The New York Cosmos soccer team was really picking up speed.
Made up of part-time players, students, and athletes from various countries, they competed in the North American Soccer League (NASL) at the aging Downing Stadium, located under the Triborough Bridge on Randall’s Island.
Then, in 1975, everything changed when the club’s new owner, Warner Communications, along with their dynamic president, Steve Ross, decided to sign the legendary Brazilian player, Pele. This shift dramatically impacted the team’s trajectory.
This was just the beginning of a soccer tale that resonates even now, especially with the U.S. co-hosting the World Cup and emerging as a significant player in the global soccer arena.
At the core of the Cosmos was local goalkeeper Shep Messing.
Growing up in the Bronx and later Roslyn, Long Island, Messing didn’t play soccer until he was 16, but once he did, it became clear he had found his passion.
“In just three years, I became an All-American twice in college, played for the U.S. Olympic team in 1972, and then got to be teammates with the greatest soccer player ever,” he recalled. “It was surreal.”
A Harvard graduate, Messing juggled teaching during the day, commuting from Stamford, Conn., to instruct at Westbury High School, and would practice with the Cosmos after classes, often getting home past midnight.
Though it was challenging, he pushed through. There were times when being called up for the national team didn’t come with financial benefits. “I got a call one Thursday night from U.S. Soccer, saying, ‘We’ll give you $15.’ It was a daily allowance,” he reminisced about a game against Italy.
“There was no practice, but it was the national team. They tossed us a few bucks.”
In 1974, he could have earned a decent amount—$5,000—to do a photoshoot for a women’s magazine, but it was entirely nude. “I was broke and didn’t think anyone would actually see it,” he explained.
Messing was teaching when his cover appeared on newsstands. “There I was, the Cosmos goalkeeper, fully exposed,” he said.
Upon discovery, the principal summoned him and dismissed him from his teaching position immediately. The Cosmos followed suit. But in 1976, they were in need of a goalie once more, and Pele personally requested he be reinstated.
Everything that followed is now part of soccer history.
With Pele’s arrival, the New York Cosmos reached new heights. They began scouting extensively, and suddenly, Messing found himself playing alongside some of soccer’s greats, like Italian star Giorgio Chinaglia, Brazil’s World Cup-winning captain Carlos Alberto, and German legend Franz Beckenbauer. “It was one of the best lineups this country has ever seen,” he shared.
To balance a team comprised of 13 nationalities, complete with strong personalities, Messing took on roles as translator, mediator, and even manager of sorts. “There were always heated moments, but we managed to keep our cool during games.”
“What we accomplished on the field was always our primary focus.”
Gone were the days of playing in front of a few hundred fans at Downing Stadium. Thanks to Pele’s star power, they became highly sought-after, drawing large crowds, and even packed Giants Stadium regularly.
“One minute we were completely unknown, and the next, we were being whisked away in limousines to Studio 54 after games,” he chuckled. “It was wild, and honestly, it still feels that way.”
Messing capitalized on this newfound fame.
He appeared in commercials for brands like Vidal Sassoon, Coca-Cola, and Skoll, while the Cosmos graced the front of Sports Illustrated. “That was groundbreaking for a soccer team,” Messing commented. “Soccer was almost nonexistent in this country, and then it just exploded.”
However, everything shifted in October 1977 when Pele played his farewell match at Giants Stadium against his former club, Santos. This marked the start of a slow decline not only for the New York Cosmos but for the NASL itself, which essentially folded by 1985.
The Cosmos experienced a revival from 2013 to 2020 and again found themselves back in action in 2025, now based in Paterson, New Jersey, where they compete in USL League 1, introduced in 2019.
Fifty years after their heyday, and with the U.S. hosting the World Cup, the saga of the New York Cosmos—filled with its ups and downs—feels like a critical chapter in the history of soccer in America.
For players like Messing, who were right in the middle of it all, embracing every moment, it was more than just history; it was witnessing a revolution that was unfolding without anyone quite realizing it.
“Absolutely,” he laughed. “I definitely lived my dream.”
