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1973 North American Soccer League season

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North American Soccer League 1973 season
Season1973
ChampionsPhiladelphia Atoms
PremiersDallas Tornado
Matches played90
Goals scored246 (2.73 per match)
Top goalscorerWarren Archibald
Ilija Mitić
(12 goals)
Longest unbeaten run13, Philadelphia
Highest attendance21,700 (Dallas @ Phil)
Lowest attendance1,100 (NY @ Montreal)
Average attendance6,290
← 1972
1974 →

Statistics of North American Soccer League in season 1973. This was the 6th season of the NASL.[1]

Overview

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Nine teams took part in the league with the Philadelphia Atoms winning the championship.

During the season, Tiburones Rojos de Veracruz from Vera Cruz, Mexico, played each of the nine NASL clubs in exhibition games that counted in the league's final standings. The 1973 season would be the last season in which games from non-league clubs counted in league standings.[2]

A week before the NASL Final 1973, commissioner Phil Woosnam announced that no team in the league made a profit during the season.[3]

In a unique twist, the team with home field for the NASL Championship Game determined the date and time the game was to be played. When the Dallas Tornado won their semi-final, setting up the final with Philadelphia, they chose August 25 as the date of the game. They did this because the NASL loan agreements with players from the English First Division (the precursor to today's Premier League) expired before that date.[4]

Because of this, Philadelphia's two leading scorers, Andy "The Flea" Provan and Jim Fryatt, were on their way back to England when the championship match was played on the 25th. Despite this, Philadelphia coach, Al Miller, put Bill Straub, a defender who had not played a minute for the club prior to the championship game, into the lineup at forward. The move paid off as Straub headed home the second goal in a 2–0 win with under five minutes remaining in the final.[4]

Changes from the previous season

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New teams

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  • Philadelphia Atoms

Teams folding

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  • None

Teams moving

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  • None

Name changes

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  • Atlanta Chiefs to Atlanta Apollos
  • Miami Gatos to Miami Toros

Map of clubs

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Eastern Division Northern Division Southern Division

Regular season

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W = Wins, L = Losses, T= Ties, GF = Goals For, GA = Goals Against, BP = Bonus Points, PTS= Total Points

POINT SYSTEM
6 points for a win, 3 points for a tie, 0 points for a loss, 1 bonus point for each goal scored up to three per game.

 -Premiers (most points).  -Other playoff teams.
Eastern Division W L T GF GA BP PTS
Philadelphia Atoms 9 2 8 29 14 26 104
New York Cosmos 7 5 7 31 23 28 91
Miami Toros 8 5 6 26 21 22 88
Northern Division W L T GF GA BP PTS
Toronto Metros 6 4 9 32 18 26 89
Montreal Olympique 5 10 4 25 32 22 64
Rochester Lancers 4 9 6 17 27 17 59
Southern Division W L T GF GA BP PTS
Dallas Tornado 11 4 4 36 25 33 111
St. Louis Stars 7 7 5 27 27 25 82
Atlanta Apollos 3 9 7 23 40 23 62

NASL All-Stars

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First Team[5][6]   Position   Second Team Honorable Mention
Ken Cooper, Dallas G Bob Rigby, Philadelphia Sam Nusum, Montreal
John Best, Dallas D Bob Smith, Philadelphia John Sewell, St. Louis
Chris Dunleavy, Philadelphia D Derek Trevis, Philadelphia Barry Barto, Philadelphia
David Sadler, Miami D Dick Hall, Dallas Werner Roth, New York
Brian Rowan, Toronto D Roy Evans, Philadelphia John Collins, Dallas
Ilija Mitic, Dallas M Pat McBride, St. Louis Al Trost, St. Louis
Fernando Pinto, Toronto M Francisco Escos, Rochester Roy Turner, Dallas
Ian McPhee, Toronto M Roberto Aguirre, Miami George O'Neill, Philadelphia
Andy Provan, Philadelphia F Joey Fink, New York Paul Child, Atlanta
Jim Fryatt, Philadelphia F Rick Reynolds, Dallas Kyle Rote Jr., Dallas
Warren Archibald, Miami F Randy Horton, New York Nick Jennings, Dallas

Playoffs

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All playoff games in all rounds including the NASL Final were single game elimination match ups.

Bracket

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Semifinals NASL Final 1973
      
1 Dallas Tornado 1
4 New York Cosmos 0
1 Dallas Tornado 0
2 Philadelphia Atoms 2
2 Philadelphia Atoms 3
3 Toronto Metros 0

Semifinals

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August 15 New York Cosmos 0–1 Dallas Tornado Texas Stadium • Att. 9,009[1]
August 18 Toronto Metros 0–3 Philadelphia Atoms Veterans Stadium • Att. 18,766[1]

NASL Final 1973

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Main article: NASL Final 1973
Dallas Tornado0–2Philadelphia Atoms
Best 66' (o.g.)
Straub 85' (Evans)
Attendance: 18,824[1]
Referee: Bill Gallagher (Canada)[9]

1973 NASL Champions: Philadelphia Atoms

Post season awards

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References

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  1. ^ a b c d "The Year in American Soccer - 1973". Homepages.sover.net. Archived from the original on July 13, 2013. Retrieved January 13, 2014.
  2. ^ Jose, Colin (1989). NASL: A Complete Record of the North American Soccer League. USA: Brredon Books. p. 360. ISBN 978-0907969563.
  3. ^ Rickey, Jim (August 19, 1973). "Despite No Profits: Soccer Plans Expansion". Democrat and Chronicle. p. 5D. Retrieved March 24, 2022.
  4. ^ a b "Flashback: Philly in the 1973 NASL playoffs". www.phillysoccerpage.net.
  5. ^ "NASL Homepage". May 1, 2008. Archived from the original on May 1, 2008. Retrieved January 13, 2014.
  6. ^ "Steve Dimitry's NASL Web Page". Oocities.org. Retrieved January 13, 2014.
  7. ^ Edwin Shrake (September 3, 1973). "Armed with Americans, Philadelphia's soccer team beat - 09.03.73 - SI Vault". Sportsillustrated.cnn.com. Archived from the original on November 13, 2012. Retrieved January 13, 2014.
  8. ^ "Philadelphia Atoms @ Dallas Tornado 1973 NASL Finals Highlights - YouTube". YouTube. Archived from the original on December 29, 2012. Retrieved June 25, 2013.
  9. ^ "Past Winners | North American Soccer League". Naslsoccerbowl.com. Retrieved January 13, 2014.
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