NASL Indoor Tournament | |
---|---|
Tournament details | |
Host country | United States |
Dates | January 24, 1975 – March 16, 1975 |
Teams | 16 |
Final positions | |
Champions | San Jose Earthquakes (1st title) |
Runners-up | Tampa Bay Rowdies |
Tournament statistics | |
Matches played | 20 |
Goals scored | 230 (11.5 per match) |
Top scorer(s) | ![]() |
Best player(s) | ![]() ![]() |
In early 1975, the North American Soccer League hosted its first league-wide indoor soccer tournament over the course of seven weeks. All but four NASL teams participated.
Overview
Though the Dallas Tornado had won the NASL's 1971 Hoc-Soc Tournament[1] and the Atlanta Apollos staged two league sanctioned pilot matches at the Omni in 1973,[2][3] the birth of the modern game in North America can be traced to 1974, when three indoor exhibitions against the touring Soviet Red Army of Moscow club took place. The games were played on a field the size of a hockey rink, with goals 4 feet high by 16 feet wide. Much like hockey, matches were played in three 20 minute periods, allowed free substitution, and featured six man sides (five field players and a goalkeeper). The Soviets beat an outmatched NASL All-Star team 8–4 on February 7 at Toronto's Maple Leaf Gardens. The second game against the reigning champion Philadelphia Atoms on February 11, is considered by many as the watershed event of North American indoor soccer. The game stayed close into the third period, though the Red Army squad eventually pulled away 6–3.[4] On February 13 the Russians closed out their tour with an 11–4 throttling of the St. Louis Stars in Missouri before an impressive crowd of 12,241.[5][6][7]
In spite of the losses, and because another 11,790 curious fans packed Philadelphia's Spectrum to watch this "new" game, the NASL began considering indoor soccer's potential to increase fan interest in the sport as a whole. A month and seven days later a Spectrum crowd of 6,314 turned out to watch the Atoms defeat the New York Cosmos 5–3. With this, franchises also recognized that they could generate more revenue from players already under contract. The league hinted at having a 10-game indoor season in early 1975,[8] but by autumn eventually scaled that plan back.[9] The following year the NASL staged an indoor tournament: sixteen of the twenty teams participated. It was divided into four regional tournaments, with the regional winners meeting in San Francisco for the overall title in a similar format to the NCAA college basketball tournament. In the regionals, two teams would play each other, and then winners would play losers in a two-game series. The team with the best record advanced to the semifinals; in the event of teams having identical records, the side with the best total goal differential advanced out of the region. That first year the goals stayed 4 x 16 and the games remained divided into three 20 minute frames like those played against the Red Army club the previous year.[10][11][12][13]
Four NASL clubs, Chicago, Denver, Portland and San Antonio did not participate in the tournament. However three of them were recently announced,[14] expansion teams that had yet to play an outdoor season either.
The San Jose Earthquakes defeated the newly formed Tampa Bay Rowdies 8–5 in the Championship Final. Paul Child of San Jose scored seven goals in the regionals,[15] and added another seven during the final four to lead all goal scorers. Child and teammate Gabbo Garvic shared the MVP honors.
Pre-1975 NASL indoor matches
March 19, 1971 1 (Hoc-Soc) | St. Louis Stars | 1–2 | Dallas Tornado | St. Louis, Missouri |
8:00 PM (CST) | Leeker ![]() |
Report | Benedek ![]() |
Stadium: St. Louis Arena Attendance: 5,060 Referee: Larry King / Ray Puricelli |
March 19, 1971 2 (Hoc-Soc) | Rochester Lancers | 3–1 | Washington Darts | St. Louis, Missouri |
8:45 PM (CST) | Seissler ![]() Durante ![]() Metidieri ![]() |
Report | Kerr ![]() |
Stadium: St. Louis Arena Attendance: 5,060 Referee: Larry King / Ray Puricelli |
March 19, 1971 3 (Hoc-Soc) | St. Louis Stars | 2–0 | Washington Darts | St. Louis, Missouri |
Popović ![]() |
Report | Stadium: St. Louis Arena Attendance: 5,060 Referee: Larry King / Ray Puricelli |
March 19, 1971 4 (Hoc-Soc) | Dallas Tornado | 3–0 | Rochester Lancers | St. Louis, Missouri |
Renshaw ![]() Molnár ![]() |
Report | Stadium: St. Louis Arena Attendance: 5,060 Referee: Larry King / Ray Puricelli |
May 3, 1973 5 | Atlanta Apollos | 8–6 | Montreal Olympique | Atlanta, Georgia |
Child ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() Cocking ![]() Hoban ![]() Metchick ![]() Hamlyn ![]() |
Report 1 Report 2 Report 3 |
Bachner ![]() ![]() Filby ![]() ![]() Wheeler ![]() Simmons ![]() |
Stadium: The Omni Attendance: 7,115 |
July 8, 1973 6 | Atlanta Apollos | 7–4 | Dallas Tornado | Atlanta, Georgia |
Child ![]() Child ![]() Solem ![]() Child ![]() Child ![]() Twellman ![]() Howe ![]() |
Report 1 Report 2 Report 3 |
Mitić ![]() Rote ![]() Reynolds ![]() Juracy ![]() |
Stadium: The Omni Attendance: 4,090 |
February 7, 1974 7 Int'l friendly | NASL All-Stars | 4–8 | Red Army | Toronto, Ontario |
Siega ![]() Strencier ![]() Siega ![]() Smith ![]() |
Report | Tellinher ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() Dorofeov ![]() |
Stadium: Maple Leaf Gardens Attendance: 11,535 |
February 11, 1974 8 Int'l friendly | Philadelphia Atoms | 3–6 | Red Army | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania |
7:30 PM (EST) | Siega ![]() Child ![]() Siega ![]() |
Report | Tellinher ![]() Babenko ![]() Kaplichnyi ![]() Popev ![]() Dudarenko ![]() Dorofeov ![]() |
Stadium: Spectrum Attendance: 11,790 |
February 13, 1974 9 Int'l friendly | St. Louis Stars | 4–11 | Red Army | St. Louis, Missouri |
7:30 PM (CST) | Vaninger ![]() Vaninger ![]() Vaninger ![]() Vaninger ![]() |
Report | Tellinher ![]() Fedotov ![]() Fedotov ![]() Morozov ![]() Polikarpov ![]() Fedotov ![]() Shlapak ![]() Kovaleski ![]() Fedotov ![]() Kaplichnyi ![]() Tellinher ![]() |
Stadium: St. Louis Arena Attendance: 12,241 Referee: Larry King |
March 18, 1974 10 | Philadelphia Atoms | 5–3 | New York Cosmos | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania |
7:30 PM (EST) | Minor ![]() Minor ![]() O'Neill ![]() Child ![]() Child ![]() |
Report 1 Report 2 |
Mahy ![]() Fink ![]() Siega ![]() |
Stadium: Spectrum Attendance: 6,314 |
Map of clubs
1975 Indoor Regional tournaments
Region 1
played at Fair Park Coliseum in Dallas, Texas
January 24 | Philadelphia Atoms | 5–3 | St. Louis Stars | 3,200[16] |
Toronto Metros-Croatia | 2–1 | Dallas Tornado | ||
January 26 | St. Louis Stars | 8–4 | Toronto Metros-Croatia | 3,800[17] |
Dallas Tornado | 6–2 | Philadelphia Atoms | ||
Pos | Team | G | W | L | GF | GA | GD | PTS |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Dallas Tornado | 2 | 1 | 1 | 7 | 4 | +3 | 2 |
2 | St. Louis Stars | 2 | 1 | 1 | 11 | 9 | +2 | 2 |
3 | Philadelphia Atoms | 2 | 1 | 1 | 7 | 9 | –2 | 2 |
4 | Toronto Metros-Croatia | 2 | 1 | 1 | 6 | 9 | –3 | 2 |
*Dallas wins region on goal differential, advances to semifinals
Region 2
played at Rochester War Memorial in Rochester, New York
February 6 | New York Cosmos | 6–4 | Hartford Bicentennials | Attendance: 2,191 |
Boston Minutemen | 4–3 | Rochester Lancers | ||
February 8 | Hartford Bicentennials | 5–3 | Boston Minutemen | Attendance: 3,173 |
Rochester Lancers | 8–7 | New York Cosmos | ||
Pos | Team | G | W | L | GF | GA | GD | PTS |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | New York Cosmos | 2 | 1 | 1 | 13 | 12 | +1 | 2 |
2 | Hartford Bicentennials | 2 | 1 | 1 | 9 | 9 | 0 | 2 |
3 | Rochester Lancers | 2 | 1 | 1 | 11 | 11 | 0 | 2 |
4 | Boston Minutemen | 2 | 1 | 1 | 7 | 8 | –1 | 2 |
*New York wins region on goal differential, advances to semifinals
Region 3
played at the Bayfront Center in St. Petersburg, Florida[18][19][20]
February 14 | Miami Toros | 11–8 | Baltimore Comets | Attendance: 4,437 |
Tampa Bay Rowdies | 7–2 | Washington Diplomats | ||
February 16 | Miami Toros | 7–4 | Washington Diplomats | Attendance: 4,032 |
Tampa Bay Rowdies | 8–6 | Baltimore Comets | ||
Pos | Team | G | W | L | GF | GA | GD | PTS |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Tampa Bay Rowdies | 2 | 2 | 0 | 15 | 8 | +7 | 4 |
2 | Miami Toros | 2 | 2 | 0 | 18 | 12 | +6 | 4 |
3 | Baltimore Comets | 2 | 0 | 2 | 14 | 19 | –5 | 0 |
4 | Washington Diplomats | 2 | 0 | 2 | 6 | 14 | –8 | 0 |
*Tampa Bay wins region on goal differential, advances to semifinals[21][22]
- Region 3 MVP: Ringo Cantillo[23] (Tampa Bay) – 4 goals
Region 4
played at the Cow Palace in Daly City, California
February 21 | Vancouver Whitecaps | 15–4# | Los Angeles Aztecs | Attendance: 9,223[24] |
San Jose Earthquakes | 14–4# | Seattle Sounders | ||
February 23 | Los Angeles Aztecs | 9–4 | Seattle Sounders | Attendance: 7,232[25] |
San Jose Earthquakes | 7–3 | Vancouver Whitecaps | ||
#Vancouver and San Jose won by such large margins, that the NASL and the two teams agreed to a head-to-head pairing on Feb. 28.[10]
Pos | Team | G | W | L | GF | GA | GD | PTS |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | San Jose Earthquakes | 2 | 2 | 0 | 21 | 7 | +14 | 4 |
2 | Vancouver Whitecaps | 2 | 1 | 1 | 18 | 11 | +7 | 2 |
3 | Los Angeles Aztecs | 2 | 1 | 1 | 13 | 19 | –6 | 2 |
4 | Seattle Sounders | 2 | 0 | 2 | 8 | 23 | –15 | 0 |
*San Jose wins region, advances to semifinals
- Region 4 MVP: Paul Child[26] (San Jose) – 7 goals
1975 Indoor Final Four
Bracket
Semifinals | Championship Final | ||||||||
R4 | San Jose Earthquakes | 8 | |||||||
R1 | Dallas Tornado | 5 | |||||||
R4 | San Jose Earthquakes | 8 | |||||||
R3 | Tampa Bay Rowdies | 5 | |||||||
R3 | Tampa Bay Rowdies | 13 | |||||||
R2 | New York Cosmos | 5 | Third place | ||||||
R1 | Dallas Tornado | 2 | |||||||
R2 | New York Cosmos | 0 |
Semi-finals
played at the Cow Palace in Daly City, California
March 14 | Tampa Bay Rowdies | 13–5 | New York Cosmos[27] | Attendance: 9,113 |
San Jose Earthquakes | 8–5 | Dallas Tornado | ||
Third-place match
played at the Cow Palace in Daly City, California
March 16 | Dallas Tornado | 2–0 | New York Cosmos[28] | |
Championship final
San Jose Earthquakes | 8–5 | Tampa Bay Rowdies |
---|---|---|
Roboostoff ![]() Child ![]() Roboostoff ![]() Child ![]() Roboostoff ![]() Welch ![]() Zaczynski ![]() Child ![]() |
Report 1 (p. 2C) Report 2 |
Engerth ![]() Hartze ![]() Lezak ![]() Wark ![]() Quraishi ![]() |
1975 NASL Indoor Champions: San Jose Earthquakes
Television: CBS (tape delayed)
Final Four awards
- Most Valuable Player: Paul Child (San Jose) & Gabbo Garvic (San Jose)
- All-tournament Team: Paul Child (San Jose), Doug Wark (Tampa Bay), Ilija Mitić (Dallas), Gabbo Garvic (San Jose), Mike Renshaw (Dallas), Ken Cooper (Dallas)
Final Four statistics
Leading Scorers | Goals | Assists | Total Points |
---|---|---|---|
Paul Child (San Jose) | 7 | 3 | 17 |
Doug Wark (Tampa Bay) | 7 | 0 | 14 |
Bernard Hartze (Tampa Bay) | 4 | 3 | 11 |
Ilija Mitić (Dallas) | 4 | 1 | 9 |
Zygmunt Lezak (Tampa Bay) | 4 | 0 | 8 |
Final team rankings
G = Games, W = Wins, L = Losses, GF = Goals For, GA = Goals Against, GD = Goal Differential
Pos | Team | G | W | L | GF | GA | GD |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | San Jose Earthquakes | 4 | 4 | 0 | 37 | 17 | +20 |
2 | Tampa Bay Rowdies | 4 | 3 | 1 | 33 | 21 | +11 |
3 | Dallas Tornado | 4 | 2 | 2 | 14 | 12 | +2 |
4 | New York Cosmos | 4 | 1 | 3 | 18 | 27 | –9 |
5 | Miami Toros | 2 | 2 | 0 | 18 | 12 | +6 |
Non-tournament matches
In addition to the Region 4 and Final Four tournament games (eight contests in all), the San Jose Earthquakes also hosted two other indoor matches at the Cow Palace as tune-ups for the impending tournament. The first one was dubbed the "Calamity Cup" because it pitted the Earthquakes against the Tornado. The second was against their in-state rival, Los Angeles Aztecs. The two matches drew a combined 20,908 spectators and San Jose won both.[29][30] In another match, the Rochester Lancers hosted the Toronto Metros-Croatia on March 29 in front of 2,562 fans at the Rochester War Memorial. Toronto won the game, 10–7.[31]
Match reports
February 7, 1975 1 | San Jose Earthquakes | 8–6 | Dallas Tornado | Daly City, California |
8:00 PM (PST) | Child ![]() Moore ![]() Kemp ![]() B. Demling ![]() Moore ![]() Child ![]() Hernandez ![]() Roboostoff ![]() |
Report 1 Report 2 |
Renshaw ![]() Renshaw ![]() DeLong ![]() Mitić ![]() Mitić ![]() Newman ![]() |
Stadium: Cow Palace Attendance: 11,421 |
February 14, 1975 2 | San Jose Earthquakes | 11–7 | Los Angeles Aztecs | Daly City, California |
8:00 PM (PST) | Moore ![]() Child ![]() Lopez ![]() Moore ![]() Roboostoff ![]() Moore ![]() Child ![]() Roboostoff ![]() Child ![]() Moore ![]() Child ![]() |
Report 1 Report 2 |
Perrichon ![]() Kazarian ![]() Velasquez ![]() Gay ![]() Velasquez ![]() Fowzi ![]() Velasquez ![]() |
Stadium: Cow Palace Attendance: 9,487 Referee: John Davies |
March 29, 1975 3 | Rochester Lancers | 7–10 | Toronto Metros-Croatia | Rochester, New York |
8:00 PM (EST) | Ord ![]() ![]() ![]() Odoi ![]() Janduda ![]() Cupello ![]() Mambo ![]() |
Report | Šutevsk ![]() ![]() ![]() Perić ![]() ![]() ![]() Polak ![]() ![]() Zekić ![]() ![]() Pinto ![]() |
Stadium: Rochester War Memorial Attendance: 2,562 |
References
- ^ Flachsbart, Harold (March 20, 1971). "Fans Get A Kick Out Of Hoc-Soc". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. p. 6. Retrieved August 8, 2016.
- ^ "Indoor soccer 'pilot contest' pits Montreal against Atlanta". Rome News-Tribune. May 2, 1973. p. 8A. Retrieved August 2, 2016.
- ^ Yannis, Alex (June 23, 1973). "Cosmos Hire an Ex‐Commuter". New York Times. Retrieved August 2, 2016.
- ^ "- YouTube". YouTube.
- ^ Mueller, Gary (February 15, 1974). "Gritty Winter Impressive For Outclassed Stars". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. p. 30. Retrieved August 6, 2016.
- ^ "Red Army | SoccerStats.us". Archived from the original on May 18, 2014. Retrieved May 18, 2014.
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- ^ "Indoor Plan For Soccer Set in '75". New York Times. April 7, 1974. Retrieved August 2, 2016.
- ^ Chick, Bob (September 19, 1992). "Soccer: A Small Season For The Great Indoors". Evening Independent. p. 1-C. Retrieved October 3, 2016.
- ^ a b "History of Indoor Soccer in the USA". Rsssf.com. Retrieved November 4, 2013.
- ^ "TAMPA BAY ROWDIES APPRECIATION BLOG: 01/04/09 - 01/05/09". Mytampabayrowdies.blogspot.com. Retrieved November 4, 2013.
- ^ "St. Petersburg Times - Google News Archive Search". Retrieved June 24, 2015.
- ^ "TAMPA BAY ROWDIES APPRECIATION BLOG: 01/03/11 - 01/04/11". Mytampabayrowdies.blogspot.com. Retrieved November 4, 2013.
- ^ Orr, M. (2011). The 1975 Portland Timbers: The Birth of Soccer City, USA. History Press. p. 15. ISBN 9781609494667. Retrieved June 24, 2015.
- ^ Tex Maule (March 3, 1975). "The Sport That Came In From The Cold". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved December 17, 2015.
- ^ Wheeler, Pat (January 27, 1975). "Indoor soccer here to stay?". Irving Daily News. p. 8. Retrieved July 4, 2017.
- ^ Henderson, Jim (February 12, 1975). "Rowdies Ready For Tournament". Tampa Tribune. p. 8. Retrieved November 23, 2018.
- ^ "Lakeland Ledger - Google News Archive Search". Retrieved June 24, 2015.
- ^ "Sarasota Herald-Tribune - Google News Archive Search". Retrieved June 24, 2015.
- ^ "Sarasota Herald-Tribune - Google News Archive Search". Retrieved June 24, 2015.
- ^ "-SSME_CFHsq0/TX8uQHc6DfI/AAAAAAAAKyk/QUUa9V21_-o/s1600/1975-2-16%2BRowdies%2Bvs%2BComets%2Bid%2BReport". 4.bp.blogspot.com. Retrieved June 24, 2015.
- ^ "-TIEoRQXqGxw/TY2_VHqHNuI/AAAAAAAAK18/OUT162vbVio/s1600/1975-2-16%2BRowdies%2Bvs%2BComets%2Bindoor%2BReport%2B2". 3.bp.blogspot.com. Retrieved June 24, 2015.
- ^ "St. Petersburg Times - Google News Archive Search".
- ^ "Sounders first indoor venture: 'We were clueless' | the Frank MacDonald Blog".
- ^ "24 Feb 1975, 8 - The Berkeley Gazette at". Newspapers.com. February 24, 1975. Retrieved June 5, 2022.
- ^ Chittenden, Ed (March 24, 1975). "SJ's Acrobatic Goalie Puts 'Quakes in Semis". The Times (San Mateo, CA). p. 22. Retrieved July 31, 2016.
- ^ "-iFgNnJBUS14/TYpd_DtAe3I/AAAAAAAAK0k/g8u1Ko3memk/s1600/1975-3-14%2BRowdies%2Bvs%2BCosmos%2Bindoor%2BReport%2B1". 1.bp.blogspot.com. Retrieved June 24, 2015.
- ^ "The Year in American Soccer - 1975". Homepages.sover.net. Archived from the original on November 5, 2015. Retrieved November 4, 2013.
- ^ Chittenden, Ed (February 8, 1975). "Cow Palace Hit". The Times (San Mateo, CA). p. 23. Retrieved July 28, 2016.
- ^ "Tourney Next For 'Quakes". The Times (San Mateo, CA). February 15, 1975. p. 16. Retrieved July 28, 2016.
- ^ Lewis, Micheal (March 30, 1975). "Lancers bow to Toronto's surge". Rochester Democrat and Chronicle. p. 2D. Retrieved July 12, 2017.