New York Nationals were a professional soccer team which played a single season in 1984 with the United Soccer League. An earlier team also called the New York Nationals played in the American Soccer League during the 1920s.
New York Nationals were a professional soccer team which played a single season in 1984 with the United Soccer League. An earlier team also called the New York Nationals played in the American Soccer League during the 1920s.
The early 1980s were a lean and difficult time for professional outdoor soccer in the United States. The North American Soccer League was in significant decline following the "boom years" of the late 1970s, undone by a period of over-expansion and overspending that created an unstable environment in which teams were constantly folding or moving to new cities. By 1984, only nine teams were left in the league (down from a peak of twenty-four in 1980). The de facto second division American Soccer League had likewise doomed itself to instability and difficult economic realities when it expanded beyond the northeastern United States, where it had operated very modestly since 1933, and tried to establish footholds in the midwest and west coast in the '70s and southern states in the '80s. These expansions produced a string of short-lived franchises, and the league had contracted to only six teams in 1983. [1]
At the ASL's annual league meetings in January 1984, two of the remaining six teams announced plans to go "dormant" for 1984. Despite this, the league rejected a proposal for an expansion team in Fort Lauderdale, which prompted the owners of the Jacksonville Tea Men and Dallas Americans to break away and start planning a new second division league, which they named the United Soccer League. Their vision was a stable league in which teams could operate within their means and take a more "grass roots" approach to building a fan base in their communities. Year-round operation (with an indoor season in the winter), a strict salary cap, a focus on American players and a mostly regional schedule to reduce travel costs were all pillars on which this new league was to be founded. Three ASL clubs would end up coming directly to the USL, while two other clubs were re-organized and renamed for USL membership. Four new teams also joined the league, one of which would be the New York Nationals. [1] The Nationals were founded by a group of mostly Greek-American owners and executives and had connections to the defunct New York Apollo/United (in the form of head coach Jimmy McGeough and players Andy Papoulias and Michael Collins [2] [3] ). They planned to host home games at Hofstra University on Long Island. [4]
The club was able to sign several players with experience in the MISL, ASL or NASL including Jim Gabarra, Franco Paonessa and Rich Reice, [3] and they nearly secured the services of Rick Davis, the top American-born player of the day. He was willing to come lend his support to the upstart league, but the other owners voted against granting the Nationals a salary cap exemption so that they could afford to sign him. [5] Despite this, the team had a strong roster and got off to a 5-0 start. What followed, though, was a spectacular collapse. Head coach Jim McGeough's resignation was announced on June 18th. [6] Top players such as Collins, Reice and Paonessa were no longer listed on roster shortly thereafter, and the team started to field a smaller squad featuring lesser-known local Greek-American players. [7] The team also changed home venues mid-season from Hofstra University to a stadium in Mt. Vernon, NY. [8] The club would go on to lose fourteen of their remaining nineteen games, and they did not qualify for postseason play. [9]
The Nationals were one of several USL franchises that ended the first season on shaky ground. Despite the league's conservative fiscal structure, owners were losing money. A last-ditch set of USL/NASL merger discussions to shore up USL team finances and keep the NASL from shrinking to non-existence was called off on March 5th of 1985, and the Nationals were one of five USL teams that chose to end operations. [10]
| Year | Reg. Season | Playoffs | U.S. Open Cup |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1984 | 2nd (Northern Division) | Did not qualify | Did not enter |
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 setting up Major League Soccer (MLS) in 1996.
Fort Lauderdale/South Florida Sun was a professional U.S. soccer team which played two seasons in the United Soccer League.
The Fort Lauderdale Strikers were 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 United Soccer League was a professional soccer league in the United States in 1984 and 1985.
The Detroit Express were a soccer team based in suburban Detroit that played in the now defunct North American Soccer League (NASL) from 1978 to 1980. Its home field was the Pontiac Silverdome. The Express were co-owned by Roger Faulkner, Sonny Van Arnem, Gary Lemmen and Jimmy Hill who was also the managing director and chairman of the English club Coventry City. The team was coached by Ken Furphy.
The Jacksonville Tea Men were a soccer team based in Jacksonville, Florida, United States. Overall, the Tea Men played a total of four years in Jacksonville, first in the major league-level North American Soccer League (NASL) from 1980–1982, then in the lower level American Soccer League in 1983 and United Soccer League in 1984. The NASL incarnation of the club was Jacksonville's first professional soccer team, and the first major league-level sport franchise ever based in the city.
The 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.
The Carolina Lightnin' was a professional American soccer club based in Charlotte, North Carolina that was a member of the American Soccer League from 1981 to 83. After the Lightnin' folded, much of the front office staff and some of the players joined a new club called the Charlotte Gold that played in the United Soccer League in 1984. Both the Lightnin' and the Gold played home matches at American Legion Memorial Stadium.
Dallas Americans was an American professional soccer club based in Dallas, Texas. The team played in the American Soccer League in 1983 and the United Soccer League in 1984 and 1985. Both leagues unofficially served as the second division of professional American soccer at the time. The team's home games were played at John Clark Stadium in Plano, Texas.
The Oklahoma City Slickers was the name given to two different American soccer clubs based in Oklahoma City. The first team competed in the second American Soccer League in 1982 and 1983. The club was re-organized and re-branded in 1984 as the Oklahoma City Stampede and again in 1985 as the Tulsa Tornado's to play in the short-lived United Soccer League. The second Oklahoma City Slickers competed in the USISL from 1993 to 1996. Home games were played at historical Taft Stadium in Oklahoma City.
The Rochester Flash was an American soccer club based in Rochester, New York, that was a member of the American Soccer League from 1981-82 and of the United Soccer League in 1984.
Houston Dynamos was a U.S. soccer team that existed in various forms from 1983 to 1991. In 1991, the team's owners changed the name to Houston International, but the team lasted only through the 1992 season before folding. The Dynamos were founded by Pete Kane and John M Gaughan. The Dynamos were founded with the intention of a continued building of the sport of soccer in Houston Texas. The Dynamos were the first team to give contracts to its players based on an entire year not on a season. The Houston Dynamos players year round went to parks, schools and events promoting the sport of soccer. In 1985 the Dynamos brought Pele to Houston creating great interest in the sport and spreading goodwill.
The Tampa Bay Rowdies are an American professional soccer team based in St. Petersburg, Florida. The club was founded in 2008 and first took the pitch in 2010. Since 2017, the Rowdies have been members of the USL Championship in the second tier of the American soccer pyramid. They formerly played in USSF Division 2 and the North American Soccer League (NASL), which were also second-tier leagues. The Rowdies play their home games at Al Lang Stadium on St. Petersburg's downtown waterfront.
Jim McGeough is a retired Irish-American soccer defender. His career spanned over a dozen teams in seven leagues including the American Soccer League, American Professional Soccer League, Major Soccer League and National Professional Soccer League.
Buffalo Storm were an American professional soccer team. They played for one season (1984) in the United Soccer League, with home games at All-High Stadium.
The Tulsa Tornado's were a professional outdoor soccer team from Tulsa, Oklahoma. They played in the 2nd division United Soccer League during the partially completed 1985 season.
The 1984 USL season was the United Soccer League's first and only full season.
The 1985 USL season was the United Soccer League's second and final season. The season was abruptly canceled after the pre-season League Cup and one regular season game.
The North American Soccer League (NASL) was a professional men's soccer league based in the United States. The league was named for, but had no connection to, the original North American Soccer League. The later NASL was founded in 2009, and began play in 2011 with eight teams.
The Coastal Cup is a trophy and soccer competition among the USL Championship (USL) teams based in Florida. Established in 2010, the trophy was originally awarded to the best team in regular season play among Florida-based franchises. Head-to-head playoff games, U.S. Open Cup matches and friendlies have no bearing on the outcome of this competition. The Fort Lauderdale Strikers did not field a team in 2017 and were later dissolved. The Tampa Bay Rowdies also participated in this cup from 2010 though 2016, before leaving the NASL for the USL. With Miami FC joining the USL, the competition restarted in 2020.
 | This article about a soccer club from New York is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |
