Editor's Note: As part of the Portland Timbers celebration of their 10th season in MLS, Timbers.com will be doing unique content throughout the year that looks back at some of the more memorable moments of the team's history.
The Heritage Series is a group of stories that goes deep into some of the formative tales of the Timbers over the past 10 season. The first is a look at the organization's road to MLS. Having had a version of the Timbers exist as far back as the 1970s and the North American Soccer League era, when Major League Soccer came on the horizon, a changing Portland found itself at a sporting crossroads.