The Los Angeles Aztecs were a pro soccer team founded in 1974 by a real estate millionaire, Dr. Jack Gregory, as the newest expansion team of the North American Soccer League (NASL). In 1968, the NASL was the largest professional soccer league with 17 teams playing throughout the United States and Canada. The NASL team rosters were dominated by foreign players, including Pelé, the great Brazilian forward considered the best soccer player in the history of the sport, who arrived in 1975 to play for the New York Cosmos. The Aztecs surprised the soccer establishment during their first year by winning the NASL Championship over the Miami Toros. The team adopted the “Aztecs” name, associated with the Pre-Columbian Indians of Mexico, to appeal to the large Latino fan base in the Los Angeles area.
The Aztecs held their first game on May 5th at the 22,500-seat East Los Angeles Stadium against the Seattle Sounders, attracting over 4,000 spectators. The crowd size was relatively small compared to the 10,000 fans who attended the four exhibition games against visiting soccer teams from Mexico. The crowd size question raised by L.A. sports writers was whether “the fans came out to see the Aztecs or the Mexicans?” One sports writer noted that the “Most frequent complaint about the Aztecs of the North American Soccer League is that the team has no Latin touch. In this garden spot so heavily populated with spirited Mexicans, not a one among the Aztecs….” These questions continued to baffle soccer promoters in subsequent decades… read more >
