1981 North American Soccer League season explained

Competition:	North American Soccer League 1981 season
Season:	1981
Num Teams:	21
Premiers:	New York Cosmos (5th title)
Matches:	336
League Topscorer:	Giorgio Chinaglia (29 goals)
Total Goals:	1234
Highest Attendance:	50,755 Washington at Montreal (August 18)
Lowest Attendance:	1,861 Dallas at Chicago (May 10)
Average Attendance:	14,084
Nextseason:	1982

Statistics of North American Soccer League in season 1981. This was the 14th season of the NASL.

Overview

There were a total of 21 teams participating. Three teams (Houston, Rochester and Washington) folded, while four others (Memphis, Detroit, New England and Philadelphia) moved to new cities. Playoff series were switched from the two matches plus a mini-game tiebreaker used since 1977, to a best-of-three full matches played on three separate dates. The Chicago Sting defeated the New York Cosmos in Soccer Bowl '81 on September 26 to win the championship.

When Major League Baseball players went on strike on June 12, there was speculation that other sports, especially soccer, would see larger crowds. However, the 157 NASL matches played during the baseball work stoppage (which ended August 9) drew an average attendance of only 13,419, less than the full-season average of 14,084.

Changes from the previous season

New teams

• None

Teams folding

• Houston Hurricane
• Rochester Lancers
• Washington Diplomats

Teams moving

• Memphis Rogues to Calgary Boomers
• Detroit Express to Washington Diplomats
• New England Tea Men to Jacksonville Tea Men
• Philadelphia Fury to Montreal Manic

Name changes

• None

Map of clubs

Regular season

W = Wins, L = Losses, GF = Goals For, GA = Goals Against, PT= point system

6 points for a win in regulation and overtime, 4 point for a shootout win,0 points for a loss,1 bonus point for each regulation goal scored, up to three per game.^[1]

-Premiers (most points). -Other playoff teams.

Eastern Division	W	L	GF	GA	PT
align=left	New York Cosmos	23	9	80	49	200
align=left	Montreal Manic	15	17	63	57	141
align=left	Washington Diplomats	15	17	59	58	135
align=left	Toronto Blizzard	7	25	39	82	77

Southern Division	W	L	GF	GA	PT
align=left	Atlanta Chiefs	17	15	62	60	151
align=left	Fort Lauderdale Strikers	18	14	54	46	144
align=left	Jacksonville Tea Men	18	14	51	46	141
align=left	Tampa Bay Rowdies	15	17	63	64	139

Central Division	W	L	GF	GA	PT
align=left	Chicago Sting	23	9	84	50	195
align=left	Minnesota Kicks	19	13	63	57	163
align=left	Tulsa Roughnecks	17	15	60	49	154
align=left	Dallas Tornado	5	27	27	71	54

Western Division	W	L	GF	GA	PT
align=left	San Diego Sockers	21	11	67	49	173
align=left	Los Angeles Aztecs	19	13	53	55	160
align=left	California Surf	11	21	60	77	117
align=left	San Jose Earthquakes	11	21	44	78	108

Northwest Division	W	L	GF	GA	PT
align=left	Vancouver Whitecaps	21	11	74	43	186
align=left	Calgary Boomers	17	15	59	54	151
align=left	Portland Timbers	17	15	52	49	141
align=left	Seattle Sounders	15	17	60	62	137
align=left	Edmonton Drillers	12	20	60	79	123

NASL All-Stars

First Team^[2]	Position	Second Team^[3]	Honorable Mention^[4]
Jan van Beveren, Fort Lauderdale	align=center	G	Hubert Birkenmeier, New York	Volkmar Gross, San Diego
Frantz Mathieu, Chicago	align=center	D	Barry Wallace, Tulsa	Nick Rohmann, San Diego
Wim Rijsbergen, New York	align=center	D	Kevin Bond, Seattle	Robert Iarusci, New York
Peter Nogly, Edmonton	align=center	D	Mihalj Keri, Los Angeles	Dave Huson, Chicago
John Gorman, Tampa Bay	align=center	D	Pierce O'Leary, Vancouver	Carlos Alberto, California
Arno Steffenhagen, Chicago	align=center	M	Alan Hudson, Seattle	Juli Veee, San Diego
Vladislav Bogićević, New York	align=center	M	George Best, San Jose	Jomo Sono, Toronto
Teófilo Cubillas, Fort Lauderdale	align=center	M	Peter Lorimer, Vancouver	Duncan McKenzie, Tulsa
Brian Kidd, Atlanta	align=center	F	Karl-Heinz Granitza, Chicago	Mike Stojanović, San Diego
Gordon Hill, Montreal	align=center	F	Roberto Cabañas, New York	Pato Margetic, Chicago
Giorgio Chinaglia, New York	align=center	F	Franz Gerber, Calgary	Alan Green, Jacksonville • Steve Wegerle, New York

Playoffs

15 teams qualified for the playoffs – each first and second-place team across the divisions plus the five next best teams. Division winners were seeded 1 through 5, the second-place teams were seeded 6 through 10, and the last five teams were seeded 11 through 15 regardless of division placing.^[5] The top seed received a bye, and the remaining 14 teams paired off to play the first round. Series winners would be reseeded by season point total after each round.

The 'best of two' format used from 1978 to 1980 was discarded for a more straightforward best of three games format in the first three rounds.

First round

width=180	Lower seed	width=5		width=180	Higher seed	width=80	Game 1	width=80	Game 2	width=80	Game 3	width=280	(higher seed hosts Games 2 and 3)
Tulsa Roughnecks	-	Minnesota Kicks	1–3	0–1 (SO, 4–5)	x	August 22 • Skelly Stadium • 16,205 August 26 • Metropolitan Stadium • 10,722
Portland Timbers	-	San Diego Sockers	2–1	1–5	0–2	August 22 • Civic Stadium • 16,003 August 26 • Jack Murphy Stadium • 12,039 August 30 • Jack Murphy Stadium • 15,244
Jacksonville Tea Men	-	Atlanta Chiefs	3–2 (OT)	2–1	x	August 23 • Gator Bowl • 9,287 August 25 • Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium • 6,572
Fort Lauderdale Strikers	-	Calgary Boomers	3–1	2–0	x	August 23 • Lockhart Stadium • 12,196 #August 26 • Lockhart Stadium • 11,494
Tampa Bay Rowdies	-	Vancouver Whitecaps	4–1	1–0	x	August 23 • Tampa Stadium • 21,192 August 26 • Empire Stadium • 28,896
Seattle Sounders	-	Chicago Sting	2–3	2–0	2–3	August 23 • Comiskey Park • 14,643 *August 26 • Kingdome • 15,176 August 30 • Wrigley Field • 24,080
Montreal Manic	-	Los Angeles Aztecs	5–3	2–3	2–1 (OT)	August 24 • Olympic Stadium • 46,682 August 27 • Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum • 7,529 August 30 • Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum • 8,812
(first round bye)		New York Cosmos	•	•	•	•

1. Due to a scheduling conflict between the Calgary Boomers and the Billy Graham Crusade, the Fort Lauderdale Strikers hosted both Games 1 and 2 (instead of Game 1 only), there-by gaining home field advantage even though they were the lower seed.^[6]

• Seattle Sounders hosted Game 2 (instead of Game 1) due to a scheduling conflict with the Mariners baseball club.^[7]

Quarterfinals

width=180	Lower seed	width=5		width=180	Higher seed	width=80	Game 1	width=80	Game 2	width=80	Game 3	width=280	(higher seed hosts Games 2 and 3)
Tampa Bay Rowdies	-	New York Cosmos	3–6	3–2 (SO, 4–2)	0–2	September 2 • Tampa Stadium • 29,224 September 5 • Giants Stadium • 38,691 September 9 • Giants Stadium • 33,754
Montreal Manic	-	Chicago Sting	3–2	2–4	2–4	September 2 • Olympic Stadium • 58,542 September 5 • Wrigley Field • 24,648 September 10 • Comiskey Park • 27,489
Fort Lauderdale Strikers	-	Minnesota Kicks	3–1	3–0	x	September 2 • Lockhart Stadium • 11,918 September 6 • Memorial Stadium • 10,278
Jacksonville Tea Men	-	San Diego Sockers	2–1 (OT)	1–2	1–3	September 2 • Gator Bowl • 12,252 September 6 • Jack Murphy Stadium • 14,428 September 9 • Jack Murphy Stadium • 14,015

Semifinals

width=180	Lower seed	width=5		width=180	Higher seed	width=80	Game 1	width=80	Game 2	width=80	Game 3	width=280	(higher seed hosts Games 2 and 3)
Fort Lauderdale Strikers	-	New York Cosmos	3–4	1–4	x	September 12 • Lockhart Stadium • 18,814 September 16 • Giants Stadium • 31,172^[8]
San Diego Sockers	-	Chicago Sting	2–1	1–2	0–1 (SO, 2–3)	September 12 • Jack Murphy Stadium • 18,192 September 16 • Comiskey Park • 21,760 September 21 • Comiskey Park • 39,623

Soccer Bowl '81

See main article: Soccer Bowl '81.

1981 NASL Champions: Chicago Sting

• From 1977 through 1984 the NASL had a variation of the penalty shoot-out procedure for tied matches. The shoot-out started 35 yards from the goal and allowed the player 5 seconds to attempt a shot. The player could make as many moves as he wanted in a breakaway situation within the time frame. Even though this particular match was a scoreless tie after overtime, NASL procedure also called for the box score to show an additional "goal" given to the winning team.^{[9] [10]}

Post season awards

• Most Valuable Player: Giorgio Chinaglia, New York
• Coach of the year: Willy Roy, Chicago
• Rookie of the year: Joe Morrone, Jr., Tulsa
• North American Player of the Year: Mike Stojanović, San Diego^[11]

External links

• Video of 1981 NASL goals of the year
• Complete Results and Standings

Notes and References

1. Web site: St. Petersburg Times - Google News Archive Search.
2. News: Cote. Greg. Strikers open at home against Cosmos Saturday . September 11, 1981. Miami Herald. 4F. March 12, 2021.
3. News: NASL All-Stars . September 11, 1981. The Evening Independent. 2-C. March 12, 2021.
4. News: NASL All-Star Team . September 11, 1981. The Tampa Times. 2C. March 12, 2021.
5. News: Scheiber . Dave . NASL's playoff system hurts its credibility . August 3, 1981. St. Petersburg Times. 3C . 2018-09-26.
6. News: Scheiber. Dave. Rowdies cashing in on their new underdog label . September 1, 1981. St. Petersburg Times. 3, sec. 4 . 2016-07-04.
7. News: Conklin. Mike. Sting hopes for even more success in playoffs . September 27, 1981. Chicago Tribune. 3, sec. 4 . 2016-07-04.
8. News: Bonapace. Ruth. Chinaglia Pulls It Out Of The Hat For Cosmos. September 17, 1981. Evening Independent. 4, sec. C . 2016-07-04.
9. Web site: This Day In 1981 : Soccer Bowl Edition | Chicago Fire Confidential . https://web.archive.org/web/20130920224347/http://www.chicagonow.com/fire-confidential/2011/09/this-day-in-1981-soccer-bowl-edition/ . 2013-09-20 . live . 2013-06-21 .
10. Web site: The Year in American Soccer - 1977 . https://web.archive.org/web/20130713134953/http://homepages.sover.net/~spectrum/year/1977.html . 2013-07-13 . dead . 2013-06-21 .
11. Web site: The Calgary Herald - Google News Archive Search.