North American Soccer League Jerseys
What's New Last Updated 5/12/09
The purpose of this website is to be a resource for collectors of North American Soccer League (NASL) jerseys. I also hope to honor the players who brought soccer to America. The league lasted from 1967-1984. I include the 1967 USA and NPSL seasons as part of the NASL legacy. There were about 2,800 players on NASL rosters over the history of the league. Many of the players stayed and are still coaching here. The growth of soccer in America is directly attributable to them.
The quality of play in the Post-Pele (1978-1984) era was excellent. Many NASL game films still exist. They are a pleasure to watch. They prove the league was much more than Pele, Franz Beckenbauer, Geoge Best and Johan Cruyff. Players like Vladislav Bogicevic, Carlos Alberto, Giorgio Chinaglia, Francios Van Der Elst, Rodney Marsh, Fran O'Brien, Bruce Wilson, Ace Ntseolengoe, and many more could have played anywhere in the world.
Collecting jerseys is about reviving those great memories. When I started collecting NASL jerseys, I searched the Internet for photos and other resources. I found very few. I just bought jerseys and hoped I would be able to document them later. I thought I knew what the New York Cosmos, Tampa Bay Rowdies and the Vancouver Whitecaps looked like. After researching them, I realized my memory wasn't that good. Each team had multiple variations. Pele wore at least 6 different Cosmos jersey styles. More if you count home and away. Other teams like the Colorado Caribous, the Montreal Olympique, or the San DIego Jaws, I didn't remember at all.
Naturally, I made some mistakes. NASL documentation is still difficult to find. I hope this website fills in some of the gaps.
I've attempted to organize all the photos into an accurate history of each team's jerseys. I'm certain, I've made a lot of mistakes. I'd like to create a dialog to correct the mistakes. A lot of people have sent photos and corrections already. It has been very helpful.
I will only cover issues that affect a jersey's value:
1. Could the jersey have been worn by the player?
a. Number
b. Year's style
c. Tagging
d. Fabric
e. Name on back
2. How good was the player?
a. How many games did he play?
b. How many goals did he score?
c. You're on your own analyzing defensemen.
Condition also affects a jerseys value, but that is a case by case issue.
Unlike other sports there are only a few significant risks in collecting NASL jerseys.
1. Jersey was made for player, but the player didn't wear it. Soccer players moved from team to team frequently. The value of a jersey is significantly reduced if it was made for a player, but never worn. If all you're collecting is styles, then go ahead and buy it. However, if you want real game worn jerseys, you must make sure the style could have been worn by the player.
2. Fan made forgeries-NASL collecting for the most part is free of forgeries. There are only a few jerseys that are valuable enough to forge: Pele, Beckenbauer, Best, and Cruyff. The forgeries that exist appear to be mainly fan made jerseys. Perhaps a fan bought a Cosmos #20 changed it to a #10 to make it a Pele jersey. Great for parties or going to the games. Not great for collecting. Authentics are not a big risk for NASL era jerseys. The only exception is the Tulsa Roughnecks. The Roughnecks sold authentics that were very good. They are very difficult to distinguish from the game jerseys.
Just a note on the photos on this site: I collected these for personal use. I never thought I'd put up a website. I usually did not keep the photographers name. I've added the credit when I have it. If your photo is being used and you want credit, please send me a note. I'll also remove any that you don't want displayed.
