Utah Royals.
NYCFC is owned by City group so that was never going to happen. The SD Sockers currently exist as an indoor team in the MASL so that’s out too.
I imagine someone still owns the Cosmos IP too. They were in the revived NASL.
That was what doomed that version of the Cosmos. MLS demands control of the IP of all franchises. The Cosmos’ owner refused. So the revival ended up in NASL II which was created by USL owners fed up with all the central control.
If there is anything that modern sports has taught me, it’s that every never has its price. Give me a Hudson River Derby of Metrostars vs Cosmos.
I wish they would just go with SC. The NFL is pretty popular, let them have “football” and just call it soccer.
Especially since “soccer” is a British term to begin with. Brits get all snooty now about insisting it’s football and that soccer is some kind of Americanism, but that’s absolutely not true. A couple of years ago I saw the official film of the 1966 World Cup, a UK production from beginning to end, and they called it “soccer” throughout.
MLS has always had that identity crisis. At first they had Arena Football League-esque names, then they pivoted in the complete opposite direction. I like “SC.” “FC” feels very forced considering we don’t call it football here and anything like “Real Salt Lake” is downright silly.
GTGFTU: December 28, 2003 Browns at Bengals. The Browns won 22-14; it was the final game of that season and the second time the Bengals wore black pants as a tease for their 2004 redesign. They had also worn the black pants in week 1 vs the Broncos.
How about pre-’73 NASL? A lot of American pro teams in the 60s wore what looked like American football jerseys — enormous numbers on the front and back, logo (if any) on the sleeve, minimal striping.
Love those Aztec kits. I don’t think I’ve ever seen those San Antonio Thunder tops before! They’re incredible!
this article is awesome, thank you! I love the history of soccer in north america. this summer I learned that in 1983 the NASL had a ‘team america’ that participated as a club team within the league (they finished bottom of division!). I love that you dove into misl as it truly is the bedrock of soccer in America and is still going strong with masl, continual beautiful logos and uniforms to this day. Two fun facts about the misl is that in 1990 there were several players called to the usmnt wc team that were playing misl, this was the top professional league in usa..crazy!
Last thing I want to say is that last year was the inaugural The Soccer Tournament. It is a mirror of The Basketball Tournament, with the cash prize being million dollars. The tournament has many retired world class players that compete in the 7 aside tournament. The winning team though was Newport Pride FC, an amateur’s team made up of masl players!
in 1990 there were several players called to the usmnt wc team that were playing misl, this was the top professional league in usa
That’s why I say the Cleveland Crunch’s titles in the 90s count… there was no “52-year curse” when the Warriors blew the 2016 NBA title to the Cavs.
So glad the MISL was included in this. One of the league’s best teams, the Baltimore Blast, is still playing in the MASL.
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Great stuff again, Leo! As a Dutch guy I grew up with the Aztecs, Washington Diplomats and Chicago Sting as thet featured former Dutch stars, the brightest being Johan Cruijff. I have always loved the Rowdies lettering and my favorite MLS team is the Timbers. I forgot that their name and logo go all the way back. Thanks for bringing back these memories!
I always thought the Philadelphia Fury had the coolest kits.
A few year’s after the Fury left town, another Philadelphia – based football team that called The Vet home cribbed that color scheme (with pretty good results)…the USFL Stars.
Note to self:
Send photo of San Antonio Thunder uniform to Kary Klismet for next installment of “Dressed for the Season – Independance Day edition.
I wonder if anyone ever requested that as a membership card!
I was briefly obsessed with the NASL in my teens during the mid-90s. A British company started making replica shirts and advertising them in the back of the sports magazines I used to read, and already being an avid uni watcher I quickly fell in love with a lot of the designs. I spent months deciding which one to buy, eventually settling on a beautiful white Tampa Bay Rowdies shirt. Imagine my dismay when it finally arrived and turned out to be a cheaply-made piece of shit that was so thin it was virtually transparent and started to fall apart after a single wash.
That was the end of my obsession with the NASL.
Um… no mention of my all time favorite player, Johan Cruyff, who sported the HORRIFIC Dips kit for the Washington Diplomats team i adored as a kid?!?! link
I guess we have different interpretations of “horrific”. That’s a great shirt, and not even in a “so bad it’s good way”.
And that’s why I chose a Chicago Sting uniform for my UniWatch card.
I miss the jersey style that evolved in the NASL. It was distinctly American.