NASL Legends: "Krazy George" Henderson Did You Know? Steve David led the San Jose Earthquakes in goals (14), points (30) and minutes (2,409) in the 1980 NASL season.… NASL Dateline: On 11 May 1975, John Rowlands scored for the 2nd straight game and the Seattle Sounders won their 3rd in a row in a 3-1 victory over the Los Angeles Aztecs before 15,879 at Memorial Stadium.… NASL Merchandise: Team America / San Jose Earthquakes NASL Merchandise: San Jose Earthquakes, 1980 Steve David, George Best , Easy Perez, Bernie Gersdorff, Sam Bick, Willie Cryns NASL Action: San Jose Earthquakes defender Buzz Demling tackles Tampa Bay Rowdies midfielder Wes McLeod as teammate Rodney Marsh looks on at Spartan Stadium. This photo was from Sunday, May 7, 1978 San Jose Earthquakes vs. The Tampa Bay Rowdies. The Quakes won 1–0 on a goal by Dutchman, Peter Ressell.. MISL Dateline: On 12 May 1989, Steve Zungul scored at 11:12 of overtime to rally the San Diego Sockers to a 5-4 win over the Dallas Sidekicks in Game 3 of the MISL Semifinals before 6,285 at Reunion Arena.…
Happy 72nd birthday to South Africa international Steve Wegerle (number 7), the oldest of 3 brothers who played in the NASL and a standout with Arcadia Shepherds (1971-76) of the South African league who signed with the Tampa Bay Rowdies in 1977 and became an NASL superstar, scoring 40 goals in 196 games with the Rowdies (1977-80, 1984), New York Cosmos (1981-82) and Fort Lauderdale Strikers (1983), winning the 1980 NASL Indoor title and Soccer Bowl '82 -- and reaching Soccer Bowl finals in 1978, 1979 and 1981 -- and finishing as the NASL's 27th all-time leading scorer -- and 4th all-time with 88 assists -- and earning 5 all-NASL honors, then later played 2 seasons with the MISL's Wichita Wings (1984-86). NASL Merchandise: San Jose Earthquakes seat cushion NASL Dateline: On 17 May 1978, West German signing Karl-Heinz Granitza made his NASL debut for the Chicago Sting, scoring 1 goal in a 3-2 loss to the New England Tea Men at Schaefer Stadium. NASL Action: Golden Bay Earthquakes defender Mike Hunter goes shoulder-to-shoulder with Vancouver Whitecaps forward Carl Valentine at B.C. Place. NASL Dateline: On 16 May 1981, Betty Ellis made history as the first women's official to work an NASL match when she served as a lineswoman in the Portland Timbers' 2-0 win over the Calgary Boomers at Civic Stadium. Happy 69th birthday to U.S. international Angelo DiBernardo (pictured at left, with François Van der Elst and Julio Cesar Romero), the Argentine-born winger and the older of 2 brothers to play pro soccer who earned All-American honors at Indiana University en route to the 1976 and 1978 NCAA finals, then was selected by the Los Angeles Aztecs with the 5th overall pick of the 1979 NASL Draft, scored 12 goals in 95 career games with Los Angeles (1979) and the New York Cosmos (1980-84), won Soccer Bowl titles in 1980 and 1982, jumped to the MISL in 1984 with the Kansas City Comets (1984-86) and St. Louis Steamers (1986-87), and played for the United States in the 1984 Olympic Games. Happy 95th birthday to veteran Soccer America columnist Paul Gardner (pictured at left), the British-born conscience of American soccer for more than a half-century while writing for publications such as Sports Illustrated, World Soccer, the New York Times and USA Today, and broadcasting with CBS, NBC and ESPN, among others. He has written more than 1,000 columns for Soccer America, covered 9 FIFA World Cups, paired with Jim McKay to anchor NASL coverage for ABC-TV, and authored 8 books, including "The Simplest Game" and "SoccerTalk: Life Under the Spell of the Round Ball." Gardner was honored with the U.S. National Soccer Hall of Fame's Colin Jose Media Award in 2010 and received the inaugural Media Career of Excellence Award from United Soccer Coaches in 2020.
NASL Dateline: On 17 May 1981, Paul Child (pictured) and Brian Kidd scored to key the Atlanta Chiefs' 2-1 win over the Montreal Manic before 23,226 at Olympic Stadium.… NASL Dateline: Oscar Fabbiani returned to the line-up after missing 4 weeks with an ankle injury and scored 2 goals to lift the Tampa Bay Rowdies to a 3-2 win over the Vancouver Whitecaps in a re-match of the Soccer Bowl '79 finalists in a nationally televised ABC-Sports contest in sweltering heat before 27,504 at Tampa Stadium. MISL Dateline: On 18 May 1989, the San Diego Sockers remained undefeated in 8 elimination matches at home as Branko Segota, Steve Zungul and Waad Hirmez each scored 2 goals in an 8-2 win over the Dallas Sidekicks in Game 6 of the MISL Semifinals before 7,664 at the San Diego Sports Arena, setting up a winner-take-all 7th game 2 days later. NASL Action: San Jose Earthquakes forward Paul Child attempts a shot as Dallas Tornado defender Steve Pecher slides in for the block at Spartan Stadium.…
NASL Ticket Brochures: The Golden Bay Earthquakes ticket brochure opened along fault lines in 1983.… NASL Memories: Paul Child and the San Jose Earthquakes were still making headlines 35 years after they launched. NASL Dateline: On 25 May 1975, John Coyne (pictured at left) scored a hat trick and the Toronto Metros rebounded after losing their first 4 games by beating the San Jose Earthquakes, 3-2, before 2,431 at Varsity Stadium. NASL Dateline: On 23 May 1976, the controversial Bicentennial Cup tournament kicked off as Team America - chock full of international NASL stars like Pele, Bobby Moore, Giorgio Chinaglia, Dave Clements, Mike England and Keith Eddy, but with just 4 native-born Americans - suffered a 4-0 loss to Italy before 33,455 at RFK Stadium in Washington, D.C., and Brazil got a last-minute goal from Roberto Dinamite and beat England, 1-0, before a Memorial Coliseum crowd of 32,495 in Los Angeles. NASL Dateline: On 22 May 1982, Chris Dangerfield scored his first 2 goals of the season and the San Jose Earthquakes won for the 4th time in 5 games with a 6-2 romp over the Tampa Bay Rowdies before 12,797 at Spartan Stadium.… NASL Dateline: On 22 May 1983, indoor soccer legend Steve Zungul makes his long-awaited return to outdoor soccer by scoring a goal in the Golden Bay Earthquakes' 2-1 win over the Vancouver Whitecaps before 9,813 at Spartan Stadium, ending the 5-year hiatus and lawsuits prompted by a FIFA suspension resulting from his defection from Yugoslavia in 1978.… Happy 73rd birthday to Volker Fass (number 4), the West German defender who interrupted a 9-year career with Kickers Offenbach and SC Freiburg to spend the 1978 NASL season on loan to the Oakland Stompers (14 games) and San Jose Earthquakes (12 games), and later became one of the most influential orthopedic surgeons in soccer, earning a FIFA Diploma for Soccer and Sports Medicine. Happy 76th birthday to Hungary international József "Joe" Horváth (number 9), who played with top teams in Hungary and West Germany, then jumped to the NASL in 1978 and notched 21 goals and 42 assists in 96 games with the Lancers (1978), Washington Diplomats (1979-80) and and San Jose Earthquakes (1981), earning all-NASL honors in 1978, while also playing indoors with the MISL's Buffalo Stallions (1979-80) and New Jersey Rockets (1980-81. Happy 70th birthday to Steve Litt (number 5), the Luton Town defender who jumped to the NASL in 1976 and became a mainstay of the Minnesota Kicks line-up, helping the team reach Soccer Bowl '76, scoring 11 goals in 153 games and earning 2 all-NASL selections, then transferring to the San Jose / Golden Bay Earthquakes in 1982 where he played another 67 games, helping the team to the NASL's 3rd-best record in 1983 at 20-10, and later playing in the MISL with the Minnesota Strikers (1984-85). NASL Dateline: On 21 May 1979, New York Cosmos star Giorgio Chinaglia became the 3rd NASL player to be featured on the cover of Sports Illustrated magazine, joining Bob Rigby (1973) and Pelé (1975).
On this day in history..... NASL Dateline: On 30 May 1984, the United States - although still billed as "Team America" - played Italy to a 0-0 draw before 31,310 at Giants Stadium, the Americans' first friendly in more than 9 months. USA Line-Up: USA: David Brcic, Erhardt Kapp, Dan Canter, Jeff Durgan, Gregg Thompson, Andy Parkinson (Rudy Glenn), Alan Green (Perry van der Beck), Angelo di Bernardo, Elvis Comrie (Michael Fox), Steve Moyers, Hugo Pérez (Mark Peterson).
The original Timbers were a ‘miracle’ and laid the foundation for 50 years of Soccer City The Portland Timbers' 1975 team was honored prior to Friday's game against San Jose at Providence Park. From left to right are Mick Hoban, Barrie Lynch, Peter Withe, Barry Powell and Willie Anderson. NASL Dateline: On 13 June 1982, Tony Crescitelli scored 2 goals - including the game-winner in the 78th minute - as the San Jose Earthquakes rallied to defeat the Tulsa Roughnecks, 3-2, before 15,546 at Spartan Stadium. NASL Dateline: On 14 June 1975, Ilija Mitic scored 2 goals - his 5th in the last 5 games - and the San Jose Earthquakes outlasted the Portland Timbers, 2-1, before 17,889 at Spartan Stadium, pulling San Jose to within 1 game of .500. NASL Dateline: On 12 June 1983, a crowd of 50,108 packed RFK Stadium to watch Team America defeat the Fort Lauderdale Strikers in a shootout - and catch a post-game concert by the Beach Boys.
I had that Cosmos' flag until just a couple years ago when I gave it to friend who still goes to the current Cosmos' games (as they come in and out of existence). I had a stack of old Sockers and other other ticket stubs wrapped up by it. The stubs are still in the attic. Not sure what to do with them at this point. And those Spalding balls are one of the big reasons I never learned to head a ball. Even as an adult I'd see a nice modern ball coming in the air and get scared as I thought about that Spalding hitting my head with a couple panels starting to come off.
If I have any, it would be for Quakes away at San Diego as that's where I was. I'll check next time I'm near that stuff though.
Did You Know? A post-game concert by The Tubes on 12 June 1982 at Spartan Stadium helped the San Jose Earthquakes draw 15,546 for a match against the Tulsa Roughnecks, the 2nd-largest crowd all season. Happy 79th birthday to Laurie Calloway (number 3 alongside LA Aztecs midfielder, George Best), the journeyman English defender who played for Blackburn Rovers (1968-70) and Shrewsbury Town (1972-74) but found his greatest success in the NASL (1974-77, 1979), where he made 74 appearances with the San Jose Earthquakes and earned all-NASL honors in 1974, then turned to coaching and led the California Surf (1981) and Seattle Sounders (1983), steered the San Francisco Bay Blackhawks to the 1991 APSL title and the CONCACAF Champions' Cup semi-finals -- losing to Club America of Mexico -- and later managed the San Jose Clash of MLS (1996-97). NASL Merchandise: San Jose Earthquakes CISL Dateline: On 17 June 1993, the Continental Indoor Soccer League (CISL) kicked off with 7 teams and another eight contracted for the following season - just 11 months after the MISL had closed its doors. The brainchild of former Los Angeles Lazers owner Dr. Jerry Buss and California Sports executive Ron Weinstein, the CISL quickly incorporated Phoenix Suns owner Jerry Colangelo and targeted NBA and NHL owners. The CISL pioneered the single entity concept later embraced by Major League Soccer - whereby the league controls player contracts and team costs - and ultimately saw half of the teams turn a profit. The CISL also expanded to include 2 teams in Mexico and enjoyed a Game of the Week contract with FOX Sports. But disagreements between NBA / NHL owners and independent teams killed the CISL almost overnight, and the league ceased operations in 1997. NASL Dateline: On 15 June 1975, Pelé made his much-anticipated debut with the New York Cosmos, netting 1 goal and 1 assist in a 2-2 draw with the Dallas Tornado in an exhibition match before 21,278 at Downing Stadium. The CBS-TV broadcast drew an audience of 10 million - a record for soccer in America at that time - and earned the Cosmos a $50,000 payday for the TV rights, and over 300 journalists from around the world covered the event. Robert Redford and Mayor Abe Beame were among the VIPs in attendance, the patchy sod and dirt was spray-painted green to look uniform, 150 photographers ringed the field, and Pelé exchanged Brazil and American flags with U.S. star Kyle Rote Jr. in a pre-game ceremony. Just like that, the NASL's heyday officially began. NASL Dateline: On 17 June 1978, Rodney Marsh notched the first hat trick of his NASL career to carry the Tampa Bay Rowdies past the Fort Lauderdale Strikers, 3-2, and extend the club's unbeaten streak to 4 games before 22,506 at Tampa Stadium. NASL Dateline: On 17 June 1980, Dutch goalkeeper Jan Van Beveren made his NASL debut with the Fort Lauderdale Strikers, displacing fan-favourite Arnie Mausser but still posting a 4-0 shutout win over the San Jose Earthquakes before 12,295 at Lockhart Stadium.