Much of the early history of the league remains obscure.
However, in 1928 an NSL select team played Scottish club Rangers F.C.
[1] In 1941, another NSL select team toured Haiti during which it played a team featuring future National Soccer Hall of Fame forward Joe Gaetjens.
This led to him moving to the U.S. and subsequently scoring the winning goal in the U.S. victory over England in the 1950 FIFA World Cup.
[2] In 1974, the NSL merged with the German American Soccer League.