NASL Action: Tulsa Roughnecks forward Billy Caskey gets a boot to the face from Portland Timbers midfielder John Pratt at Civic Stadium.

Source: 1970s Soccer USA

He’s a handsome devil, that’s all. So glad he’s able to fulfill his dream to play until he’s 40. If you didn’t know how old he was you’re never guess it. He saved our dignity those last few games of our season… except that last game, which wasn’t his fault. Hopefully Phil has learned how valuable his presence is on the pitch.

This is by far the best take on our change in kit sponsors. Tillamook is now a sleeve sponsor and the front of the kit will feature Bank of America, a company with a lot of haters, but nowhere near as bad as DaBella. Tillamook was a welcome sponsor addition with deep roots in Oregon. They stepped in mid-season to replace DaBella, and probably got the sponsorship at a highly reduced rate. The comment in the image came from a thread on r/Timbers. Bank of America is likely paying a lot more than Tillamook, so that’s good for the team but it’s sad to see Tilllamook demoted, especially since they had such good will in the community. You might be reading this a few years down the road and none of it makes sense, so I’ll explain it after the jump.

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I accidentally bought these off eBay a couple weeks ago, no truly. Doing a few things at once and thought I was adding to my cart to check the shipping but in fact was “buying now.” Fortunately it was only about $13 delivered. You can buy these sets for under $10 delivered, there are a bunch of them out there.

These are from 1982, the 7th season in Timbers history and apparently someone still thought it necessary to teach everyone the rules and fundamental concepts of soccer. That person was probably right, because this would be the final season of the original Timbers incarnation.

The fronts are all head shots, and the backs contain some very general soccer concepts and tips for preventing fires from the Metropolitan Insurance Companies. Check them out in the Gallery.

An informal and partial tally of who was rooting for who at the Axe & Rose, about 20 minutes into the match. That top tally is a combination of people hoping for an asteroid to crash into the stadium and a sometimes petulant “I don’t watch men’s sports.”

Shame about the final result though. Despite Cascadia rivalries I’d rather see them win than Miami.

From 1970 Soccer USA

San Diego Sockers defender Gordon Dallas cuts off Portland Timbers midfielder Chris Hellenkamp at Civic Stadium.

By the looks of our home kit that would be 1981.

Rob Hawksford Thinks that is Autzen Stadium in Eugene Oregon.

Here’s a few of some black and white Timbers player cards made by Metropolitan Insurance Companies, AKA MetLife these days. The kits are from the 1982 season according NASLjerseys.com. It reminds me I’ve got to make a post with a set of color cards from the same era, also made by Metropolitan Insurance Companies. Although they are in color, they are more boring because they are all head shots with no action.

Source: 1970’s Soccer USA

From 1970s Soccer USA

NASL Action: Portland Timbers midfielder tries to elude Washington Diplomats midfielder Gary Darrell at Civic Stadium.

This shot was probably taken in the 70’s considering John Bain was a Timber from 1978-1982. Gary Darrell was a Diplomat from 1978-1980. I could be from 1980, but odds are it’s from the 70’s.

Update: Original source found. This is a 1978 photo by Donald Wilson as seen on the Oregonian.

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I was watching the Whitecaps vs LAFC playoff match and right after LAFC scored their first goal they cut to this fan in the stands and it immediately made me laugh and think of this shot from 2016 of a fan reaction during a Whitecaps loss to the Timbers. I kind of remember it being from a Cascadia Cup match but my files creation date says 2016 and we didn’t win that year.

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Despite the new, more positive direction for he web site, there’s always room for a little snark. PTFC Authentics is having a BOGO sale one Timbers hats. I can’t imagine why they have any of these beautifully designed hats left over to peddle. The best comment I’ve seen on this was from Karl Berner on FB:

There simply are not enough methamphetamine-using Kawasaki-Ninja enthusiasts in the area for this one to be profitable.