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.

Another repost from 1970s Soccer USA on Facebook. Labeled simply as “NASL Fans: Portland Timbers” but identified as Soccer Bowl by Bob Wilmot who was there. What publication did this come from? Who knows….

Here’s a photo of Don Megson taken when? Some time between during tenure as the coach of the Timbers from 1978 to 1980. Of the two NASL era groups I follow, neither of them can be bothered to credit the original source of the photo. When pressed the reply has always been “it’s user submitted.”

UPDATE: After posting I was trying to identify the other players in the picture and found the source of the original picture.

From 1970s Soccer USA:

Did You Know? Don Megson was hired to coach the Portland Timbers in 1978 and responded by steering the team to a franchise-best 20 wins, then advanced all the way to the Conference Championship round of the playoffs before losing to the New York Cosmos.

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The second post of the new era of PTFZine. Here’s Clyde Best with an assist to John Bain and a goal in a match against the Vancouver Whitecaps from 7/26/1980. Gotta love the music in the background, and “…the delicate touch from Best and Bain of Portland.”Happy for the Timbers highlights but I’d also like to see the whole video.

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