[2] Jack Gregory, a local doctor and real estate investor, paid the franchise fee and acted as team owner [3][4] and Alex Perolli was appointed the first head coach.

[3][5] After playing a series of pre-season friendlies against teams from Mexico,[6] the Aztecs opened their first NASL season with a 2–1 win over the Seattle Sounders at the East Los Angeles College Stadium with 4,107 fans in attendance.

[24] The team's first home sellout occurred on July 3, 1975, in a 5–1 rout of the Pelé led New York Cosmos, Uri Banhoffer scored a hat-trick and was named NASL player of the week for his performance.

[9] Making the playoffs as a wild card after Chicago Sting lost their final game of the season to the Washington Diplomats,[27] the Aztecs were defeated by the St. Louis Stars in a quarter-finals match that was decided by a penalty shoot-out.

[28] Following the 1975 season, English singer Elton John, purchased a stake in the team, and was given permission by the league to sit on the bench during games.

[29][30] A few weeks later, Managing General Partner Chaffetz announced the team's intention of signing 1968 Ballon d'Or winner George Best, who had been released by Manchester United.

[37] The Aztecs began the 1977 North American Soccer League season on the road against the Earthquakes again, this time beating San Jose 3–0.

[38] On July 3, 1977, the largest home crowd of the season, 32,165, attended the game against the Cosmos, for Brazilian superstar Pelé's last competitive appearance in Los Angeles.

[42][43] After the season, the team was purchased by a group headed by Alan Rothenberg[4][44] with former Los Angeles Lakers player Rudy LaRusso named general manager.

[45] The Aztecs also signed a lease to play its homes matches at the Rose Bowl for the 1978 North American Soccer League season.

[52] On June 6, 1978, and with a record of five wins in thirteen games, the Aztecs fired head coach Terry Fisher and replaced him with Tommy Smith.

[9] A few weeks prior to the beginning of the 1980 outdoor season, Michels resigned has head coach, but was able to reach an agreement with the new owners and confirmed he would be returning.

[9] Losing the first game of the Conference Quarterfinals at RFK Stadium the Aztecs defeated the Diplomats in the series by winning the home leg in a shootout, and the 30-minute minigame 2–0.

[76] The Aztecs advanced to the Conference Championships after defeating the Seattle Sounders in another shootout after each team won their home leg and playing to a 1–1 tie in the minigame.

[84] The Aztecs finished the 1981 North American Soccer League season in second place of the Western Division with a record of nineteen wins and thirteen losses and an average attendance of 5,814.