The 1975 Portland Timbers season was the inaugural season for the Portland Timbers, an expansion team in the now-defunct North American Soccer League. In the Timbers first year of existence, the club won the Western Division title while amassing more points than any other club in the league. In the playoffs, the Timbers needed overtime to get past the Seattle Sounders and then defeated the St. Louis Stars en route to a berth in Soccer Bowl '75. Portland lost the championship game 2–0 to fellow expansion side Tampa Bay Rowdies at Spartan Stadium in San Jose, California on August 24.
| 1975 season | |
|---|---|
| President |  John Gilbertson |
| Head coach |  Vic Crowe |
| Stadium | Civic Stadium |
| NASL | Division: 1st Playoffs: Soccer Bowl '75 |
| U.S. Open Cup | Did not enter |
| Top goalscorer | League:  Peter Withe (16 goals)All: Peter Withe (18 goals) |
| Highest home attendance | League: 27,310 vs. SEA (Jul 26) All: 33,503 vs. STL (Aug 17) |
| Lowest home attendance | 6,918 vs. ROC (May 27) |
| Average home league attendance | League: 14,503 All: 17,274 |
Squad
editThe 1975 squad[1]
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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North American Soccer League
editRegular season
editWestern Division standings
edit| Pos | Club | Pld | W | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Portland Timbers | 22 | 16 | 6 | 43 | 27 | +16 | 138 |
| 2 | Seattle Sounders | 22 | 15 | 7 | 42 | 28 | +14 | 129 |
| 3 | Los Angeles Aztecs | 22 | 12 | 10 | 42 | 33 | +9 | 107 |
| 4 | Vancouver Whitecaps | 22 | 11 | 11 | 38 | 28 | +10 | 99 |
| 5 | San Jose Earthquakes | 22 | 8 | 14 | 37 | 48 | −11 | 83 |
Pld = Matches played; W = Matches won; L = Matches lost; GF = Goals for; GA = Goals against; GD = Goal difference; Pts = Points
Source:[2]
League results
edit| Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Scorers |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 2, 1975 | Seattle Sounders | H | 0–1 | 6,913 | |
| May 7, 1975 | Toronto Metros-Croatia | H | 1–0 | 8,500 | Withe |
| May 11, 1975 | Denver Dynamos | A | 1–3 | 4,267 | Withe |
| May 16, 1975 | Vancouver Whitecaps | A | 2–0 | 7,815 | Powell, Betts |
| May 27, 1975 | Rochester Lancers | H | 3–2 (OT) | 6,918 | Godfrey, Withe, Anderson |
| May 30, 1975 | Chicago Sting | H | 2–0 | 9,526 | Withe, Anderson |
| June 7, 1975 | Vancouver Whitecaps | H | 3–2 (OT) | 11,335 | Day, Godfrey, Betts |
| June 14, 1975 | San Jose Earthquakes | A | 1–2 | 17,889 | Kelly |
| June 18, 1975 | Dallas Tornado | H | 3–0 | 14,688 | Powell, Betts, Kelly |
| June 21, 1975 | San Antonio Thunder | H | 1–0 (OT) | 14,080 | Anderson |
| June 27, 1975 | Los Angeles Aztecs | A | 2–1 (OT) | 6,609 | Withe (2) |
| June 28, 1975 | San Jose Earthquakes | A | 2–1 | 18,883 | Withe, Dangerfield |
| July 3, 1975 | Vancouver Whitecaps | H | 2–1 | 18,278 | Betts, Dangerfield |
| July 8, 1975 | Los Angeles Aztecs | H | 4–1 | 17,765 | Withe, Betts, Kelly, Dangerfield |
| July 11, 1975 | Hartford Bicentennials | A | 3–1 | 2,582 | Day, Withe, Betts |
| July 12, 1975 | Boston Minutemen | A | 1–2 | 2,800 | Dangerfield |
| July 16, 1975 | New York Cosmos | A | 2–1 | 13,423 | Godfrey, Withe |
| July 19, 1975 | St. Louis Stars | A | 3–2 (OT) | 6,902 | Lynch, McLaren, Withe |
| July 26, 1975 | Seattle Sounders | H | 2–1 | 27,310 | Withe (2) |
| July 29, 1975 | San Jose Earthquakes | H | 3–2 | 23,003 | Withe (2), Powell |
| August 2, 1975 | Seattle Sounders | A | 2–3 (OT) | 17,925 | Powell, Withe |
| August 9, 1975 | Los Angeles Aztecs | A | 0–1 | 10,231 |
Source:[3]
Postseason
editPlayoff bracket
editBracket
edit| Quarter-finals | Semi-finals | Soccer Bowl '75 | ||||||||||||
| W1 | Portland Timbers | 2 | ||||||||||||
| W2 | Seattle Sounders | 1 | ||||||||||||
| W1 | Portland Timbers | 1 | ||||||||||||
| C1 | St. Louis Stars | 0 | ||||||||||||
| C1 | St. Louis Stars | 1(5) | ||||||||||||
| W3 | Los Angeles Aztecs | 1(4) | ||||||||||||
| W1 | Portland Timbers | 0 | ||||||||||||
| E1 | Tampa Bay Rowdies | 2 | ||||||||||||
| E2 | Miami Toros | 2 | ||||||||||||
| N1 | Boston Minutemen | 1 | ||||||||||||
| E2 | Miami Toros | 0 | ||||||||||||
| E1 | Tampa Bay Rowdies | 3 | ||||||||||||
| N2 | Toronto Metros-Croatia | 0 | ||||||||||||
| E1 | Tampa Bay Rowdies | 1 | ||||||||||||
Playoff results
edit| Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Scorers |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| August 12, 1975 | Seattle Sounders | H | 2–1 (OT) | 31,523 | Powell, Betts |
| August 17, 1975 | St. Louis Stars | H | 1–0 | 33,503 | Withe |
| August 24, 1975 | Tampa Bay Rowdies | N | 0–2 | 17,009 |
Source:[3]
References
edit- ^ "Portland Timbers rosters". North American Soccer League Jerseys. Retrieved May 6, 2011.
- ^ "The Year in American Soccer – 1975". American Soccer History Archives. Archived from the original on November 5, 2015. Retrieved May 6, 2011.
- ^ a b "1975 Portland Timbers". Timbers Fan Page. Retrieved May 6, 2011.