Soccer Bowl
The Soccer Bowl was the championship game of the North American Soccer League from 1975 to 1983. The event was created by NASL Commissioner Phil Woosnam who was trying to build a neutral-site championship event in the mold of the NFL's Super Bowl.
Unlike the Super Bowl, the game was not denoted by Roman Numerals ("Super Bowl XVI", for example) but the last two digits of the year would be used to denote which game it was (For example, "Soccer Bowl '79"). As the NASL hit financial problems, 1984 – the league's final year – saw it abandon the neutral-site format for a best-of-three series played at each team's home field.
Prior to 1975, the NASL had used a single game championship starting in 1972. When the league started in 1968 and again in the 1970 season, they played a two game aggregate goals. In 1969, with only five teams, the team with the most points at the end of the regular season was the champions. In 1971, the league used a best-of-three series to decide the title.
[edit] Game results
| Game | Date | Venue | Location | Winning team | Score | Losing team | Attendance | Television | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| '75 | August 24 | Spartan Stadium | San Jose | Tampa Bay Rowdies | 2–0 | Portland Timbers | 17,483 | CBS | |
| '76 | August 28 | Kingdome | Seattle | Toronto Metros-Croatia | 3–0 | Minnesota Kicks | 14,609 | CBS, CBC | |
| '77 | August 28 | PGE Park | Portland, Oregon | New York Cosmos | 2–1 | Seattle Sounders | 35,548 | TVS | |
| '78 | August 27 | Giants Stadium | East Rutherford | New York Cosmos | 3–1 | Tampa Bay Rowdies | 73,064 | TVS | |
| '79 | September 8 | Giants Stadium | East Rutherford | Vancouver Whitecaps | 2–1 | Tampa Bay Rowdies | 64,045 | ABC, CTV | |
| '80 | September 21 | RFK Stadium | Washington, DC | New York Cosmos | 3–0 | Fort Lauderdale Strikers | 56,768 | ABC, CTV | |
| '81 | September 26 | Exhibition Stadium | Toronto | Chicago Sting | 1–0 | New York Cosmos | 36,099 | ABC, CTV | Decided by shootout |
| '82 | September 18 | San Diego Stadium | San Diego | New York Cosmos | 1–0 | Seattle Sounders | 20,044 | USA, CTV | |
| '83 | October 1 | BC Place Stadium | Vancouver | Tulsa Roughnecks | 2–0 | Toronto Blizzard | 58,452 | USA, CTV |
