New York Cosmos (1970–1985)

{{for|a season-by-season statistical breakdown|List of New York Cosmos (1970–1985) seasons}}

File:Ahmet Ertegun and Nesuhi Ertegun.jpg (left) and Nesuhi (right), two of the co-founders of the Cosmos.|alt=Two men in suits smile for the camera.]]

The club was founded in December 1970 by Ahmet and Nesuhi Ertegun, renowned executives at Atlantic Records, along with eight other executives from Atlantic's parent company Warner Communications, including CEO Steve Ross, president Jay Emmett, and Warner Bros. studio head Ted Ashley, each of whom put up one-tenth of the $350,000 NASL expansion fee. After several months of mounting financial losses, Emmett convinced Ross that the company should take on the financial burden. The ten investors sold the club to their employer Warner Communications for one dollar, and Ross threw the conglomerate's weight behind the Cosmos. Emmett later said of the move "(the Cosmos) was an entertainment vehicle, (Warner) was an entertainment company."{{cite book |last1=Newsham |first1=Gavin |title=Once in a Lifetime: The Incredible Story of the New York Cosmos |date=December 2007 |publisher=Grove Atlantic |isbn=978-0802142887 |pages=21, 22 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zusmrbrHmdUC&dq=%22gotham+soccer+club%22&pg=PA22}}

The team's first recruit was the Englishman Clive Toye, a former sportswriter who had moved to the United States in 1967 to become general manager of the short-lived Baltimore Bays; he was given the same post in New York. Toye sought to convey the new team's ambitions within its name, and reasoned that he could outdo the "Metropolitans" label referenced by the then-nine-year-old New York Mets baseball team by calling his team the "Cosmos", shortened from "Cosmopolitans". However, the owners preferred other possible names: the Erteguns wished to use the name originally suggested by Nesuhi, the "New York Blues"; and another part of the ownership group wanted to adopt the name "New York Lovers".{{cite podcast |title=When Stars Align: The Story of the New York Cosmos |website=BBC World Service |publisher=BBC |date=December 23, 2016 |time=3:30 |url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p04knm5n |access-date=January 6, 2017 |archive-date=January 10, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170110091018/http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p04knm5n |url-status=live }} Toye then staged a rigged "name the team" contest, receiving 3,000 entries and selecting one that just happened to match his pre-determined winner. Two NYC teachers, Meyer Diller and Al Capelli, from Martin Van Buren High School in Queens, entered the contest and submitted the name "Cosmos". The two physical education teachers had independently used Toye's method of deriving it from "cosmopolitan". The two men were awarded a trip to Europe as a prize.{{cite news|title=New York Soccer Club is Nicknamed Cosmos|url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1971/02/05/83203944.pdf|access-date=April 28, 2013|newspaper=New York Times|date=February 5, 1971|archive-date=October 3, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221003154329/https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1971/02/05/83203944.html?pdf_redirect=true&site=false|url-status=live}} The team name was officially unveiled on February 4, 1971.Newsham (2006). p. 22.{{cite journal

| date = February 5, 1971

| title = New York soccer club is nicknamed Cosmos

| journal = The New York Times

| location = New York City

| quote = Cosmos became the nickname yesterday for New York's entry in the North American Soccer League. The name was chosen from over 3,000 entries filed in a contest conducted through the metropolitan area.

}}

The New York Cosmos entered the 1968-founded North American Soccer League (NASL) in 1970 and made their field debut in the league's fourth season in 1971. The first roster signing of the club was Gordon Bradley, an English professional who had moved to North America in 1963 and played for the New York Generals in 1968.{{cite news

|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/01/sports/soccer/01bradley.html?_r=1

|title=Gordon Bradley, Who Nurtured U.S. Soccer, Dies at 74

|access-date=January 21, 2011

|work=The New York Times

|location=New York City, New York

|first=Jack

|last=Bell

|date=May 1, 2008

|archive-date=October 3, 2022

|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221003154328/https://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/01/sports/soccer/01bradley.html?_r=1

|url-status=live

}} He was made player-coach, a position he would hold until 1975. Bradley's team finished second in its division in its first year, playing at Yankee Stadium, home of the New York Yankees baseball team and the New York Giants football team. Randy Horton, from Bermuda, was named the league's Rookie of the Year after scoring 16 goals and 37 points, the most by any New York player.The North American Soccer League operated a "points" system whereby a goal earned two points and an assist one. In 1972, the team moved to Hofstra Stadium where they won their first league title with a 2–1 victory over the St. Louis Stars. Horton was the league's top scorer and Most Valuable Player, with 9 goals and 22 points from the 14 regular-season games and two post-season matches.{{Cite web

| url = http://youthandsport.com/content/randy-horton

| title = Randy Horton

| access-date = January 20, 2011

| publisher = Government of Bermuda

| work = youthandsport.com

| url-status = dead

| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110718143929/http://youthandsport.com/content/randy-horton

| archive-date = July 18, 2011

}} The Cosmos reached the play-offs once more in 1973, but were knocked out at the semi-final stage. Bradley coached the United States national team for six games during 1973—picking himself in one, despite not being an American citizen—but lost them all.Bradley became a citizen of the United States in 1974.{{Cite web

|url=https://www.rsssf.org/tablesu/usa-intres-det70.html

|title=USA – Details of International Matches 1970–1979

|access-date=January 20, 2011

|first=Barrie

|last=Courtney

|url-status=live

|website=RSSSF

|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100205054634/http://www.rsssf.com/tablesu/usa-intres-det70.html

|archive-date=February 5, 2010

}} Before the 1974 season, the Cosmos moved again, settling at Downing Stadium on Randall's Island. In their first year at their new base, they finished bottom of their division. Horton top scored for the Cosmos in every season before he was traded in 1975 to the Washington Diplomats.

It was during the 1975 season that the Cosmos acquired the Brazilian star Pelé,{{cite web|url=https://www.squawka.com/en/pele-legendary-career-in-numbers/

|title=Pele's legendary career told in numbers: Just how good was Brazil's emblematic forward? |publisher=squawka.com|author=Ben Green|date=30 December 2022}} whom they had been attempting to sign since the team was created. Ross had apparently not heard of him before getting involved in soccer, but agreed to finance the transfer when Toye compared the Brazilian's popularity to that of the Pope. Pelé joined the Cosmos on June 10, 1975, on a salary of $1.4 million per year, an enormous wage for an athlete at that time. A number of contracts—only one of which mentioned soccer—were set up for Pelé to ensure that he paid the lowest amount of tax possible, including one as a "recording artist" with Warner subsidiary Atlantic Records. "We owned him lock, stock and barrel," Toye retrospectively boasted. They also signed Mike Dillon in 1975.

{{multiple image

|align = left

| direction = horizontal

|total_width = 300

|image1 = Pele debut v tornado.jpg

|image2 = Pele cosmos v dallas tornado.jpg

|footer = Two images of Pelé's official debut vs. Dallas Tornado on June 15, 1975: (left), entering to the field and (right) in action, marked by Richard Reynolds (#13)

}}

The Pelé deal was later described by Gavin Newsham, an English writer, as "the transfer coup of the century". His arrival turned the Cosmos from a motley crew of foreigners, semi-professionals and students into a huge commercial presence. The club's groundsman, on hearing that the Brazilian's début for New York was to be broadcast on CBS, spray-painted the pitch green to disguise how little grass was on it: the match, against the Dallas Tornado, was broadcast to 22 countries and covered by more than 300 journalists from all over the world.{{cite news

|url=https://www.theguardian.com/football/2005/jun/10/sport.comment

|title=When Pele and Cosmos were kings

|date=June 10, 2005

|work=The Guardian

|location=London

|publisher=Guardian News & Media

|first=Gavin

|last=Newsham

|access-date=January 20, 2011

|archive-date=May 17, 2014

|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140517012754/http://www.theguardian.com/football/2005/jun/10/sport.comment

|url-status=live

}}

Although New York finished third at season end, it was still too low a placing to reach the post-season. Bradley was replaced for the 1976 season by another Englishman, Ken Furphy, who paired Pelé up front with Italian international forward Giorgio Chinaglia, a new arrival from S.S. Lazio. He had been so popular at Lazio that when his move to New York was announced, supporters "threatened to throw themselves beneath the wheels of the plane". By contrast to most of the overseas stars bought by NASL teams, Chinaglia was signed in his prime. He played for the Cosmos for the rest of their history, scoring a record number of goals and points not only for the Cosmos, but for the entire league. He shared an unusual personal bond with the club's ultimate controller, Ross, and was therefore treated differently from the other players, including Pelé.

File:Pele carlos alberto cosmos.jpg crying while teammate Carlos Alberto consoles him, at the end of his speech during Pelé's farewell match, October 1977]]

Crowds rose with the arrival of these and other European and South American international players, resulting in a move back to Yankee Stadium for the 1976 season. With numerous foreign stars arriving at the Cosmos, the team's competitive performance improved, as New York reached the play-offs at the end of the season, but lost in the divisional championship match to the Tampa Bay Rowdies. The Cosmos relocated again before the 1977 season, to the newly constructed Giants Stadium in New Jersey, and at the same time dropped the prefix "New York" and played simply as "the Cosmos", without a geographical name. The city name was restored in 1979.{{cite news

|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1977/10/29/archives/most-in-a-poll-found-very-proud-of-state-and-their-attitudes-are.html

|title=Most in a poll found very proud of state

|access-date=August 4, 2010

|work=The New York Times

|location=New York City, New York

|first=Joseph F.

|last=Sullivan

|date=October 29, 1977

|archive-date=February 21, 2018

|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180221052626/http://www.nytimes.com/1977/10/29/archives/most-in-a-poll-found-very-proud-of-state-and-their-attitudes-are.html

|url-status=live

}}

Bradley returned as coach for the 1977 season in place of the dismissed Furphy, but was removed after half of the season to become the club's vice-president of player personnel. South African-born former Italy international Eddie Firmani took his place. Pelé played his last professional match on October 1, 1977, in front of a capacity crowd at Giants Stadium: in an exhibition match between New York and his former club Santos, Pelé appeared for both sides, playing one half for each. The Cosmos won the game 2–1. Pelé's compatriot, former Brazil captain Carlos Alberto was signed in 1977, at the same time as Franz Beckenbauer, who had captained the 1974 FIFA World Cup-winning West Germany national team. On the field, New York won three out of four championships, in 1977, 1978 and 1980. A playoff game against the Fort Lauderdale Strikers in 1977 drew a crowd of 77,691, a record for American club soccer. The team's average attendances, regularly over 40,000 during the late 1970s, were the biggest in the league; this helped it to become regarded as the league's "marquee club", both commercially and competitively. Firmani was fired in 1979; he claimed, after falling out with Chinaglia. His assistant, Ray Klivecka, replaced him, becoming the team's first American-born coach. He lasted a season before himself being replaced by Júlio Mazzei.{{cite news

|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/15/sports/soccer/15mazzei.html

|title=Julio Mazzei, Who Led Soccer's Cosmos, Is Dead at 78

|access-date=January 21, 2011

|work=The New York Times

|location=São Paulo

|date=May 14, 2009

|archive-date=October 3, 2022

|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221003154329/https://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/15/sports/soccer/15mazzei.html

|url-status=live

}}

On Pelé's farewell tour in 1977, the Cosmos made history by becoming the first Western professional sports team to play in China.{{Cite book |last=Minami |first=Kazushi |title=People's Diplomacy: How Americans and Chinese Transformed US-China Relations during the Cold War |date=2024 |publisher=Cornell University Press |isbn=9781501774157 |location=Ithaca, NY}}{{Rp|page=154}} They drew their opening match with the Chinese national team 1-1, and lost the second game 2-1 despite Pelé scoring a free kick.{{Cite news|url=https://wildeastfootball.net/2017/01/the-first-western-club-to-tour-china-new-york-cosmos-1977-adventure/|title=The first western club to tour China: New York Cosmos' 1977 adventure|date=January 6, 2017|newspaper=Wild East Football|language=en-GB|access-date=January 25, 2017|archive-date=February 2, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170202104114/https://wildeastfootball.net/2017/01/the-first-western-club-to-tour-china-new-york-cosmos-1977-adventure/|url-status=live}}

{{multiple image

|align= right

|direction = horizontal

|image1 = Cosmos cipolletti 1980.jpg

|width1 = 211

|image2 = Gol maradona argentinos vs cosmos.jpg

|width2 = 200

|footer = Two moments of the Cosmos during their tour to Argentina in March 1980: (left): starting lineup vs. Club Cipolletti; (right): playing Argentinos Juniors at José Amalfitani Stadium. On the image, Diego Maradona scoring for the local team

}}

After the retirement of Pelé in 1977, much of the progress that American soccer had made during his stay was lost; there was no star at the same level to replace him as the NASL's headline act. After enduring briefly during the late 1970s, attendances dropped after 1980. The sport's popularity fell and the media lost interest. The deal with broadcaster ABC to broadcast NASL matches was also lost in 1980, and the 1981 Soccer Bowl was only shown on tape delay. All of the franchises quickly became unprofitable, and a salary cap enforced before the 1984 season only delayed the inevitable. The league folded at the end of 1984, following the loss of most of its franchises.

The Cosmos had financial problems of their own, on top of those affecting the league in general. Much of the Cosmos' ability to attract the well-known overseas players it had acquired was due to the financial resources of parent company Warner Communications. In the early 1980s, Warner was the target of a hostile takeover bid by Australian media magnate Rupert Murdoch; although this attempt did not succeed, Warner sold off several of its assets, among them Atari and Global Soccer, Inc., the subsidiary that operated the Cosmos. Chinaglia bought Global Soccer, and thus controlled the team. His group did not have the capital necessary to keep all of the players signed on expensive contracts by Warner, which resulted in many of the stars being sold. The club won its last title in 1982, and by the last season of the NASL, 1984, had missed the play-offs for the first time since 1975. 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.{{cite web

|url=http://www.hofmag.com/content/view/1427/190/

|title=Soccer Hall of Fame Historian Allaway Pens Book on the New York Cosmos and Bethlehem Steel

|date=June 8, 2009

|access-date=June 16, 2009

|location=Oneonta, New York

|publisher=Hall of Fame Network

|url-status=dead

|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100617193113/http://www.hofmag.com/content/view/1427/190

|archive-date=June 17, 2010

}}

Following the collapse of the NASL, the team competed in the Major Indoor Soccer League during the 1984–85 season, with Klivecka briefly returning as coach,{{cite news

|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1984/12/11/sports/cosmos-hire-klivecka-as-indoor-coach.html

|title=Cosmos hire Klivecka as indoor coach

|date=December 11, 1984

|access-date=August 4, 2010

|location=New York City, New York

|work=The New York Times

|first=Alex

|last=Yannis

|archive-date=September 26, 2013

|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130926145137/http://www.nytimes.com/1984/12/11/sports/cosmos-hire-klivecka-as-indoor-coach.html

|url-status=live

}} but withdrew after 33 games due to low attendance. The organization tried to operate as an independent team in 1985, but could not finish a single season and the club finally folded.{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1985/02/23/sports/cosmos-fold-indoor-squad.html|title=COSMOS FOLD INDOOR SQUAD|date=February 23, 1985|access-date=September 21, 2013|work=The New York Times}}

Former club employee Peppe Pinton, who started with the Cosmos as Giorgio Chinaglia's personal assistant and was promoted to General Manager when Chinaglia assumed control, ended up with the club's assets largely because he was the only one at the time who felt they had any value.{{cite web |last1=Segal |first1=David |title=The New York Cosmos Want to Take the Field Again |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/17/magazine/mag-17Cosmos-t.html |website=The New York Times |access-date=20 June 2024 |date=15 April 2011}} Pinton put the trophies, uniforms, and equipment into storage and took over the club's day camp for children at Ramapo College in Mahwah, New Jersey changing the name from "Pele Soccer Camps" to "Cosmos Soccer Camp".{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1985/03/14/sports/cosmos-dropped-by-nasl.html|title=COSMOS DROPPED BY N.A.S.L.|date=March 14, 1985|access-date=September 21, 2013|work=The New York Times}}{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1993/08/07/nyregion/cosmos-soccer-day-camp-mixes-summer-and-sport.html|title=Cosmos Soccer Day Camp Mixes Summer and Sport|date=August 7, 1993|access-date=September 21, 2013|location = New York City|work=The New York Times}}{{cite news

|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1986/08/01/sports/sports-people-fewer-kicks.html

|title=Fewer Kicks

|date=August 1, 1986

|access-date=August 4, 2010

|work=The New York Times

|archive-date=September 21, 2013

|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130921060625/http://www.nytimes.com/1986/08/01/sports/sports-people-fewer-kicks.html

|url-status=live

}}{{cite web

|url=http://www.cosmoscamps.com/

|title=Cosmos Soccer Camps

|access-date=March 31, 2010

|publisher=Soccer Camps of America

|archive-date=August 6, 2010

|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100806135127/http://cosmoscamps.com/

|url-status=live

}}{{cite web

|url=http://www.ramapoathletics.com/sports/2009/7/2/MSOC_0702091355.aspx?path=msoc

|title=Ramapo College Roadrunners – Men's Soccer History

|year=2010

|access-date=March 31, 2010

|publisher=Ramapo College

|archive-date=October 11, 2009

|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091011053112/http://www.ramapoathletics.com/sports/2009/7/2/MSOC_0702091355.aspx?path=msoc

|url-status=live

}}

{{main|New York Cosmos (2010)}}

Since the original New York Cosmos club's demise in 1985, there had been attempts to revive it. With the rise of Major League Soccer (MLS), various New York area entities—including two different ownership groups from the Metrostars/New York Red Bulls—lobbied Pinton for the acquisition of the Cosmos name.{{cite news

|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2006/04/19/sports/soccer/19soccer.html

|title=Red Bulls May Be Mix of Former Cosmos

|access-date=June 12, 2009

|location=New York City, New York

|work=The New York Times

|first=Jack

|last=Bell

|date=April 19, 2006

|archive-date=January 31, 2016

|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160131142120/http://www.nytimes.com/2006/04/19/sports/soccer/19soccer.html

|url-status=live

}} Pinton refused to sell to an MLS team, believing that the league would not acknowledge the Cosmos' legacy.{{cite web

|url=http://soccernet.espn.go.com/columns/story?id=429192&&cc=5901

|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121023075535/http://soccernet.espn.go.com/columns/story?id=429192&&cc=5901

|archive-date = 2012-10-23

|title=Cosmos' legacy yet to be fully embraced by MLS

|date=May 15, 2007

|access-date=June 12, 2009

|first=Kristian

|last=Dyer

|work=ESPNsoccernet

|publisher=ESPN}} However, when old NASL names such as the San Jose Earthquakes, Seattle Sounders, Portland Timbers and Vancouver Whitecaps were revived as MLS franchises, he reconsidered.{{cite web

|url = http://www.thisisamericansoccer.com/news/the-cosmos-for-free/

|title = The Cosmos, For Free!

|date = May 4, 2009

|access-date = June 12, 2009

|work = this is american soccer

|first = Adam

|last = Spangler

|url-status = dead

|archive-url = https://archive.today/20121005120244/http://www.thisisamericansoccer.com/news/the-cosmos-for-free/

|archive-date = October 5, 2012

}} He sold the Cosmos name and brand to English businessman Paul Kemsley in 2009, whose group announced a new team with the Cosmos' name in August 2010.{{cite news

|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/02/sports/soccer/02cosmos.html

|title=Cosmos Begin Anew, With Eye Toward M.L.S

|location=New York City, New York

|work=The New York Times

|date=August 1, 2010

|access-date=August 4, 2010

|first=Jack

|last=Bell

|archive-date=February 2, 2018

|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180202225510/http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/02/sports/soccer/02cosmos.html

|url-status=live

}}

Kemsley put the original club's trophies on display in the new club's office in SoHo. He and the other owners initially intended to become an MLS expansion franchise,{{cite news

| title = Eric Cantona's appointment at the New York Cosmos part of battle to restore football to heart of the Big Apple

| url = https://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/8269887/Eric-Cantonas-appointment-at-the-New-York-Cosmos-part-of-battle-to-restore-football-to-heart-of-the-Big-Apple.html

| work = The Daily Telegraph

| location = London

| date = January 19, 2011

| first = Mark

| last = Ogden

| access-date = January 20, 2011

| archive-date = April 5, 2017

| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20170405004736/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/8269887/Eric-Cantonas-appointment-at-the-New-York-Cosmos-part-of-battle-to-restore-football-to-heart-of-the-Big-Apple.html

| url-status = live

}} but ultimately turned down the invitation to apply.{{Cite tweet |user=DaveMartinezNY |number=1136299149677277184 |date = June 5, 2019 |title=Does that mean he made right move saying no (to joining MLS)? Not really. Hell, several of Seamus' decisions at the LEAGUE level cost NASL. But back to the point – I can at the very least UNDERSTAND why he didnt want to give up his new purchase for a stake in a league rather than pour $ in club.}} Kemsley's team instead joined the new second-tier incarnation of the North American Soccer League, starting play in its 2013 Fall season.{{cite web

|first=Seamus

|last=O'Brien

|url=http://nycosmos.com/news/new-york-cosmos-join-nasl-2013

|title=New York Cosmos Returns to NASL

|location=New York City

|work=nycosmos.com

|publisher=New York Cosmos

|date=July 12, 2012

|access-date=July 12, 2012

|archive-date=February 3, 2019

|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190203012334/http://www.nycosmos.com/news/new-york-cosmos-join-nasl-2013

|url-status=live

}}{{cite news

|title=Report: New York Cosmos Plan to Make NASL Return in 2013

|first=Marcus Kwesi

|last=O'Mard

|url=http://www.nesn.com/2012/07/report-new-york-cosmos-plan-to-make-nasl-return-in-2013.html

|location=Watertown, Massachusetts

|publisher=New England Sports Network

|date=July 12, 2012

|access-date=July 12, 2012

|archive-date=July 16, 2012

|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120716020616/http://www.nesn.com/2012/07/report-new-york-cosmos-plan-to-make-nasl-return-in-2013.html

|url-status=live

}} It played for the next four seasons before the league folded. The Cosmos then joined the third-tier National Independent Soccer Association (NISA), but played only half a season before going on hiatus.{{Cite tweet |user=NYCosmos |number=1355168827575685123 |title=Thank you and stay safe, Cosmos Country.}}{{cite web |last1=Trujillo |first1=Hector |title=NISA SPRING 2021: TEAMS RETURN, SAY GOODBYE AND HELLO |url=https://www.soccertoday.com/nisa-spring-2021-teams-return-say-goodbye-and-hello/ |website=soccertoday.com |access-date=3 June 2022 |date=8 February 2021}}

{{Quote box|align=right|width=30%|quote=Sometimes, in the dressing room, I think I am in Hollywood.|source=Franz Beckenbauer on the atmosphere surrounding the Cosmos|quoted=yes}}

When Pelé arrived at the Cosmos in 1975, American soccer was, in Newsham's phrase, "dying a slow, painful and largely unnoticed death". The sport was not taken seriously by the bulk of the American media, and was of little interest to the public. Matches were often played in front of almost-empty stands, receiving modest press coverage. The signing of Pelé by the Cosmos transformed soccer across the country almost immediately, lending credibility not only to the Cosmos, but also to the NASL and soccer in general. Within days of the Brazilian's arrival, the increased media attention had caused the Cosmos' office staff to increase from five people to more than 50. Soccer became seen as a viable alternative to more traditional "American" sports such as basketball, baseball and American football. The Cosmos, in particular, became an internationally famous club – "the most glamorous team in world football", in Newsham's words, or "soccer demigods" in those of ESPN writer David Hirshey.

{{Quote box|align=right|width=30%|quote=We were as big as the Yankees and bigger than the Giants. We had our own tables at all the clubs. But we weren't any more decadent than players today.|source=Shep Messing on the Cosmos' cultural stature|quoted=yes}}

The Cosmos, as the flagship team of the NASL, embodied what Hirshey labeled the "nexus of soccer and showbiz", and became Warner Communications' most culturally visible asset. After Pelé signed for New York, many other European and South American stars joined NASL teams; the Los Angeles Aztecs, for example, signed George Best and Johan Cruyff in 1976 and 1979 respectively. Cosmos road trips, described by traveling secretary Steve Marshall as "like traveling with the Rolling Stones", saw the team pack out each stadium it visited, while at home, the team attracted numerous high-profile supporters. While soccer had previously been largely ignored by the American press, the Cosmos and other NASL teams now became regular fixtures on the back pages.

However, just as Pelé had kick-started the development of soccer in the U.S., his retirement in 1977 would mark the start of a decline. With nobody of the same stature to personify the sport, the popularity that had been built up nosedived just as quickly as it had appeared. The league's television deal with ABC was lost at the end of 1980 and a salary cap, enforced before the 1984 season,{{cite magazine

|url=http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1122044/index.htm

|title=The NASL: It's Alive But On Death Row

|date=May 7, 1984

|first=Clive

|last=Gammon

|access-date=January 21, 2011

|magazine=Sports Illustrated

|archive-date=May 11, 2011

|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110511100234/http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1122044/index.htm

|url-status=dead

}} caused many of the remaining overseas stars—lured to America by fat pay packets—to return to the European and South American leagues. The NASL collapsed abruptly in late 1984, and was not replaced by a new professional soccer league until Major League Soccer's first season in 1996.

A feature-length documentary about the Cosmos, called Once in a Lifetime: The Extraordinary Story of the New York Cosmos, was released in theaters in 2006. The film, narrated by Matt Dillon, featured interviews with many of the players and personalities involved with the team.{{cite web

|url=http://www.espn.com/espn/eticket/story?page=cosmos&redirected=true

|title=When Soccer ruled the USA

|first=David

|last=Hirshey

|access-date=June 16, 2009

|publisher=ESPN

|archive-date=October 3, 2022

|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221003154330/http://www.espn.com/espn/eticket/story?page=cosmos&redirected=true

|url-status=live

}}{{cite news

|url=https://www.usatoday.com/sports/soccer/2006-07-05-cosmos-documentary_x.htm

|title=Cosmos shined brightly in soccer universe

|access-date=June 16, 2009

|work=USA Today

|date=July 6, 2006

|first=Marco R.

|last=Della Cava

|archive-date=October 3, 2022

|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221003154330/https://usatoday30.usatoday.com/sports/soccer/2006-07-05-cosmos-documentary_x.htm

|url-status=live

}}{{cite news

|url=http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4188/is_20060818/ai_n16668141/

|title='Lifetime' exaggerates story of N.Y. Cosmos

|access-date=June 16, 2009

|first=Glenn

|last=Whipp

|work=Deseret News

|location=Salt Lake City, Utah

|publisher=Deseret News Publishing Co

| date=August 18, 2006

}} {{Dead link|date=April 2012|bot=H3llBot}}

On several occassions since the team's folding, the Cosmos have been the inspiration for fashion lines. In 2010, the new owners of the trademarks partnered with Umbro to create a line of fashion clothing based on the Pelé-era Cosmos.{{cite web |last1=Lewis |first1=Brian |title=Umbro signs kit deal with Cosmos |url=https://nypost.com/2010/09/30/umbro-signs-kit-deal-with-cosmos/ |website=The New York Post |access-date=26 January 2024 |date=30 September 2010}} This was followed in 2011 with a second "Blackout" line of Cosmos clothing, this time in all-black with monochromatic black logos, supposedly inspired by the New York City blackout of 1977.{{cite web |last1=Blomquist |first1=Christopher |title=BLACKOUT!: NYC IN 1977 INSPIRES UMBRO'S NEW COLLECTION |url=https://www.the-spin-off.com/news/stories/BLACKOUT-NYC-IN-1977-INSPIRES-UMBROS-NEW-COLLECTION--4374 |website=The Spin Off |access-date=26 January 2024 |date=14 July 2011}} In February 2025, Admiral Sportswear announced it had partnered with the owners of the Cosmos brand to launch a new fashion line, based around the original club's Ralph Lauren-designed 1979 uniform.{{cite web |last1=Tyson |first1=Daniella |title=Admiral Sports Reunite With New York Cosmos For a Retro Capsule Collection |url=https://www.soccerbible.com/lifestyle/clothing/2025/02/admiral-sports-reunite-with-new-york-cosmos-for-a-retro-capsule-collection/ |website=soccerbible.com |access-date=19 March 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250221142116/https://www.soccerbible.com/lifestyle/clothing/2025/02/admiral-sports-reunite-with-new-york-cosmos-for-a-retro-capsule-collection/ |archive-date=21 February 2025 |date=5 February 2025}}{{cite web |title=New York Cosmos and Admiral Sports Reunite for a Retro Capsule Collection |url=https://admiralsports.com/blogs/journal/new-york-cosmos-and-admiral-sports-reunite-for-a-retro-capsule-collection |website=admiralsports.com |publisher=Admiral Sportswear |access-date=19 March 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250319113935/https://admiralsports.com/blogs/journal/new-york-cosmos-and-admiral-sports-reunite-for-a-retro-capsule-collection |archive-date=19 March 2025}}

For the team's initial uniform Cosmos general manager Clive Toye chose the green and yellow of the Brazil national team as part of his strategy to lure Pelé, one of that country's star players, to the United States.Toye (2006). p. 49.{{cite web |author1=John Dower |author2=Mark Monroe |author3=Paul Crowder |author4=John Dower |title=Once n A Lifetime (The Extraordinary Story Of The New York Cosmos) |date=March 12, 2013 |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fBR8jN_SyE0 |publisher=Miramax Films – YouTube |access-date=November 30, 2016 |archive-date=April 15, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130415190111/http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fBR8jN_SyE0&gl=US&hl=en |url-status=live }} The club's initial uniform was all green with yellow trim, with the colors reversed on the road uniform. Coincidentally, the colors were the same as those of the previous New York NASL team, the New York Generals, which had folded after the 1968 season.

When Pelé did come on board in 1975, the uniform was changed to all-white, resembling those of his club in Brazil, Santos FC. The green and yellow elements were relegated to the trim. The green shirt was concurrently matched with white shorts to become the new away uniform.

For the post-Pelé era, the Cosmos intended to retire the green color with him and make the team colors navy blue, gold, and white. The club explained in its press release that green was being dropped in part because "(i)t had been felt for some time that green uniforms against the playing surface of the field presented visual problems for both the players and for television." The NASL determined that the Cosmos hadn't provided the required one year's notice of the color change, so the league forced them to play the 1978 season in white and green.{{cite web |last1=Kilpatrick |first1=David |title=True Blue: Threads Through Time |url=https://www.nycosmos.com/news/2015/03/29/true-blue-threads-through-time |website=nycosmos.com |publisher=New York Cosmos |access-date=20 March 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150331215159/https://www.nycosmos.com/news/2015/03/29/true-blue-threads-through-time |archive-date=31 March 2015 |date=29 March 2015}}

The Cosmos officially unveiled their new color scheme in 1979 with uniforms designed by New York native and fashion designer Ralph Lauren; the home uniform remained all-white, with navy and gold trim replacing the green trim of the previous outfit. The new away uniform featured navy shirts and shorts with yellow trim, paired with unusual yellow-and-navy hooped socks, which were later replaced with plain navy blue ones.

In 1981, the navy was lightened to royal blue, and the Cosmos kept that royal blue/gold/white color scheme through the last four years of the organization's existence.

The artist commissioned by Toye to design the team's logo was Wayland Moore, a sports artist from Atlanta who had already worked on the logo, uniform and program covers of that city's soccer team, the Chiefs. Moore attempted to create a design that was simple, recognizable and inclusive of New York's many nationalities. The three colored "blades" surrounding the soccer ball in the center represent movement and reference the logo of club ownership at Atlantic Records.{{cite web|url=https://www.nycosmos.com/news/2015/03/29/true-blue-threads-through-time|title=True Blue - Threads Through Time - Examining the evolution of the New York Cosmos kit|website=nycosmos.com|date=March 29, 2015|access-date=May 14, 2025}} The logo font originally used was chosen simply because it was easily legible on the uniform.{{cite web

|url=http://latinosports.com/featured/new-york-cosmos-a-conversation-with-the-artist-behind-the-logo.html

|title=New York Cosmos: A Conversation With The Artist Behind The Logo

|date=February 16, 2011

|access-date=February 17, 2011

|work=Latino Sports

|first=Cesar

|last=Diaz

|publisher=Latino Sports Ventures

|quote=I was involved in youth soccer with Phil Woosnam. He introduced me to Clive about the time the Cosmos started building a team. From our meetings, I designed the Cosmos logo. ... I designed the uniforms and logo for the Chiefs. I painted all the program covers. ... First it must be recognizable at a glance, it must show movement of soccer. Clive picked the colors because their colors are bright and fit the great outdoors of stadiums. ... [T]hese colors I used seems to cross more boundaries. The logo is simple and to the point with shapes creating movement from the soccer ball. ... The font was simple and easy to read on a uniform.

|url-status=dead

|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110219135703/http://latinosports.com/featured/new-york-cosmos-a-conversation-with-the-artist-behind-the-logo.html

|archive-date=February 19, 2011

}} The text on the logo was shortened to "Cosmos" in 1977, concurrently with the team's dropping of the "New York" label. The city name was restored two years later, but the badge remained unchanged.

Uniform suppliers used by the team:{{Cite web |url=https://www.nycosmosofficialjerseycollection.com/ |title=New York Cosmos kit history at New York Cosmos Jersey Collection |access-date=June 9, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180612142326/https://www.nycosmosofficialjerseycollection.com/ |archive-date=June 12, 2018 |url-status=dead }}{{Cite web |url=http://www.nasljerseys.com/Jerseys/Cosmos_Jerseys_NASL.htm |title=New York Cosmos kit history at NASL Jerseys |access-date=June 9, 2018 |archive-date=June 12, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180612140751/http://www.nasljerseys.com/Jerseys/Cosmos_Jerseys_NASL.htm |url-status=live }}

{{Infobox song

| name = The Cosmos Theme

| cover = The Cosmos Theme single.jpg

| alt =

| caption =

| type = single

| artist = The Cosmic Highlanders

| album =

| B-side = The Cosmos Theme (Long Version)

| released = 1978

| recorded =

| studio =

| venue =

| genre = Funk/Soul/Disco

| length = 3:15

| label = Atlantic Records

| writer = Alan Gorrie, Steve Ferrone

| producer =

| prev_title =

| prev_year =

| next_title =

| next_year =

}}

Ahmet Ertegun used his connections to recruit Atlantic Records artists the Average White Band to create a theme song for the Cosmos. The resulting "The Cosmos Theme" was written by band members Alan Gorrie and Steve Ferrone, and recorded by the band under the pseudonym "The Cosmic Highlanders".{{cite web |last1=Hanlon |first1=Tim |title=EPISODE 146: The NY Cosmos Theme Song – With Musician Steve Ferrone |url=https://goodseatsstillavailable.com/listen/2020/1/11/episode-146-the-ny-cosmos-theme-song-with-musician-steve-ferrone |website=goodseatsstillavailable.com |publisher="Good Seats Still Available" podcast |access-date=October 5, 2020 |date=January 11, 2020 |archive-date=May 7, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200507215508/http://goodseatsstillavailable.com/listen/2020/1/11/episode-146-the-ny-cosmos-theme-song-with-musician-steve-ferrone |url-status=live }}

Team management originally wanted to use "We Are the Champions" by Queen as the club's theme, but were convinced to use The Cosmos Theme in part by the cheerleaders, who enjoyed dancing to it.{{Citation needed|date=June 2024}}

The Cosmos Theme was played extensively at Giants Stadium, and on television broadcasts of Cosmos games.{{Citation needed|date=June 2024}}

{{main|Yankee Stadium (1923)|James M. Shuart Stadium|Downing Stadium|Giants Stadium}}

The Cosmos' first home stadium was Yankee Stadium, home to both the New York Yankees baseball team and the New York Giants football team, where they played throughout the 1971 season. Attendances during the club's first year averaged at 4,517, less than 7% of the stadium's capacity, which was at that time 65,010. The Cosmos therefore moved before the 1972 season to the 15,000-seater Hofstra Stadium, on the campus of the namesake university {{convert|25|mi}} east of metropolitan New York. After two seasons of continuing low crowds at this out-of-town location, the Cosmos moved again, relocating to the 22,500-capacity Downing Stadium before the 1974 season. It was at Downing Stadium that attendances started to rise significantly, buoyed by the arrival of stars such as Pelé, who arrived in 1975. For the Brazilian's first match, the stadium was full; "there must have been another 50,000 turned away", coach Gordon Bradley later claimed.

These larger attendances necessitated another move, which occurred in 1976, when the Cosmos returned to Yankee Stadium. This time the team averaged 18,227 fans over the course of the season, over four times the average 1971 gate. The team then moved yet again before the 1977 season, to the newly built Giants Stadium, where attendances skyrocketed; crowds peaked at an average of 47,856 during 1978. The Cosmos remained at Giants Stadium for the rest of their time in the NASL. Attendances gradually fell as the league declined during the early 1980s, then finally slumped in 1984, when they dropped by more than half from the 1983 seasonal average.{{Cite web

| url = https://www.rsssf.org/usadave/nasl.html

| title = North American Soccer League

| access-date = January 20, 2011

| first = David

| last = Whitney

| archive-date = September 21, 2013

| website = RSSSF

| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20130921054922/http://www.rsssf.com/usadave/nasl.html

| url-status = live

}}

The largest crowd to attend a Cosmos home game was set in 1977, when the Fort Lauderdale Strikers visited for a playoff match. The game was attended by 77,691 fans, which, at the time, was a record for American soccer.{{Cite web

| url = http://bleacherreport.com/articles/361774-doing-the-same-thing-over-and-over-and-expecting-different-results#page/15

| title = Doing the Same Thing Over and Over and Expecting Different Results

| access-date = January 20, 2011

| publisher = Bleacher Report

| archive-date = February 5, 2012

| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20120205062102/http://bleacherreport.com/articles/361774-doing-the-same-thing-over-and-over-and-expecting-different-results#page/15

| url-status = live

}} The lowest average attendance for a season was 3,578, in 1974. As of 2011, only Hofstra Stadium remains, now renamed James M. Shuart Stadium. Downing Stadium, the original Yankee Stadium and Giants Stadium were demolished in 2002, 2008 and 2010 respectively.{{cite news

|last=Collins

|first=Glenn

|title=Built for Speed, And Local Pride; Track Stadium Emerges On Randalls Island

|location=New York City, New York

|newspaper=The New York Times

|date=August 20, 2004

|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2004/08/20/nyregion/built-for-speed-and-local-pride-track-stadium-emerges-on-randalls-island.html

|access-date=September 6, 2009

|archive-date=May 16, 2013

|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130516112501/http://www.nytimes.com/2004/08/20/nyregion/built-for-speed-and-local-pride-track-stadium-emerges-on-randalls-island.html

|url-status=live

}}{{cite web |url=http://www.nycgovparks.org/sub_your_park/nyy_stadium/html/nyy_redevelopment.html |title=The Yankee Stadium Redevelopment Project |work=New York City Department of Parks & Recreation |access-date=May 16, 2010 |archive-date=May 16, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100516070742/http://www.nycgovparks.org/sub_your_park/nyy_stadium/html/nyy_redevelopment.html |url-status=live }}{{cite news |title=As Stadiums Vanish, Their Debt Lives On |first=Ken |last=Belson |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/08/sports/08stadium.html |location=New York City, New York |newspaper=The New York Times |date=September 7, 2010 |access-date=September 7, 2010 |archive-date=September 9, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100909052014/http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/08/sports/08stadium.html |url-status=live }}

While playing indoor soccer, the Cosmos' home arenas were the Brendan Byrne Arena (now the Meadowlands Arena) and Madison Square Garden.{{cite web|last=Yannis|first=Pat|title=Hartford Shift Seen For Indoor Cosmos|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1984/03/08/sports/hartford-shift-seen-for-indoor-cosmos.html|work=The New York Times|via=newyorktimes.com|date=March 8, 1984|access-date=December 22, 2016|archive-date=December 23, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161223063839/http://www.nytimes.com/1984/03/08/sports/hartford-shift-seen-for-indoor-cosmos.html|url-status=live}}

The Cosmos sought to maximize their fanbase by appealing to as wide a demographic as possible. The club's name and badge were designed to be inclusive of New York's many immigrant communities; the logo purposefully avoided the standard American red, white and blue.{{Citation needed|reason=This seems to conflict with the supported fact that colors were chosen to remind Pele of Brazil.|date=October 2020}} In this the Cosmos succeeded, attracting noticeable support from local Europeans, Middle-Easterners and South Americans. The association of the team with the city's high society in both social and sporting contexts led to it becoming very popular among celebrities, both American and international.{{cite web

|url=http://latinosports.com/featured/new-york-cosmos-a-conversation-with-the-former-team-doctor.html

|title=New York Cosmos: A Conversation with the Former Team Doctor

|date=March 8, 2011

|access-date=February 17, 2011

|work=Latino Sports

|first=Cesar

|last=Diaz

|publisher=Latino Sports Ventures

|quote=The international crowd that we attracted ... South Americans, Italians, Greeks, Turks, Brazilians, and Argentinians.

|url-status=dead

|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110713185828/http://latinosports.com/featured/new-york-cosmos-a-conversation-with-the-former-team-doctor.html

|archive-date=July 13, 2011

}} "We transcended everything, every culture, every socio-economic boundary," goalkeeper Shep Messing said in 2006. "We were international, we were European, we were cool, we were Americans from the Bronx. We were everything to everybody."

{{main|List of New York Cosmos (1970–85) players|List of New York Cosmos (1970–85) all-stars}}

File:Pele libro elegido.jpg

The New York Cosmos are famous for having fielded numerous well-known players, almost all of whom were from outside the United States: examples include Pelé, Franz Beckenbauer, Giorgio Chinaglia from S.S. Lazio and Carlos Alberto. American players of note include goalkeeper Shep Messing – who was notoriously sold after posing nude for a magazine in December 1974, then brought back two years later on Pelé's insistence.{{cite web

|url=http://nymag.com/movies/profiles/17396/

|title=Pinup Goalie: Shep Messing

|year=2006

|access-date=June 16, 2009

|publisher=New York Movies

|archive-date=May 22, 2011

|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110522215615/http://nymag.com/movies/profiles/17396/

|url-status=live

}} The Cosmos also fielded Werner Roth, a Yugoslavian-born U.S. international defender, from 1972 to 1979. A number of Cosmos players were named in the NASL all-star teams selected by the league at the end of each season.{{cite journal

| date = February 9, 1984

| title = An All-star effort

| page = section 4

| first = John

| last = Lapitch

| journal = Chicago Tribune

| location = Chicago, Illinois

| publisher = Tribune Company

}}{{Cite web

| url = http://homepages.sover.net/~spectrum/nasl/naslallstar.html

| title = NASL All-Star teams, all-time

| access-date = January 20, 2011

| work = American Soccer History Archives

| first = David

| last = Litterer

| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20180413194036/http://homepages.sover.net/~spectrum/nasl/naslallstar.html

| archive-date = April 13, 2018

| url-status = dead

}} No NASL all-star from the Cosmos was born in the United States or Canada, where all of the league's teams were based; apart from Roth, both North Americans selected—Siegfried Stritzl and John Kerr—were born in Yugoslavia and Scotland respectively.{{Cite web|url=http://www.canadasoccer.com/players/profile.asp?playerid=980&tab=stats |title=John Kerr |access-date=January 20, 2011 |publisher=CanadaSoccer.com }}{{dead link|date=May 2016|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}

{{Main|List of retired numbers in association football}}

• 10 – {{flagicon|BRA}} Pelé (Forward, 1975–77){{cite web

|title=Heritage

|url=http://nycosmos.com/heritage

|location=New York City, New York

|work=nycosmos.com

|publisher=New York Cosmos

|access-date=September 30, 2011

|archive-date=October 7, 2011

|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111007103350/http://nycosmos.com/heritage

|url-status=live

}}

The New York Cosmos' first head coach was the English-American professional Gordon Bradley, who had played in the English Football League's lower divisions during the 1950s before moving to America in 1963. Bradley came out of retirement to become player-coach, a role he retained until his departure in 1975. Bradley's team won the league championship in 1972, but after it failed to reach the playoffs in both 1974 and 1975, he was dismissed. His replacement was another Englishman, Ken Furphy. His Cosmos succeeded in reaching the post-season, but lost the divisional championship game to Vancouver, prompting Furphy's own departure in favor of a return for Bradley, whose second spell lasted only half a season before he was promoted to an advisory role. Eddie Firmani, the South African-born former Italy forward, took over midway through the 1977 season.{{cite news

|url=https://www.theguardian.com/football/2010/may/19/the-footballing-life-eddie-firmani

|title=From Cape Town to NY, via Charlton: the footballing life of Eddie Firmani

|date=May 19, 2010

|work=The Guardian

|location=London

|publisher=Guardian News & Media

|first=Nick

|last=Harris

|access-date=January 20, 2011

|archive-date=September 28, 2013

|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130928121708/http://www.theguardian.com/football/2010/may/19/the-footballing-life-eddie-firmani

|url-status=live

}} His star-studded team won two consecutive Soccer Bowls—1977 and 1978—but lost the National Conference championship game in 1979. Firmani lost his job after falling out with Giorgio Chinaglia, a favorite of the Cosmos hierarchy. His assistant, Ray Klivecka, who was born in Lithuania, became the team's first American head coach when he took Firmani's place midway through 1979.

Klivecka was replaced before the 1980 season by Brazilian coach Júlio Mazzei, who won the Cosmos' fourth title at the end of that campaign before being succeeded by two joint head coaches, Hennes Weisweiler & Yasin Özdenak, in 1980. This duo's team came second in the 1981 NASL before Mazzei returned in 1982 and won his second championship with the Cosmos during that year. Firmani returned in 1984, the NASL's final year, in which the Cosmos failed to make the playoffs. Firmani remained as the team entered the Major Indoor Soccer League for the 1984–85 season, but was fired in early December, halfway through the season, and replaced by Klivecka, who returned after two games under the caretaker management of goalkeeper Hubert Birkenmeier. Klivecka was retained until the team ceased competitive play.

|align=left|{{dts|1975||}}

|Player-coach

|-

|align=left|{{sortname|Ken|Furphy}}

|align=left|{{flag|England}}

|align=left|{{dts|1976||}}

|align=left|{{dts|1976||}}

|

|-

|align=left|{{sortname|Gordon|Bradley}}

|align=left|{{flag|United States}}

|align=left|{{dts|1976||}}

|align=left|{{dts|1977||}}

|

|-

|align=left|{{sortname|Eddie|Firmani}}

|align=left|{{flag|Italy}}

|align=left|{{dts|1977||}}

|align=left|{{dts|1979||}}

|

|-

|align=left|{{sortname|Ray|Klivecka}}

|align=left|{{flag|United States}}

|align=left|{{dts|1979||}}

|align=left|{{dts|1979||}}

|

|-

|align=left|{{sortname|Júlio|Mazzei}}

|align=left|{{flag|Brazil}}

|align=left|{{dts|1979||}}

|align=left|{{dts|1980||}}

|

|-

|align=left|{{sortname|Hennes|Weisweiler}}

|align=left|{{sort|German|{{flag|West Germany}}}}

|align=left|{{dts|1980||}}

|align=left|{{dts|1981||}}

|Joint with
Özdenak

|-

|align=left|{{sort|Ozdenak|Yasin Özdenak}}

|align=left|{{flag|Turkey}}

|align=left|{{dts|1980||}}

|align=left|{{dts|1981||}}

|Joint with
Weisweiler

|-

|align=left|{{sortname|Júlio|Mazzei}}

|align=left|{{flag|Brazil}}

|align=left|{{dts|1982||}}

|align=left|{{dts|1983||}}

|{{cite news

|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1983/02/01/sports/cosmos-to-retain-mazzei.html

|title=Cosmos to Retain Mazzei

|access-date=January 21, 2011

|work=The New York Times

|location=New York City, New York

|date=February 1, 1983

|archive-date=October 3, 2022

|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221003154331/https://www.nytimes.com/1983/02/01/sports/cosmos-to-retain-mazzei.html

|url-status=live

}}

|-

|align=left|{{sortname|Eddie|Firmani}}

|align=left|{{flag|Italy}}

|align=left|{{dts|1984||}}

|align=left|{{dts|1984||}}

|

|-

|align=left|{{sortname|Hubert|Birkenmeier}}

|align=left|{{sort|German|{{flag|West Germany}}}}

|align=left|{{dts|1984||}}

|align=left|{{dts|1984||}}

|Caretaker

|-

|align=left|{{sortname|Ray|Klivecka}}

|align=left|{{flag|United States}}

|align=left|{{dts|1984||}}

|align=left|{{dts|1985||}}

|

|-

|}

{{further|List of New York Cosmos (1971–1985) seasons}}

With five championships and seven first-place finishes, the Cosmos still rank as tied for the most successful franchise in the history of North American soccer.{{Cite web

| url = http://homepages.sover.net/~spectrum/

| title = American Soccer History Archives

| access-date = January 20, 2011

| first = David

| last = Litterer

| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20091108051155/http://homepages.sover.net/~spectrum/

| archive-date = November 8, 2009

| url-status = dead

}}

File:Qualcomm Stadium.jpg at the now-demolished Jack Murphy Stadium, pictured in 2005]]

New York Cosmos had many friendly matches in domestic and abroad.

{{Incomplete list|date= April 2024}}

| align=left|

| align=left|

|-

| rowspan=2 align=left| South Korea and United States
Diplomatic Relations
100th Anniversary Match

| October 28, 1982

| align=left| {{flagicon|South Korea}} Jeonju Stadium, Jeonju

| align=left| {{flagicon|South Korea}} South Korea

| {{abbr|W|Won}}

| 2–1

| align=left| NYC: {{flagicon|Netherlands}} Neeskens, {{flagicon|Yugoslavia}} Bogicevic
KOR: {{flagicon|South Korea}} Kang Shin-woo

| align=left| [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3ZaVAfB4cfM Match Highlight Video]
[http://newslibrary.naver.com/viewer/index.nhn?articleId=1982102900329208008&editNo=2&printCount=1&publishDate=1982-10-29&officeId=00032&pageNo=8&printNo=11411&publishType=00020 Newspaper Article]
[http://www.nasljerseys.com/Friendlies/Teams/Cosmos%20Friendlies1982.htm New York Cosmos 1982 Friendlies]

| align=left|

|-

| October 30, 1982

| align=left| {{flagicon|South Korea}} Masan Stadium, Masan

| align=left| {{flagicon|South Korea}} South Korea

| {{abbr|W|Won}}

| 1–0

| align=left| NYC: {{flagicon|Italy}} Chinaglia

| align=left| [http://newslibrary.naver.com/viewer/index.nhn?articleId=1982110100209208009&editNo=2&printCount=1&publishDate=1982-11-01&officeId=00020&pageNo=8&printNo=18793&publishType=00020 Newspaper Article]

| align=left|

|}

{{Portal|New York City}}

• Soccer in New York City

{{reflist}}

• [https://www.nycosmos.com/news/2017/10/29/a-final-home-salute-to-our-captain Club captains]
• [https://www.thefootballhistoryboys.com/2013/12/the-new-york-cosmos-brief-history.html?m=1 Brief history]
• [https://www.theguardian.com/football/2005/jun/10/sport.comment Pele and NY Cosmos – Guardian Newspaper]

{{commons category}}

• [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fBR8jN_SyE0 Once in a Lifetime – The Extraordinary Story of the New York Cosmos]

{{New York Cosmos}}

{{New York Cosmos managers}}

{{North American Soccer League (1966–85)}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:New York Cosmos (1970-85)}}

Category:Association football clubs established in 1971

Category:Association football clubs disestablished in 1985

Category:Defunct soccer clubs in New York (state)

Category:Men's soccer clubs in New York (state)

Category:North American Soccer League (1968–1984) teams

Category:Defunct indoor soccer clubs in the United States

Category:1971 establishments in New York City

Category:1985 disestablishments in New York (state)

Category:Soccer clubs in New York City