| 1981 season | |
|---|---|
| Coach |  Jim Gabriel |
| Stadium | Spartan Stadium |
| NASL | Division: 4th Overall: 19th |
| NASL Playoffs | Did not qualify |
| National Challenge Cup | Did not enter |
| Top goalscorer | George Best (13) [1] |
| Average home league attendance | 12,400 [2] |
The 1981 San Jose Earthquakes season was the eighth for the franchise in the North American Soccer League. They finished in fourth place in the Western Division. [3]
The 1981 squad [1]
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
|
|
* = Shootout
Source: [4]
| 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 |
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 was 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.
Western Soccer Alliance was a professional soccer league featuring teams from the West Coast of the United States and Western Canada. The league began in 1985 as the Western Alliance Challenge Series. In 1986, it became the Western Soccer Alliance. In 1989, it existed for a single year as the Western Soccer League before merging with the American Soccer League to form the American Professional Soccer League in 1990.
San Jose Earthquakes was a professional soccer club that played from 1974 to 1988. The team began as an expansion franchise in the North American Soccer League (NASL), and was originally set to play in San Francisco; but slow season ticket sales led to a late switch to San Jose's Spartan Stadium. The switch to sports-starved San Jose was an immediate hit, and the Earthquakes led the league with attendance over 15,000 per game in 1974, double the league average. The team's success led Spartan Stadium to be chosen as site of the first NASL Soccer Bowl in 1975. From 1983 to 1984, the team was known as the Golden Bay Earthquakes. During this time, it also played in the original Major Indoor Soccer League and in the NASL's indoor circuit, winning the first ever NASL indoor tournament in 1975. Their indoor games were first played at the Cow Palace and later at the Oakland Coliseum Arena.
The original Vancouver Whitecaps were a professional soccer team founded on December 11, 1973. During the 1970s and 1980s they played in the North American Soccer League (NASL).
Christopher George Dangerfield is an English former footballer who spent most of his career in the United States.
The 1968 North American Soccer League season was the 56th season of FIFA-sanctioned soccer in the United States and Canada, and the 1st with a national first-division league with the inaugural season of the NASL.
Division 1 professional soccer returned to Vancouver in 1974 with the Vancouver Whitecaps as interest began to grow in U.S. soccer, and the NASL grew after stabilizing in terms of attendance and number of teams with six to eight teams. In 1974 the Whitecaps were one of five expansion teams that were the first teams since 1968 west of Dallas, Texas and St. Louis, Missouri.
The 1975 Vancouver Whitecaps season was the second season of the Whitecaps, and their second season in the North American Soccer League and the top flight of Canadian soccer.
The 1977 San Jose Earthquakes season was the club's fourth season of existence as a franchise in the North American Soccer League, then the top-tier of American soccer. The Earthquakes finished in third place in the Southern Division of the Pacific Conference, strong enough to qualify for the playoffs.
In early 1975, the North American Soccer League hosted its first league-wide indoor soccer tournament over the course of seven weeks. All but four NASL teams participated.
The 1978 Vancouver Whitecaps season was the fifth season of the Whitecaps, and their fifth year in the North American Soccer League and the top flight of Canadian soccer.
The 1984 Golden Bay Earthquakes season was the club's eleventh as a franchise in the North American Soccer League, then the top tier of American soccer. The Earthquakes finished in fifth place in the Western Division. The League folded at the end of the season, and the team would then participate in the four-team 1985 Western Alliance Challenge Series, which led to the formal establishment of the Western Soccer Alliance in 1986.
The 1983 Golden Bay Earthquakes season was the tenth for the Earthquakes franchise in the North American Soccer League. They finished second in the Western Division and defeated the Chicago Sting in the playoff quarterfinals. The Earthquakes' run came to an end in the semifinals when the Toronto Blizzard earned two shutout wins.
The 1982 San Jose Earthquakes season was the ninth for the franchise in the North American Soccer League. They finished fifth in the Western Division.
The 1980 San Jose Earthquakes season was the franchise's seventh in the North American Soccer League. They finished fourth in the Western Division of the American Conference.
The 1979 San Jose Earthquakes season was the sixth for the franchise in the North American Soccer League. They finished fourth in the Western Division of the American Conference.
The 1978 San Jose Earthquakes season was the fifth for the franchise in the North American Soccer League. They finished in fourth place in the Western Division of the American Conference.
The 1976 San Jose Earthquakes season was their third in the North American Soccer League, and they finished in first place in the Southern Division of the Pacific Conference. In the playoffs, they defeated the Dallas Tornado in the Conference Semifinals, 2-0 at Spartan Stadium. The Minnesota Kicks beat the Earthquakes, 3-1 in the Conference Championship played at Metropolitan Stadium in Minnesota.
The 1975 San Jose Earthquakes season was the team's second in the North American Soccer League. They finished in fifth place in the Pacific Division.
The 1974 San Jose Earthquakes season marked their debut as a franchise in the North American Soccer League. They finished second in the Western Division and qualified for the playoffs.
