List of Soccer Bowl broadcasters
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The following is a list of the television networks and announcers that have broadcast the Soccer Bowl, which was the annual championship competition of the North American Soccer League. The NASL was the top-level major professional soccer league in the United States and Canada that operated from 1968 to 1984.
1980s[edit]
Notes[edit]
- 1984 - Sportsvision televised the series in the Chicago area; this coverage was simulcast on the then-new TSN (which had started up a month earlier) cable channel in Canada.
- From 1978 until 1984, Bob Carpenter called soccer games for the Tulsa Roughnecks of the North American Soccer League and the St. Louis Steamers of the Major Indoor Soccer League. He announced two World Cups for ESPN; 1982 with Bob Ley and 1994 (10 games) with Seamus Malin and Clive Charles.
- 1981 - ABC aired the Soccer Bowl[8] on tape delay[9].
1970s[edit]
Year | Network | Play-by-play | Color commentator(s) | Touchline reporter | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1979 | ABC CTV |
Jim McKay[10] | Paul Gardner[11] | Verne Lundquist[12] | |||
1978 | TVS | Jon Miller | Paul Gardner[13] | ||||
1977 | TVS[14] | Jon Miller[15] | Paul Gardner | Walter Chyzowych[16] | |||
1976 | CBS CBC |
Jon Miller[17][18][19] | |||||
1975 | CBS[20] | Frank Glieber | Jack Whitaker[21] | ||||
1974 | CBS[22][23] | Frank Glieber | Clive Toye and Kyle Rote Jr. | ||||
1973 | Not televised | ||||||
1972 | Not televised | ||||||
1971 | Not televised | ||||||
1970 | Not televised |
Notes[edit]
- 1978 - This would be the final NASL game broadcast TVS, as the league signed a deal with ABC Sports in the fall of 1978.[24] Gardner would continue as the color analyst for ABC's coverage, while Miller would move on to a long career announcing Major League Baseball.
- Alongside Gene Hart doing play-by-play, Walter Chyzowych provided color commentary for the 1973 Finals of the North American Soccer League between the Philadelphia Atoms and the Dallas Tornado.[25] He also served as the touchline reporter at Soccer Bowl '77.[26]
- In 1964, Paul Gardner left the medical magazine and spent two years in Italy before returning to New York, where he discovered a sudden American interest in pro soccer. The United Soccer Association and the National Professional Soccer League – which eventually merged into the NASL – launched in 1967. The emergence of American pro soccer in the late 1960s coincided with Gardner’s start as a full-time free-lance journalist and he has since covered soccer for publications on both sides of the Atlantic. Gardner was the color commentator for the first-ever live telecast in the United States of a World Cup final, in 1982 on ABC. He also served as ABC color commentator with legendary Jim McKay of NASL games in 1979-81. He also did commentary for NBC (1986 World Cup), CBS (NASL) and ESPN (college), and has been a film producer and was the scriptwriter and soccer adviser for the award-winning instructional series Pele: The Master and His Method in 1973.[27][28]
- Jon Miller's first network exposure came in 1976, when he was selected by CBS-TV to broadcast the NASL Championship Game. From 1974 to 1976, Miller did play-by-play for the Washington Diplomats of the NASL. He also announced the Soccer Game of the Week for nationally syndicated TVS from 1977 to 1978.[29]
- 1974 - Although the Aztecs had a league-best record and points total, and rightly should have hosted the championship final, CBS intervened and strongly influenced the NASL's decision to play the match in Miami. CBS was under contract to air the game live and was unwilling to black-out the large Southern California viewing audience. At the time it was the standard in many U.S.-based sports for the host market not to broadcast games locally unless they were sold out. At the time, the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum had a capacity of 94,500 and, even in a best-case scenario, an Aztecs sell-out was unlikely. Moreover, in an effort by CBS to capture more viewers during the peak East Coast time slot, a Los Angeles-hosted game would have begun at 12:30 (PDT) local time. The league recognized that both these factors would be detrimental to ticket sales and agreed to move the game to the Miami Orange Bowl with a 3:30 (EDT) local start. CBS had also stepped in the previous week and forced the Toros to play their semifinal match at the much-smaller Tamiami Stadium in Tamiami Park. This was done so that if Miami did win, CBS's production crews would have a full week for set-up in the Orange Bowl stadium.[30]
- In 1963, Frank Glieber began a long career with CBS television. Over the next two decades, he broadcast a variety of events for the network including NFL football, NBA and NCAA basketball, professional bowling, tennis, NASL soccer, and golf (including the Masters Tournament each spring). Glieber continued to broadcast local Dallas area sports events during his time at CBS, working as many as sixteen hours a day. He was also a commentator for the World Series of Poker.[31]
1960s[edit]
Year | Network | Play-by-play | Color commentator(s) | Touchline reporter |
1969 | With only five teams in the league, no championship event was held that year. In a close finish, the NASL trophy was awarded to the Kansas City Spurs, the team with the most points at the end of the season. The season was completed on August 31, 1969.[32][33] | |||
1968 | CBS | Mario Machado[34] | Clive Toye | |
1967 | CBS | Jack Whitaker | Danny Blanchflower[35] |
Notes[edit]
- As a star collegiate athlete and former soccer player, Mario Machado was able to indulge his love for soccer by serving as the Voice of Soccer for the CBS Television Network in 1968 and in 1976, covering the North American Soccer League (NASL). He did the television play-by-play of both legs for CBS' broadcast of the NASL's first championship.[36]
- Danny Blanchflower was the color commentator for the CBS television network broadcasts of National Professional Soccer League (NASL) matches in the United States in 1967.[37] His candor about the fledgling league's shortcomings distressed network executives, as he recounted in a 10 June 1968 Sports Illustrated article he authored.[38]
- In 1966, a group of sports entrepreneurs led by Bill Cox and Robert Hermann formed a consortium called the North American Professional Soccer League with the intention of forming a professional soccer league in United States and Canada. However this was just one of three groups with similar plans. The NAPSL eventually merged with one of these groups, the National Soccer League, led by Richard Millen, to form the National Professional Soccer League. A third group, the United Soccer Association was sanctioned by both the USSFA and FIFA. Because of this the NPSL was branded an outlaw league by FIFA and players faced sanctions for signing with it. Despite this the NPSL, which secured a TV contract from CBS, set about recruiting players, and announced it would be ready to launch in 1967. In December 1967, the NPSL merged with the United Soccer Association to form the North American Soccer League. It has been suggested that the timing of the merge was related to the huge amount of attention given throughout the English-speaking world to the victory by England in the 1966 FIFA World Cup and the resulting documentary film, Goal. While the USSF and FIFA refused to recognize the NPSL, the television contract with CBS[39] guaranteed some element of financial stability.
See also[edit]
References[edit]
- ^ "Soccer Bowl 1983 Tulsa vs. Toronto". youtube.com. October 1, 1983. Archived from the original on December 21, 2021. Retrieved January 26, 2017.
- ^ 1982 New York Cosmos Soccer Bowl Press Kit (PDF). p. 2.
- ^ "Sports View, Soccer's Samuels Says Thrill As Tv Host ... - Page 14". The Telegraph. September 11, 1982. Retrieved May 28, 2024.
- ^ "Soccer Bowl 1982 New York Cosmos Seattle Sounders". April 27, 2021.
- ^ "Sunday September 27 Day And Night. - Page 14". The Madison Courier. September 25, 1981.
- ^ "Soccer Bowl 80: Facts and Figures". The Washington Post. September 19, 1980. Retrieved May 28, 2024.
- ^ "The Times-News - Page 20". The Times-News. September 19, 1980.
- ^ "The Year in American Soccer – 1980". Soccer History USA. Retrieved May 28, 2024.
- ^ Yannis, Alex (September 25, 1981). "Soccer Bowl Notebook; Clubs Are Angered by Lack of Live TV". The New York Times. Retrieved May 28, 2024.
- ^ Mackin, Bob (September 8, 2018). "Where were you on Saturday, September 8, 1979?". theBreaker.news. Retrieved May 28, 2024.
- ^ 1979 Soccer Bowl '79 Media Guide (PDF). p. 2.
- ^ "St. Petersburg Times - Page 25". St. Petersburg Times. September 8, 1979. Retrieved May 28, 2024.
- ^ "NASL TV: A Short History". Kenn Tomasch. Retrieved June 12, 2012.
- ^ McDonald, Frank (August 28, 2017). "ONE GAME'S PROFOUND LEGACY". The Frank MacDonald Blog. Retrieved May 28, 2024.
- ^ Sepich, Scott (December 10, 2021). "Before the 2021 MLS Cup hits Portland, a look back at Soccer Bowl ′77 at Civic Stadium". The Oregonian/OregonLive. Retrieved May 28, 2024.
- ^ Farnsworth, Ed (January 21, 2010). "Great Philly soccer teams: Ukrainian Nationals". The Philly Soccer Page. Retrieved May 28, 2024.
- ^ Miller, Hyman, Jon W., Mark (2000). Confessions of a Baseball Purist: What's Right, and Wrong, with Baseball, as ... JHU Press. p. 169. ISBN 9780801863165.
{{cite book}}
: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ Lalas, Greg (August 24, 2011). "Soccer Almanac: The explosion of soccer on TV". MLSsoccer.com.
- ^ "The Year in American Soccer – 1976". Soccer History USA. Retrieved May 28, 2024.
- ^ Yannis, Alex (August 24, 1975). "N.A.S.L.'s Best to Meet in 'Soccer Bow1‐75". The New York Times. Retrieved May 28, 2024.
- ^ Martz, Ron (August 25, 1975). "TV coverage unfair to NASL". St. Petersburg Times. p. 1-C. Retrieved December 25, 2015.
- ^ "The Year in American Soccer – 1974". Soccer History USA. Retrieved May 28, 2024.
- ^ "North American Soccer League Finals On Cbs. - Page 13". The Dispatch. August 23, 1974. Retrieved May 28, 2024.
- ^ Kleiman, Carol (May 9, 1979). "Banking on American dollars, ABC to televise NASL soccer games". Boca Raton News. Retrieved June 12, 2012.
- ^ "Philadelphia Atoms @ Dallas Tornado 1973 NASL Finals Highlights" – via www.youtube.com.
- ^ "NASL Soccer Bowl 77 (Cosmos vs. Sounders)" – via www.youtube.com.
- ^ "Sports illustrated soccer". WorldCat. Archived from the original on July 22, 2020.
- ^ Sandomir, Richard (November 18, 2006). "Hefty Tribute Fit for a Sport's King". The New York Times.
- ^ Hadley, Mitchell (June 23, 2011). "Jon Miller, then and now". It's About TV.
- ^ https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=2206&dat=19740814&id=UDw0AAAAIBAJ&sjid=yesFAAAAIBAJ&pg=4148,1615343&hl=en [dead link]
- ^ "Archives". Los Angeles Times. May 2, 1985.
- ^ NASL. "NASLSoccerBowl - History - Past Winner". North American Soccer League.
- ^ NASL. "NASL 1968-1984 - Yearly Result". North American Soccer League. Archived from the original on October 12, 2013.
- ^ "MLS & NBC Sports have agreed on a 3-year deal". BigSoccer. August 11, 2011.
- ^ Maule, Tex. "Kickoff For A Babel Of Booters," Sports Illustrated, 24 April 1967.
- ^ North American Soccer League Championship, Leg 1 program, published September 1968
- ^ Maule, Tex. "Kickoff For A Babel Of Booters," Sports Illustrated, 24 April 1967.
- ^ Blanchflower, Danny. "Just One Truth For Me," Sports Illustrated, 10 June 1968. Archived 16 April 2009 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ 1968 CBS North American Soccer League PROMO (NASL) on YouTube