1983 North American Soccer League season
Soccer league season
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Statistics of North American Soccer League in season 1983. This was the 16th and penultimate season of the NASL.
Season1983
Teams12
ChampionsTulsa Roughnecks
PremiersNew York Cosmos
(7th title) most total points
*Vancouver
best Won/Loss record
(7th title) most total points
*Vancouver
best Won/Loss record
| Season | 1983 |
|---|---|
| Teams | 12 |
| Champions | Tulsa Roughnecks |
| Premiers | New York Cosmos (7th title) most total points *Vancouver best Won/Loss record |
| Matches | 180 |
| Goals | 708 (3.93 per match) |
| Top goalscorer |  Roberto Cabañas (25 goals) |
| Highest attendance | 60,342 Seattle at Vancouver (June 20) |
| Lowest attendance | 3,079 Toronto at San Diego (May 25) |
| Average attendance | 13,258 |
← 1982 1984 → | |
Overview
There were 12 teams in the league. The Tulsa Roughnecks won the championship. Though Vancouver won two more games than any other club, for the fourth time in league history, the team with the most wins did not win the regular season due to the NASL's system of awarding points.
Changes from the previous season
New teams
- Team America
Teams folding
- Edmonton Drillers
- Jacksonville Tea Men
- Portland Timbers
Teams moving
- None
Name changes
- San Jose to Golden Bay
Map of clubs
Eastern Division 
Southern Division 
Western Division
Regular season
W = Wins, L = Losses, GF = Goals For, GA = Goals Against, PT= point system
6 points for a win in regulation and overtime, 4 point for a shootout win, 0 points for a loss, 1 bonus point for each regulation goal scored, up to three per game.[1]
- -Premiers (most points). -Best record. -Other playoff teams.
| Eastern Division | W | L | GF | GA | PT |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| New York Cosmos (1) | 22 | 8 | 87 | 49 | 194 |
| Chicago Sting (5) | 15 | 15 | 66 | 73 | 147 |
| Toronto Blizzard (7) | 16 | 14 | 51 | 48 | 135 |
| Montreal Manic (8) | 12 | 18 | 58 | 71 | 124 |
| Southern Division | W | L | GF | GA | PT |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tulsa Roughnecks (3) | 17 | 13 | 56 | 49 | 145 |
| Fort Lauderdale Strikers (6) | 14 | 16 | 60 | 63 | 136 |
| Tampa Bay Rowdies | 7 | 23 | 48 | 87 | 83 |
| Team America | 10 | 20 | 33 | 54 | 79 |
| Western Division | W | L | GF | GA | PT |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vancouver Whitecaps (2) | 24 | 6 | 63 | 34 | 187 |
| Golden Bay Earthquakes (4) | 20 | 10 | 71 | 54 | 169 |
| Seattle Sounders | 12 | 18 | 62 | 61 | 119 |
| San Diego Sockers | 11 | 19 | 53 | 65 | 106 |
NASL All-Stars
| First Team[2][3] | Position | Second Team | Honorable Mention[4][5] |
|---|---|---|---|
 Jan van Beveren, Fort Lauderdale |
G |  Tino Lettieri, Vancouver |
 Hubert Birkenmeier, New York |
 David Watson, Vancouver |
D | Ray Evans, Seattle |
 Gregg Thompson, Tampa Bay |
| Franz Beckenbauer, New York |
D | Bruce Wilson, Toronto |
 Dave Huson, Chicago |
 Andranik Eskandarian, New York |
D |  Frantz Mathieu, Montreal |
 Mihalj Keri, Golden Bay |
| Barry Wallace, Tulsa |
D |  Cho Young-Jeung, Chicago |
Bruce Miller, Fort Lauderdale |
| Vladislav Bogićević, New York |
M | Karl-Heinz Granitza, Chicago |
 Fran O'Brien, Vancouver |
 Stan Terlecki, Golden Bay |
M | Steve Daley, Seattle |
Rick Davis, New York |
| Frans Thijssen, Vancouver |
M | Kaz Deyna, San Diego |
Ray Hudson, Fort Lauderdale |
| Roberto Cabañas, New York |
F |  Giorgio Chinaglia, New York |
David Cross, Vancouver |
| Steve Zungul, Golden Bay |
F |  Ricardo Alonso, Chicago |
Peter Ward, Seattle |
| Pato Margetic, Chicago |
F |  David Byrne, Toronto |
Peter Beardsley, Vancouver |
Playoffs
Bracket
| Quarterfinals (Best-of-3) | Semifinals (Best-of-3) | Soccer Bowl '83 (Single match) | ||||||||||||||||
| 1 | New York Cosmos | 2 | 0(2) | – | ||||||||||||||
| 8 | Montreal Manic | 4 | 1(3) | – | ||||||||||||||
| 8 | Montreal Manic | 1(8) | 1 | 0 | ||||||||||||||
| 3 | Tulsa Roughnecks | 2(9) | 0 | 3 | ||||||||||||||
| 3 | Tulsa Roughnecks | 3 | 4 | – | ||||||||||||||
| 6 | Fort Lauderdale Strikers | 2 | 2 | – | ||||||||||||||
| 3 | Tulsa Roughnecks | 2 | ||||||||||||||||
| 7 | Toronto Blizzard | 0 | ||||||||||||||||
| 4 | Golden Bay Earthquakes | 6 | 0 | 5 | ||||||||||||||
| 5 | Chicago Sting | 1 | 1 | 2 | ||||||||||||||
| 4 | Golden Bay Earthquakes | 0(3) | 0 | – | ||||||||||||||
| 7 | Toronto Blizzard | 1(5) | 2 | – | ||||||||||||||
| 2 | Vancouver Whitecaps | 1 | 3 | 0 | ||||||||||||||
| 7 | Toronto Blizzard | 0 | 4 | 1 | ||||||||||||||
Quarterfinals
| Higher seed | Lower seed | Game 1 | Game 2 | Game 3 | *(higher seed hosts Games 1 and 3) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| New York Cosmos | - | Montreal Manic | 2–4 | 0–1 (SO, 2–3) | x | September 6 • Giants Stadium • 17,202 September 12 • Olympic Stadium • 20,726 |
| Tulsa Roughnecks | - | Fort Lauderdale Strikers | 3–2 (OT) | 4–2 | x | September 6 • Skelly Stadium • 7,826 September 10 • Lockhart Stadium • 8,873 |
| Golden Bay Earthquakes | - | Chicago Sting | 6–1 | 0–1 | 5–2 | September 7 • Spartan Stadium • 16,572 September 12 • Soldier Field • 5,852 September 14 • Spartan Stadium • 17,361 |
| Vancouver Whitecaps | - | Toronto Blizzard | 1–0 | 3–4 | 0–1 | September 8 • BC Place Stadium • 22,015 September 12 • Exhibition Stadium • 7,958 September 15 • BC Place Stadium • 24,545 |
Semifinals
| Higher seed | Lower seed | Game 1 | Game 2 | Game 3 | *(higher seed hosts Games 1 and 3) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tulsa Roughnecks | - | Montreal Manic | 2–1 (SO, 9–8) | 0–1 | 3–0 | September 18 • Skelly Stadium • 10,625[6] September 26 • Olympic Stadium • 16,185 September 28 • Skelly Stadium • 18,090[7] |
| Golden Bay Earthquakes | - | Toronto Blizzard | 0–1 (SO, 3–5) | 0–2 | x | September 17 • Spartan Stadium • 19,027 September 22 • Exhibition Stadium • 15,556 |
Soccer Bowl '83
1983 NASL Champions: Tulsa Roughnecks
Post season awards
- Most Valuable Player:
Roberto Cabanas, New York - Coach of the year:
Don Popovic, Golden Bay - Rookie of the year:
Gregg Thompson, Tampa Bay - North American Player of the Year:
Tino Lettieri, Vancouver[12] - Soccer Bowl MVP: Njego Pesa, Tulsa [13]
Attendances
| Club | Games | Total | Average |
|---|---|---|---|
| Vancouver Whitecaps | 15 | 437,454 | 29,164 |
| New York Cosmos | 15 | 408,635 | 27,242 |
| Team America | 15 | 195,032 | 13,002 |
| Tulsa Roughnecks | 15 | 186,229 | 12,415 |
| Golden Bay Earthquakes | 15 | 178,999 | 11,933 |
| Toronto Blizzard | 15 | 174,457 | 11,630 |
| Tampa Bay Rowdies | 15 | 167,575 | 11,172 |
| Chicago Sting | 15 | 164,061 | 10,937 |
| Ft. Lauderdale Strikers | 15 | 162,430 | 10,829 |
| Seattle Sounders | 15 | 122,721 | 8,181 |
| Montreal Manic | 15 | 118,650 | 7,910 |
| San Diego Sockers | 15 | 70,268 | 4,685 |
Source:[14]