1973 North American Soccer League season

North American Soccer League 1973 season
Season	1973
Teams	9
Champions	Philadelphia Atoms
Premiers	Dallas Tornado
Matches	90
Goals	246 (2.73 per match)
Top goalscorer	Warren Archibald; Ilija Mitić; (12 goals)
Longest unbeaten run	13, Philadelphia
Highest attendance	21,700 (Dallas @ Phil)
Lowest attendance	1,100 (NY @ Montreal)
Average attendance	6,290
	← 1972 1974 →

Statistics of North American Soccer League in season 1973. This was the 6th season of the NASL.^[1]

Overview

Nine teams took part in the league with the Philadelphia Atoms winning the championship.

During the season, Tiburones Rojos de Veracruz from Vera Cruz, Mexico, played each of the nine NASL clubs in exhibition games that counted in the league's final standings. The 1973 season would be the last season in which games from non-league clubs counted in league standings.^[2]

A week before the NASL Final 1973, commissioner Phil Woosnam announced that no team in the league made a profit during the season.^[3]

In a unique twist, the team with home field for the NASL Championship Game determined the date and time the game was to be played. When the Dallas Tornado won their semi-final, setting up the final with Philadelphia, they chose August 25 as the date of the game. They did this because the NASL loan agreements with players from the English First Division (the precursor to today's Premier League) expired before that date.^[4]

Because of this, Philadelphia's two leading scorers, Andy "The Flea" Provan and Jim Fryatt, were on their way back to England when the championship match was played on the 25th. Despite this, Philadelphia coach, Al Miller, put Bill Straub, a defender who had not played a minute for the club prior to the championship game, into the lineup at forward. The move paid off as Straub headed home the second goal in a 2–0 win with under five minutes remaining in the final.^[4]

Changes from the previous season

New teams

Philadelphia Atoms

Teams folding

None

Teams moving

None

Name changes

Atlanta Chiefs to Atlanta Apollos
Miami Gatos to Miami Toros

Map of clubs

Toros

Cosmos

Atoms

Olympique

Lancers

Metros

Apollos

Tornado

Stars

Eastern Division

Northern Division

Southern Division

Regular season

W = Wins, L = Losses, T= Ties, GF = Goals For, GA = Goals Against, BP = Bonus Points, PTS= Total Points

POINT SYSTEM
6 points for a win, 3 points for a tie, 0 points for a loss, 1 bonus point for each goal scored up to three per game.

-Premiers (most points). -Other playoff teams.

Eastern Division	W	L	T	GF	GA	BP	PTS
Philadelphia Atoms	9	2	8	29	14	26	104
New York Cosmos	7	5	7	31	23	28	91
Miami Toros	8	5	6	26	21	22	88

Northern Division	W	L	T	GF	GA	BP	PTS
Toronto Metros	6	4	9	32	18	26	89
Montreal Olympique	5	10	4	25	32	22	64
Rochester Lancers	4	9	6	17	27	17	59

Southern Division	W	L	T	GF	GA	BP	PTS
Dallas Tornado	11	4	4	36	25	33	111
St. Louis Stars	7	7	5	27	27	25	82
Atlanta Apollos	3	9	7	23	40	23	62

NASL All-Stars

First Team^[5]^[6]	Position	Second Team	Honorable Mention
Ken Cooper, Dallas	G	Bob Rigby, Philadelphia	Sam Nusum, Montreal
John Best, Dallas	D	Bob Smith, Philadelphia	John Sewell, St. Louis
Chris Dunleavy, Philadelphia	D	Derek Trevis, Philadelphia	Barry Barto, Philadelphia
David Sadler, Miami	D	Dick Hall, Dallas	Werner Roth, New York
Brian Rowan, Toronto	D	Roy Evans, Philadelphia	John Collins, Dallas
Ilija Mitic, Dallas	M	Pat McBride, St. Louis	Al Trost, St. Louis
Fernando Pinto, Toronto	M	Francisco Escos, Rochester	Roy Turner, Dallas
Ian McPhee, Toronto	M	Roberto Aguirre, Miami	George O'Neill, Philadelphia
Andy Provan, Philadelphia	F	Joey Fink, New York	Paul Child, Atlanta
Jim Fryatt, Philadelphia	F	Rick Reynolds, Dallas	Kyle Rote Jr., Dallas
Warren Archibald, Miami	F	Randy Horton, New York	Nick Jennings, Dallas

Playoffs

All playoff games in all rounds including the NASL Final were single game elimination match ups.

Bracket

Semifinals			NASL Final 1973

1	Dallas Tornado	1

4	New York Cosmos	0
			1	Dallas Tornado	0

			2	Philadelphia Atoms	2
2	Philadelphia Atoms	3

3	Toronto Metros	0

Semifinals

August 15	New York Cosmos	0–1	Dallas Tornado	Texas Stadium • Att. 9,009^[1]

August 18	Toronto Metros	0–3	Philadelphia Atoms	Veterans Stadium • Att. 18,766^[1]

NASL Final 1973

August 25

Dallas Tornado	0–2	Philadelphia Atoms
		Best 66' (o.g.) Straub 85' (Evans)

Texas Stadium, Irving, Texas^[7]^[8]

Attendance: 18,824^[1]

Referee: Bill Gallagher (Canada)^[9]

1973 NASL Champions: Philadelphia Atoms

Post season awards

Most Valuable Player: Warren Archibald, Miami
Coach of the year: Al Miller, Philadelphia
Rookie of the year: Kyle Rote, Jr., Dallas

Average home attendance

Team	Average^[10]
Philadelphia Atoms	11,501
Dallas Tornado	7,474
St. Louis Stars	6,337
Toronto Metros	5,961
New York Cosmos	5,593
Miami Toros	5,479
Rochester Lancers	4,069
Montreal Olympique	3,856
Atlanta Apollos	3,317

References

1 2 3 4 "The Year in American Soccer - 1973". Homepages.sover.net. Archived from the original on July 13, 2013. Retrieved January 13, 2014.
↑ Jose, Colin (1989). NASL: A Complete Record of the North American Soccer League. USA: Brredon Books. p. 360. ISBN 978-0907969563.
↑ Rickey, Jim (August 19, 1973). "Despite No Profits: Soccer Plans Expansion". Democrat and Chronicle. p. 5D. Retrieved March 24, 2022.
1 2 "Flashback: Philly in the 1973 NASL playoffs". www.phillysoccerpage.net.
↑ "NASL Homepage". May 1, 2008. Archived from the original on May 1, 2008. Retrieved January 13, 2014.
↑ "Steve Dimitry's NASL Web Page". Oocities.org. Retrieved January 13, 2014.
↑ Edwin Shrake (September 3, 1973). "Armed with Americans, Philadelphia's soccer team beat - 09.03.73 - SI Vault". Sportsillustrated.cnn.com. Archived from the original on November 13, 2012. Retrieved January 13, 2014.
↑ "Philadelphia Atoms @ Dallas Tornado 1973 NASL Finals Highlights - YouTube". YouTube. Archived from the original on December 29, 2012. Retrieved June 25, 2013.
↑ "Past Winners | North American Soccer League". Naslsoccerbowl.com. Archived from the original on November 5, 2013. Retrieved January 13, 2014.
↑ "All-Time NASL Attendance – kenn.com blog". Archived from the original on July 13, 2024. Retrieved August 1, 2026.

External links

[sover1973-1] 1 2 3 4 "The Year in American Soccer - 1973". Homepages.sover.net. Archived from the original on July 13, 2013. Retrieved January 13, 2014.

[2] Jose, Colin (1989). NASL: A Complete Record of the North American Soccer League. USA: Brredon Books. p. 360. ISBN 978-0907969563.

[3] Rickey, Jim (August 19, 1973). "Despite No Profits: Soccer Plans Expansion". Democrat and Chronicle. p. 5D. Retrieved March 24, 2022.

[phillysoccerpage-4] 1 2 "Flashback: Philly in the 1973 NASL playoffs". www.phillysoccerpage.net.

[5] "NASL Homepage". May 1, 2008. Archived from the original on May 1, 2008. Retrieved January 13, 2014.

[6] "Steve Dimitry's NASL Web Page". Oocities.org. Retrieved January 13, 2014.

[7] Edwin Shrake (September 3, 1973). "Armed with Americans, Philadelphia's soccer team beat - 09.03.73 - SI Vault". Sportsillustrated.cnn.com. Archived from the original on November 13, 2012. Retrieved January 13, 2014.

[8] "Philadelphia Atoms @ Dallas Tornado 1973 NASL Finals Highlights - YouTube". YouTube. Archived from the original on December 29, 2012. Retrieved June 25, 2013.

[9] "Past Winners | North American Soccer League". Naslsoccerbowl.com. Archived from the original on November 5, 2013. Retrieved January 13, 2014.

[10] "All-Time NASL Attendance – kenn.com blog". Archived from the original on July 13, 2024. Retrieved August 1, 2026.

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v t e North American Soccer League
Broadcasters USSF CSA Portal NASL (2011–2017) First overall draft picks
Seasons	1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984
Soccer Bowls	1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984
Predecessors	USA 1967 Final NPSL 1967 Final
Indoor seasons	1971 1975 1976 1978 (Skelly) 1978 (Schlitz) 1979 1979–80 1980–81 1981–82 1983 1983–84
Conferences	1968 East West 1976–1977 Atlantic Pacific 1978–1980 American National
Related	Soccer Bowl broadcasters NASL Indoor Championship
Clubs	Atlanta Apollos Atlanta Chiefs Baltimore Bays Baltimore Comets Boston Beacons Boston Minutemen Boston Shamrock Rovers¹ Calgary Boomers California Surf Chicago Mustangs Chicago Spurs² Chicago Sting Cleveland Stokers Caribous of Colorado Connecticut Bicentennials Dallas Tornado Denver Dynamos Detroit Cougars Detroit Express Edmonton Drillers Fort Lauderdale Strikers Golden Bay Earthquakes Hartford Bicentennials Houston Hurricane Houston Stars Jacksonville Tea Men Kansas City Spurs Las Vegas Quicksilvers Los Angeles Aztecs Los Angeles Wolves Memphis Rogues Miami Gatos Miami Toros Minnesota Kicks Minnesota Strikers Montreal Manic Montreal Olympique New England Tea Men New York Cosmos New York Generals New York Skyliners¹ Oakland Clippers Oakland Stompers Philadelphia Spartans² Philadelphia Atoms Philadelphia Fury Pittsburgh Phantoms² Portland Timbers Rochester Lancers San Antonio Thunder San Diego Jaws San Diego Sockers San Diego Toros San Francisco Golden Gate Gales¹ San Jose Earthquakes Seattle Sounders St. Louis Stars Tampa Bay Rowdies Team America Team Hawaii Toronto Blizzard Toronto City¹ Toronto Falcons Toronto Metros Toronto Metros-Croatia Tulsa Roughnecks Vancouver Royals Vancouver Whitecaps Washington Darts Washington Diplomats Washington Whips
¹ United Soccer Association team that did not join NASL upon merger with NPSL. ² National Professional Soccer League team that did not join NASL upon merger with USA.