Oakland Stompers: NASL Era Kits for a Modern Age

Born from the comings and goings of the NASL’s sordid past—a league who allowed clubs to leave in the middle of the night, set up shop in a new town, give birth to new soccer fans, just to pack up a move again—The Oakland Stompers came to the Bay Area in 1977-78 after leaving Connecticut under those exact circumstances. They would only stay for one season, and although there was another NASL team in San Jose, some Stompers fans never forgot the heights of having a team of their own in the first division of US Soccer.

Shep Messing, well-known for his time in both the NY Cosmos, as well as his full spread reveal in Playgirl Magazine, came to Oakland with the Stompers in 1977-78. The former teamate of Pele, Giorgia Chinaglia and Franz Beckenbauer became the highest paid player in the league that year, making a cool $100,000 for the season. He and his 1978 soccer team would play in the cavernous Oakland Colliseum, which was also the home of the Oakland A’s (World Series winners in 1974) and the Oakland Raiders (Superbowl Champions of 1976); the East Bay had a recent history winners and a fiercely loyal fanbase.

Shep Messing Played in the iconic Oakland Stompers kit of 1978.

Although the club inevitably left a year later, as NASL clubs were prone to do, the single season left a lasting impact on soccer fans in the cities which make up the East Bay Area; Hayward, San Leandro, Richmond, Fremont, and of course, Oakland. So decades later, when given the chance to start a brand new club to join the NPSL in 2012, the owners borrowed over the nickname Stompers—it was a natural decision, of course, they had been using the nickname for years anyways for their youth teams. Along with the name, came the inspiration for their kits, and now the Oakland Stompers of the UPSL wear their heritage on ther back. We asked Stompers’ President and General Manager, William Forte, for the lowdown on their kits and common denominators between the current Stompers and the connection to their namesakes. He spoiled us with photos of the kits during their WIP (Work in progress) stages and confirmed the historic backdrop of the Stompers in Oakland.

The 1978 NASL Oakland Stompers in their away whites.

Could you explain the history and meaning of Stompers in the Bay Area?

The Stompers were the last top tier professional soccer team to play in the East Bay/Oakland.  That was over 40 years ago.  The original logo had grapes in it to represent the Northern California region of wine country.  So, the significance was from grape stomping which is a big process of turning the grapes in to wine.  The 1978 NASL team had cheerleaders named the Corkpoppers.

After the team folded in 1978 a number of youth clubs carried on the Stompers name.  Our club was formed in the East Bay on the youth side named after the Stompers that lasted from 1984- the mid 90's and had the Stompers, Stompettes, and lil' Stompers.  We brought back the club in 2008/09 as a men's team hoping to climb the ranks of US Soccer to bring the Stompers back to the heights of pro soccer representing Oakland.  After a decade of obstacles, we have finally brought the Stompers back home to Oakland where it all began and where we belong!

Four decades later, the 2018 Oakland Stompers in their beautiful light blue shirts.

Who is your provider and why did you settle on them?

Our jersey brand is Recnball.  It is our own brand that we are developing along the way.  We paired with soccermagic.com because they allowed us to fully customize our own brand.  I think having complete creative control on this project was important to us.  Soccermagic.com allowed us to do that.  I recommend them to anybody who is looking to have their own unique style and creative control.

How long was the process of design and choosing the right kit provider?

The revitalization of the original jersey was a plan since the club reemerged in 2008/2009. The current plan was to reveal the throwbacks Spring 2018 for the East Bay FC Stompers and do a 40-year throwback season.  We were not able to accomplish that on time.  We were able to bring out the blue kits in the Fall as we brought back the Oakland Stompers for a 40-year commemoration season. 

This Spring we plan to continue the honor to the original Oakland Stompers with revealing here first the unveiling of the 1978 Oakland Stompers white throwback kits which will be our second kit for both the East Bay FC Stompers and the Oakland Stompers as we continue our throwback season tribute. After we decided on SoccerMagic.com the current process to get to this point has taken us over a year to get things the way we wanted them.

 We have thrown around working with bigger name brands but currently we like our own creative freedom with our own brand and SoccerMagic.com.  If we did go with a more reputable brand the current front runners would be Hummel as their Northern California representative Kevin Campbell has been nothing but awesome to us.  We like how a custom blue and gold Hummel chevrons on the shoulder would fit in our style but allow us to become completely modern and our own new East Bay/Oakland Stompers stamp on US Soccer history.  Be on the lookout for a completely new Stompers look in 2020!

For more information about the current UPSL Oakland Stompers: https://www.oaklandstompers.com/

- Joshua Duder

The NY Cosmos: Through the Years

I’ve often used the phrase “American Soccer Royalty” to describe the NY Cosmos. Originally founded in 1970, the club played in the old NASL and was known for signing some of the biggest names in world soccer. Pele, arguably the most famous name in soccer history, is almost synonymous with the Cosmos. The club drew crowds that have only been matched by the recent ascension of Atlanta United in MLS. It made soccer cool in a way that hasn’t been seen since. And to be cool, you have to look cool. The Cosmos’ iconic kits have changed through the years, but their look has always been simple, well-designed, and fashion forward for the era.

The Original (1971 Away)

Trying to find a picture of this kit is difficult, but they do exist. With the NASL in its infancy, coverage was minimal the first couple of seasons, which makes it harder to find now. The first look seems to be inspired by an almost footballesque approach to jerseys.

Image courtesy of NASLjerseys.com.

The shade of green is certainly near the green of the Jets jerseys of that era. The clash between the yellow piping on the sleeves and collar and the more orange color of the shorts is interesting, though I wonder if it wasn’t intentional. Hard to know at this point in time, with almost 50 years of history in the can. What we do know is that the general manager at the time, Clive Toye, chose the green and yellow because they were the colors of the Brazilian national team and Pele was already on the club’s radar. The jerseys didn’t feature names, but the players’ numbers were on the front of the kits in such bold, chest-sized, white numbers. It would have been hard to get confused about which player you were looking at. The shorts also featured a smaller version of the number in green. The home kits were the inverse in color scheme.

Adding the Name (1974 Away)

For several years, the kits became more “American” in style, adding the nickname of the club in bold vertical letters down the left side.

Image courtesy of pinterest.

The departure from the NFL style kit is certainly a welcome design change. The 1972-75 kit featured an entirely green kit, including green shorts with a yellow collar and “Cosmos” stripe down the left side. The kits continued to not feature names on the back until 1975, when they were added. It’s a classic look, one of my favorites in American soccer history. The richness of the green really makes the yellow stripe pop on this asymmetrical jersey.

Do It for Pele (1975 Home)

For those that know the name Pele, most are aware that he is Brazilian, due to his prowess in the World Cup. In a move very different from most South American stars today, he also played the vast majority of his professional career in his home country, passing on opportunities to play in Europe. Offers from behemoths like Juventus, Real Madrid and Manchester Utd, came flowing in after his stellar play in the ‘62 World Cup, but he continued to play in Brazil. His club was Santos FC, one of the premier Brazilian professional clubs. Their home kits were all white and, with his signing with the Cosmos in 1975, the club changed their look again, this time to mirror the look of his previous club, Santos.

This all-white kit, with various shades of piping, would be the home kit for the remainder of the Cosmos’ NASL run. The kit also featured player names on the back, as well the iconic Cosmos’ logo on the left chest. The logo was designed by Atlanta-based designer, Wayland Moore. The lines coming off the ball in the logo are representative of movement, which is a good thing for a soccer ball, of course. The logo has also had different variations, with the “New York” being removed and then included.

The current logo.

The Resurrection (Current)

After the old NASL died in 1984, the club competed in the MASL for a single season before closing up shop in 1985. Many years passed with the brand dormant, though several MLS clubs attempted to purchase the name. In 2010, a new ownership group purchased the club name and re-established the team. It hasn’t been smooth sailing, with multiple buy-ins from interested parties, the decision to not apply to MLS, the ups and down of NASL, and, eventually, the addition of chairman Rocco Commisso, who has grown into one of the leading voices in lower league soccer.

The Cosmos home kit is now a rich dark blue with green gradient highlights on the chest and waistline. There’s a slight white collar, which matches to the rings on the end of the sleeves. The blue is a throwback to a kit the club used in the post-Pele era. The away kit is a white top matched with green shorts.

2017 kit announcement. Image courtesy of Football Fashion.

In the American soccer landscape, clubs simply don’t have histories that go back more than 10 years or so. Most don’t go back five years. The landscape is suddenly populated by hundreds of clubs, all looking to put their spin on kit and crest design. They should take a lesson from a club with real history - be creative, be classy, use patterns and approaches that are proven. The NY Cosmos have set the bar for close to 50 years and they aren’t done yet. With the Founders Cup already on the calendar, I can’t wait to see what the Cosmos put together for the new league!

- Dan Vaughn

Just a note, there are other kits in the history of the Cosmos that were not included in this list. If you’re interested in more information, I definitely recommend NASLjerseys.com. It was a great resource in writing this article.