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.
Bob Gansler is a Hungarian-born American soccer player and coach of German descent. He coached the U.S. National Team at the 1990 World Cup, the team's first appearance at the tournament since 1950.
The Baltimore Bays were a professional soccer team based in Baltimore, Maryland founded in 1967 as one of the ten charter members of the National Professional Soccer League (NPSL). When the NPSL and the rival United Soccer Association (USA) merged in 1968 to form the North American Soccer League (NASL), the team moved to the new league. The Bays played its home matches at Memorial Stadium during its first two seasons and moved to Kirk Field, a high school football stadium, in 1969. The team folded at the conclusion of the 1969 NASL season.
The Oakland Clippers were an American soccer team based in Oakland, California. They played in the non-FIFA sanctioned National Professional Soccer League (NPSL) in 1967 and the North American Soccer League (NASL) in the following season. Their home field was Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum.
Patrick "Pat" McBride is an American retired soccer midfielder and indoor soccer coach. He earned five caps with the U.S. national team and is a member of the National Soccer Hall of Fame.
Ilija Mitić is a former Serbian American professional soccer player. He was a star of the North American Soccer League, its 7th all-time leading scorer with 239 points in 166 games, including 101 goals. Mitić was the first soccer player to score 100 goals in the NASL, in July 1978 vs Memphis.
John "Sonny" Askew is a retired American soccer forward who spent seven seasons in the North American Soccer League, two in the second American Soccer League, two in the third American Soccer League, and one in the Major Indoor Soccer League. He also earned four caps with the United States men's national soccer team.
The National Professional Soccer League (NPSL) was a North American professional soccer league that existed for only the 1967 season before merging with the United Soccer Association (USA) to form the North American Soccer League. It had ten charter members, nine from the United States and one from Canada. To encourage attacking play, the NPSL introduced a new standings points system that was later used by the NASL – 6 points for a win, 3 for a draw, 0 for a loss and 1 bonus point for each of the first three goals scored. The circuit's commissioner was Ken Macker, an American publisher of three Philippines-based newspapers. The name National Professional Soccer League was revived in 1990 and used by a United States professional indoor soccer league.
Nick Krat is a retired Ukrainian-American soccer defender who played professionally in the National Soccer League of Chicago and the North American Soccer League. He earned fourteen caps with the United States men's national soccer team between 1968 and 1972.
James Pollihan is a former U.S. soccer player who was an outstanding collegiate forward with Quincy University but moved to defense as a professional. He earned fifteen caps with the U.S. national team between 1976 and 1979.
Adolph (Adolf) Bachmeier was a U.S.-Romanian soccer player. He spent most of his playing career with various teams in Chicago. He also earned fifteen caps with the U.S. national team between 1959 and 1969. He was inducted into the National Soccer Hall of Fame in 2002.
Dietrich Albrecht is a retired American soccer player. He spent one season in the National Professional Soccer League and two in the North American Soccer League. He also earned nine caps, scoring three goals, with the United States national team in 1968 and 1969.
Larry Hausmann is an American former soccer player who spent nine seasons in the North American Soccer League. He also earned eight caps with the U.S. national team between 1968 and 1972.
Joey Fink is a retired American soccer forward who spent six seasons in the North American Soccer League, two in the American Soccer League and seven in Major Indoor Soccer League. He also earned six caps with the U.S. national team between 1973 and 1975.
John Best was an American international soccer defender. He spent six seasons in the North American Soccer League where he was a five-time first team All Star. He later coached the NASL Seattle Sounders and served as the general manager of the Sounders and the Vancouver Whitecaps. He also earned one cap with the U.S. national team in 1973.
Gordon Bradley was an English-American soccer midfielder born and raised on Wearside who played several seasons with lower-division English clubs before moving to play in Canada at the age of 30. During the Canadian off-season, he played and coached in the U.S.-based German American Soccer League. In 1971, he became a player and head coach for the New York Cosmos. In addition to coaching the Cosmos, he has coached the U.S. national team and at the collegiate and high school levels. Bradley also earned one cap with the U.S. national team in 1973. He is a member of the National Soccer Hall of Fame.
Carl Gentile is a former U.S. soccer forward. He played one season in the National Professional Soccer League and two in the North American Soccer League, all three with the St. Louis Stars. He also earned six caps with the U.S. national team in 1968.
Victor Nogueira is a retired American soccer goalkeeper. Nogueira spent six seasons in the North American Soccer League, but gained his greatest recognition in over twenty seasons in three indoor leagues, the Major Indoor Soccer League, National Professional Soccer League and the second Major Indoor Soccer League. He was also a member of the U.S. futsal team which took second place at the 1992 FIFA Futsal World Championship, and he is the father of FC Kansas City and United States forward Casey Loyd. He was elected to the Indoor Soccer Hall of Fame in 2011.
Manfred "Manny" Seissler(German: Manfred Seißler) is a former soccer player who began his career in the lower German divisions before moving to the United States. He played one season in the National Professional Soccer League and seven in the North American Soccer League. Born in Germany, he earned one cap with the U.S. national team in 1973.
The 1967 NPSL Final was the National Professional Soccer League's postseason championship final of the 1967 season. The event was contested in a two-game aggregate match between the Oakland Clippers and the Baltimore Bays. The first leg was played on September 3, 1967 at Memorial Stadium in Baltimore, Maryland, with the Bays winning 1–0. The return leg was contested on September 9, 1967 at the Oakland-Alameda Coliseum in Oakland, California, and the Clippers won it by the score of 4–1. With the two-day competition complete, the Oakland Clippers held a 4–2 aggregate lead and were crowned the 1967 NPSL champions.
