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Soccer Bowl

Soccer tournament

Field	Value
name	Soccer Bowl
NASL Championship Final
image	NASL Trophy (1970s-1980s).png
imagesize	150
caption	The trophy awarded to champions
organiser	NASL
number of teams	2
founded
abolished
region	United States
Canada
current champions	USA Chicago Sting (1984)
most successful club	USA New York Cosmos
(5 titles)
American	yes

Note

the 1968–1984 first division soccer league championship game

NASL Championship Final Canada (5 titles) 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 (or series, as it was played through 1971) 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.

History

The NASL championships began as a two-game aggregate goal series in 1968 and switched to a best-of-three series in 1971. In 1972, the league adopted a single-game championship hosted by the higher-seeded club.

Then-NASL commissioner Phil Woosnam wanted to build excitement for the championship game. He envisioned a week-long, neutral-site championship event in the mold of the NFL's Super Bowl. On August 24, 1975, the first Soccer Bowl was played at Spartan Stadium in San Jose, California, as the Tampa Bay Rowdies defeated the Portland Timbers. Unlike the Super Bowl, the NASL's annual numbering scheme did not use Roman numerals (e.g., Super Bowl IX), but instead used the last two digits of the year played (e.g., Soccer Bowl '78).

The last Soccer Bowl returned to a best-of-three series format and occurred in early October 1984. The league ceased operation in 1985.

Format

The NASL used several different formats for its championship matches over the course of its history.

The 1968 and 1970 NASL Finals were contested with a two-game series, one in each of the two teams' stadiums, and the winner decided by aggregate goals.

The NASL contracted from 17 teams to 5 for the 1969 season, so no final was held. Instead, as in many leagues in Europe, the championship was awarded to the team with the most points at season's end.

The 1971 NASL Final was played in a best-of-three series, with games one and three hosted by the higher-seeded team.

After 1971, the NASL Championship Final switched to a single game. The 1972 through 1974 were hosted by the highest-seeded team. In 1975, Woosnam's dream of a neutral-site event became reality, and the Soccer Bowl was born. That format continued through the 1983 final.

For the league's final season in 1984, the finals reverted to a best-of-three series, although it retained the "Soccer Bowl" moniker, used alternately with "Soccer Bowl Series".

Legacy

A new minor league North American Soccer League began play in 2011, borrowing much of the iconography of the original. This second league used the name "Soccer Bowl" for their championship match in 2013, and then only for the championship trophy itself from 2014 through the end of the league in 2017.

Results

Sources: WildStat, NASL, Steve Dimitry, Soccer Times

Final	Champions	Runners-up	Score	Venue	City	Attend.
1968	Atlanta Chiefs	San Diego Toros		Balboa Stadium	San Diego	9,360
	Atlanta Stadium	Atlanta	14,994
1969
1970	Rochester Lancers	Washington Darts		Aquinas Memorial	Rochester	9,321
	Brookland Stadium	Washington, D.C.	5,543
1971	Dallas Tornado	Atlanta Chiefs		Atlanta Stadium	Atlanta	3,218
	Franklin Stadium	Dallas	6,456
	Atlanta Stadium	Atlanta	4,687
1972	New York Cosmos	St. Louis Stars		Hofstra Stadium	Hempstead	6,102
1973	Philadelphia Atoms	Dallas Tornado		Texas Stadium	Irving	18,824
1974	Los Angeles Aztecs	Miami Toros		Orange Bowl	Miami	15,507
1975	Tampa Bay Rowdies	Portland Timbers		Spartan Stadium	San Jose	17,483
1976	Toronto Metros-Croatia	Minnesota Kicks		Kingdome	Seattle	25,765
1977	New York Cosmos	Seattle Sounders		Civic Stadium	Portland	35,548
1978	New York Cosmos	Tampa Bay Rowdies		Giants Stadium	East Rutherford	74,901
1979	Vancouver Whitecaps	Tampa Bay Rowdies		Giants Stadium	East Rutherford	50,699
1980	New York Cosmos	Fort Lauderdale Strikers		RFK Stadium	Washington, D.C.	50,768
1981	Chicago Sting	New York Cosmos		Exhibition Stadium	Toronto	36,971
1982	New York Cosmos	Seattle Sounders		Jack Murphy Stadium	San Diego	22,634
1983	Tulsa Roughnecks	Toronto Blizzard		BC Place	Vancouver	53,326
1984	Chicago Sting	Toronto Blizzard		Comiskey Park	Chicago	8,352
	Varsity Stadium	Toronto	16,842

;Notes

References

"NASL CLUBS TO COMPETE FOR 'THE CHAMPIONSHIP'".
(September 23, 1980). "Soccer Bowl '80 Leaves District Officials Applauding". The Washington Post.
(September 27, 1983). "NASL changes Soccer Bowl format". [[St. Petersburg Times]].
funwhileitlasted.com. "October 1, 1984 – Chicago Sting vs. Toronto Blizzard". Funwhileitlasted.com.
WildStat.com. "USA-MLS-NASL". WildStat.com.
North American Soccer League. "NASL 1968-1984 Yearly Results". North American Soccer League.
Steve Dimitry's Extinct Sports League. "North American Soccer League (1968-1984) NASL". Steve Dimitry's Extinct Sports League.
SoccerTimes.com. "NASL / North American Soccer League Championship". SoccerTimes.com.
"This Day In 1981: Soccer Bowl Edition | Chicago Fire Confidential ".
"The Year in American Soccer – 1977 ".

Info: Wikipedia Source

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soccer-bowl north-american-soccer-league-(1968–1984) national-professional-soccer-league-(1967)

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