1968 North American Soccer League season

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North American Soccer League -1968 Season-
Season1968
ChampionsAtlanta Chiefs
PremiersSan Diego Toros
most total points
*Atlanta Chiefs
best Won/Loss record
Matches played271
Goals scored924 (3.41 per match)
Top goalscorerJanusz Kowalik
(30 goals)
Average attendance4,669
← NPSL 1967
USA 1967
1969 →

The 1968 North American Soccer League season was the 56th season of FIFA-sanctioned soccer in the United States and Canada, and the 1st with a national first-division league with the inaugural season of the NASL.

The NASL was formed this year as a merger between the former top division soccer leagues, the United Soccer Association along with the National Professional Soccer League. In the inaugural year, the Atlanta Chiefs were the champions, by winning the NASL Final 3–0, in a two-game aggregate over the San Diego Toros. While the Chiefs were the champions for the season, the premiers for this season were the Toros, who obtained the highest point total.[1]

Overview[]

17 teams competed in this inaugural season, and the Atlanta Chiefs won the championship. While San Diego won the premiership, Atlanta's winning percentage was higher because a match had been canceled.[1] This would mark the first of five times in the league's history that the best record did not equate to a premiership. The Oakland Clippers had an identical record to the Western Division Champion Toros and a higher goal-differential, but just as with Atlanta the Toros had more league points. Oakland had won every competition in the NPSL's 1967 season, but were denied a chance to defend their title in the merged league because of this unique points system.

  • 8 came from the NPSL: Atlanta, Baltimore, Kansas City (from Chicago), New York, Oakland, St. Louis, San Diego ( from Los Angeles) and Toronto.
  • 9 came from the USA: Boston (nickname changed), Chicago, Cleveland, Dallas, Detroit, Houston, Los Angeles, Vancouver (nickname shortened) and Washington.
  • 2 teams from the NPSL folded (Philadelphia and Pittsburgh).
  • 3 teams from the USA folded (New York, San Francisco and Toronto).
  • 2 teams, Houston (USA) and St. Louis (NPSL), had the same nickname the "Stars".

Regular season[]

W = Wins, L = Losses, T= Ties, GF = Goals For, GA = Goals Against, Pts= point system, Avg Att= Average Attendance[2]

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

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

Eastern Conference[]

Atlantic Division W L T GF GA Pts Avg Att
Atlanta Chiefs 18 7 6 50 32 174 5,794
Washington Whips 15 10 7 50 32 167 6,586
New York Generals 12 8 12 62 54 164 5,606
Baltimore Bays 13 16 3 42 43 128 4,628
Boston Beacons 9 17 6 51 69 121 4,004
Lakes Division W L T GF GA Pts Avg Att
Cleveland Stokers 14 7 11 62 44 175 4,305
Chicago Mustangs 13 10 9 68 68 164 2,463
Toronto Falcons 13 13 6 55 69 144 5,284
Detroit Cougars 6 21 4 48 65 88 4,266

Western Conference[]

Gulf Division W L T GF GA Pts Avg Att
Kansas City Spurs 16 11 5 61 43 158 8,510^
Houston Stars 14 12 6 58 41 150 3,246
St. Louis Stars 12 14 6 47 59 130 5,388
Dallas Tornado 2 26 4 28 109 52 2,929
Pacific Division W L T GF GA Pts Avg Att
San Diego Toros 18 8 6 65 38 186 4,245
Oakland Clippers 18 8 6 71 38 185 3,700
Los Angeles Wolves 11 13 8 55 52 139 2,441*
Vancouver Royals 12 15 5 51 60 136 6,197

^League best, *League worst

NASL All-Stars[]

First Team[3][4]   Position   Second Team
Mirko Stojanović, Oakland G Vic Rouse, Atlanta
Mel Scott, Oakland D , Washington
Momcilio Gavric, Oakland D John Cocking, Atlanta
David Davidovic, Oakland M Dennis Viollet, Baltimore
Ron Crisp, San Diego M Milan Čop, Oakland
Ruben Navarro, Cleveland M Tony Knapp, Los Angeles
Janusz Kowalik, Chicago F Victorio Casa, Washington
Pepe Fernandez, San Diego F Mario Baesso, Oakland
Jorgen Kristensen, Detroit[5] F Eric Barber, Kansas City
Casey Frankiewicz, St. Louis F Vavá, San Diego
Ilija Mitic, Oakland F Enrique Mateos, Cleveland

Playoffs[]

Bracket[]

  Conference Finals[6]
(2-match aggregate) 		NASL Final 1968
(2-match aggregate)
                         
E1 Atlanta Chiefs 1 2 3  
E2 Cleveland Stokers 1 1 2  
    E1 Atlanta Chiefs 0 3 3
  W1 San Diego Toros 0 0 0
W1 San Diego Toros 1 1 2
W2 Kansas City Spurs 1 0 1  

Conference finals[]

Higher seed Aggregate Lower seed First leg Second leg Attendance
Atlanta Chiefs 3–2 Cleveland Stokers 1–1 2–1 (OT) September 11 • Cleveland Stadium • 3,431
September 14 • Atlanta Stadium • 6,645
San Diego Toros 2–1 Kansas City Spurs 1–1 1–0 (2OT) September 11 • Municipal Stadium • 5,042
September 16 • Balboa Stadium • 6,271[1][7][6]

NASL Final 1968[]

Main article: NASL Final 1968
Eastern Champion Aggregate Western Champion[8] First leg Second leg Attendance
Atlanta Chiefs 3��0 San Diego Toros 0–0 3–0 September 21 • Balboa Stadium • 9,360[9]
September 28 • Atlanta Stadium • 14,994

First leg[]

San Diego Toros0–0Atlanta Chiefs
Report
Balboa Stadium, San Diego, California
Attendance: 9,360
Referee: Reg Clark (Canada)

Second leg[]

Atlanta Chiefs3–0San Diego Toros
Peter McParland 22:34' (Hughes)
Delroy Scott 42:53'
Kaizer Motaung 79:50'		 Report
Atlanta Stadium, Atlanta, Georgia
Attendance: 14,994
Referee: Jim Carr (USA)


1968 NASL Champions: Atlanta Chiefs

Post season awards[]

References[]

  1. ^ a b c "The Year in American Soccer - 1968". Homepages.sover.net. Archived from the original on 2015-07-26. Retrieved 2014-01-13.
  2. ^ "Attendance Project: NASL". Kenn Tomasch. Retrieved June 13, 2012.
  3. ^ "NASL Homepage". 2008-05-01. Archived from the original on 2008-05-01. Retrieved 2014-01-13.
  4. ^ "Steve Dimitry's NASL Web Page". Oocities.org. Retrieved 2014-01-13.
  5. ^ "NASL Soccer North American Soccer League Players-Jorgen Kristensen". Nasljerseys.com. Retrieved 2014-01-13.
  6. ^ a b "San Diego advance to Finals in Soccer - Milwaukee Journal". Google news. 17 Sep 1968.
  7. ^ "Toros Win Divisional Soccer Title - The Miami News". 16 Sep 1968.
  8. ^ "San Diego Toros 1968". www.nasljerseys.com.
  9. ^ "San Diego Toros All-time Game Results | SoccerStats.us".
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