Detroit Cougars

United Soccer Association (1967)
North American Soccer League (1968)

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Rock n' Roll Soccer

The Short Life and Fast Times of the North American Soccer League

by Ian Plenderleith

The North American Soccer League – at its peak in the late 1970s – presented soccer as performance, played by men with a bent for flair, hair and glamour. More than just Pelé and the New York Cosmos, it lured the biggest names of the world game like Johan Cruyff, Franz Beckenbauer, Eusebio, Gerd Müller and George Best to play the sport as it was meant to be played-without inhibition, to please the fans.

The first complete look at the ambitious, star-studded NASL, Rock ‘n’ Roll Soccer reveals how this precursor to modern soccer laid the foundations for the sport’s tremendous popularity in America today. 

 

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Background

The Detroit Cougars were a short-lived effort to bring pro soccer to Detroit in the late 1960’s. Detroit Lions owner William Clay Ford, grandson of Henry Ford and largest single stockholder in the Ford Motor Co., and Detroit Tigers owner John Fetzer headlined the list of financial backers for the Cougars.

The Cougars formed in 1967 as one of twelve founding members of the United Soccer Association (USA).  The USA was one of two U.S. pro leagues formed in 1967, the other being the rival National Professional Soccer League (NPSL).  In order to keep pace with the NPSL’s 1967 launch date, the USA elected to import entire European and South American clubs to compete under stage names during the 1967 season.  (The USA’s spring/summer schedule conveniently coincided with the offseason for Continental and South American leagues).

The 1967 Detroit Cougars were actually Glentoran F.C. of Northern Ireland.  The Cougars/Glentoran finished out of contention at 3-6-3.

1968: Formation of the NASL

After the 1967 season, the USA and NPSL ended their competition and merged to form the 17-club North American Soccer League.  In 1968 each franchise assembled a roster in the conventional manner. The new league abandoned the USA’s practice of importing foreign clubs.

The Cougars hired 34-year old English forward Len Julians as player-coach for the 1968 campaign.  The season was a disaster for the Cougars. Julians resigned in mid-August with the club mired in last place in the NASL’s Lakes Division.  Andre Nagy was hired to manage the final meaningless games as the Cougars finished 6-21-4.  Only the hapless Dallas Tornado (an historically awful 2-26-4 mark) were worse in the 17-team circuit.

Demise & Aftermath

At the box office the situation was just as grim.  Although the Kenn.com’s extensive attendance project has the Cougars published attendance at 4,266 per match in 1968, the Associated Press reported in September 1968 that Cougars fans numbered fewer than 1,500 per game. The Cougars’ well-heeled backers pulled the plug on September 23, 1968.  Detroit was the first NASL club to fold after the 1968 season and it began an exodus that saw the league shrink down to just five active clubs in 1969.

Pro soccer returned to Detroit a decade later with the formation of the NASL’s Detroit Express in 1978.

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Briggs Stadium
Detroit T-Shirt

AKA Tiger Stadium to most Boomers and Gen X-ers. Detroit’s lovely old ballpark at the corner of Michigan & Trumbull was known as Briggs Stadium from 1938 until 1960. The stadium hosted its final Major League Baseball game in 1999 and was finally demolished a decade later. 

This Briggs Stadium graphic tee is available now in sizes Small through 4XL at Old School Shirts!

 

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Downloads

1-10-1968 Detroit Cougars Announce NASL Pre-Season Training Plans & Promotion Press Release

8-28-1968 – Cougars Travel to Yankee Stadium to Face New York Generals on September 1st Press Release

Links

United Soccer Association Media Guides

United Soccer Association Programs

North American Soccer League Media Guides

North American Soccer League Programs

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