Tag: Downing Stadium

1980 New York United versus Ecuador program from the American Soccer League

New York United

November 15, 2015

New York United were a men’s 2nd Division soccer club that played in the American Soccer League in 1980 and 1981. The club previously played on Long Island from 1973 until 1979 where it was known as New York Apollo. New ownership bought the team in 1980 and tried to make a splash by signing former Manchester City star Rodney Marsh as Manager and moving into Shea Stadium in Queens. United moved to Downing Stadium on Randall’s Island for their final season in 1981.

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New York Cosmos North American Soccer League

New York Cosmos (1971-1985)

November 20, 2014

North American Soccer League (1971-1984) Major Indoor Soccer League (1984-1985) Born: December 10, 1970 – NASL expansion franchise Folded: Summer 1985 First Game: April 17, 1971 (W

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1995 New York Centaurs soccer ticket brochure from the A-League

New York Centaurs

March 14, 2014

Grimy Downing Stadium on Randall’s Island was the CBGB’s of New York City sporting venues.  In 1975 – the same year that the Ramones, the Heartbreakers, Blondie and the Talking Heads were igniting the punk scene at Hilly Kristal’s dank nightclub in the Bowery – Downing Stadium was the home to the New York Cosmos at the seismic moment that Pele arrived in American to play for that iconic club.  For American soccer junkies of a certain age, proclaiming “…and I was there” at Randall’s Island remains a form of cultural cred that belies the now-demolished oval’s brief and inadequate life as a pro soccer ground.

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1974 New York Stars Media Guide from the World Football League

New York Stars (1974)

October 22, 2013

The New York Stars of 1974 were one of biggest misfires of the ill-fated World Football League. The WFL launched that summer with ambitions of taking on the NFL head-to-head, much as the AFL had done a decade earlier. But the league was plagued by numerous problems from the outset, with the Stars and their wretched dump of a home field, Downing Stadium on Randall’s Island, high up on the list. The team lasted a little over two months in the Big Apple before owner Robert Schmerz threw in the towel. The team was shifted to North Carolina under new ownership in the middle of the 1974 season and re-named the Charlotte Hornets.

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