New Jersey Americans

American Soccer League (1976-1979)

Tombstone

Born: February 26, 1976 – ASL expansion franchise
Moved: 1980 (Miami Americans)

First Game: April 30, 1976 (W 2-1 vs. Cleveland Cobras)
Last Game:

ASL Champions: 1977

Stadia

1976: Wall Stadium (9,000)¹

1977-1979: Rutgers Stadium (23,000)²

Marketing

Team Colors: Red, White & Blue³

Ownership

Owners: Joseph Raymond, Marshall Samarel, et al.

Our Favorite Stuff

American Soccer League
T-Shirt

For most of its existence, the American Soccer League was a collection of ethnically-based semi-pro clubs clustered in the northeast. But in the 1970’s, the ASL expanded nationwide and became American’s de facto 2nd Division, underneath the bigger-budgeted NASL. This logo was used by the league from the 1970’s until its demise in 1983.

We like this ASL logo tee from American Retro Apparel (they offer a grey version also) and it’s available today in sizes small through XXXL!

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Background

The New Jersey Americans were a professional soccer club that played for four seasons in the 2nd Division American Soccer League during the late 1970’s. They shared a brand name with the short-lived New Jersey Americans (1967-1968) basketball team from the ABA, who eventually became the Brooklyn Nets of the NBA.

The Americans started out in 1976 at Wall Stadium, a 9,000-seater which was part of an auto racing track near Asbury Park. In 1977, the team moved to Rutgers Stadium in Piscataway. The Americans gained some minor (very minor) attention in 1978 by signing a pair of aging former Benfica / Portuguese National Team legends of the 1960’s in Tony Simoes and Eusebio.

1977 Championship Season

The Americans’ finest season was in 1977, when the team posted a 16-7-1 record to top the ASL’s East Division. Minor league legend Jose Neto led the ASL in scoring with 17 goals despite missing a third of the games. New Jersey hosted the ASL Championship Game at Rutgers Stadium on September 4, 1977 and dominated the Sacramento Spirits 3-0 on goals by Ringo Cantillo, Telmo Pires and Juan Cano. A reported crowd of 6,493 turned out for the match.

After the season, Ringo Cantillo was named the league’s MVP for 1977. It was Cantillo’s third time earning the ASL’s top individual honor, having won previously in 1972 and 1974 as a member of the Cincinnati Comets.

ASL Commissioner Bob Cousy, the former Boston Celtics star, challenged the North American Soccer League champion New York Cosmos to face the Americans to “really determine the soccer professional championship of the United States”. This was sort of like the Rochester Red Wings proposing to play the New York Yankees to resolve any lingering doubts about the meaning of the World Series. The Cosmos, busy selling out stadiums in the Caribbean and South America for Pele’s farewell tour, declined to respond.

The Black Pearl

Portuguese superstar Eusebio joined the team in mid-1978. The “Black Pearl” was 36 years old by this time and his knees were shot. He earned a reported $20,000 for eight appearances in 1978, which made him of the highest paid players in the low-budget ASL that season.⁴

The main storyline of Eusebio’s stint with the New Jersey Americans was his pursuit of 1,000 career goals, a feat he allegedly achieved on the final day of the 1978 regular season on the road against the Indy Daredevils. It’s not entirely clear to me where they this press narrative emerged from at the time, as most modern day accountings of Eusebio’s legendary career credit him with somewhere around 700 career goals, depending on what sort of matches are counted.

1980 Relocation to Miami

In early 1980 the Americans ownership sold the club to new investors who relocated the franchise to Miami, Florida. The Miami Americans lasted one season before running out of money and folding.

The ASL itself went out of business in early 1984.

Americans owner Joseph Raymond later briefly owned the Philadelphia Fever of the Major Indoor Soccer League in 1981 and 1982.