The 1983–84 Major Indoor Soccer League season was the sixth in league history and ended with the Baltimore Blast winning their first MISL championship. The Blast would beat the St. Louis Steamers in the championship series, the third time in five seasons the Steamers would lose in the MISL championship round. This would be the first time the MISL finals would be a best-of-seven series, part of the league's expanded playoff format.
| Season | 1983–84 |
|---|---|
| Champions | Baltimore Blast |
| Matches played | 288 |
| Top goalscorer | Mark Liveric (58 goals) |
| Average attendance | 8,707 |
← 1982–83 1984–85 → | |
Recap edit
With the North American Soccer League restarting their indoor league in the fall of 1983, the defending champion San Diego Sockers, Chicago Sting and Golden Bay Earthquakes would not rejoin the MISL for the upcoming season. To replace the teams, the Tacoma Stars (actually the reactivated Denver Avalanche) began play this season.
While there were some franchises who would begin a run of respectability at the box office, the Cleveland Force chief among them, others would see the end of their run. The New York Arrows, Buffalo Stallions and Phoenix Pride would all go out of business at the end of the season. Despite winning the first four MISL titles, the Arrows never gained a foothold in the New York market. Changing the name of the Phoenix franchise (GM Ted Podleski hated the Inferno name, and wanted a name more in tune with his Christian beliefs) would not bring about an improved record and new owner Bruce Merrill was ready to fold after losing $2 million in less than a year.[1] The Stallions, in particular, would be caught trying to move out of their Buffalo Memorial Auditorium offices without paying back rent, similar to what had happened with the NFL's Baltimore Colts a few months earlier.[2]
Not all news was bad. The Force and Blast routinely drew strong crowds, and the new franchise in Tacoma nearly made the playoffs. The MISL drew 2.5 million to their games, and another 300,000 attended the playoff games. One game was televised on CBS (Game 3 of the championship series on June 2), as well.
After the season, the Memphis Americans would move to Las Vegas.[3]
Teams edit
Regular season schedule edit
The 1983–84 regular season schedule ran from November 4, 1983, to April 21, 1984. It would be the first time in MISL history that the length of the schedule stayed the same as the previous year. In this case, each team continued to play 48 games apiece.[4]
Final standings edit
Playoff teams in bold.
| Eastern Division | W | L | Pct. | GB | GF | GA | Home[5] | Road[5] |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Baltimore Blast | 34 | 14 | .708 | -- | 280 | 203 | 20-4 | 14-10 |
| Pittsburgh Spirit | 32 | 16 | .667 | 2 | 245 | 204 | 19-5 | 13-11 |
| Cleveland Force | 31 | 17 | .646 | 3 | 269 | 229 | 18-6 | 13-11 |
| New York Arrows | 20 | 28 | .417 | 14 | 232 | 280 | 12-12 | 8-16 |
| Memphis Americans | 18 | 30 | .375 | 16 | 216 | 284 | 14-10 | 4-20 |
| Buffalo Stallions | 15 | 33 | .313 | 19 | 226 | 279 | 12-12 | 3-21 |
| Western Division | W | L | Pct. | GB | GF | GA | Home[5] | Road[5] |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| St. Louis Steamers | 26 | 22 | .542 | -- | 220 | 202 | 16-8 | 10-14 |
| Wichita Wings | 25 | 23 | .521 | 1 | 237 | 228 | 17-7 | 8-16 |
| Los Angeles Lazers | 24 | 24 | .500 | 2 | 223 | 239 | 13-11 | 11-13 |
| Kansas City Comets | 23 | 25 | .479 | 3 | 232 | 246 | 15-9 | 8-16 |
| Tacoma Stars | 22 | 26 | .458 | 4 | 226 | 232 | 14-10 | 8-16 |
| Phoenix Pride | 18 | 30 | .375 | 8 | 221 | 249 | 12-12 | 6-18 |
Playoffs edit
| Division Semifinals | Division Finals | Championship Series | ||||||||||||
| E1 | Baltimore Blast | 3 | ||||||||||||
| E4 | New York Arrows | 1 | ||||||||||||
| E1 | Baltimore Blast | 3 | ||||||||||||
| E3 | Cleveland Force | 0 | ||||||||||||
| E2 | Pittsburgh Spirit | 1 | ||||||||||||
| E3 | Cleveland Force | 3 | ||||||||||||
| E1 | Baltimore Blast | 4 | ||||||||||||
| W1 | St. Louis Steamers | 1 | ||||||||||||
| W1 | St. Louis Steamers | 3 | ||||||||||||
| W4 | Kansas City Comets | 2 | ||||||||||||
| W1 | St. Louis Steamers | 3 | ||||||||||||
| W2 | Wichita Wings | 0 | ||||||||||||
| W2 | Wichita Wings | 3 | ||||||||||||
| W3 | Los Angeles Lazers | 1 | ||||||||||||
Quarterfinals edit
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Semifinals edit
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Championship Series edit
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Regular Season Player Statistics edit
Scoring leaders edit
GP = Games Played, G = Goals, A = Assists, Pts = Points
| Player | Team | GP | G | A | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stan Stamenkovic | Baltimore Blast | 46 | 34 | 69 | 97 |
| Kai Haaskivi | Cleveland Force | 47 | 37 | 51 | 88 |
| Craig Allen | Cleveland Force | 44 | 49 | 37 | 86 |
| Mark Liveric | New York Arrows | 48 | 58 | 26 | 84 |
| Fred Grgurev | New York/Memphis | 50 | 42 | 34 | 76 |
| Andy Chapman | Wichita Wings | 46 | 53 | 21 | 74 |
| Poli Garcia | Los Angeles Lazers | 48 | 39 | 33 | 72 |
| Keith Furphy | Cleveland Force | 48 | 39 | 31 | 70 |
| Gordon Hill | Kansas City Comets | 41 | 46 | 24 | 70 |
| Louie Nanchoff | Cleveland Force | 42 | 36 | 33 | 69 |
Leading goalkeepers edit
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Slobo Ilijevski | St. Louis Steamers | 40 | 2336 | 143 | 3.67 | 22 | 15 |
| Scott Manning | Baltimore Blast | 28 | 1552 | 104 | 4.02 | 18 | 8 |
| Joe Papaleo | Pittsburgh Spirit | 25 | 1455 | 100 | 4.12 | 16 | 8 |
| Mike Mahoney | Los Angeles Lazers | 42 | 2390 | 172 | 4.32 | 19 | 18 |
| Mike Dowler | Wichita Wings | 46 | 2724 | 196 | 4.32 | 25 | 21 |
| Krys Sobieski | Cleveland Force | 32 | 1716 | 125 | 4.37 | 19 | 7 |
| John Baretta | Tacoma Stars | 30 | 1741 | 130 | 4.48 | 11 | 14 |
| Blagoje Tamindzic | Phoenix Pride | 30 | 1486 | 116 | 4.68 | 9 | 14 |
| Enzo DiPede | Kansas City Comets | 39 | 2180 | 174 | 4.79 | 18 | 18 |
| Wieslaw Surlit | Buffalo Stallions | 35 | 1736 | 155 | 5.36 | 10 | 20 |
Playoff Player Statistics edit
Scoring leaders edit
GP = Games Played, G = Goals, A = Assists, Pts = Points
| Player | Team | GP | G | A | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stan Stamenkovic | Baltimore Blast | 12 | 13 | 20 | 33 |
| Dave MacWilliams | Baltimore Blast | 12 | 12 | 14 | 26 |
| Njego Pesa | St. Louis Steamers | 13 | 15 | 9 | 24 |
| Pat Ercoli | Baltimore Blast | 10 | 16 | 2 | 18 |
| Don Ebert | St. Louis Steamers | 12 | 9 | 7 | 16 |
Leading goalkeepers edit
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Scott Manning | Baltimore Blast | 9 | 500 | 31 | 3.72 | 8 | 0 |
| Chris Vaccaro | Cleveland Force | 6 | 325 | 22 | 4.06 | 3 | 3 |
| Enzo DiPede | Kansas City Comets | 5 | 286 | 22 | 4.62 | 2 | 2 |
| Slobo Illijevski | St. Louis Steamers | 10 | 596 | 48 | 4.83 | 6 | 4 |
| Mike Dowler | Wichita Wings | 7 | 398 | 34 | 5.13 | 3 | 3 |
All-MISL Teams edit
| First Team | Position | Second Team |
|---|---|---|
| Slobo Illijevski, St. Louis | G | Mike Dowler, Wichita |
| Sam Bick, St. Louis | D | Tony Bellinger, St. Louis |
| Kim Roentved, Wichita | D | Greg Makowski, Kansas City |
| Kai Haaskivi, Cleveland | M | Craig Allen, Cleveland |
| Art Hughes, Memphis | M | Greg Makowski, Kansas City |
| Stan Stamenkovic, Baltimore | F | Gordon Hill, Kansas City |
| Andy Chapman, Wichita | F | Mark Liveric, New York |
| Honorable Mention | Position |
|---|---|
| Scott Manning, Baltimore | G |
| Helmut Dudek, Memphis | D |
| Ray Evans, Tacoma | D |
| Batata, Los Angeles | F |
| Poli Garcia, Los Angeles | F |
League awards edit
Most Valuable Player: Stan Stamenkovic, Baltimore
Scoring Champion: Stan Stamenkovic, Baltimore
Pass Master: Stan Stamenkovic, Baltimore
Defender of the Year: Kim Roentved, Wichita
Rookie of the Year: Kevin Maher, Pittsburgh
Goalkeeper of the Year: Slobo Ilijevski, St. Louis
Coach of the Year: Kenny Cooper, Baltimore
Championship Series Most Valuable Player: Scott Manning, Baltimore
Team Attendance Totals edit
| Club | Games | Total | Average |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kansas City Comets | 24 | 378,864 | 15,786 |
| St. Louis Steamers | 24 | 335,805 | 13,992 |
| Cleveland Force | 24 | 328,619 | 13,692 |
| Baltimore Blast | 24 | 268,534 | 11,189 |
| Wichita Wings | 24 | 216,824 | 9,034 |
| Pittsburgh Spirit | 24 | 198,668 | 8,278 |
| Memphis Americans | 24 | 157,361 | 6,557 |
| Phoenix Pride | 24 | 142,157 | 5,923 |
| New York Arrows | 24 | 131,472 | 5,478 |
| Tacoma Stars | 24 | 127,728 | 5,322 |
| Buffalo Stallions | 24 | 116,020 | 4,834 |
| Los Angeles Lazers | 24 | 105,720 | 4,405 |
| OVERALL | 288 | 2,507,722 | 8,707 |
References edit
- ^ "Phoenix Inferno/Phoenix Pride". Fun While It Lasted. Retrieved March 10, 2012.
- ^ "Buffalo Stallions". Fun While It Lasted. Retrieved March 10, 2012.
- ^ "Memphis Americans Move to Vegas". Palm Beach Post. April 20, 1984. p. D4. Retrieved March 10, 2012.[permanent dead link]
- ^ 1983-84 MISL Media Guide. 1983. pp. 46–47.
- ^ a b c d 1984-85 Dallas Sidekicks Media Guide. 1984. pp. 36–37.
- ^ MISL Official Tenth Anniversary Guide. 1987. p. 53.
- ^ MISL Official Tenth Anniversary Guide. 1987. p. 81.
1983-84 MISL Media Guide. Bala Cynwyd, Pennsylvania: Major Indoor Soccer League. 1983.
1984-85 Dallas Sidekicks Media Guide. Dallas, Texas: Dallas Sidekicks. 1984.
Leary, Dan; Griffin, John (1987). MISL Official Tenth Anniversary Guide. New York: Major Indoor Soccer League Communications Department.