Philadelphia Atoms ( born Philadelphia Atoms ) is a former American football team based in Philadelphia that played in the North American Football League (NASL). They performed from 1973 to 1976 at the "Veterans' Stadium" (1973-75) and "Franklin Field" (1976).
 Philadelphia Atoms | |||
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| Complete title | Philadelphia atoms | ||
| Nicknames | Atoms | ||
| Based | 1973 | ||
| Disbanded | 1976 | ||
| Stadium | Veterans Stadium, Franklin Field | ||
| Capacity | 62,000, 60,546 | ||
| Competition | NASL | ||
| 1976 | four | ||
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Atoms was founded in Philadelphia by construction magnate Thomas McCloskey in 1973 at the insistence of the owner of Kansas City Chiefs and Dallas Tornado , Lamar Hunt . Using mostly domestic players, they won the NASL champion title in the first year of their existence, defeating the Dallas Tornado club 2-0. After this championship match, Philadelphia goalkeeper Bob Rigby became the first player to be featured on the cover of Sports Illustrated magazine.
Atoms could not continue the success of their first season: the club missed the playoffs in three championships. Attendance began to fall, and after 1975, the team was sold to a group of owners of Mexican clubs, such as Guadalajara . In turn, the Mexican side did not care about the club, it will be almost 20 years before the club is re-established in MLS as Chivas USA , attendance continued to decrease, and the club was disbanded after 1976.
Coaches
- Al Miller (1973-1975)