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.
The Tulsa Roughnecks (1978–1984) were a North American Soccer League (NASL) team from Tulsa, Oklahoma. It played its home games at Skelly Stadium on the campus of the University of Tulsa. The team, previously Team Hawaii, moved to Tulsa after the 1977 season. In 1983, Alex Skotarek became general manager and led one of the lowest-budgeted teams in the NASL to a championship, defeating Toronto, 2-0, at Soccer Bowl '83.
The Minnesota Kicks were a professional soccer team that played at Metropolitan Stadium in the Minneapolis suburb of Bloomington, Minnesota, from 1976 to 1981. The team was a member of the now defunct North American Soccer League (NASL). Initially known as the Denver Dynamos, the team relocated and became the Minnesota Kicks in 1976. The Kicks quickly became one of the league's more popular teams, with an average attendance of 23,120 fans per game in 1976. The Kicks won their division four years in a row from 1976 to 1979. The Kicks drew over 23,000 fans in each season from 1976 to 1979, with attendance peaking at 32,775 in 1977.
Bruce Alec Wilson is a former NASL and Canadian international soccer player. He played the second most games of any player in the former league, 299. He also captained the Canadian team at the 1986 FIFA World Cup finals. In 2012 as part of the Canadian Soccer Association's centennial celebration, he was named to the all-time Canada XI men's team.
Dale William Mitchell is a Canadian former professional soccer striker who played for several North American teams in the 1980s and 1990s.
The Toronto Blizzard were a professional soccer club based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada that played in the North American Soccer League.
Robert "Bob" Bolitho is a former Canadian national team, North American Soccer League and Canadian Soccer League player. He is of Cornish descent.
Branimir "Branko" Šegota is a Canadian former professional soccer forward, starring in the original Major Indoor Soccer League (MISL), the North American Soccer League (NASL), the Continental Indoor Soccer League (CISL), the National Professional Soccer League, and the Canadian Soccer League.
Martino "Tino" Lettieri is a former NASL and MISL professional soccer goalkeeper, who represented Canada twice at the Summer Olympics: 1976 and 1984 and at the 1986 FIFA World Cup.
Randolph "Randy" Lee Ragan is a former Canadian elite professional soccer player, who was considered one of the top midfield players in Canada in the 1980s.
Peter Roe is a Canadian international soccer player who spent twelve seasons in the North American Soccer League and two in the Major Indoor Soccer League. He also earned nine caps, scoring one goal, with the Canadian national soccer team between 1974 and 1983.
David Byrne is an English-born South African soccer coach and former professional player. He was in 1982 and 1984 a top ten scorer in the North American Soccer League.
Pasquale de Luca is a former Canadian professional soccer player. He is the head coach of the Edmonton Drillers.
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.
Philip Parkes is an English former professional football goalkeeper. He was Wolverhampton Wanderers' first-choice keeper for much of the late 1960s and early 1970s.
Mike Ivanow is a retired U.S. soccer goalkeeper who was born in Shanghai, China. He spent eight seasons in the North American Soccer League and was a member of the U.S. soccer team at the 1972 Summer Olympics. He also earned ten caps with the U.S. national team between 1973 and 1975.
Dan Counce is a retired American soccer player and current professional soccer executive. He played six seasons in the North American Soccer League and six more in the Major Indoor Soccer League. He also earned five caps with the United States national team between 1974 and 1976.
Gregory Villa is an American former soccer forward who played professionally in the North American Soccer League and Major Indoor Soccer League. He earned eighteen caps, scoring five goals, with the United States men's national soccer team between 1977 and 1980.
Michael Fox is an American retired soccer midfielder. He began his professional career with the New York Cosmos in 1983 and ended it with the Los Angeles Heat in 1994. In between those two teams, he played for numerous teams in multiple indoor and outdoor league. He also earned seventeen caps with the U.S. national team and was a member of the U.S. 1984 Olympic soccer team.
Alan Ronald Merrick is a retired professional association footballer who played as a defender in England, the North American Soccer League and the Major Indoor Soccer League. Born in England, he earned one cap with the United States national team in 1983, having previously represented the England U18.
