North American Soccer League (1968–1984)
The North American Soccer League (NASL) was the top-level major professional soccer league in the United States and Canada 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 to 1983 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 the set-up of Major League Soccer (MLS) in 1996.
In 1975, Spartan Stadium in San Jose, California, hosted the first Soccer Bowl when its capacity was 18,155
Pelé played for the New York Cosmos from 1975 to 1977
George Best (right) of the Los Angeles Aztecs challenges for the ball against New York Cosmos, 1976
The Los Angeles Aztecs signed Dutch superstar Johan Cruyff in 1979
The Soccer Bowl was the annual championship game of the North American Soccer League (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 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.
Spartan Stadium in San Jose, California, hosted the first Soccer Bowl in 1975.
Giants Stadium hosted Soccer Bowl '78 with a record 74,091 in attendance.
