| Competition: | North American Soccer League 1973 season |
| Season: | 1973 |
| Num Teams: | 18 |
| Matches: | 90 |
| League Topscorer: | Warren Archibald Ilija Mitić (12 goals) |
| Total Goals: | 246 |
| Highest Attendance: | 21,700 (Dallas @ Phil) |
| Lowest Attendance: | 1,100 (NY @ Montreal) |
| Average Attendance: | 6,290 |
| Nextseason: | 1974 |
Statistics of North American Soccer League in season 1973. This was the 6th season of the NASL.[1]
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.
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 | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| align=left | Philadelphia Atoms | 9 | 2 | 8 | 29 | 14 | 26 | 104 | |
| align=left | New York Cosmos | 7 | 5 | 7 | 31 | 23 | 28 | 91 | |
| align=left | Miami Toros | 8 | 5 | 6 | 26 | 21 | 22 | 88 |
| Northern Division | W | L | T | GF | GA | BP | PTS | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| align=left | Toronto Metros | 6 | 4 | 9 | 32 | 18 | 26 | 89 | |
| align=left | Montreal Olympique | 5 | 10 | 4 | 25 | 32 | 22 | 64 | |
| align=left | Rochester Lancers | 4 | 9 | 6 | 17 | 27 | 17 | 59 |
| Southern Division | W | L | T | GF | GA | BP | PTS | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| align=left | Dallas Tornado | 11 | 4 | 4 | 36 | 25 | 33 | 111 | |
| align=left | St. Louis Stars | 7 | 7 | 5 | 27 | 27 | 25 | 82 | |
| align=left | Atlanta Apollos | 3 | 9 | 7 | 23 | 40 | 23 | 62 |
| First Team[5] [6] | Position | Second Team | Honorable Mention | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ken Cooper, Dallas | align=center | G | Bob Rigby, Philadelphia | Sam Nusum, Montreal | |
| John Best, Dallas | align=center | D | Bob Smith, Philadelphia | John Sewell, St. Louis | |
| Chris Dunleavy, Philadelphia | align=center | D | Derek Trevis, Philadelphia | Barry Barto, Philadelphia | |
| David Sadler, Miami | align=center | D | Dick Hall, Dallas | Werner Roth, New York | |
| Brian Rowan, Toronto | align=center | D | Roy Evans, Philadelphia | John Collins, Dallas | |
| Ilija Mitic, Dallas | align=center | M | Pat McBride, St. Louis | Al Trost, St. Louis | |
| Fernando Pinto, Toronto | align=center | M | Francisco Escos, Rochester | Roy Turner, Dallas | |
| Ian McPhee, Toronto | align=center | M | Roberto Aguirre, Miami | George O'Neill, Philadelphia | |
| Andy Provan, Philadelphia | align=center | F | Joey Fink, New York | Paul Child, Atlanta | |
| Jim Fryatt, Philadelphia | align=center | F | Rick Reynolds, Dallas | Kyle Rote Jr., Dallas | |
| Warren Archibald, Miami | align=center | F | Randy Horton, New York | Nick Jennings, Dallas |
All playoff games in all rounds including the NASL Final were single game elimination match ups.
| August 15 | New York Cosmos | 0–1 | width=24% | Dallas Tornado | Texas Stadium • Att. 9,009 | |
| align=right valign=top | valign=top | align=left valign=top |
| August 18 | Toronto Metros | 0–3 | width=24% | Philadelphia Atoms | Veterans Stadium • Att. 18,766 | |
| align=right valign=top | valign=top | align=left valign=top |
See main article: NASL Final 1973.
1973 NASL Champions: Philadelphia Atoms