The 1979 North American Soccer League season was the 67th season of FIFA-sanctioned soccer and the 12th with a national first-division league in the United States and Canada.
Changes from the previous season
Rules changes A rule modification required that each squad play two U.S. or Canadian players and that each 17-man roster carry six such players.
New teams None
Teams folding None
Teams moving Colorado Caribous to Atlanta Chiefs Oakland Stompers to Edmonton Drillers
Name changes Cosmos to New York Cosmos Toronto Metros-Croatia to Toronto Blizzard
Map of clubs
Season recap Compared to the previous season's upheaval, 1979 was a relatively tranquil year. The league format remained unchanged with 24 teams divided into six divisions within two conferences, and a 16-team playoff. A slight modification to the first round of the playoffs, from a single game to the two-game format used in later rounds, was made. Also the minigame, used to decide tied playoff series, no longer ended on a golden goal (sudden death). Instead, the entire 30 minutes was played.
Still, there were issues to be sorted out. There was a brief players' strike on April 14, as the league refused to recognize the newly formed Players Association. However, since the majority of NASL players were foreign and unsure of American and Canadian labor laws, support was minimal. An estimated three quarters of NASL players crossed the picket line once the Justice Department implied that foreign players would be subject to deportation.
The Cosmos decided to put "New York" back into their name after a two-year absence. With a change in ownership, the Toronto franchise was now called the Toronto Blizzard, while Toronto Croatia (who had merged with the Metros back in 1975) returned to their old league, the National Soccer League. The Colorado Caribous moved to Atlanta to become the reborn Atlanta Chiefs in October 1978, while the Oakland Stompers would move to Edmonton just a month before the start of the season. Both teams struggled, finishing last in their respective divisions. The new Edmonton Drillers were particularly bad, setting a record for most consecutive losses in league history with 14.
At the other end of the table, the Houston Hurricane went from worst to first in the American Conference, going undefeated in their 15 home matches at the Astrodome and earning Timo Liekoski Coach of the Year honors. However, the Hurricane were upset in the first round of the ASC playoffs, as the Philadelphia Fury, who were winless on the road during the regular season, won the deciding game in Houston.
That meant the door was opened for the Tampa Bay Rowdies to win their second straight ASC title, sweeping the Fury and outlasting the San Diego Sockers in a minigame at Tampa Stadium. The Rowdies were led by Oscar Fabbiani's 25 goals and a defense that gave up 46 goals, the second-fewest in the league.
The two-time defending champion Cosmos kept rolling, posting another 24–6 record and surpassing their league record for points with 216. Johan Cruyff joined the team in the fall of 1978 for a few exhibitions, but the Los Angeles Aztecs bought out his NASL option for $600,000 to take him to the West Coast. Cruyff scored two goals against the Rochester Lancers on his debut, while leading the Aztecs to a nine-win turnaround. Despite their second-round playoff loss to the Vancouver Whitecaps, he earned league MVP honors for his efforts.
New York proved that they did not need him to score goals, as Giorgio Chinaglia led the league for the third straight year. However, he lost out on the scoring title by a point to Fabbiani. As befitting their status within the league, the Cosmos had the honor of playing in the first game of ABC Sports' three-year TV contract with the league in May; a Soccer Bowl '78 rematch in which they lost 3–2 at Tampa Bay. The network would cover nine regular-season and playoff games per year. This included coverage of the next three Soccer Bowls.
However, the league's dream of the Cosmos hosting another Soccer Bowl in front of a national TV audience went up in smoke when New York lost to Vancouver in a memorable playoff matchup. After the Whitecaps won the first game of the National Conference final in Vancouver, the teams played for three and a half hours at Giants Stadium three days later on ABC. The Cosmos won the regular game in a shootout, tying the series at one. The deciding minigame would also go to a shootout, where Derek Possee gave Vancouver the lead. After the Cosmos' Ricky Davis and the Whitecaps' Alan Ball missed on their chances, New York's Nelsi Morais was unable to beat the five-second clock and his goal was waved off, giving Vancouver the win.
Vancouver went on to beat the Rowdies a week later in the Soccer Bowl. Trevor Whymark scored both Vancouver goals and earned game MVP honors, while Tampa Bay suffered their second straight loss in the championship game. Attendance at Giants Stadium was well below projections, as 50,699 showed up despite 66,843 tickets having been sold. The Whitecaps' Alan Ball was named playoff MVP for his seven-assist effort in Vancouver's championship run. Attendance estimates vary (they range from 60,000 to 150,000 people), but the resulting championship parade is still considered the largest public demonstration in Vancouver civic history.
Another positive sign for the league was that this would be the first offseason in NASL history where no franchises folded or moved.
Regular season 6 points for a win, 0 points for a loss, 1 point for each regulation goal scored up to three per game.
Division standings -Playoffs via division standings. -Playoffs via wildcard.
Conference standings American Conference
National Conference
Overall standings
NASL League Leaders
Scoring GP = Games Played, G = Goals (worth 2 points), A = Assists (worth 1 point), Pts = Points Player Team GP G A Pts Oscar FabbianiTampa Bay Rowdies2625858 Giorgio ChinagliaNew York Cosmos2726557 Gerd MüllerFort Lauderdale Strikers25191755 David RobbPhiladelphia Fury30162052 Jeff BourneAtlanta Chiefs29181551 Karl-Heinz GranitzaChicago Sting30201050 Teófilo CubillasFort Lauderdale Strikers30161850 Alan WilleyMinnesota Kicks2921749 Dennis TueartNew York Cosmos27161648 Laurie AbrahamsCalifornia/Tulsa2518945 Johan CruyffLos Angeles Aztecs23131642
Goalkeeping Note: GP = Games played; Min - Minutes played; GA = Goals against; GAA = Goals against average; W = Wins; L = Losses; SO = Shutouts Player Team GP Min SV GA GAA W L SO Phil ParkesVancouver Whitecaps292704100290.962097 Victor NogueiraAtlanta Chiefs17143279201.26885 Željko BileckiTampa Bay Rowdies17154993221.281255 Mike IvanowSeattle Sounders282517149391.3913152 Bill IrwinWashington Diplomats282603134421.4517114 Paul HammondHouston Hurricane292705215441.462186 Volkmar GrossSan Diego/Minnesota242132137381.6041776 Kevin KeelanNew England Tea Men252242133401.60512132 Colin BoultonLos Angeles/Tulsa302746109491.60616147 Tino LettieriMinnesota Kicks16136895251.631052
NASL All-Stars
First Team Position Second Team Honorable Mention Phil Parkes, Vancouver G Paul Hammond, Houston Alan Mayer, San Diego Carlos Alberto, New York D Marinho, New York Steve Litt, Minnesota Bruce Wilson, Chicago D John Gorman, Tampa Bay Bob Smith, San Diego Wim Rijsbergen, New York D Mihalj Keri, Los Angeles Wim Suurbier, Los Angeles Mike Connell, Tampa Bay D Bob Lenarduzzi, Vancouver Artur Correia, New England Franz Beckenbauer, New York M Teófilo Cubillas, Fort Lauderdale Rodney Marsh, Tampa Bay Johan Neeskens, New York M Vladislav Bogićević, New York Alan Hudson, Seattle Ace Ntsoelengoe, Minnesota M Alan Ball, Vancouver Gerry Daly, New England Johan Cruyff, Los Angeles F Óscar Fabbiani, Tampa Bay Jørgen Kristensen, Chicago Trevor Francis, Detroit F Karl-Heinz Granitza, Chicago Steve Wegerle, Tampa Bay Giorgio Chinaglia, New York F Gerd Müller, Fort Lauderdale Dennis Tueart, New York
Playoff The top two teams from each division qualified for the playoffs automatically. The two teams with the highest point totals remaining in each conference filled out the field as wild cards and were given the lowest first round seeds. Playoff match-ups and home/away status were reset after each round, based on regular season point totals.
In 1979 and 1980, if a playoff series was tied at one victory each, a full 30 minute mini-game was played. If neither team held an advantage after the 30 minutes, the teams would then move on to an NASL shoot-out to determine a series winner.
Bracket
First round Lower seedHigher seedGame 1Game 2Mini-game(lower seed hosts Game 1)Philadelphia Fury - Houston Hurricane 2–1 2–1 x August 14 • Veterans Stadium • 3,337August 20 • Houston Astrodome • 7,530Detroit Express - Tampa Bay Rowdies 0–3 1–3 x August 15 • Pontiac Silverdome • 21,539August 19 • Tampa Stadium • 27,210Chicago Sting - Fort Lauderdale Strikers 2–0 1–0 x August 15 • Soldier Field • 10,019August 18 • Lockhart Stadium • 13,691California Surf - San Diego Sockers 2–4 2–7 x August 16 • Anaheim Stadium • 8,460August 18 • San Diego Stadium • 10,225Tulsa Roughnecks - Minnesota Kicks 2–1 (OT) 2–1 (OT) x August 15 • Skelly Stadium • 14,105August 19 • Metropolitan Stadium • 28,996Dallas Tornado - Vancouver Whitecaps 2–3 1 –2 x August 15 • Ownby Stadium • 8,829August 18 • Empire Stadium • 30,328Los Angeles Aztecs - Washington Diplomats 3–1 4–3 (OT) x August 15 • Rose Bowl • 12,042August 19 • RFK Stadium • 14,802Toronto Blizzard - New York Cosmos 1–3 0–2 x August 16 • Exhibition Stadium • 30,356August 19 • Giants Stadium • 46,531
Conference semifinals Lower seedHigher seedGame 1Game 2Mini-game(lower seed hosts Game 1)San Diego Sockers - Chicago Sting 2–0 1–0 x August 22 • San Diego Stadium • 11,561August 25 • Wrigley Field • 15,379Los Angeles Aztecs - Vancouver Whitecaps 3–2 (SO, 2–1) 0–1 0–1 August 22 • Rose Bowl • 21,213August 25 • Empire Stadium • 32,375Philadelphia Fury - Tampa Bay Rowdies 2–3 (SO, 0–2) 0–1 x August 23 • Franklin Field • 10,395August 25 • Tampa Stadium • 21,112Tulsa Roughnecks - New York Cosmos 3–0 0–3 1–3 August 23 • Skelly Stadium • 26,011August 26 • Giants Stadium • 76,031
Conference Championships Lower seedHigher seedGame 1Game 2Mini-game(lower seed hosts Game 1)Vancouver Whitecaps - New York Cosmos 2–0 2–3 (SO, 1–3) 1–0 (SO, 3–2) August 29 • Empire Stadium • 32,875September 1 • Giants Stadium • 44,109San Diego Sockers - Tampa Bay Rowdies 2–1 2–3 (SO, 0–3) 0–1 August 30 • San Diego Stadium • 20,267September 2 • Tampa Stadium • 38,766
Soccer Bowl '79
1979 NASL Champions: Vancouver Whitecaps
Post season awards Most Valuable Player: Johan Cruyff, Los Angeles Coach of the year: Timo Liekoski, Houston Rookie of the year: Larry Hulcer, Los Angeles North American Player of the Year: Rick Davis, New York Playoff MVP: Alan Ball, Vancouver
Average home attendance
TeamAverageNew York Cosmos 46,690Tampa Bay Rowdies 28,546Minnesota Kicks 24,580Vancouver Whitecaps 22,962Seattle Sounders 18,998Tulsa Roughnecks 16,426San Jose Earthquakes 15,092Los Angeles Aztecs 14,334Detroit Express 14,058Fort Lauderdale Strikers 13,708Washington Diplomats 11,973Toronto Blizzard 11,821San Diego Sockers 11,271Portland Timbers 11,172California Surf 10,330Edmonton Drillers 9,924Dallas Tornado 9,306Rochester Lancers 8,680Chicago Sting 8,062Atlanta Chiefs 7,350Memphis Rogues 7,137New England Tea Men 6,562Houston Hurricane 6,212Philadelphia Fury 5,624
References
External links The Year in American Soccer – 1979 Chris Page's NASL Archive Complete NASL Results and Standings