New York Cosmos

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New York Cosmos

Full name

New York Cosmos

Nickname(s)

The Mo's, Cosmos

Founded

1971 – 1985

Ground

Giants Stadium

Capacity

80,000

League

North American Soccer League





Home colours





Away colours

For the South African club, see Jomo Cosmos

The New York Cosmos (1971-1985), known simply as the Cosmos for the 1977 and 1978 seasons, was a franchise in the North American Soccer League, based in New York City and its suburbs. Founded by the Ertegun brothers, it was one of the stronger NASL franchises, both athletically and financially. In its later years it became somewhat renowned for signing the great Brazilian player Pelé, who though past his prime, was nonetheless one of the team's, and the league's, top gate draws during his tenure with the Cosmos. The NASL folded after the 1984 season, but the Cosmos attempted to operate as an independent team in 1985 before they folded.

The name was coined by Clive Toye, the club's first General Manager. Taking inspiration from a New York baseball franchise the "Mets," short for "Metropolitans," he took it a step further: Cosmopolitans, or "Cosmos."

Famous players to play for the club include Carlos Alberto, Franz Beckenbauer, Vladislav Bogićević, Giorgio Chinaglia, Rick Davis, Marinho Chagas, Andranik Eskandarian, Johan Neeskens, Werner Roth, Julio Cesar Romero, Roberto Cabanas, Jomo Sono (who later named his own soccer club in South Africa the Jomo Cosmos) and most notably Pelé. On October 1, 1977, Pelé closed out his legendary career in front of a capacity crowd at Giants Stadium. In an exhibition match televised nationwide and worldwide, he played the first half with the Cosmos and the second half with his old team Santos.

Much of the New York Cosmos' ability to acquire big players was due to their being owned by Warner Communications. In the early 80's, Warner was the target of a hostile takeover bid by Australian media magnate Rupert Murdoch. His attempt did not succeed, but afterward Warner sold off several of its assets, among them Atari and Global Soccer, Inc., the subsidiary that operated the Cosmos. The club was sold to a syndicate led by their once star player Chinaglia. This group did not have the capital to continue to operate the team at the level kept by Warner Communications, resulting in a fire sale of many of the stars. By the last season, 1984, the Cosmos did not even make the playoffs. The precipitous decline of the Cosmos after the 1983 season became for many fans and the media proof positive of the grave condition of the whole NASL.

The team was also a member of the Major Indoor Soccer League during the 1984-85 season, but withdrew after 33 games due to low attendance.

Giuseppe Peppe Pinton, former personal assistant to Giorgio Chinaglia who was part of Chinaglia's ownership group, claims that he owns the rights to the Cosmos trademarks, although representatives from Warner dispute this. Pinton has reportedly sought to sell the name and logo to a new socccer club for $2 million.

In 2006 a feature length documentary about the New York Cosmos called Once In A Lifetime was released in cinemas. The film was narrated by Matt Dillon and featured interviews with many of the players and people involved in the team. However, Pele declined to be interviewed after the filmmakers balked at his demand for $100,000.[1]

1 Outdoor year-by-year
2 Indoor year-by-year
3 Honors
4 Head coaches
5 Athletic Trainers
6 Famous players
7 Yearly average attendance
8 Stadiums
9 External links

[edit] Outdoor year-by-year

Year	League	W	L	T	Pts	Reg. Season	Playoffs
1971	NASL	9	10	5	117	2nd, Northern Division	Did not qualify
1972	NASL	7	3	4	77	1st, Northern Division	Won Semifinal (Dallas) Won Championship (St. Louis)
1973	NASL	7	5	7	91	2nd, Eastern Division	Lost Semifinal (Dallas)
1974	NASL	4	14	2	58	4th, Northern Division	Did not qualify
1975	NASL	10	12	—	91	3rd, Northern Division	Did not qualify
1976	NASL	16	8	—	148	2nd, Atlantic Conference, Eastern Division	Won 1st Round (Washington) Lost Division Championship (Tampa Bay)
1977	NASL	15	11	—	140	2nd, Atlantic Conference, Eastern Division	Won Division Championship (Tampa Bay) Won Conference Championship (Ft. Lauderdale) Won Soccer Bowl '77 (Seattle)
1978	NASL	24	6	—	212	1st, National Conference, Eastern Division	Won 1st Round (Seattle) Won Conference Semifinal (Minnesota) Won Conference Championship (Portland) Won Soccer Bowl '78 (Tampa Bay)
1979	NASL	24	6	—	216	1st, National Conference, Eastern Division	Won Conference Quarterfinal (Toronto) Won Conference Semifinal (Tulsa) Lost Conference Championship (Vancouver)
1980	NASL	24	8	—	213	1st, National Conference, Eastern Division	Won 1st Round (Tulsa) Won Conference Semifinal (Dallas) Won Conference Championship (Los Angeles) Won Soccer Bowl '80 (Ft. Lauderdale)
1981	NASL	23	9	—	200	1st, Eastern Division	Bye 1st Round Won Quarterfinal (Tampa Bay) Won Semifinal (Ft. Lauderdale) Lost Soccer Bowl '81 (Chicago)
1982	NASL	23	9	—	203	1st, Eastern Division	Won 1st Round (Tulsa) Won Semifinal (San Diego) Won Soccer Bowl '82 (Seattle)
1983	NASL	22	8	—	194	1st, Eastern Division	Lost 1st Round (Montreal)
1984	NASL	13	11	—	115	3rd, Eastern Division	Did not qualify

[edit] Indoor year-by-year

Year	League	W	L	Reg. Season	Playoffs
1981/82	NASL Indoor	6	12	4th, American Conference, East Division	Did not qualify
1982/83	NASL Indoor	Season cancelled
1983/84	NASL Indoor	20	12	2nd	Won Playoff (Chicago) Lost Championship (San Diego)
1984/85	MISL	11	22	7th, Eastern Division	N/A - folded after 33 games