New Jersey Eagles

American Soccer League (1988-1989)
American Professional Soccer League (1990)

Tombstone

Born: May 1987 – ASL founding franchise
Folded: Postseason 1990

First Game: April 8, 1988 (W 2-1 @ Miami Sharks)
Last Game: August 3, 1990 (L 2-0 vs. Maryland Bays)

ASL Championships: None
APSL Championships: None

Stadia

1988-1989: Hinchliffe Stadium (9,500)¹

1990: Cochrane Stadium (5,500)

Marketing

Team Colors: Red, White & Blue²

Ownership

Owners: Ray Jacobs, et al.

Background

The New Jersey Eagles soccer club played in the East Coast-based American Soccer League (ASL) from 1988-1990. During the 1990 season, the ASL also served as the Eastern Conference of a tentative nationwide league known as the American Professional Soccer League (APSL). At the times, these low-budget leagues represented the highest level of professional soccer in the United States, at least of the outdoor variety.

The Eagles were somewhat of a New York Cosmos alumni society. Club owner Ray Jacobs was a former Cosmos’ season ticket holders and long-time Cosmos execs Clive Toye and Dominick Flora reprised their front office roles. Ex-Cosmos Hubert Birkenmeier, Fernando DeMatthaeis and Andranik Eskandarian played for the club.

However, the Eagles were not able to recapture any of the Cosmos’ former box office allure. The Eagles played their first two seasons at Hinchcliffe Stadium in Paterson, often to crowds of fewer than 1,000 fans. The team moved to Cochrane Stadium in Jersey City for their final season in 1990, but that didn’t help the club’s poor box office.

The Eagles’ best season was their first. With a roster hastily assembled in just three weeks, the Eagles posted the best record in the American Soccer League in 1988 with a 15-5 mark. Jorge Acosta, a Paterson resident and former Long Island University star, led the league in scoring with 14 goals and 5 assists. The Eagles lost in the 1988 playoff semi-finals to the eventual champion Washington Diplomats.

The following two seasons, however, the Eagles finished last in the division with 6-14 records in both 1989 and 1990. The club folded after the 1990 campaign.

New Jersey Eagles Shop

In Memoriam

Forward Paul Kitson (’90) suffered a fatal brain aneurysm while conducting a soccer clinic on August 25, 2005. Kitson was 49. Baltimore Sun obituary.