Portland Timbers (1975–1982)

The Portland Timbers were an American professional soccer club based in Portland, Oregon, that competed in the original North American Soccer League (NASL) from 1975 to 1982. The name has been used by three other soccer franchises: the Timbers of the WSA/APSL, Portland Timbers of the USL and the current team which began play as part of Major League Soccer in 2011.

For other uses, see Portland Timbers (disambiguation).
Portland Timbers
Full namePortland Timbers
Nickname(s)Timbers
Founded1975
Dissolved1982 (1982)
GroundCivic Stadium
Portland, Oregon
Memorial Coliseum (indoor)
Capacity35,000
10,407 (indoor)
ManagerVic Crowe
(1975–1977, 1980–1982)
LeagueNASL

History
Main article: History of Portland Timbers

In January 1975, the NASL awarded an expansion franchise to Portland, Oregon. The name was selected on March 8 from more than 3,000 entries in an open contest.[1] They began play in the 1975 season and finished with the league's best record. The Timbers marched through the playoffs all the way to the championship game, Soccer Bowl '75. There, they lost to another expansion team, the Tampa Bay Rowdies 2–0. It was during this season that the Timbers endeared themselves to the City and Portland became known as "Soccer City USA."

While the Timbers boasted some of the league's best fan support, they sometimes struggled on the field. After such a strong start, they missed the playoffs in 1976 and 1977. In 1978, they went to the Conference Finals before falling to the eventual champion New York Cosmos. The team folded at the end of the 1982 season, as player salaries outpaced team revenue.[2]

These Timbers established soccer as a sport in the greater Portland area. Their legacy lives on in the current Timbers following and the many thousands who continue to play and follow the game. Many of these Timbers continued to live in the area after their playing careers and helped establish the soccer as a vital local sport.

List of seasons
Main article: List of Portland Timbers seasons

This is a complete list of seasons for the NASL club. For a season-by-season history including the current Portland Timbers MLS franchise, see List of Portland Timbers seasons.

Season League Position Playoffs USOC Continental Average
attendance		 Top goalscorer(s)
Div League Pld W L D GF GA GD Pts PPG Conf. Overall Name Goals
1975 1 NASL 22 16 6 0 43 27 +16 138 6.27 1st 1st RU DNE[3] Ineligible[4] 14,503 Peter Withe[5] 18
1976 NASL 24 8 16 0 23 41 –18 71 2.96 9th 18th DNQ 20,166 Tony Betts 6
1977 NASL 26 10 16 0 39 42 –3 98 3.77 9th 15th 13,208 Stewart Scullion 11
1978 NASL 30 20 10 0 50 36 +14 167 5.57 3rd 4th SF 11,803 Clyde Best[6] 14
1979 NASL 30 11 19 0 50 75 –25 122 4.07 12th 19th DNQ 13,018 John Bain
Clyde Best		 8
1980 NASL 32 15 17 0 50 53 –3 133 4.16 9th 16th 10,210 Clyde Best 11
1981 NASL 32 17 15 0 52 49 +3 141 4.41 3rd 12th R1 10,516 John Bain[7] 12
1982 NASL 32 14 18 0 49 44 +5 122 3.81 4th 10th DNQ 8,7866[8] Ron Futcher 13
Total – – 228 111 117 0 356 367 –11 992 4.35 – – – – — – John Bain 45

^ 1. Avg. Attendance include statistics from league matches only.
^ 2. Top Goalscorer(s) includes all goals scored in League, League Playoffs, U.S. Open Cup, CONCACAF Champions League, FIFA Club World Cup, and other competitive continental matches.

Indoor
Season League Position Playoffs Average
attendance		 Top goalscorer(s)
League Pld W L GF GA GD Conf. Overall Name Goals
1980–81 NASL 18 10 8 110 93 +17 2nd 7th QF 5,229 John Bain 20
1981–82 NASL 18 7 11 86 103 –17 5th 10th DNQ 5,073 Unknown X
Total – 36 17 19 196 196 0 – – – – Unknown X

Coaches

Honors

References
  1. "New soccer team to be 'Timbers'". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). Associated Press. March 10, 1975. p. 3C.
  2. "Timbers, Tea Men fold". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). UPI. August 24, 1982. p. 4C.
  3. Westervelt, Ted (May 13, 2013). "U.S. Open Cup 1958-1987". Goal, The New York Times Soccer Blog. The New York Times Newspaper. Retrieved April 29, 2014.
  4. Note: In the NASL years of 1974–1984, the NASL did not compete in the CONCACAF Champions Cup. CONCACAF awarded spots to the U.S. Open Cup winner. The NASL adopted an isolationist perspective, viewing the separate cup competition as not American enough and as commercially competitive with its own playoff cup, the Soccerbowl.
  5. Peter Withe (1975): includes 2 playoff goals.
  6. Clyde Best (1978): includes 2 playoff goals.
  7. John Bain (1981): includes 1 playoff goal.
  8. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2015-11-28. Retrieved 2013-11-28.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  9. "Kasey Keller, Sigi Schmid and Glenn "Mooch" Myernick Elected to National Soccer Hall of Fame".
  10. "Home - Indoor Soccer Hall of Fame". www.indoorsoccerhall.com.
  11. Henderson, Jim (April 21, 1981). "For Keith Bailey, The Long Wait Is Finally Over". The Tampa Tribune. p. 5-C. Retrieved January 6, 2021.
  12. Clive Charles on FC Portland Academy

Further reading


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