North American Soccer League

Season	1979
Country	United States  Canada
Teams	24
Champions	Vancouver Whitecaps (1st title)
Premiers	New York Cosmos (3rd title)
Matches	360
Goals	1,374 (3.82 per match)
Top goalscorer	Giorgio Chinaglia (26 goals)
Biggest home win	SEA 9–0EDM (August 1)[1]
Biggest away win	MEM 0–6ATL (July 21)[2] SJ 0–6SD (August 11)[3]
Highest scoring	DET 6–5 (SO)CHI (July 7)[4] DET 8–2FTL (June 27)[5]
Longest winning run	8,New York (July 8 – August 12)[6]
Longest losing run	14,Edmonton (May 26 – July 18)[7]
Highest attendance	76,031 (Tulsa atNew York) (August 26)[8]
Lowest attendance	653 (N.E. atHouston) (April 19)[9]
Average attendance	14,201[10]
←1978 1980 →

The1979North American Soccer League season was the 67th season of FIFA-sanctioned soccer and the 12th with a national first-division league in the United States and Canada.

A rule modification required that each squad play two U.S. or Canadian players and that each 17-man roster carry six such players.^[11]

• None

• None

• Colorado Caribous to Atlanta Chiefs
• Oakland Stompers to Edmonton Drillers

• Cosmos to New York Cosmos
• Toronto Metros-Croatia to Toronto Blizzard

Strikers

Tea Men

Fury

Rowdies

Sting

Express

Hurricane

Rogues

Surf

Drillers

Sockers

Earth
quakes

Cosmos

Lancers

Blizzard

Diplomats

Chiefs

Tornado

Kicks

Rough
necks

Aztecs

Timbers

Sounders

Whitecaps

American East Division American Central Division American West Division
National East Division National Central Division National West Division

Compared to theprevious season's upheaval, 1979 was a relatively tranquil year. The league format remained unchanged with 24 teams divided into six divisions within two conferences, and a 16-team playoff. A slight modification to the first round of the playoffs, from a single game to the two-game format used in later rounds, was made. Also the minigame, used to decide tied playoff series, no longer ended on agolden goal (sudden death). Instead, the entire 30 minutes was played.^[12]

Still, there were issues to be sorted out. There was a brief players' strike on April 14, as the league refused to recognize the newly formed Players Association.^[13] However, since the majority of NASL players were foreign and unsure of American and Canadian labor laws, support was minimal.^[14] An estimated three quarters of NASL players crossed the picket line once theJustice Department implied that foreign players would be subject to deportation.^[15]

TheCosmos decided to put "New York" back into their name after a two-year absence. With a change in ownership, the Toronto franchise was now called theToronto Blizzard, whileToronto Croatia(who had merged with the Metros back in 1975) returned to their old league, theNational Soccer League. TheColorado Caribous moved to Atlanta to become the rebornAtlanta Chiefs in October 1978,^[16] while theOakland Stompers would move to Edmonton just a month before the start of the season.^[17] Both teams struggled, finishing last in their respective divisions. The newEdmonton Drillers were particularly bad, setting a record for most consecutive losses in league history with 14.^[18]

At the other end of the table, theHouston Hurricane went from worst to first in the American Conference, going undefeated in their 15 home matches at theAstrodome and earningTimo Liekoski Coach of the Year honors.^[19] However, the Hurricane were upset in the first round of the ASC playoffs, as thePhiladelphia Fury, who were winless on the road during the regular season, won the deciding game in Houston.^[20]

That meant the door was opened for theTampa Bay Rowdies to win their second straight ASC title, sweeping the Fury^[21] and outlasting theSan Diego Sockers in a minigame atTampa Stadium.^[22] The Rowdies were led byOscar Fabbiani's 25 goals and a defense that gave up 46 goals, the second-fewest in the league.

The two-time defending champion Cosmos kept rolling, posting another 24–6 record and surpassing their league record for points with 216.Johan Cruyff joined the team in the fall of 1978 for a few exhibitions, but theLos Angeles Aztecs bought out his NASL option for $600,000 to take him to the West Coast.^[23] Cruyff scored two goals against theRochester Lancers on his debut,^[24] while leading the Aztecs to a nine-win turnaround. Despite their second-round playoff loss to theVancouver Whitecaps,^[25] he earned league MVP honors for his efforts.

New York proved that they did not need him to score goals, asGiorgio Chinaglia led the league for the third straight year. However, he lost out on the scoring title by a point to Fabbiani.^[26] As befitting their status within the league, the Cosmos had the honor of playing in the first game ofABC Sports' three-year TV contract with the league in May;^[27] aSoccer Bowl '78 rematch in which they lost 3–2 at Tampa Bay. The network would cover nine regular-season and playoff games per year. This included coverage of the next threeSoccer Bowls.^[28]

However, the league's dream of the Cosmos hosting another Soccer Bowl in front of a national TV audience went up in smoke when New York lost to Vancouver in a memorable playoff matchup. After the Whitecaps won the first game of the National Conference final in Vancouver,^[29] the teams played for three and a half hours atGiants Stadium three days later on ABC. The Cosmos won the regular game in a shootout, tying the series at one. The deciding minigame would also go to a shootout, whereDerek Possee gave Vancouver the lead. After the Cosmos'Ricky Davis and the Whitecaps'Alan Ball missed on their chances, New York'sNelsi Morais was unable to beat the five-second clock and his goal was waved off, giving Vancouver the win.^[30]

Vancouver went on to beat the Rowdies a week later in the Soccer Bowl.Trevor Whymark scored both Vancouver goals and earned game MVP honors,^[31] while Tampa Bay suffered their second straight loss in the championship game.^[32] Attendance at Giants Stadium was well below projections, as 50,699 showed up despite 66,843 tickets having been sold.^[33] The Whitecaps'Alan Ball was named playoff MVP for his seven-assist effort in Vancouver's championship run.^[34] Attendance estimates vary (they range from 60,000 to 150,000 people),^[35] but the resulting championship parade is still considered the largest public demonstration in Vancouver civic history.^[36]

Another positive sign for the league was that this would be the first offseason in NASL history where no franchises folded or moved.

6 points for a win, 0 points for a loss, 1 point for each regulation goal scored up to three per game.

 -Playoffs via division standings. -Playoffs via wildcard.

GP = Games Played, G = Goals (worth 2 points), A =Assists (worth 1 point), Pts = Points

Note: GP = Games played; Min - Minutes played; GA = Goals against; GAA = Goals against average; W = Wins; L = Losses; SO = Shutouts

First Team	Position	Second Team	Honorable Mention
Phil Parkes, Vancouver	G	Paul Hammond, Houston	Alan Mayer, San Diego
Carlos Alberto, New York	D	Marinho, New York	Steve Litt, Minnesota
Bruce Wilson, Chicago	D	John Gorman, Tampa Bay	Bob Smith, San Diego
Wim Rijsbergen, New York	D	Mihalj Keri, Los Angeles	Wim Suurbier, Los Angeles
Mike Connell, Tampa Bay	D	Bob Lenarduzzi, Vancouver	Artur Correia, New England
Franz Beckenbauer, New York	M	Teófilo Cubillas, Fort Lauderdale	Rodney Marsh, Tampa Bay
Johan Neeskens, New York	M	Vladislav Bogićević, New York	Alan Hudson, Seattle
Ace Ntsoelengoe, Minnesota	M	Alan Ball, Vancouver	Gerry Daly, New England
Johan Cruyff, Los Angeles	F	Óscar Fabbiani, Tampa Bay	Jørgen Kristensen, Chicago
Trevor Francis, Detroit	F	Karl-Heinz Granitza, Chicago	Steve Wegerle, Tampa Bay
Giorgio Chinaglia, New York	F	Gerd Müller, Fort Lauderdale	Dennis Tueart, New York

The top two teams from each division qualified for the playoffs automatically. The two teams with the highest point totals remaining in each conference filled out the field as wild cards and were given the lowest first round seeds. Playoff match-ups and home/away status were reset after each round, based on regular season point totals.

In 1979 and 1980, if a playoff series was tied at one victory each, a full 30 minute mini-game was played. If neither team held an advantage after the 30 minutes, the teams would then move on to an NASL shoot-out to determine a series winner.

1979 NASL Champions:Vancouver Whitecaps

• Most Valuable Player:Johan Cruyff, Los Angeles
• Coach of the year:Timo Liekoski, Houston
• Rookie of the year:Larry Hulcer, Los Angeles
• North American Player of the Year:Rick Davis, New York
• Playoff MVP:Alan Ball, Vancouver

Soccer Bowl '79 Media Guide. New York, NY: North American Soccer League. 1979.

KICK Magazine: Soccer Bowl '79. New York, NY: North American Soccer League. 1979.

1980 Official North American Soccer League Guide. New York, NY: North American Soccer League. 1980.

Jose, Colin (1989).NASL: A Complete Record of the North American Soccer League. Derby, England: Breedon Books.

Jose, Colin (2003).North American Soccer League Encyclopedia. Haworth, NJ: St. Johann Press.

Wangerin, David (2008).Soccer In A Football World. Philadelphia, PA: Temple University Press.ISBN 9781592138852.

• The Year in American Soccer – 1979
• Chris Page's NASL Archive
• Complete NASL Results and Standings

• 1979 North American Soccer League season
• North American Soccer League (1968–1984) seasons
• 1979 in American soccer
• 1979 in Canadian soccer

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