Happy 78th birthday to Bob McAlinden, the 5-foot-7 English winger whose journeyman career switched gears once he signed with the Los Angeles Aztecs in 1976, notching 9 goals and 17 assists in 3 NASL seasons, then later played with the Memphis Rogues (1979) and indoors with the San Jose Earthquakes (1980-81), and enjoyed a long friendship with George Best that included co-ownership of Bestie's Bar and Restaurant in Hermosa Beach, CA.
NASL Dateline: On 26 May 1984, Canada surrendered goals to Alessandro Altobelli and Sergio Battistini and suffered a 2-0 loss to Italy in the 1st-ever meeting between the nations at Varsity Stadium.
NASL Dateline: On 27 May 1977, Paul Child notched the 2nd hat trick of his NASL career in the San Jose Earthquakes' 4-3 win over the St. Louis Stars before 6,899 at Francis Field. MISL Dateline: On 26 May 1982, Steve Zungul scored 4 goals - including a short-handed goal in the dying minutes that gave him a record 24 for the post-season - and Frantz St. Lot and Stan Karasi added 2 each to lead the New York Arrows to their 4th straight MISL Championship with an 8-6 win over the St. Louis Steamers before 11,023 at the Nassau Coliseum.… NASL Dateline: On 26 May 1980, Giorgio Chinaglia scored the 499th goal of his professional career in the 77th minute to rally the New York Cosmos to a 1-1 draw with the Vancouver Whitecaps, capturing the inaugural Trans-Atlantic Challenge Cup before 60,384 at Giants Stadium. In the 3rd-place match, Manchester City defeated AS Roma, 3-2. NASL Dateline: On 26 May 1982, the 3rd annual Trans-Atlantic Challenge Cup got underway as the New York Cosmos got 2 goals from Julio Cesar Romero and played to a 2-2 draw with SSC Napoli before 28,887 at Giants Stadium. Happy 71st birthday to Don McAllister (number 4), the steady English central defender who anchored the backline for Bolton (156 games) and Tottenham (172) games -- winning the 1981 FA Cup with Spurs -- but also had 2 loan spells with NASL clubs, playing with the Washington Diplomats (1977) and Tampa Bay Rowdies (1984). NASL Action: Montreal Manic forward Alan Willey goes up for a header against Seattle Sounders midfielder Brian Schmetzer at the Kingdome. Happy 74th birthday to Wales international Terry Yorath, the steely midfielder who found success at Leeds United (1967-76), Coventry City (1976-79) and Tottenham (1979-81) -- reaching the FA Cup final and the UEFA Cup final in 1973, and becoming the first Welshman to reach the European Cup final a year later -- but also played 2 NASL seasons with the Vancouver Whitecaps (1981-82), where he scored 2 goals in 29 games, then later coached Wales, Swansea City and Sheffield Wednesday. MISL Merchandise: MISL Brochure, 1980-81
MISL Dateline: On 28 May 1981, the San Francisco Fog was launched as the MISL's first West Coast franchise after Dr. David Schoenstadt purchased the moribund Detroit Lightning and moved the team to the Bay Area. Sadly, the Fog managed just 11 wins in 1980-81 and averaged less than 2,500 fans per game in the Cow Palace - losing $1.2 million in the process - and were gone the following season to Kansas City. NASL Head Shots: Portland Timbers, 1978 Soccer in the 1970s: The Tampa Bay Rowdies - with guest player Rick Davis - set up a defensive wall in an exhibition match against China in 1977 at Tampa Stadium. (L to R: Boris Bandov, Rodney Marsh, Steve Wegerle, Rick Davis, Mark Lindsay, Kevin Eagan) MISL Dateline: On 26 May 1986, the San Diego Sockers won their 3rd straight elimination game - including one on the road - and captured their 5th consecutive indoor title by defeating the Minnesota Strikers, 5-3, in Game 7 of the 1986 MISL Championship Series before 10,613 at the San Diego Sports Arena. NASL Dateline: On 26 May 1979, Fort Lauderdale Strikers forward David Irving's 2 goals keyed a 3-1 win over the Memphis Rogues before 13,052 at Lockhart Stadium, the Strikers' 3rd straight victory.…
NASL Memories: The Tampa Bay Rowdies honored NASL great Clyde Best at a recent USL match, celebrating the 6-foot-2 Bermuda international who notched 15 goals in 2 seasons with Tampa Bay and scored in the Rowdies' 2-0 victory in Soccer Bowl '75.
Clyde Best was a productive striker and West Ham United favorite in his early playing career. I saw play several times against the Sounders, since he actually scored more goals and played more games with the Portland Timbers than he did with the Rowdies in the NASL.
NASL Schedules: San Jose Earthquakes, 1975… Did You Know? When the Seattle Sounders played the San Jose Earthquakes in 1981, Earthquakes forward George Best made a caustic remark to Sounders midfielder Steve Daley (pictured) about the record fee ($11.7 million, by today's rates) that Manchester City had paid for Daley a few years earlier. Daley responded with a caustic remark about Best's excessive drinking. Both had a good laugh and hit the town together that same night. Said Daley: "I have never seen so many blondes in all my life." NASL Dateline: On 28 May 1978, English superstar Trevor Francis made his NASL debut with the Detroit Express, scoring 1 goal in a 3-2 win over the Memphis Rogues before 9,649 at the Pontiac Silverdome.… NASL Action: Washington Diplomats midfielder Joe Horvath carries the ball down the wing at RFK Stadium.… Happy 80th birthday to NASL pioneer Dimitrije "David" Davidovic (number 18), the Serbian midfielder who interrupted a successful career with Partizan Belgrade to score 8 goals in 32 games for the Oakland Clippers in 1968, then returned a decade later to make 27 appearances with the San Jose Earthquakes before becoming a highly successful coach in Belgium and the Middle East. NASL Action: Philadelphia Fury attackers Peter Osgood and Tony Glavin are outnumbered by Memphis Rogues defenders Henry McCully, Peter Mohrmann, John Faulkner and Phil Beal at Veterans Stadium. Soccer in the 1970s: The Portland Timbers - Seattle Sounders rivalry was headline news as far back as 1976.… NASL Head Shots: Seattle Sounders, 1979 NASL Memories: NBA Hall of Famer Bill Walton passed away this week after a prolonged battle with cancer. He was 71. But Walton is rightly being remembered as a supportive and engaging teammate, friend and colleague, including the 5 years he spent with the San Diego Clippers (1979-84), where he befriended San Diego Sockers star Juli Vee. "He always supported me," Veee said. "Especially after I finished my career...
NASL Memories: The NASL’s reputation as an “Elephant’s Graveyard” for aging foreign stars was hard to shake, but a quick review indicates dozens of top-flight internationals got an early boost from the NASL and only later became international stars - not counting the scores of U.S. and Canadian players who developed in the league. For example: Peter Beardsley, Vancouver Whitecaps (England, 59 appearances, 1986-96) Mark Hateley, Detroit Express (England, 32 appearances, 1984-92) Hugo Sanchez, San Diego Sockers (Mexico, 59 appearances, 1977-94) Julio Cesar Romero, New York Cosmos (Paraguay, 64 appearances, 1979-90) Roberto Cabanas, New York Cosmos (Paraguay, 28 appearances, 1979-93) Bruce Grobbelaar, Vancouver Whitecaps (Zimbabwe, 32 appearances, 1980-98) Fran O’Brien, Philadelphia Fury (Ireland, 4 appearances, 1978) Javier Aguirre, Los Angeles Aztecs (Mexico, 59 appearances, 1983-92) Graeme Souness, Montreal Olympique (Scotland, 54 appearances, 1974-86) Alan Brazil, Detroit Express (Scotland, 13 appearances, 1980-83) Pierce O’Leary, Philadelphia Fury (Ireland, 7 appearances, 1979-80) Paul Price, Minnesota Kicks (Wales, 25 appearances, 1980-84) Augustin Manzo, Los Angeles Aztecs (Mexico, 4 appearances, 1980-84) Billy Caskey, Tulsa Roughnecks (Northern Ireland, 7 appearances, 1978-82)
Happy 72nd birthday to Tibor Molnar (number 18), the Hungarian-Canadian midfielder who joined the Dallas Tornado in 1971 and helped the club reach the NASL final, then made 40 appearances over a 3-year NASL career with Dallas (1971), the Rochester Lancers (1976) -- finishing 2nd in the 1976 NASL Indoor final -- and San Jose Earthquakes (1976-77), and later won 3 straight MISL titles with the New York Arrows (1979-80), and played for the Hartford Hellions (1980-81), Baltimore Blast (1980-81) and Pittsburgh Spirit (1981-82)
NASL Dateline: On 10 June 1975, soccer in North America changed forever when the New York Cosmos unveiled 34-year old Brazilian superstar Pelé as the team's newest acquisition in a lavish ceremony at the 21 Club, having signed a 3-year, $4.7 million personal services contract with Warner Communications the night before in Bermuda and then jetted to New York on Warner's private plane. Pelé also signed a $200,000 endorsement deal with Pepsi and would debut 5 days later in an exhibition against the Dallas Tornado in New York. Said Pelé: "You can say now to the world that soccer has finally arrived in the United States." Happy 63rd birthday to Canada international Branko Segota (number 20), the Croatian-born striker who joined the New York Arrows at the age of 17 and reeled off 3 straight MISL titles -- while doing double-duty in the NASL with the Rochester Lancers, where he scored 25 goals in 39 games (1979-80) -- then signed with the Fort Lauderdale Strikers and tallied 30 goals in 3 seasons and closed out his NASL career with a career-high 18 goals for the Golden Bay Earthquakes, then went back indoors and won 6 more MISL titles with the San Diego Sockers, making 8 MISL All Star teams, finishing his career as the NASL's 13th all-time leading scorer and the MISL's second, while also playing in the 1986 FIFA World Cup. (Photo by Jon van Woerden) NASL Media: Sylvester Stallone and Pelé promote their upcoming film, "Escape to Victory," during a halftime interview with ABC-Sports broadcaster Jim McKay in Soccer Bowl '80 at RFK Stadium. Happy 70th birthday to Poland international Wladyslaw Zmuda, the towering centerback who played in 4 FIFA World Cups (1974-86) and was voted the Best Young Player in 1974, then won the silver medal at the 1976 Olympic Games, but also had a storied club career with Polish superclubs like Śląsk Wrocław (1974-80) and Widzew Łódź (1980-82) and spent the 1984 NASL season with the New York Cosmos.… NASL Memories: New York Cosmos defender Carlos Alberto parades the Soccer Bowl '82 trophy at Giants Stadium.
MISL Dateline: On 10 June 1989, the San Diego Sockers got 2 goals from Branko Segota - and withstood a furious 4th period rally that included 3 straight goals by Domenic Mobilio - to win their 7th indoor title and successfully defend their MISL crown with a 6-5 victory over the Baltimore Blast in Game 7 of the MISL Championship Series before 11,220 at the Baltimore Civic Center. NASL Memories: New York Cosmos midfielder Franz Beckenbauer scans the crowd of 71,413 prior to his farewell match at Giants Stadium in 1980. NASL Dateline: On 10 June 1981, Peter Beardsley scored his 3rd goal in the last 4 games and the Vancouver Whitecaps cruised to a 3-1 win over the Chicago Sting before 20,875 at Empire Stadium.… MISL Dateline: On 11 June 1987, Steve Zungul scored the MISL-record 100th playoff goal of his career and the Tacoma Stars held off the Dallas Sidekicks, 7-4, to take a 2-games-to-none lead in the MISL Championship Series before 14,643 at the Tacoma Dome. Soccer in the 1970s: Even the referees' publication, "The Whistle," recognized greatness in 1979.… NASL Dateline: On 9 June 1982, Peter Nogly (pictured), Luis Fernando, Pedro DeBrito and Tatu each scored as the Tampa Bay Rowdies beat their Florida rivals, the Fort Lauderdale Strikers, 4-2, before 15,211 at Tampa Stadium