| Season | 1981 |
|---|---|
| Champions | Chicago Sting |
| Premiers | New York Cosmos (5th title) |
| Matches played | 336 |
| Goals scored | 1,234 (3.67 per match) |
| Top goalscorer | Giorgio Chinaglia (29 goals) |
| Highest attendance | 50,755 Washington at Montreal (August 18) |
| Lowest attendance | 1,861 Dallas at Chicago (May 10) |
| Average attendance | 14,084 |
← 1980 1982 → | |
Statistics of North American Soccer League in season 1981. This was the 14th season of the NASL.
There were a total of 21 teams participating. Three teams (Houston, Rochester and Washington) folded, while four others (Memphis, Detroit, New England and Philadelphia) moved to new cities. Playoff series were switched from the two matches plus a mini-game tiebreaker used since 1977, to a best-of-three full matches played on three separate dates. The Chicago Sting defeated the New York Cosmos in Soccer Bowl '81 on September 26 to win the championship.
When Major League Baseball players went on strike on June 12, there was speculation that other sports, especially soccer, would see larger crowds. However, the 157 NASL matches played during the baseball work stoppage (which ended August 9) drew an average attendance of only 13,419, less than the full-season average of 14,084.
W = Wins, L = Losses, GF = Goals For, GA = Goals Against, PT= point system
6 points for a win in regulation and overtime, 4 point for a shootout win, 0 points for a loss, 1 bonus point for each regulation goal scored, up to three per game. [1]
| Eastern Division | W | L | GF | GA | PT |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| New York Cosmos | 23 | 9 | 80 | 49 | 200 |
| Montreal Manic | 15 | 17 | 63 | 57 | 141 |
| Washington Diplomats | 15 | 17 | 59 | 58 | 135 |
| Toronto Blizzard | 7 | 25 | 39 | 82 | 77 |
| Southern Division | W | L | GF | GA | PT |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Atlanta Chiefs | 17 | 15 | 62 | 60 | 151 |
| Fort Lauderdale Strikers | 18 | 14 | 54 | 46 | 144 |
| Jacksonville Tea Men | 18 | 14 | 51 | 46 | 141 |
| Tampa Bay Rowdies | 15 | 17 | 63 | 64 | 139 |
| Central Division | W | L | GF | GA | PT |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chicago Sting | 23 | 9 | 84 | 50 | 195 |
| Minnesota Kicks | 19 | 13 | 63 | 57 | 163 |
| Tulsa Roughnecks | 17 | 15 | 60 | 49 | 154 |
| Dallas Tornado | 5 | 27 | 27 | 71 | 54 |
| Western Division | W | L | GF | GA | PT |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| San Diego Sockers | 21 | 11 | 67 | 49 | 173 |
| Los Angeles Aztecs | 19 | 13 | 53 | 55 | 160 |
| California Surf | 11 | 21 | 60 | 77 | 117 |
| San Jose Earthquakes | 11 | 21 | 44 | 78 | 108 |
| Northwest Division | W | L | GF | GA | PT |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vancouver Whitecaps | 21 | 11 | 74 | 43 | 186 |
| Calgary Boomers | 17 | 15 | 59 | 54 | 151 |
| Portland Timbers | 17 | 15 | 52 | 49 | 141 |
| Seattle Sounders | 15 | 17 | 60 | 62 | 137 |
| Edmonton Drillers | 12 | 20 | 60 | 79 | 123 |
| First Team [2] | Position | Second Team [3] | Honorable Mention [4] |
|---|---|---|---|
 Jan van Beveren, Fort Lauderdale | G |  Hubert Birkenmeier, New York | Volkmar Gross, San Diego |
 Frantz Mathieu, Chicago | D |  Barry Wallace, Tulsa |  Nick Rohmann, San Diego |
| Wim Rijsbergen, New York | D | Kevin Bond, Seattle |  Robert Iarusci, New York |
| Peter Nogly, Edmonton | D |  Mihalj Keri, Los Angeles |  Dave Huson, Chicago |
 John Gorman, Tampa Bay | D |  Pierce O'Leary, Vancouver |  Carlos Alberto, California |
| Arno Steffenhagen, Chicago | M | Alan Hudson, Seattle |  Juli Veee, San Diego |
| Vladislav Bogićević, New York | M |  George Best, San Jose |  Jomo Sono, Toronto |
 Teófilo Cubillas, Fort Lauderdale | M | Peter Lorimer, Vancouver | Duncan McKenzie, Tulsa |
| Brian Kidd, Atlanta | F | Karl-Heinz Granitza, Chicago | Mike Stojanović, San Diego |
| Gordon Hill, Montreal | F |  Roberto Cabañas, New York |  Pato Margetic, Chicago |
 Giorgio Chinaglia, New York | F | Franz Gerber, Calgary | Alan Green, Jacksonville • Steve Wegerle, New York |
15 teams qualified for the playoffs – each first and second-place team across the divisions plus the five next best teams. Division winners were seeded 1 through 5, the second-place teams were seeded 6 through 10, and the last five teams were seeded 11 through 15 regardless of division placing. [5] The top seed received a bye, and the remaining 14 teams paired off to play the first round. Series winners would be reseeded by season point total after each round.
The 'best of two' format used from 1978 to 1980 was discarded for a more straightforward best of three games format in the first three rounds.
| First Round (Best-of-3) | Quarterfinals (Best-of-3) | Semifinals (Best-of-3) | Soccer Bowl '81 (Single match) | ||||||||||||||||
| 1 | New York | 2 | |||||||||||||||||
| 14 | Tampa Bay | 1 | |||||||||||||||||
| 3 | Vancouver | 0 | |||||||||||||||||
| 14 | Tampa Bay | 2 | |||||||||||||||||
| 1 | New York | 2 | |||||||||||||||||
| 9 | Fort Lauderdale | 0 | |||||||||||||||||
| 6 | Minnesota | 2 | |||||||||||||||||
| 11 | Tulsa | 0 | |||||||||||||||||
| 6 | Minnesota | 0 | |||||||||||||||||
| 9 | Fort Lauderdale | 2 | |||||||||||||||||
| 8 | Calgary | 0 | |||||||||||||||||
| 9 | Fort Lauderdale | 2 | |||||||||||||||||
| 1 | New York | 0 | |||||||||||||||||
| 2 | Chicago | 1 | |||||||||||||||||
| 2 | Chicago | 2 | |||||||||||||||||
| 15 | Seattle | 1 | |||||||||||||||||
| 2 | Chicago | 2 | |||||||||||||||||
| 10 | Montreal | 1 | |||||||||||||||||
| 7 | Los Angeles | 1 | |||||||||||||||||
| 10 | Montreal | 2 | |||||||||||||||||
| 2 | Chicago | 2 | |||||||||||||||||
| 4 | San Diego | 1 | |||||||||||||||||
| 4 | San Diego | 2 | |||||||||||||||||
| 13 | Portland | 1 | |||||||||||||||||
| 4 | San Diego | 2 | |||||||||||||||||
| 12 | Jacksonville | 1 | |||||||||||||||||
| 5 | Atlanta | 0 | |||||||||||||||||
| 12 | Jacksonville | 2 | |||||||||||||||||
| Lower seed | Higher seed | Game 1 | Game 2 | Game 3 | (higher seed hosts Games 2 and 3) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tulsa Roughnecks | - | Minnesota Kicks | 1–3 | 0–1 (SO, 4–5) | x | August 22 • Skelly Stadium • 16,205 August 26 • Metropolitan Stadium • 10,722 |
| Portland Timbers | - | San Diego Sockers | 2–1 | 1–5 | 0–2 | August 22 • Civic Stadium • 16,003 August 26 • Jack Murphy Stadium • 12,039 August 30 • Jack Murphy Stadium • 15,244 |
| Jacksonville Tea Men | - | Atlanta Chiefs | 3–2 (OT) | 2–1 | x | August 23 • Gator Bowl • 9,287 August 25 • Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium • 6,572 |
| Fort Lauderdale Strikers | - | Calgary Boomers | 3–1 | #2–0 | x | August 23 • Lockhart Stadium • 12,196 #August 26 • Lockhart Stadium • 11,494 |
| Tampa Bay Rowdies | - | Vancouver Whitecaps | 4–1 | 1–0 | x | August 23 • Tampa Stadium • 21,192 August 26 • Empire Stadium • 28,896 |
| Seattle Sounders | - | Chicago Sting | 2–3 | *2–0 | 2–3 | August 23 • Comiskey Park • 14,643 *August 26 • Kingdome • 15,176 August 30 • Wrigley Field • 24,080 |
| Montreal Manic | - | Los Angeles Aztecs | 5–3 | 2–3 | 2–1 (OT) | August 24 • Olympic Stadium • 46,682 August 27 • Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum • 7,529 August 30 • Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum • 8,812 |
| (first round bye) | New York Cosmos | • | • | • | • |
#Due to a scheduling conflict between the Calgary Boomers and the Billy Graham Crusade, the Fort Lauderdale Strikers hosted both Games 1 and 2 (instead of Game 1 only), there-by gaining home field advantage even though they were the lower seed. [6]
*Seattle Sounders hosted Game 2 (instead of Game 1) due to a scheduling conflict with the Mariners baseball club. [7]
| Lower seed | Higher seed | Game 1 | Game 2 | Game 3 | (higher seed hosts Games 2 and 3) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tampa Bay Rowdies | - | New York Cosmos | 3–6 | 3–2 (SO, 4–2) | 0–2 | September 2 • Tampa Stadium • 29,224 September 5 • Giants Stadium • 38,691 September 9 • Giants Stadium • 33,754 |
| Montreal Manic | - | Chicago Sting | 3–2 | 2–4 | 2–4 | September 2 • Olympic Stadium • 58,542 September 5 • Wrigley Field • 24,648 September 10 • Comiskey Park • 27,489 |
| Fort Lauderdale Strikers | - | Minnesota Kicks | 3–1 | 3–0 | x | September 2 • Lockhart Stadium • 11,918 September 6 • Memorial Stadium • 10,278 |
| Jacksonville Tea Men | - | San Diego Sockers | 2–1 (OT) | 1–2 | 1–3 | September 2 • Gator Bowl • 12,252 September 6 • Jack Murphy Stadium • 14,428 September 9 • Jack Murphy Stadium • 14,015 |
| Lower seed | Higher seed | Game 1 | Game 2 | Game 3 | (higher seed hosts Games 2 and 3) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fort Lauderdale Strikers | - | New York Cosmos | 3–4 | 1–4 | x | September 12 • Lockhart Stadium • 18,814 September 16 • Giants Stadium • 31,172 [8] |
| San Diego Sockers | - | Chicago Sting | 2–1 | 1–2 | 0–1 (SO, 2–3) | September 12 • Jack Murphy Stadium • 18,192 September 16 • Comiskey Park • 21,760 September 21 • Comiskey Park • 39,623 |
| Chicago Sting | 1–0 (SO) | New York Cosmos |
|---|---|---|
| Report | ||
| Penalties | ||
Margetic  Spalding Peter Granitza  Glenn | 2–1 | Seninho Chinaglia Bogićević Buljan Iarusci |
1981 NASL Champions: Chicago Sting
*From 1977 through 1984 the NASL had a variation of the penalty shoot-out procedure for tied matches. The shoot-out started 35 yards from the goal and allowed the player 5 seconds to attempt a shot. The player could make as many moves as he wanted in a breakaway situation within the time frame. Even though this particular match was a scoreless tie after overtime, NASL procedure also called for the box score to show an additional "goal" given to the winning team. [9] [10]
The North American Soccer League (NASL) was the top-level major professional soccer league in the United States and Canada that operated from 1968 to 1984. It is considered the first soccer league to be successful on a national scale in the United States. The league final was called the Soccer Bowl from 1975 to 1983 and the Soccer Bowl Series in its final year, 1984. The league was headed by Commissioner Phil Woosnam from 1969 to 1983. The NASL laid the foundations for soccer in the United States that helped lead to the country hosting the 1994 FIFA World Cup and the set-up of Major League Soccer (MLS) in 1996.
The Memphis Rogues were a professional soccer team in the former North American Soccer League. They operated in the 1978, 1979, and 1980 seasons and played their home games in Memphis' Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium. They also played indoor soccer at the Mid-South Coliseum during the 1979–80 season.
The Calgary Boomers were a Canadian soccer team that competed in the North American Soccer League (NASL) for the 1980–81 Indoor and 1981 outdoor seasons. The team was based in Calgary and played their home games at Stampede Corral during the indoor season and McMahon Stadium for outdoor matches. Originally founded as the Memphis Rogues, the team relocated to Calgary when it was purchased by Nelson Skalbania after the 1980 season. After loses of over $2 million during its operations, the team was placed into receivership and its assets sold.
The Fort Lauderdale Strikers was a professional soccer team based in the Miami metropolitan area. They competed in the North American Soccer League (NASL) from 1977 to 1983. They played their home matches at Lockhart Stadium.
The Chicago Sting (1974–1988) was an American professional soccer team representing Chicago. The Sting played in the North American Soccer League from 1975 to 1984 and in the Major Indoor Soccer League in the 1982–83 season and again from 1984 to 1988. They were North American Soccer League champions in 1981 and 1984, one of only two NASL teams to win the championship twice.
Giorgio Chinaglia was an Italian footballer who played as a striker. He grew up and played his early football in Cardiff, Wales, and began his career with Swansea Town in 1964. He later returned to Italy to play for Massese, Internapoli and S.S. Lazio in 1969. Chinaglia led Lazio to the club's first league championship in the 1973–74 season, during which he was also the league's leading scorer. He played international football for Italy, making 14 appearances and scoring 4 goals between 1972 and 1975, including two appearances at the 1974 FIFA World Cup. Chinaglia was the first player in Italian football history to be called up internationally from the second division.
The 1984 North American Soccer League season was the 72nd season of FIFA-sanctioned soccer, the 17th with a national first-division league, in the United States and Canada. It would be the 17th and final season of the NASL.
Statistics of North American Soccer League in season 1977. This was the 10th season of the NASL.
The 1978 North American Soccer League season was the 66th season of FIFA-sanctioned soccer, the 11th with a national first-division league, in the United States and Canada.
The 1979 North 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.
Statistics of North American Soccer League in season 1980. This was the 13th season of the NASL.
Statistics of North American Soccer League in season 1975. This was the 8th season of the NASL.
Statistics of North American Soccer League in season 1982. This was the 15th season of the NASL.
Soccer Bowl '78 was the North American Soccer League's championship final for the 1978 season. It was the fourth NASL championship under the Soccer Bowl name.
The 1981 New York Cosmos season was the 11th season for the New York Cosmos in the now-defunct North American Soccer League. Despite winning their fifth straight premiership by five points over the Chicago Sting, the Cosmos lost to the Sting in Soccer Bowl '81.
Soccer Bowl '80 was the championship final of the 1980 NASL season. The New York Cosmos took on the Fort Lauderdale Strikers. The match was played on September 21, 1980 at RFK Stadium in Washington, D.C. The Cosmos won, 3–0, to claim their fourth league championship, and third in the past four seasons.
Soccer Bowl '81 was the championship final of the 1981 NASL season, between the Chicago Sting and the New York Cosmos. The match was played on September 26, 1981, at Exhibition Stadium, in Toronto, Ontario. Following regulation and 15 minutes of golden goal overtime, the match remained tied, 0–0. With that, the game moved to a shoot-out. The Sting won the shoot-out, 2–1, and were crowned the 1981 NASL champions. This was Chicago's first NASL title.
The 1981 Fort Lauderdale Strikers season was the fifth season of the Fort Lauderdale Striker's team, and the club's fifteenth season in professional soccer. This year the team made it to semifinals of the North American Soccer League playoffs.
The 1983 Tulsa Roughnecks season was the club's sixth season of existence, and their fifth in the North American Soccer League, the top flight of American soccer at that time. The 1983 season was Terry Hennessey's second full NASL season as head coach of the Roughnecks.
The 1981–82 Tampa Bay Rowdies indoor season was the eighth indoor season of the club's existence.
