As 2022 ended, Pelé died. The Brazilian legend was 82. For many soccer fans, he was the GOAT—the greatest of all time. And he played in Las Vegas.
In 1977, Las Vegas got a major professional sports franchise: The Quicksilvers of the North American Soccer League. The NASL debuted in 1968 with teams in the United States and Canada. It lasted until 1984, dying because of several factors, including overexpansion and economic problems nationally. The league itself almost folded several times in its early years.
But by the mid-1970s it was growing, indeed, too fast. One of its expansion teams, the Baltimore Comets, moved to San Diego to become the Jaws, as in the recent hit film. In 1977, owner Ken Keegan, a San José businessman, the team moved to Las Vegas. It became the Quicksilvers, part of an eighteen-team league.
By that time, the NASL had a marquee team, the New York Cosmos, and a marquee player. When Pelé signed with them in 1975, he already was a soccer legend. So was one of the Quicksilvers, Eusebio, a longtime soccer star from Portugal.
The Quicksilvers played their first pre-season game at the Convention Center—yes, indoors. But their home opener was on April
9, 1977, at what is now Sam Boyd Stadium. They faced Pelé and the Cosmos. They drew nearly twelve thousand fans, which was a good sign. Yes, the stadium holds more. But this was the first major league professional sports franchise in Las Vegas. When he was introduced, Pelé received a large ovation from the crowd. When he touched the ball, reports said, fan interest perked up. At one point, there was minor contact between the two legends, Pelé and Eusebio, that led to Eusebio going down with damaged ligaments. In the end, the Quicksilvers won, one to nothing.
Pelé helped get the Quicksilvers off to a great start, but their end was less pleasant. They wound up last in their division, eleven and fifteen. They averaged just over seven thousand in home attendance, among the lowest in the NASL. The players and their coach feuded amid a long losing streak. The district attorney sued the organization, claiming fraud because they didn’t follow through on promises made in promotional giveaways. The Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority was ready to do the same. The Quicksilvers owed more than thirty-two thousand dollars in rent.
When the season ended, they moved back to San Diego and became the Sockers, who survived in several different soccer leagues, including the indoor league. Las Vegas’s year in the NASL was over, but in 1984, the Major Indoor Soccer League had a Las Vegas franchise, the
Americans, playing at the then-new Thomas and Mack. The goalie, Alan Mayer, had filled the same role with the Quicksilvers.
Now the Las Vegas Lights play at Cashman Field as part of the United Soccer League, a Division Two group. Las Vegas may end up with a Major League Soccer franchise—that’s division one. Soccer has become a lot more popular throughout the area, and the region. Pelé did a lot to light the fire, and we can honestly say, he played Vegas.