Once in a Lifetime: The Incredible Story of the New York Cosmos

by Gavin Newsham

Book Overview

With over three million kids playing soccer across the country in the early 1970s, soccer was poised to finally conquer America, and its heartbreaking rise and fall is captured in Gavin Newsham's Once in a Lifetime. This book tells the story of the New York Cosmos soccer team, which brought the greatest talents of the world's biggest sport to a city awash in celebrity and decadence. In the summer of 1977, entrepreneurial Warner Brothers chairman Steve...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0802142885
• ISBN13: 9780802142887
• Release Date: January 2006
• Publisher: Grove Press
• Length: 288 Pages
• Weight: 0.84 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 5.6" x 8.3"

Customer Reviews

Great Giorgio Chinaglia!

Consiglio il dvd a tutti gli amanti di calcio ed in particolare a tutti i fans di Giorgio Chinaglia! Lunga vita Long John! Alfonso Rossetti, Roma,Italy. Lazio's fan.

And hopefully, it's only once.

I've now seen the documentary and read the book, and this is a story that is both fascinating and familiar to sports fans. The film sort of centers around the dream of Steve Ross, president of what became Warner Communications and the Cosmos. It paints him as a selfless and daring pioneer who was desperate to make soccer big in this country. To an extent, he really was that. The book is less charitable to his behavior, painting him as a poor sport who brought Warner to its knees. Ross partied on the company's dime, looked like a playboy genius, fouled things up with a few bad decisions, and got out with an enormous bank account. Hey, wouldn't we all love to do that? Except it cost thousands of people at Warner and Atari their jobs. Many American soccer players' dreams of playing in their domestic pro league were crushed. I hope Major League Soccer executives read this as their bible, and don't let history repeat itself. In the end, you have to feel sorry for the fans and players, who hoped in vain their success would last forever. But those few good years were pretty sweet, and it was entertaining to learn what happened behind the scenes after years of wondering.

Touching Characters

You'll be in tears by the third chapter and will likely cry the whole way through. The characters are so engaging you can't help it!

Great Story!!!

ESPN Classic has been playing the movie made of this book. The two complement each other perfectly. The story is of the NY Cosmos, a star-laden team that flamed in the late 70s and early 80s. They routinely drew sellout crowds to Giants Stadium, led by such stars as Pele, Beckenbauer, Chinaglia, Alberto. Then a few years later, the team (and the league) disappeared. But what a ride, a hysterical story that is told quite well by Newsham. He interviewed many people (except Pele who reportedly wanted big $$$). Book is weighed down by Newsham talking about what was happening in the country and world at the time. But the story is so good. Even if you are NOT a soccer fan, and I am not, it is worth reading.