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1983–84 NASL indoor season

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North American Soccer League
1983–84 indoor season
Season1983–84
ChampionsSan Diego Sockers
(2nd Title)
PremiersSan Diego Sockers
Matches played112
Goals scored1,377 (12.29 per match)
Top goalscorerSocialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia Steve Zungul
(63 goals)
1983
Final season →

The 1983–84 North American Soccer League indoor season was the fourth and last in league history. The San Diego Sockers defeated the New York Cosmos for their third straight indoor title, having won the NASL Indoor title in 1981–82 and the MISL title in 1982–83.

Season recap

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The NASL was struggling for life at this point, and finding teams to play the indoor season would be difficult. While San Diego, the Chicago Sting and the Golden Bay Earthquakes were committed to the league, filling out the ranks would be problematic. With the league making plain their desire to have both an indoor and outdoor element going forward, the Fort Lauderdale Strikers decided to move to Minnesota for the 1984 NASL season due to a lack of suitable arenas in the local area.[1]

The Tampa Bay Rowdies were unsure whether or not they would be able to play, as the previous owners had committed to play in the indoor season and then sold the team. This left the new owners in the lurch.[2] The lack of a suitable arena was also an issue, eventually forcing Rowdies' home games to be split among three sites.[3] The Tulsa Roughnecks were only in the league thanks to a fundraiser that put $65,000 in the team's coffers, even though the team had won the outdoor Soccer Bowl just weeks earlier.[4]

Despite the uncertainty, this would be the largest NASL indoor season ever as a 32-game regular season, a best-of-three semifinal round and a best-of-five championship series were on the schedule. Also, the first (and only) All-Star Game in NASL history took place on February 8 at Chicago Stadium. The hometown Chicago Sting took on an All-Star team of the six other squads. Despite four goals from Chicago's Karl-Heinz Granitza, the All-Stars won 9–8.[5]

Not surprisingly, the teams with steady management performed best through the season. The Sockers averaged over 11,000 for their home games and finished first, overcoming a slow 8-8 start.[6] The hot streak continued in the playoffs as the team won all five of their postseason games en route to the NASL title.[7]

The NASL confirmed plans for 40-game indoor seasons in 1985 and 1986 near the end of the season,[8] but folded for good in March 1985.[9] By then, San Diego, Minnesota, New York and Chicago had joined the MISL.[10] While the Sockers, Strikers and Sting experienced success in the MISL, the Cosmos would start the season but drop out on February 22, 1985.[11]

Teams

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Team City/Area Arena
Chicago Sting Chicago Chicago Stadium
Golden Bay Earthquakes Oakland, California
Daly City, California
Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum Arena
Cow Palace
New York Cosmos East Rutherford, New Jersey
New York, New York
Brendan Byrne Arena (8 games)
Madison Square Garden[12] (8 games)
San Diego Sockers San Diego San Diego Sports Arena
Tampa Bay Rowdies Tampa, Florida
St. Petersburg, Florida
Lakeland, Florida
Tampa Fairgrounds Arena (8 games)
Bayfront Center (5 games)
Lakeland Civic Center (3 games)
Tulsa Roughnecks Tulsa, Oklahoma Tulsa Fairgrounds Pavilion
Vancouver Whitecaps Vancouver Pacific Coliseum

Map of clubs

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1983-84 NASL indoor season clubs

Regular season

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The 1983–84 regular season schedule ran from November 11, 1983, to March 25, 1984. The 32 games per team was almost double the length of previous NASL Indoor seasons.

W = Wins, L = Losses, GB = Games Behind 1st Place, Pct. = Winning Percentage, GF = Goals For, GA = Goals Against

Final Standings W L Pct. GB GF GA Home Road
San Diego Sockers 21 11 .656 196 148 14–2 7–9
New York Cosmos 20 12 .625 1 219 198 13–3 7–9
Chicago Sting 20 12 .625 1 183 148 12–4 8–8
Golden Bay Earthquakes 19 13 .594 2 206 190 12–4 7–9
Vancouver Whitecaps 12 20 .375 9 187 209 6–10 6–10
Tulsa Roughnecks 11 21 .344 10 166 216 7–9 4–12
Tampa Bay Rowdies 9 23 .281 12 177 225 5–11 4–12

Regular season statistics

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Scoring leaders

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GP = Games Played, G = Goals, A = Assists, Pts = Points

Player Team GP G A Pts
Steve Zungul Golden Bay Earthquakes 32 63 56 119
Karl-Heinz Granitza Chicago Sting 32 59 33 92
Juli Veee San Diego Sockers 28 45 29 74
Carl Valentine Vancouver Whitecaps 32 44 26 70
Chico Borja New York Cosmos 31 29 37 66
Godfrey Ingram Golden Bay Earthquakes 32 38 25 63
Tatu Tampa Bay Rowdies 30 49 11 60
Stan Terlecki New York Cosmos 23 34 23 57
Peter Ward Vancouver Whitecaps 28 42 12 54
Kaz Deyna San Diego Sockers 27 28 24 52

Leading goalkeepers

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Note: GP = Games played; Min – Minutes played; GA = Goals against; GAA = Goals against average; W = Wins; L = Losses

Player Team GP Min GA GAA W L
Jim Gorsek San Diego Sockers 18 1074 73 4.08 14 4
Victor Nogueira Chicago Sting 32 1873 136 4.36 20 10
Bob Rigby Golden Bay Earthquakes 31 1890 184 5.84 18 13
David Brcic New York Cosmos 26 1570 155 5.92 18 8
Jürgen Stars Tampa Bay Rowdies 26 1506 171 6.81 8 18
Winston DuBose Tulsa Roughnecks 22 1416 161 6.82 7 15

1984 NASL All-Star Game

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On February 8, the city of Chicago hosted what turned out to be the only All-Star game in NASL history. The Chicago Sting battled a team of All-Stars from the other six teams for the benefit of Chicago Tribune Charities. The starters were voted on by the players, while San Diego coach Ron Newman selected the reserves.[13] The All-Stars outdueled the Sting 9–8 before 14,328 fans at Chicago Stadium, despite an MVP performance by Chicago's Karl-Heinz Granitza. Granitza scored four goals on the night.[14][15]

All-Star Game starters   Position   All-Star Game reserves
*Alan Mayer, San Diego G David Brcic, New York • Tino Lettieri Vancouver[16]
Barry Wallace, Tulsa D Angelo DiBernardo, New York • Frantz Mathieu, Tampa Bay
Fernando Clavijo, Golden Bay D Mike Connell, Tampa Bay • Gert Wieczorkowski, San Diego
Steve Zungul, Golden Bay F Carl Valentine, Vancouver • ^Stan Terlecki, New York
Kaz Deyna, San Diego F Jean Willrich, San Diego • Zequinha, Tulsa[17]
Juli Veee, San Diego F Peter Ward, Vancouver

*Alan Mayer of San Diego was originally selected as a starter but due to a broken finger was unable to play. Tino Lettieri of Vancouver was named as his replacement.[18]^Stan Terlecki of New York was originally selected as a reserve but due to injury was unable to play. Zequinha of Tulsa was named as his replacement.[19]

Match report

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February 8, 1984 All-Star Game Chicago Sting 8–9 NASL All-Stars Chicago, Illinois
8:00 PM (CST) Margetic 00:48' (Fajkus)
Granitza 3:23' (Fajkus)
Weiner 7:00' (Simanton)
Granitza 23:27' (Fajkus)
Granitza 27:32' (pen.)
Granitza 29:19' (Margetic)
Margetic 45:32' (Fajkus)
Margetic 56:33' (Fajkus)
Report Zungul 00:48' (Clavijo)
Zequinha 3:23' (Ward)
Ward 7:00' (Valentine)
Ward 23:27' (Willrich)
Valentine 27:32' (Mathieu)
Zungul 29:19' (Wieczorkowski)
Veee 37:50' (Zungul)
Deyna 54:08' (Zungul)
Wieczorkowski 57:16' (Willrich)
Stadium: Chicago Stadium
Attendance: 14,328
Referee: Feliks Fuksman & Julio Salas

NASL All-Stars

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During the finals the NASL announced the traditional All-NASL team of All-Stars, as voted on by the players at the end of the regular season.[20]

First Team   Position   Second Team
Victor Nogueira, Chicago G David Brcic, New York
Fernando Clavijo, Golden Bay D Dan Canter, New York
Gert Wieczorkowski, San Diego D Martin Donnelly, San Diego
Kaz Deyna, San Diego M Juli Veee, San Diego
Steve Zungul, Golden Bay F Carl Valentine, Vancouver
Karl-Heinz Granitza, Chicago F Pato Margetic, Chicago • Stan Terlecki, New York

Playoffs

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Bracket

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Semifinals
Best-of-3
Championship series
Best-of-5
          
1 San Diego Sockers 5 7
4 Golden Bay Earthquakes 2 2
1 San Diego Sockers 5 10 7
2 New York Cosmos 2 4 3
2 New York Cosmos 4 3 8
3 Chicago Sting 3 7 7

Semifinals

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Best of three series

Higher seed Lower seed Game 1 Game 2 Game 3 Attendance
San Diego Sockers Golden Bay Earthquakes 5–2 7–2 x March 29 • San Diego Sports Arena • 10,870
April 1 • Oakland Coliseum Arena • 4,413
New York Cosmos Chicago Sting 4–3 3–7 8–7 March 28 • Brendan Byrne Arena • 2,842
March 30 • Chicago Stadium • 15,462
April 1 • Brendan Byrne Arena • 5,420

Championship Series

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Best of five series

Higher seed Lower seed Game 1 Game 2 Game 3 Game 4 Game 5 Attendance
San Diego Sockers New York Cosmos 5–2 10–4 7–3 x x April 5 • San Diego Sports Arena • 12,006
April 8 • San Diego Sports Arena • 12,696
April 11 • Brendan Byrne Arena • 4,717

Championship match reports

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April 5, 1984 Game 1 San Diego Sockers 5–2 New York Cosmos San Diego, California
8:00 P.M. (PST) Willrich 12:17' (Crow)
Donnelly 17:12' (Quinn)
Willrich 25:17' (Veee)
Deyna 26' (Veee)
Deyna 44:17' (Donnelly)
Report A
Report B
Borja 4:06' (Kozić)
Parkinson 56'
Stadium: San Diego Sports Arena
Attendance: 12,006
April 8, 1984 Game 2 San Diego Sockers 10–4 New York Cosmos San Diego, California
6:30 P.M. (PST) Deyna 6:52' (Veee)
Pérez 14:01'
Coker 19:02'
O'Kane 20:29'
Quinn 21:36' (Newman)
Willrich 3rd Qtr' (Hilkes)
Coker 3rd Qtr' (Hilkes)
Pérez 4th Qtr' (Coker)
Pérez 4th Qtr'
Skouras 4th Qtr'
Report A
Report B
Moyers 11:46'
Moyers 4th Qtr'
De Matthaeis 4th Qtr'
De Matthaeis 4th Qtr'
Stadium: San Diego Sports Arena
Attendance: 12,696
April 11, 1984 Game 3 New York Cosmos 3–7 San Diego Sockers East Rutherford, New Jersey
8:00 P.M. (EST) DiBernardo 3:15'
Parkinson 6:47' (Borja)
Borja 29:29' (Gray)
Report A
Report B
Namdar 17:37' (Willrich)
Willrich 20:16' (Gorsek)
Crow 21:25' (Pérez)
Crow 33:23' (Pérez)
Deyna 43:04' (Veee)
Veee 44:32' (Quinn)
Pérez 52:37' (Willrich)
Stadium: Brendan Byrne Arena
Attendance: 4,717
Referee: Gordon Arrowsmith (Canada)
and Peter Johnson


1983–84 NASL Indoor Champions: San Diego Sockers

Post-season awards

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Team attendance totals

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Club[23] Games Total Average
Chicago Sting 16 189,228 11,827
San Diego Sockers 16 182,633 11,415
New York Cosmos 16 78,391 4,899
Golden Bay Earthquakes 16 72,190 4,512
Tulsa Roughnecks 16 59,304 3,707
Vancouver Whitecaps 16 46,336 2,896
Tampa Bay Rowdies 16 43,065 2,692
OVERALL 112 671,147 5,992

References

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  1. ^ Marmor, Jon (December 1, 1983). "Strikers' Departure Is Official". Palm Beach Post. p. D1. Retrieved February 20, 2023.
  2. ^ Beard, Randy (November 1, 1983). "Rowdies scrub the indoor season". The Evening Independent. p. 1-C. Retrieved June 2, 2012 – via Google News Archive Search.
  3. ^ Beard, Randy (November 5, 1983). "Don't hold your breath as Rowdies unveil schedule". The Evening Independent. p. 4-C. Retrieved June 2, 2012 – via Google News Archive Search.
  4. ^ "NASL results: 1 team lost, 1 team saved". Milwaukee Journal. November 5, 1983. p. 12. Archived from the original on December 22, 2015. Retrieved June 2, 2012 – via Google News Archive Search.
  5. ^ "Hey Now, You're An All-Star". Kenn Tomasch. Retrieved May 3, 2013.
  6. ^ Beard, Randy (March 1, 1984). "Frustration continues for Rowdies: Sockers' spurt means season winding down". The Evening Independent. p. 6-C. Retrieved June 2, 2012 – via Google News Archive Search.
  7. ^ "San Diego soccer champs". Ottawa Citizen. April 12, 1984. p. 54. Retrieved June 2, 2012 – via Google News Archive Search.
  8. ^ "Must Play in '84, Sting Is Told". New York Times. February 10, 1984. Retrieved June 2, 2012 – via nytimes.com.
  9. ^ "NASL down to two teams, won't play this season". Eugene Register-Guard. March 29, 1985. p. 2D. Retrieved June 2, 2012 – via Google News Archive Search.
  10. ^ "MISL takes four NASL teams". Boca Raton News. August 31, 1984. p. 2C. Retrieved June 2, 2012 – via Google News Archive Search.
  11. ^ "Cosmos pull out of MISL, NASL". Ellensburg Daily Record. February 23, 1985. p. 11. Retrieved June 2, 2012 – via Google News Archive Search.
  12. ^ Yannis, Pat (March 8, 1984). "Hartford Shift Seen For Indoor Cosmos". New York Times. Retrieved December 22, 2016 – via newyorktimes.com.
  13. ^ Beard, Randy (February 3, 1984). "All-star picks baffle Rowdies Connell, Mathieu". The Evening Independent. p. 6-C. Retrieved May 3, 2013 – via Google News Archive Search.
  14. ^ "Hey Now, You're An All-Star". Kenn Tomasch. Retrieved May 3, 2013.
  15. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on April 8, 2016. Retrieved June 16, 2015.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  16. ^ "Hey Now, You're An All-Star". Kenn Tomasch. Retrieved May 3, 2013.
  17. ^ "Hey Now, You're An All-Star". Kenn Tomasch. Retrieved May 3, 2013.
  18. ^ Miranda, Randy (February 2, 1984). "Coach Marsh should know verdict soon". Lakeland Ledger. p. 5D. Retrieved October 24, 2016 – via Google News Archive Search.
  19. ^ "stat sheet; Moves; SOCCER". The Spokesman-Review. February 8, 1984. p. 20. Retrieved October 24, 2016 – via Google News Archive Search.
  20. ^ "NASL all-stars". Chicago Tribune. April 10, 1984. p. 4; sec 4. Retrieved January 12, 2017.
  21. ^ "NASL: Cosmos get serious". Record-Journal. April 5, 1984. p. 20. Retrieved October 24, 2016 – via Google News Archive Search.
  22. ^ Archived at Ghostarchive and the Wayback Machine: "San Diego Sockers vs New York Cosmos, 1984 NASL Indoor Finals, Game 3". YouTube.
  23. ^ "Attendance Project: NASL Indoor". Kenn Tomasch. Retrieved July 13, 2013.
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