Buffalo Blizzard

The Buffalo Blizzard were a professional indoor soccer team who played in the NPSL (National Professional Soccer League) between 1992 and 2001. The MSL (Major Soccer League, formerly the Major Indoor Soccer League) had hoped that the Blizzard would join them, upping the number of active franchises and making the league a viable concern. The Blizzard turned them down and opted to join the NPSL instead, even though it was a less prestigious league.

The Blizzard were founded and owned by brothers Seymour H. Knox III and Northrup R. Knox, and Robert and Melinda Rich. The Knox brothers also owned the Buffalo Sabres of the NHL, whilst the Rich’s owned the minor league Baseball franchise the Buffalo Bisons. The Knox brothers were great philanthropists and heirs to the Woolworths chain of shops. Northrup Knox is also chairman of the Marine Midland Bank. Melinda Rich was the President of the Rich Entertainment Group, and has sat on the boards of many companies and foundations. Michael DeRose was a Limited Partner in the Blizzard, and owned DeRose Food Brokers Ltd, he was also the ex-owner of the Buffalo Braves NBA franchise. Another limited partner was John Bellanti, previously the owner of the Buffalo Stallions MISL franchise, who had made his money in the oil and lube business. He was also named as the team’s President. The ownership group was named the Greater Buffalo Soccer Inc.

Ex-professional player Jim May was named as the franchise’s General Manager and Vice-President .May had played in goal with the Buffalo Stallions in the MISL (Major Indoor Soccer League), and owned the Sportsplex indoor soccer facility in North Tonawanda. Chris Schoepflin was named Community Director.

Their first home arena was the Buffalo Memorial Auditorium between 1992 and 1996, which had a capacity of 16,433. The Blizzard shared the arena with the Buffalo Bandits of the National Lacrosse League, and the Buffalo Stampede of the In-Line Roller Hockey League. The arena was owned by the City of Buffalo. The ownership hoped to get an average 8,500 fans to attend per game. The rent for the Auditorium was set at $65,000 per season.

The first Head Coach of the franchise was Englishman Trevor Dawkins, who had been coach of the Cleveland Crunch the previous season. Dawkins wanted a competitive team right from the start, saying that there were enough decent players available. Scotsman David Hoggan was signed from the Cleveland Crunch in a dual role as player and Assistant Coach.

The Blizzards inaugural season was in 1992-1993. This was a golden year for the NPSL as with main competitor the MSL folding, the teams were not in a costly salary war and had all the best players available. The Blizzard were placed in the 7 team American Division, lining up against the Baltimore Spirit, Canton Invaders, Cleveland Crunch, Dayton Dynamo, Detroit Rockers, and the Harrisburg Heat. WMBX-AM covered all 40 Blizzard games on the radio, Clip Smith did play-by-play, and Sean McCrossan did analysis.

Their inaugural roster featured defender Ralph Black, English forward Paul Dougherty, Kris Kelderman, and Buffalo brothers and indoor soccer legends, Randy and Rudy Pikuzinski. Randy was signed in a trade with the Chicago Power that took Chuck Codd, Russ Prince, and Ko Thandabouth to the Power. Other notable names included goalkeeper Jamie Swanner, who had been part of the hugely successful Canton Invaders team in the AISA/NPSL.

The first game for the Buffalo Blizzard was a stunning 15-7 victory over the Denver Thunder in front of 10,953 fans. Rudy Pikuzinski scored 5 goals on his debut.
The Blizzard were strong offensively through the season, but struggled in defence.
After the regular season the Blizzard placed 3rd in the American Division and qualified for the playoffs. They won 23 and lost 17 of their 40 games, scoring 570 goals and conceding 503. In the playoff quarter-finals the Blizzard were paired against the Cleveland Crunch. Despite winning the first game of the best-of-three series 20-13, they lost the final two 12-6 and 13-6 and were eliminated.
The teams leading player was Rudy Pikuzinski who scored the most goals (67), registered the most assists (36) and scored the most points 165. This left him finishing 4th in the leading NPSL points scorer list. He also made the NPSL All-Star team.

Their average attendance for the season was 7,068.

For the 1993-1994 season the Blizzard were again in the American Division, this time without the Detroit Rockers who had been moved to the National Division. The NPSL signed a deal for some games to be aired nationally on ESPN. Peter K. O’Connell was named as Assistant General Manager to Jim May.

New faces on the roster included Argentinian Ernie Buriano. Draft picks included Chris Majewski and Nino Galich.

The Blizzard opened the season on November 6th with a game against the Kansas City Attack. They won, with Dave Hoggan scoring a hat-trick in front of a record attendance for a home Blizzard game of 12,873.
They broke the attendance record during the season when 13,262 fans showed up to see them play the Dayton Dynamo.

After the 40 game regular season the Blizzard finished 3rd again in the division, and qualified for the playoffs. They won 19 goals and lost 21, scoring 499 and conceding 515. For the second year running they faced the Crunch in the 1st round of the playoffs. They lost the first game 24-16, won the second 16-12 before going down 13-8 in the decider.

Their average attendance for the season was 8,435.

After the season Trevor Dawkins was sacked as Head Coach on June 22nd 1994, along with his assistant David Hoggan. VP Jim May said that he felt the team had “taken a step backwards in the 1993-1994 season”, and that they had underachieved. Dawkins was replaced with 31 year old Peter Skouras. Skouras was a Greek-American and after the NASL folded had spent 5 years playing professionally in Greece with Olympiakos, Diagoras, and Volos (although in 5 years he only made around 15 appearances). Chris Schoepflin was promoted from Community Director to PR Director. Jim May vowed to make the team more aggressive and high scoring, as well as having a younger roster.

For the 1994-95 season the NPSL American Division line-up was unchanged.

The roster included defender Michael Collins, Gino DiFlorio, and Canadian goalkeeper Rob Marinaro, brother of indoor soccer superstar Hector Marinaro. To rival him for the goalkeeping position was Canadian national team player, Pat Harrington. Harrington was signed because the Blizzard had traded Jamie Swanner to the St. Louis Ambush for their goalkeeper Jeff Robben, cash, and a 3rd round draft pick. Robben failed to report for training so they signed Harrington who cobined olaying with being appointed an Assistant Coach (although Robben did end up playing 10 games for the Blizzard that season).

Coach Skouras was saying he now that the squad that take the team to the “next level”.

The Blizzard won their home opener on November 6th 20-14 against the Chicago Power in front of 7,678 fans. Paul Dougherty scored 4, and new signing DiFlorio 3. It seemed their new brand of attacking football was working. In their 3rd game however they were crushed 26-8 (their record defeat) against the St. Louis Ambush and new Head Coach Skouras was fired and replaced by General Manager and Vice-President, Jim May.
May’s first game was a hard fought 22-16 win against the Detroit Rockers in front of 8,475 fans.

In December the Blizzard scored a coup by signing current U.S. international outdoor goalkeeper Tony Meola. He had failed in a tryout with the New York Jets and was looking for a club. In Meola’s debut away at the Dayton Dynamo he looked shaky s the Blizzard lost 13-11, but looked far better in his home debut against the Detroit Rockers. Attendance for his debut was up to 9,283, the biggest so far that season. Also in December the Blizzard signed forward Andy Crawford from the Detroit Rockers, and Gino DiFlorio received a season ending injury when he tore his right Achilles tendon in a game against the Canton Invaders.

In January Meola announced that he had taken a lead role in the off Broadway play “Tony and Tina’s Wedding”, and left the squad on February 17th after 5 more games. One of these games was the record 23-0 win over the Dayton Dynamo. The Blizzard also played one of their regular season games in Massachusetts at the Centrum. The match was seen as a way of the NPSL seeing how soccer fans would respond to NPSL football in the area, perhaps paving the way for a new franchise. When the Blizzard were making their push for the playoffs they signed Nigerian-born U.S. international striker Jean Harbor.

After the 40 game regular season the Blizzard barely made the playoffs, finishing 4th in their division. They won and lost 20 games, scoring 579 goals and conceding 552. For the 3rd year running they faced the Cleveland Crunch in the 1st round of the playoffs, and for the 3rd year running the Crunch eliminated them. The Crunch won the first game 22-10, lost the 2nd 21-19 in overtime, before winning the deciding game 19-15.

English forward Paul Dougherty was the Blizzards highest scorer with 81 goals, 31 assists, for a total of 171 points. He ranked 6th in the NPSL in scoring that season.
Ernie Buriano retired at the end of the season. The Blizzard began looking for a new Head Coach to replace Jim May, who would be kept on as General Manager and Vice-President. Team President John Bellanti said that they were looking for a “top-flight coach”.

Their average attendance for the season was 7,283.

The American Division for the 1995-1996 season was slightly re-jigged. Along with the regular Baltimore Spirit, Canton Invaders, Cleveland Crunch, and Harrisburg Heat, came the expansion Tampa Bay Terror, and the Cincinnati Silverbacks who had moved from Dayton.

Their search for a new Head Coach had not paid off, so Jim May was left in charge for the 1995-1996 season. Peter O’Connell left his position of Assistant General Manager to set up his own business. In the expansion draft the Blizzard lost Mike Britton to the Tampa Bay Terror, who in turn traded him to the Wichita Wings. Goalkeeper John Howard was signed from the Milwaukee Wave in return for cash and a 1st round draft pick. Veteran Argentine defender Oscar Pisano was signed from the Las Vegas DustDevils, having previously played for the Buffalo Stallions.

During the season Mike Gosselin joined from the Cincinnati Silverbacks in a trade for Matt Kmosko. Todd Pettigrew was signed from the Canton Invaders for a 3rd round draft pick. The Blizzard featured in their highest ever scoring contest in December, when they beat the Cleveland Crunch 28-21 in front of 5,588 fans. Also in December Rudy Pikuzinski was suspended by the Blizzard for 3 games for “conduct detrimental to the team”. The Blizzard lost these three games. Goalkeeper Rob Marinaro was sold to the Harrisburg Heat for cash, as he had slipped to 3rd choice behind Pat Harrington and John Howard.

A mid-season audit showed the Blizzard owed the Memorial Auditorium $61,000 in 3 seasons worth of ticket surcharges. The Blizzard broke their attendance record when 13,354 fans came to watch them play the Harrisburg Heat on a School Kids Day promotion. On March 26th, President John Bellanti confirmed he was in negotiations to purchase the team. Also in March the Blizzard acquired 2 players from the Canton invaders, English defender Denzil Antonio, and Argentinian forward Marcelo Carrera for cash and future considerations.

The Blizzard won 21 and lost 19 of their 40 regular season games, scoring 562 goals and conceding 586. They again qualified for the playoffs and were again facing their nemesis, the Cleveland Crunch, in the 1st round of playoffs. Consistently, they went out after 3 games, losing 25-15 in the first game, winning the 2nd to keep them in it 20-17, before winning the decider 17-11.

The Blizzard’s leading goal scorer was the again the Englishman Paul Dougherty with 50 goals. Argentine Marcelo Carrera was the leading points scorer with the team, making 43 assists and scoring 125 points. Andy Crawford set a team record by scoring in 26 consecutive games. Defender Rudy Doliscat and Canadian midfielder Mauro Biello were named on the NPSL All-Rookie team.

After the season finished Paul Dougherty left the Blizzard and the NPSL to move to the CISL (Continental Indoor Soccer League) with the Houston Hotshots. The CISL was a summer league. He had played 149 games and scored 221 goals.

Their average attendance for the season was 6,364.

In the off-season co-owner Seymour Knox III died in Boston from cancer. The Blizzard persuaded the City of Buffalo to lower their rent at the Memorial Auditorium by $15,000 per season after arguing that the team was losing money and the rent was too high. Rent was now set at $50,000 per season.

For the 1996-1997 season the NPSL was split into two conferences with two divisions in each. The Blizzard were placed in the North Division of the National Conference, alongside the Detroit Rockers, Edmonton Drillers, and the Toronto Shooting Stars. The Shooting Stars were an expansion franchise and the Drillers had just moved from being the Chicago Power.

The ownership changed before the season, with President and co-owner John Bellanti leading an ownership group (Blizzard Inc.) who bought the franchise from the Knox Brothers and the Rich family. Bellanti was the owner and CEO of Battenfield Grease & Oil.

Jeff Eisenberg was named as the team’s new President, having moved from being the Vice President for Sales at the Buffalo Sabres.

Jim May was replaced as Head Coach by Gary Hindley, and May returned to his previous positions of General Manager and Vice-President. New owner Bellanti put the pressure on Hindley saying that the 1996-1997 season was not a rebuilding one, and that he wanted to “win, win now, and win big”. Hindley signed a two-year contract with an option for a 3rd.

The Blizzard changed their home arena for this season, moving to the HSBC Arena after the closure of the Buffalo Memorial Auditorium, where they would play until they folded in 2001. The Arena’s capacity was 18,690 and the Blizzard shared it with the Buffalo Sabres of the NHL, the Bandits of the National Lacrosse League, the Buffalo Destroyers of the Arena Football League, and the Buffalo Wings of the Roller Hockey League. The Arena was owned by the City of Buffalo and Erie County, New Jersey.

A key signing for the Blizzard was striker Doug Miller, who would alternate between the Blizzard indoors and the Rochester Rhinos outdoor. He would go on to play 165 games and score 208 goals.

The Blizzard started poorly, losing their first 4 games for the first time in the team’s history (although they were 4 away games. The played without much visible spirit, enthusiasm, or skill and even lost 20-5 against the expansion Toronto Shooting Stars franchise. The Rockers broke their all-time attendance record again, with 13,903 fans turning up to see them beat the Detroit Rockers 16-11 in their home opener. They won their next 3 games before going down to the St. Louis Ambush at home in front of 6,016 fans. The teams had brilliant home form, but were woeful away from the Marine Midland Arena.

During the season the Blizzard signed English veteran striker Steve Kinsey, initially on a series of 15 day contracts, before signing for the whole season. Argentinian striker and indoor veteran Carlos Salguero was brought in as Assistant Coach, and played in one game for the team. He was also to be the Director of the summer soccer camps for the Blizzard.

Gary Hindley was sacked in March and replaced until the end of the season by General Manager and Vice-President, Jim May. Hindley had a 16-16 record in his time as Head Coach, and had not fulfilled owner John Bellanti’s charge to win immediately and big. May’s first game in charge was a record breaking 37-5 win over the Columbus Invaders in front of 8,748 fans.

The Blizzard finished their 40 league season topping their division for the first time ever, this putting them straight into the National Conference semi-finals. They won 21 of their regular season games, conceding 19, scoring 545 games and conceding 469. For the first time in the playoffs they weren’t paired against the Kansas City Attack. They lost in straight games against the Attack 18-12 and 13-11.

The Blizzard’s leading goal scorer was Doug Miller with 53 goals and the most overall points, 114 (13th in the NPSL). Gino DiFlorio registered the most assists with 33. Canadian goalkeeper Pat Harrington led the lead in goalkeeping stats, conceding an average of only 9.76 goals per game.

Their average attendance for the season was 7,974. Their lowest attendance was the 4,346 fans who turned up to watch the playoff decider against the Kansas City Attack. This was the 3rd lowest attendance in the Buffalo Blizzard’s history.

After the season Argentine Carlos Salguero was appointed Head Coach on a permanent basis and retired from playing. Rudy Pikuzinski was named to a dual player/Assistant Coach role. They said that their first job was to find the team more goal scorers. In the front office, Kimberly Venti was named Director of Communications, and Claudio Ferrara Director of Administration.

The Blizzard signed a deal with radio station WNUC to broadcast all of their home games in the 1997-1998 season. Mike Schopp was named as the play-by-play announcer.

For the 1997-1998 season the line-up of the North Division changed, with the Montreal Impact replacing the Toronto Shooting Stars.

Newcomers on the roster included goalkeeper Bill Andracki, forward Jimmy Glenn, and indoor veteran Nassim Olabi.

For the new season the Empire Sports Network announced it would televise the Blizzard’s home debut opener against the Montreal Impact.

They signed defender Thor Lee on a seasons loan from the Anaheim Splash of the CISL.

Like the season before the Blizzard were unbeatable at home, but suffered the worst opening away run in the team’s history, winning 1 and losing 6 of their opening 7 away games. The Blizzard broke their all-time attendance record again when a mammoth 15,644 fans turned up to see the play the Philadelphia Kixx. The match was spoilt when they lost 13-11.

After the 40 game regular season the Blizzard topped the North Division for the 2nd season running, winning 21 games and losing 19. They scored 495 goals and conceded 504, and went straight into the National Conference semi-finals in the playoffs. Yet again they fell at the first hurdle, this time to the Wichita Wings, losing in straight games 19-16 and 15-14.

The Blizzards leading player was Rudy Pikuzinski who scored 53 goals, made 38 assists and scored a total of 139 points, placing him joint 7th in the NPSL that season.

Their average attendance for the season was 7,834.

Carlos Salguero was sacked after the season over a disagreement over whether he would appear at the Buffalo Blizzard’s summer camps. Jeff Eisenberg resigned as President to concentrate on other things. Jim May gave up his role of General Manager to Michael Ferguson, who was also named Vice-President. Ferguson had previously been GM of the minor league Jamestown Jammers baseball team. May became Vice-President of Soccer Operations.

The North Division for the 1998-1999 season consisted of the Blizzard, the Detroit Rockers, and the Edmonton Drillers.

At the start of September Carlos Salguero’s successor was named, ex-head coach of the Cincinnati Silverbacks, George Fernandez. In the press conference Fernandez said that he had joined because of the “job security”, regardless of the fact that the Blizzard had got through 4 head coaches in 5 seasons. He signed a 3-year deal with the Blizzard. Before the Silverbacks, Fernandez had coached the Anaheim Splash in the CISL.

The Blizzard also signed a substantial one-year shirt sponsorship deal with the food promotion company the RMI Group. Shirt sponsorship deals were quite uncommon in American sports.

Rudy Pikuzinski, who was rumoured to be retiring, signed a new 2-year deal. In some roster changes Canadian Marco Rizi did retire, and Evan Whitson opted to sit out the season for personal reasons. In came defender Ricky Rodriguez, who had played for Fernandez at the Splash. Forward Bernie Lilavois was signed from the defunct Silverbacks, and in came midfielder Danny Barber.

In their first home game of the season the Blizzard beat the St. Louis Ambush 21-14.
During the season defender Michael DiNunzio came out of retirement to sign a series of 15 day contracts. Forward Bernie Lilavois was traded to the Harrisburg Heat for Jim Hesch and Byron Mitchell.

The Blizzard finished the 1998-1999 season 2nd out of three teams in the North Division, winning 22 games and losing 18. They scored 573 goals and conceded 560. This put them into National Conference semi-finals in the playoffs, where they were paired against the St. Louis Ambush. They went out again at the first hurdle, winning the first game 16-13, but losing the next two games 12-10 and 12-11.
Doug Miller was the team’s leading player, scoring 92 goals (highest in the NPSL that season), making 23 assists and scoring 194 points, placing him 2nd in the NPSL for that season. Miller made the 6-man NPSL All-Star team.

Their average attendance for the season was 7,068.

For the 1999-2000 season the Blizzard moved into the American Conference, and were placed in the Central Division, lining up against the Cleveland Crunch and the Montreal Impact.

Doug Miller, after his showing the previous season, was rewarded with a new 4-year contract.

The Blizzard’s home opener was against the Montreal Impact in front of 10,412 fans. The season started abysmally for the Blizzard losing 6 out of 7 games at one point. Early defeats were caused by injuries with the Blizzard only having 11 fit players, but the results didn’t improve when the players came back. Team legend Rudy Pikuzinski was released and promptly retired. He said that Fernandez sacked him because his negative attitude was affecting the other players. The Blizzard acquired forward Brad Smith from the Baltimore Blast for future considerations.

At the end of February, George Fernandez was sacked, and replaced by Englishman Paul Kitson for the final 12 games of the regular season.

They finished bottom of the 3 game division, and failed to qualify for the playoffs for the first time in their history. In their 44 game season they won 19 games and lost 25, scoring 495 goals and conceding 617.

Their average attendance for the season was 6,587.

Although he failed to get them into the playoffs, John Bellanti was very happy with Paul Kitson during his 12 game spell and said he would be in charge for the next season. Kitson won 5 and lost 7 of his games in charge.

Mike Ferguson resigned his dual role as General Manager and President to concentrate on other interests. The Blizzard signed two new players, Dewan Bader and Travis Roy.
The last season of the franchise 2000-2001, was played in a re-formulated NPSL. The NPSL was split into two Conferences, with no Divisions. The Blizzard were in the 5 team American Conference, lining up against the Baltimore Blast, Cleveland Crunch, Harrisburg Heat, and the Philadelphia Kixx.

Ex-player Ernie Buriano was named as Assistant Coach, and Mike Ferguson took up a GM/Vice-President of Business Operations role with the Wichita Wings.
The first half of the season was terrible for the Blizzard, winning 7 and losing 13 of their 20 games. However, in the second half of the season they turned it around with a 15-5 record to reach the playoffs.

The Blizzard won 22 and lost 18 in their 40 game regular season, placing them 2nd in the Conference and sent them into the playoffs. They scored 513 goals and conceded 464. Matching their previous years playoff record they went out in the Conference semi-finals to the Baltimore Blast 9-8 and 18-13.

The Blizzard’s leading player was Doug Miller – he scored 47 goals, made 27 assists, and scored 118 points.

Their average attendance for the season was an all-time low for the franchise, 4,635.
After this season the NPSL collapsed, with the league claiming it was no longer financially viable. Six of the strongest franchises formed the new MISL, but the Blizzard folded when owner John Bellanti declined to apply to join the new league.
Randy Pikuzinski who had played in every season for the Blizzard was signed in the dispersal draft by the Harrisburg Heat, but opted to retire instead.

In total the Blizzard played 364 regular season games, winning 188 and losing 176, scoring 4,688 goals, and conceding 4,720. In the playoffs they played 21 games, winning 5 and losing 16. They scored 275 goals and conceded 349. They never made it past of their first playoff series in any season. The Blizzard were known as the “.500” club referring to their middling record in every season, roughly equalling games won and lost.

The Blizzard’s all time leading appearance maker was Randy Pikuzinski with 352 games. Leading goal scorer was his brother Rudy, who scored 317 times over 8 seasons.

Their total regular season attendance over 9 seasons was 63,238, making for an all-time average of 7,028 fans per game. The highest individual season average was 8,435 in 1994-1994, and the lowest was 4,635 in their final season, 2000-2001. Their record attendance for a single game was the 15,644 who saw them play the Philadelphia Kixx in the 1997-98 season.

Buffalo Storm

The Buffalo Storm were a professional soccer team who competed for only one season in the United Soccer League (USL).

For the 1984 Buffalo Storm campaign they were placed in the Northern Division along with the New York Nationals and the Rochester Flash. Francisco Escos was named Head Coach.

The 1984 roster included:
Goalkeepers – Peter Grillo, Otto Orf, Wieslaw Surlit
Defenders – Mike Corney, Dennis Mepham, Oscar Pisano, Chuck Schumpf
Midfielders – Ernie Buriano, Mike Garrett, Neils Gulbjerg, Pat Occhiuto, Mark Sansona, Karl Tausch
Forwards – Herve Guilliod, Randy Pikuzinski, Rudy Pikuzinski, Carlos Salguero
Most of the players played indoors with the MISL (Major indoor Soccer League) Buffalo Stallions.

After the regular season they topped the standings, with 11 wins and 13 loses from 24 games. They scored 48 goals and conceded 41. Topping the league put them straight into the USL semi-finals where they met the Fort Lauderdale Sun. They lost their first two matches 3-0 and 5-1, thus eliminating them.

Carlos Salguero was their highest goal scorer with 11 goals.

After this season they folded.

Boston Minutemen

The Boston Minutemen were a professional soccer team who competed in the North American Soccer League (NASL) for 3 seasons between 1974 and 1976.

The Minutemen were owned by businessman John Sterge, who also named himself President. Stereg was a Boston based oil-stock dealer. Casey Frankiewicz was named as Assistant General Manager.

The Minutemen began play at the 30,000 capacity Alumni Stadium in 1974. This stadium was on the campus of Boston University in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts.
German Hubert Vogelsinger was named as Head Coach. He had previously been Head Coach at Yale University.

For their debut season they paid a $75,000 franchise fee to join the league, and were placed in the Northern Division of the NASL, lining up against the New York Cosmos, Rochester Lancers, and Toronto Metros.

There were few big names on the 1974 Minutemen roster. The biggest was West Ham striker Ade Coker on loan, and although they did sign English striker Tony Hateley he only featured on a 3 game trial basis and was not kept on. The Minutemen also signed English winger Graham French. French had been a highly rated player during 5 seasons with Luton Town, but in 1970 was implicated in a shooting at a London pub. He served a 3-year sentence, and when released was unable to re-capture his form with Luton, so moved to the U.S.

After the 20 game regular season the Minutemen topped their division and qualified for the playoffs. They won 10 games, tied 1 and lost 9, scoring 36 goals and conceding 23. In the playoffs they defeated the Baltimore Comets in the quarter finals 1-0, before losing 2-0 to the Los Angeles Aztecs in the semis.

The teams leading goal scorer was Nigerian forward Ade Coker with 7. English midfielder John Coyne registered most assists with 7, and finished as the sides leading points scorer with 21. Graham French played only 3 games before returning to the UK and drifting out of the game.
The team’s average attendance was a very healthy 9,642, 5th highest in the NASL that year.

For the 1975 season the Northern Division featured one extra team, the expansion Hartford Bicentennials.

For the 1975 season the team moved stadium to Nickerson Field, which was still on the campus of Boston University. The stadium had a capacity of 10,412, substantially less than the Alumni.

German midfielder Wolfgang Suhnholz was signed to the playing roster, and also served as Vogelsinger’s Assistant Coach for the 1975 season.
Signing for the Minutemen was the Portuguese legend Antonio Simoes who had played over 600 games for Benfica, and 46 games for Portugal. Also signed were Danish defender Henning Boel and English forward Geoff Davies. Nigerian striker Ade Coker was signed permanently from West Ham United, and goalkeeper Shep Messing was signed from the New York Cosmos after he had appeared in a nude photo shoot for ‘Viva!’ magazine.

Portuguese superstar Eusebio was signed midway through the season. The ‘Black Pearl’ had been playing in the second-tier American Soccer league (ASL) with the Rhode Island Oceaneers.

During the season Portuguese superstar Eusebio was signed. The ‘Black Pearl’ had been playing in the second-tier American Soccer league (ASL) with the Rhode Island Oceaneers. His signing was criticised by Tampa Bay Rowdies Head Coach Eddie Firmani, because he thought they had blown all their budget on one star signing. He also thought that the signing of too many foreign stars would destabilize the league.
For Eusebio’s debut, the Minutemen were playing host to the New York Cosmos, who had Pele in their ranks. The game was won 2-1 by the Minutemen but ended up being replayed after a protest by the Cosmos after a pitch invasion took place during the game after Pele had scored (though it was later disallowed). According to Minutemen goalkeeper around 1,000 fans took to the field to mob Pele, tearing off his shirt and boot. Pele was substituted as he had sustained a bruise behind the right knee and a sprained ankle in the melee. He was carried from the field by his bodyguards and hidden in a university athletics building until the game had finished. The Minutemen claimed they had sold 14,500 tickets for the game, enough for a capacity crowd, but their were allegedly thousands more in the stadium (18,000 by one estimate).The Cosmos claimed that the Minutemen had failed to provide sufficient security for the players and won their appeal, and the replay 5-0.

After a 22 game regular season the Minutemen finished top of their division for the 2nd year running, qualifying for the playoffs. Their record was 13 wins and 9 losses, scoring 41 goals and conceding 29. In the playoffs they went out in the quarterfinals to the Miami Toros 2-1 in overtime.

The Minutemen’s leading goal scorer was again Nigerian striker Ade Coker with 10, and he also finished as leading points scorer with 26. Portuguese midfielder Antonio Simoes led the team with 9 assists, and made the NASL All-Star team. Eusebio scored 2 goals in 7 appearances.

Their average attendance dropped to 4,422, barely half of their previous season’s total. This was all the more surprising giving it was another successful season and the roster was now stocked with some major European stars.

For the 1976 season the Minutemen were again in a slightly re-jigged Northern Division (this time part of the Atlantic Conference). The league’s line up was nearly the same, only with the Chicago sting replacing the New York Cosmos who were moved to another division. The Minutemen were widely tipped to win their division.

The Minutemen were due to relocate to the 57,166 capacity Harvard Stadium, however the deal fell through 3 days before the season started as the Minutemen could not provide the required deposit. The Minutemen had to postpone their first 2 home games of the season. This was the first indication that the franchise was in financial trouble. The Minutemen signed a deal to play the majority of their home games at the Veterans Memorial Stadium in Quincy, but they would have to wait until the field was re-turfed . Whilst they were waiting for this, their first game would take place at Sargent Field in New Bedford against the Philadelphia Fury. The second fixture against the Cosmos would be played at the 61,279 capacity Schaefer Stadium in Foxboro. The Cosmos game attracted only 7,367 fans for what would be Giorgio Chinaglia’s first game for the Cosmos. The Minutemen then returned for one more game at Sargent Field against the Washington Diplomats. The Veterans Memorial Stadium was not totally suitable either as it had no floodlights, meaning that games kicked off at 5 P.M. Despite this, and Quincy being a 20 minute drive out of Boston, admission prices were hiked from $3 to $5.

During the season owner John Sterge announced that he was going broke and threatened to fold the team mid-season unless he was able to sell the club. The financial losses were blamed on poor attendances. This led to a fire-sale by the club, Shep Messing went back to the Cosmos, Simoes went to the San Jose Earthquakes, Suhnholz to the Vancouver Whitecaps, Coker to the Minnesota Kicks, Geoff Davies to the Chicago Sting, and English defender Derek Jefferson to the Washington Diplomats. American player Gene Geimer left to join the Chicago Sting after 10 games.

Michael Bosson was named as new General Manager of the team but quit a week later.
After he had sure that all the players were looked after, Vogelsinger quit himself on July 8th leaving the Minutemen with a 7-8 record, saying soccer in Boston was good, but a “lousy operation, and a lousy franchise were to blame”. John Bertos was named as Head Coach and General Manager for the rest of the season.

The team hired semi-professional players to complete the season. Attendances plummeted, including 3-digit crowds of 531, 986, and 583. They lost their final 12 games of the season.

After their 24 game regular season, the Minutemen placed dead last of the Northern Division, winning 7 and losing 17 games. They scored 35 goals and conceded a NASL low of 64 for the season. The team’s leading scorer in goals, assists and points was St. Kitts forward was Bert Bowery with 11 goals, 8 assists, and 30 points. The average attendance for the 1976 season was 2,581, which was the lowest in the NASL that season.

After the troubled 1976 season the team folded. John Sterge ended up being investigated by the Securities & Exchange Commission for diverting investor’s money on the stock exchange into the Minutemen. He consented to the entry or a permanent injunction against himself.

Just after the season finished Ice Hockey stars Phil Esposito and Bobby Orr expressed an interest in buying the Minutemen, however nothing came of this.

In total they played 66 regular season games, winning 27, losing 35, and drawing 1. They scored 112 goals and conceded 116. Their playoff record was 3 games played, winning one and losing two, scoring 2 and conceding 4.

The Minutemen’s leading appearance maker was English defender Alan Wooler with 66. Their leading goal scorer was Nigerian striker Ade Coker with 22. Coker shared the record of most assists (11) with Portuguese midfielder Antonio Simoes.

The team’s all time attendance was 16,645, for an average of 5,548 per season. Their largest crowd was the 18,126 who attended to watch them play the New York Cosmos (and Pele) in 1975.

In 1977 the Boston area NASL franchise spot was bought by the Lipton Tea Company for $370001. In 1979 John Sterge was indicted by a grand jury for alleged securities and mail fraud in the sale of interests in Ohio and Tennessee oil and gas wells. In 1980 he was sentenced to two 30 months prison terms (to run concurrently) for these violations. He was also given a one-year suspended sentence for obtaining money under false pretences, which he had pleaded guilty to.

Boston Bolts

The Boston Bolts were a professional outdoor soccer team who competed for 3 seasons in the APSL between 1988 and 1990.

The team played their home games at Nickerson Field, a 10,412 capacity stadium owned by Boston University.

The team’s management for all 3 years included Alan Suvalle as General Manager and Cesidio “Sid” Mazzola as Head Coach and President. George Finn was the trainer. Each team had a $50,000 salary cap for the season. Teams were allowed an 18 man active roster.

The Bolts inaugural 1988 season in the American Soccer League (ASL) saw them placed in the Northern Division alongside the Albany Capitals, Maryland Bays, New Jersey Eagles, and the Washington Stars.

The 1988 roster was made up of largely ex-college students and part-time.
The franchise’s first game was a 3-1 away loss against the Maryland Bays on April 17th. Their home opener attracted more than 4,000 fans, giving them hope for the franchise. The team’s starting goalkeeper Jeff Duback hardly featured during the season as he had national team commitments. The Bolts were strong defensively but were weak in offence. Forward Andy Bing lived for a while in GM Alan Suvalle’s basement before moving into a flat in Malden mid-season with 3 Bolts teammates. Bing earned $110 per game, and offset this by working at Living to Learn, an educational company. The team trained on average 3 times a week.

After the 20 game regular season the Bolts placed 4th in their 5 team division missing the playoffs. They played 20 games, winning 9 and losing 11 for 27 points. They scored 31 goals and conceded 33. Three players tied as leading goal scorer with 5, Andy Bing, Mike Sweeney, and Kurt Manal. Bing registered the most assists with 4 and was the Bolts highest individual points scorer with 14. This placed him joint 6th in the ASL. The Bolts only placed one player on the ASL All-Star team, defender Ross Irwin.
The team’s average attendance was 2,612.

For the 1989 season the ASL Northern Division had an unchanged line-up. The rosters salary cap was upped to $75,000 per team.

Jeff Duback left having only played 7 games the previous season.

The Bolts made the playoffs finishing 2nd in the division behind the Washington Stars, although tied d on points. Their regular season record was 13 wins (5 wins on penalties) and 7 losses (3 losses on penalties) from 20 games for a total of 37 Points. The Bolts scored 27 goals and conceded 19. In the Playoff semi-finals the Bolts caused an upset by defeating the Tampa Bay Rowdies 2-0 and 2-1 to qualify for the ASL Grand Final against the Fort Lauderdale Strikers. They lost the first game 1-0 but won the second at home 2-0 in front of 5,370 fans. As away goals didn’t count and it went to a mini-game where they lost 1-0.

3 players were tied as leading scorer with 4 goals, Dan Donigan, Paul Duffy, and Patrick Hughes. Donigan registered the most assists with 7 for a team high 15 points, leaving him joint 8th in the ASL. Despite a successful season they again only placed one player on the ASL All-Star team, Nigerian defender Dehinde Akinlotan.
In 1990 the ASL merged with the Western Soccer League (WSL) to form the American Professional Soccer League), the first national league since the North American Soccer League (NASL) folded in 1984.

The Bolts played in the Eastern ASL Conference, in the North Division with the same teams as in the last ASL season, with the addition of the Penn-Jersey Spirit. The teams played the other teams in their division and then met the top teams from the Western Division in the playoffs.

General Manager Alan Suvalle and Head Coach Sid Mazzola purchased the team before the 1990 season. They had to post a new $10,000 dollar expansion fee to the league as all new owners had to, and meet with league President Chuck Blazer. The teams offices were moved to Wellesley, and Mazzola’s wife Diane was appointed Ticket Manager. The Bolts had a TV deal with Sports Channel-New England.

Big signings for the Bolts were USA international defenders Brian Bliss and Janusz Michallik. Bliss however missed a lot of the season as he was playing for the U.S. in the World Cup finals in Italy. Ex-goal keeper Jeff Duback returned from the San Diego Nomads, as he was now out of contention for the USA national team.

In a friendly game during the season the Bolts lost 2-0 to the touring Dynamo Moscow. The match however could only attract 786 games.

After the 20 game season the Bolts finished 3rd in their 6 game division failing to qualify for the post-season. They won 9 games and lost 11 for 28 points. They scored and conceded 27 goals.

Their top player was Mike Sweeney who scored 8 goals and registered 3 assists for 19 points (10th in the APSL).

After the 1990 season the Boston Bolts folded. In total they played 60 regular season games, winning 31 and losing 29. They totalled 92 points scoring 85 goals and conceding 79.

Baltimore Spirit (1992 - 1998)

The Baltimore Spirit were a professional indoor soccer team who played in the


National Professional Soccer League (NPSL) from 1992 until 1998. From 1980 until 1992 the Baltimore Blast had played in the rival Major Indoor Soccer League (MISL) until the league folded in 1992.

The Spirit were owned and founded by J.W, “Wild Bill” Stealey, a North Carolina based software executive and owner of MicroProse, in July 1992. He had been approached by ex-Blast Head Coach Kenny Cooper, about trying to keep indoor soccer in Baltimore. Stealey’s family had been season ticket holder for the Baltimore Blast for 5 years, and sponsored one of their visits to the UK. Prior to founding MicroProse he had been a fighter pilot, and had also bailed out the English computer company Spectrum.

Their home arena was the 11,286 capacity Baltimore Arena, which was owned by the City of Baltimore. They shared the arena with the Baltimore Skipjacks and Baltimore Bandits of the AHL, and the Thunder of the lacrosse league.

Ex-Baltimore Blast General Manager Drew Forrester was named as Vice-President for the Spirit. Dav Johnson was hired as the “voice” of the Spirit. WWLG agreed to cover the Spirit games on radio, with Nestor Aparicio being the main analyst.

Englishman Kenny Cooper was named as Head Coach of the franchise, having been Head Coach of the Baltimore Blast for the previous 12 seasons in the MISL. He was also named as President and General Manager. Yugoslav born defender Mike Stankovic, who had came from the defunct Blast was named as assistant coach, combining this with playing for the Spirit.

The inaugural roster featured a number of players who had played for the Blast the previous season. These players included Rusty Troy, goalkeeper Cris Vaccaro, Doug Neely, and forward Joe Koziol. Local players Jason Dieter and Barry Stitz were signed to the roster, Dieter being given the no. 19 shirt that the Spirit (and the Blast before them) had reserved for a local player. Ex-Blast player Tim Wittman was also signed. English forward Michael King was also signed a 1-year contract, a player Cooper had tried to sign on numerous occasions for the Baltimore Blast.

The Spirit signed a deal with HTS for them to televise 8 Spirit games throughout the first season.

For their inaugural 1992-1993 season the Spirit were placed in the 7 team American Division. Their divisional rivals were the Buffalo Blizzard, Canton Invaders, Cleveland Crunch, Dayton Dynamo, Detroit Rockers, and the Harrisburg Heat.
The franchise’s first game was away at the Milwaukee Wave on the 6th November, winning 13-11 in overtime. Their first home game was the day after against the Chicago Power, and they won that as well 19-12. During the season the Spirit bought Joey Murtaugh from the Denver Thunder.

The matches against the Harrisburg Heat quickly became the main rivalry. In nearly every game against them there were numerous brawls and ejections from play.
After the 40 game regular season the Spirit topped their division and qualified for the playoffs. The Spirit won 27 games and lost 13, scoring 582 goals and conceding 488. They faced the Cleveland Crunch in the quarterfinals, where they were beaten and eliminated over 2 games, losing 16-3 and 22-9.

Yugoslav forward Goran Hunjak was the Spirit’s leading player, scoring 53 goals, and assisting on 46 for a total of 141 points. Cris Vaccaro was named the NPSL’s ‘Goalkeeper of the Year’ and named on the All-Star team.

Stealey said he had lost around $500,000 in the first season.

In the 1993 off-season the NPSL signed a TV deal with ESPN, giving national exposure to the league. The American Division lost the Detroit Rockers to the National Division, but otherwise remained unchanged.

Owner Bill Stealey sold his software company MicroProse, but stated that this would have no bearing on the Spirit.

Incoming on roster was forward Dan O’Keefe, the AISA/NPSL all-time leading goal scorer. He was traded from the St. Louis Ambush for defender Steve Boardman and two draft picks. Michael King left for the Milwaukee Wave for future considerations. English forward Paul Wright was signed on loan from the outdoor team, the Los Angeles Salsa. In the NPSL draft the Spirit signed goalkeeper Shawn Boemcke, forward Rob Ukrop, and Tarik Walker.

During the 1993-1994 season the Spirit lost forward Ukrop for a month with a broken jaw, having been elbowed in the face by Harrisburg Heat defender Denis Hamlett. Ukrop’s jaw was broken in 5 places and required 3 hours to repair. After it would remain wired for 2 weeks and was on a liquid diet. Hamlett was suspended for a month, and the match continued the tradition of rough play and brawls between the Spirit and the Heat. After this various members of the Heat team received threatening letters from Spirit fans saying that they “might be in danger the next time they play in Baltimore”. The letters were forwarded on to the F.B.I.

After the 40 game regular season the Spirit again topped the division, winning 26 games and losing 14. They scored 594 goals and conceded a league low 533. In the Playoffs they again lost in the first round, losing 21-9 and 13-7 to the Harrisburg Heat.

English forward Paul Wright was the Spirit’s top player, scoring 62 goals, and making 43 assists for 146 points. Defender Tarik Walker was named the NPSL ‘Rookie of the Year’.

The 1994 off-season saw the Spirit again in an unchanged American Division. Kenny Cooper stepped down from all his roles within the Spirit organization. He was replaced as Head Coach by Dave MacWilliams on the 2nd August 1994. Assistant General Manager Drew Forrester was appointed to replace Cooper as GM. Their goalkeeper Cris Vaccaro took up a role as Assistant Coach, whilst continuing to play in nets.
During the off season around 30 NPSL players, including Clark Brisson, Eric Dade and Goran Hunjak, filed lawsuits against the NPSL claiming that the NPSL had violated anti-trust laws by preventing players from playing from playing professional soccer during the NPSL off-season. The players ended up withdrawing this claim.

The Spirit lost high scoring slav, Goran Hunjak, to the Washington Warthogs in the expansion draft. However they gained midfielder Kevin Sloan and goalkeeper Joe Mallia from the Dayton Dynamo in a trade for Clark Brisson and Robert Ukrop. The Spirit acquired midfielder Jon Parry from the Kansas City Attack in a trade for Eric Dade and future considerations. The Spirit also re-acquired Steve Boardman after a season away at the St. Louis Ambush on a one-year contract.

The opening game of the 1994-1995 season on the 29th October saw the Spirit play the Chicago Power at the Baltimore Arena. The Spirit won 21-10 in front of a record NPSL opening game attendance of 8,588. The Spirit bought Brad Smith from the Dayton Dynamo for cash. Steve Boardman didn’t last long back at the Spirit as he and Tarik Walker were traded to the Harrisburg Heat for English forward Franklin McIntosh. McIntosh was the NPSL all-time leading goal scorer. Defender Tim Wittman was suspended by the team indefinitely for “conduct detrimental to the team”. After a game against the Dayton Dynamo 30 players were investigated by the NPSL for a 30-man brawl. English midfielder Michael Brady was signed in February, and Chris Love waived to make room for him on the roster.

After another brawl against the Kansas City Attack, Lance Johnson, Jon Parry, and Brad Smith were banned for 1 game.

In the 1994-1995 season the Spirit finished 3rd in the 6 game league, winning 23 games and losing 17. They scored 615 goals and conceding 573 and qualified for the playoffs. In the 1st round of the playoffs they lost to the Cleveland Crunch over 3 games.

Kevin Sloan was the leading performer for the Spirit, scoring 73 goals and making 32 assists for a total of 165 points. This placed him joint 7th in points scoring that season in the NPSL.



In the 1995 off-season the Spirit lost 2 year veteran Omid Namazi to the Philadelphia KiXX in the expansion draft.

The 1995-1996 season saw the Spirit were again in the American Division. Divisional foes this season would be the Buffalo Blizzard, Canton Invaders, Cincinnati Silverbacks, Cleveland Crunch, Harrisburg Heat, and the Tampa Bay Terror.

During the season Franklin McIntosh was suspended indefinitely for violating team rules, although he was soon brought off the suspended list. He was then suspended again for unknown reasons for the last 2 games of the regular season.

On January 29th Head Coach Dave MacWilliams quit, and was replaced by assistant and player Mike Stankovic who combined playing with being Head Coach. During the season they also traded the midfielder John Garvey to the Tampa Bay Terror for Zak Ibsen. The team went of surge of form under Stankovic that took them into the playoffs.

After the 40 game season the Spirit placed 2nd in the 7 team American Division, qualifying them for the divisional semi-final. In their 40 regular season games they won 25 and lost 15, scoring 604 and conceding 492. They faced the Harrisburg Heat in the division semi, winning two games 16-11 and 7-6. The regular season divisional winner the Cleveland Crunch met them in the divisional final, and the Crunch ran out winners over 4 games of the best-of-5 series.

Kevin Sloan was the leading goal scorer in the regular season with 63 goals. English midfielder Franklin McIntosh was the NPSL leading assist make with 77, and finished as the Spirit’s leading points scorer with 177, placing him overall 3rd in the NPSL.

The NPSL was expanded for the 1996-1997 season, The Spirit were now placed in the East Division of the 2-division American Conference. Their divisional rivals were the Harrisburg Heat, Philadelphia KiXX (expansion), and the Tampa Bay Terror.

In the off-season Mike Garthagan was named as Public Relations Director. Canadian international forward Branko Segota was signed on a 2-year contract. Two Yugoslavs Sasa Zoric and Nesko Milanovic were signed.

After 4 games of the season the Spirit bought Bojan Vuckovic from the expansion Tampa Bay Terror. They also re-acquired ex-player Doug Neely. They also signed Jimmy Glenn from the Cincinnati Silverbacks for cash and a first-round draft pick. Nesko Milanovic left the team to return to Yugoslavia.

The team extended their lease on the arena by another 2 years. In a match against the Cleveland Crunch Coach Stankovic ordered his team to leave the field, which earned him a $3,000 fine and the Spirit a $10,000 fine from the NPSL. The league however also reprimanded referees Richard Heron and Tamas Lauer for misapplication of the rules. During the season Player/Head Coach Mike Stankovic was suspended for 3 games and goalkeeper Cris Vaccaro stepped up as interim coach to cover his absence.

The Spirit finished the East Division in 2nd place behind the Harrisburg Heat, qualifying them for the American Conference quarter-finals. In 40 games they won and lost 20, scoring 506 and conceding 494. In the Conference Quarter-finals the Spirit beat the Philadelphia KiXX 15-8 and 18-8. They were eliminated in the Conference Semi-finals, losing over 3 games to the Cleveland Crunch.

Yugoslav Bojan Vuckovic was the Spirit’s leading player, scoring 61 goals, making 33 assists, for a total of 150 points, tallying him 9th in the total points scorers.
The team’s average attendance of 4,929 was the lowest figure in indoor soccer history in Baltimore, and 11th of the 15 team NPSL.

For the final year of the franchise (1997-1998) before they were re-sold and became the 2nd incarnation of the Baltimore Blast, the Spirit were in a 3 team East Division after the Tampa Bay Terror decided to sit out the season.

In the off season A key signing was Moroccan goalkeeper Khalil Azmi. Azmi was an ex-international who had competed for Morocco in the 1994 World Cup finals. He replaced the long serving Cris Vaccaro who had retired after the 1996-1997 season. Vaccaro also vacated his position as Assistant Coach with the team. Midfielder Jason Dieter retired to take up a position of Assistant Manager Trainee at First Mariner Bank, a bank owned by ex-Baltimore Blast owner Ed Hale. Goalkeeper Joe Mallia was released.
Also signed were Dejan Belic, Denison Cabral, Gillermo Castaneda, Mirko Castillo, Nate Fairchild, Mike Mekelburg, Dave Reichardt, Renato Sampaio, Matt Tirschman, and Carlton Williams. The Spirit had tried for a more youthful roster.

According to an interview with the owner Bill Stealey, the Spirit had not turned a profit in any season since he purchased the club. He stated that after the first season the team had lost a couple of hundred thousand dollars every season. He announced a six-figure sponsorship deal with yoghurt company Danone. The sponsorship deal also involved the Spirit changing the colours of their logo and kit to Danone’s blue and gold colour. This deal was reputedly the biggest deal in NPSL history. This allowed them the funds to buy radio coverage on WCBM for all 40 Spirit games in the regular season. General Manager at WCBM was ex-Baltimore Blast player Nick Mangione.

During the season Dejan Belic was released and Wendell Regis and Derrick Marcano were signed.

The Spirit finished dead last of the 3 team East Division winning only 12 of their 40 games and losing 28. In the process they scored 487 goals and conceding 569. This meant that for the first time they failed to qualify for the playoffs.

Bojan Vuckovic was again their key player, scoring 60 goals and making 38 assists and 148 points. This placed him 6th in the NPSL scoring charts.

At the end of March the Spirit were purchased by Baltimore transportation magnate Ed Hale, who renamed them the Blast.

Over their entire 5 season history they played 240 regular season games, winning 133 and losing 107. In the process they scored 3,388 goals and conceded 3,149. They played 18 playoff games, winning 7 and losing 11. They scored 212 playoff goals and conceded 258.

Barry Stitz who played the whole 6 season with the Spirit finished up as leading appearance maker with 212 games. All-time leading goal scorer was Bojan Vuckovic with 118 goals, 2 ahead of Kevin Sloan.

Baltimore Comets

The Baltimore Comets were a professional soccer team who played in the North American Soccer League (NASL) for two seasons, 1974 and 1975. After the 1975 season the franchise was moved to San Diego to become the Jaws, it was then moved again in 1977 to become the Las Vegas Quicksilvers. In 1978 they moved back to San Diego to become the Sockers, who played until 1984, the final year of the NASL.

The Comets home field was the Memorial Stadium in Baltimore, which had a capacity of 47,855. The Comets share the stadium with the Baltimore Orioles baseball team, and the Baltimore Colts NFL franchise.

The Comets were awarded an NASL franchise in December 1973, and they paid their $75,000 expansion fee to the NASL. They were placed in the NASL’s Eastern Division, alongside the Miami Toros, Philadelphia Atoms, and the Washington Diplomats. The Diplomats were another expansion franchise that year.

The Comets were owner by Lou Foreaker and Jim McLaughlin, with Foreaker being named President and General Manager of the franchise.

Englishman Doug Millward was named as Head Coach of the franchise, a position he would hold for the 2-year existence of the team. He had also been in charge of Baltimore’s previous NASL franchise, the Baltimore Bays.

Millward built a team of mainly English imports, on loan and at the end of their careers and from the lower divisions of English professional soccer. Key members of the first roster were striker Peter Silvester, American goalkeeper Alan Mayer, Trinidadians midfielder Keith Aqui and Alvin Henderson, and Bermudan midfielder Stan Smith.

The Comets home debut was a 2-1 win over the Rochester Lancers, and they followed this up with a 3-2 win over the New York Cosmos in their first away game. Peter Silvester scored 2 goals in each game. During the season attendance was lagging and the front office was frequently described as being ‘in turmoil’. Lou Foreaker resigned as GM and President of the team on May 19th, 16 days into the season, after a difference of opinion with his co-owners over management of the team. Head coach Millward was named as interim manager and wanted the position full-time, as well as coaching. Al Collins, who was instrumental in bringing the NASL to Baltimore, was named as the new General Manager on July 12th. Millward was known to be unhappy that he didn’t get the position but vowed not to quit as Head Coach.

The Comets finished the 20 game regular season in 2nd place in the Eastern Conference, just behind the Miami Toros. The Comets won 10, 2 tie-wins, and lost 8 games, scoring 42 goals and conceding 46. This record was good enough for them to reach the playoffs. In the playoff quarter-finals, the Comets were paired against the Boston Minutemen in a winner takes all game. The Comets lost 1-0 and were eliminated.
The franchises leading goal scorer and points scorer was Englishman Peter Silvester with 14 goals and 3 assists for 31 points. This placed him 2nd in the NASL scoring charts. Keith Aqui registered the most assists with 7. At the end on the season Peter Silvester and fellow Englishman Geoff Butler, defender, made the NASL All-Star team. Silvester was also named the NASL’s MVP for the 1974 season.

Despite a reasonable season the Comets average attendance at the 47,000 capacity Memorial Stadium was low, only 4,139. This was the 3rd worst average in the 15 team NASL. Their largest attendance was against the Toronto Metros, where they drew 6,480 fans.

Despite the poor attendance the ownership announced on July 16th (2 days after being knocked out of the playoffs) that the franchise would remain in Baltimore for the forthcoming 1975 season. Two cities had been vying to take on the franchise that had lost a reputed $300,000 in its first season.

For the 1975 season the Comets were again in the Eastern Division, with the same teams as the season before, plus the expansion Tampa Bay Rowdies franchise. The regular season was extended to 22 games.

The franchise remained largely the same, although Brit defender and American national defender Len Renery was signed from the New York Cosmos. During the college draft in January they picked Ernie Cox of Loyola College first. The team faced difficulties getting Peter Silvester back for his second season, first they had difficult negotiations with his English side Southend United, and then a further delay in getting his visa approved.

During the season the Comets were evicted from Memorial Stadium due to non-payment of rents after only 2 home games of the 1975 season, showing that the franchise was in financial difficulty. The team moved its home base on 28th May to Burdick Stadium, on the campus of Towson University, just outside of Baltimore. This made them Baltimore County’s first ever professional sports franchise. The stadium had a vastly smaller capacity of 11,000, which was more in line with the Comets meagre crowds.

English striker Alan Gilliver, a summer signing, was taken off the roster after injury and returned to the UK after only 5 games. Keith Aqui was named NASL player of the week after 5 goals in 3 wins. After 15 games of the regular season Doug Millward was fired as Head Coach, and was reluctantly replaced by GM Al Collins, who became Head Coach for the final 7 games of the season. He wanted to appoint the Comets goalkeeper and Director of Summer Camps, Lincoln Phillips, into the role but this would have jeopardized his position of Head Coach of Howard University’s soccer team. NCAA rules would not permit his appointment. This actually worked out well as the Comets won their first 3 games under Collins’ charge. It still came too late for them to make the playoffs.

After the 22 game regular season the Comets placed dead last in the Eastern Division. Their record was 9 wins and 13 losses, scoring 34 goals and conceding 52 (the highest in the NASL that season).

The Comets leading scorer in all areas was Keith Aqui, who scored 10, made 3 assists, and finished with 21 points.

The Comets average attendance fell even lower than its debut season, down to a miniscule 2,641, the lowest in the league that season.

After the 1975 season the franchise was purchased by Ken Keegan, part-owner of the San Jose Earthquakes, and moved to San Diego to become the Jaws, ending Baltimore professional soccer interest until the indoor Baltimore Blast would begin play in the MISL in 1980. Deegan was an auto dealer from San Jose. 7 players from the Comets roster went with the franchise to San Diego including star forward Peter Silvester, defender Len Renery, midfielder Keith Aqui, and goalkeeper Alan Mayer.

The Comets all-time record was 42 regular season games, with 19 wins, 2 tie-wins, and 21 losses. They scored 76 goals and conceded 98. They played 1 game in the NASL playoffs, losing 1-0.Their all-time top goal scorer was Peter Silvester with 19, and leading appearance maker was English defender Geoff Butler with 40.

The franchises average attendance over its 2-year history was 3,390.

Baltimore Blast (1980-1992)

The Baltimore Blast were a professional indoor soccer team who played in the Major Indoor Soccer League (MISL) from 1980 until the league collapsed in 1992. This page is dedicated to the first incarnation of the Blast, as opposed to the indoor team who operated in the National Professional Soccer League (NPSL)from 1998.

The Blast franchise began life as the Houston Summit, who were one of the founder teams of the MISL in 1978. The Summit were essentially the indoor team of the North American Soccer League’s (NASL) Houston Hurricane.

The Blast franchise was originally owned by Bernie Rodin, who also owned the NASL’s Rochester Lancers, and the New York Arrows in the MISL. Tim Leiweke was named as General Manager.

The home arena for the Blast throughout its 12 year existence was the 11,271 capacity Baltimore Arena. The Blast shared the arena with the Baltimore Skipjacks ice hockey team and the Baltimore Thunder professional lacrosse team.

Kenny Cooper as appointed as head coach, having followed the franchise from Houston. He would remain in charge for the whole 12 year existence of the Blast.

The Blast’s inaugural season was 1980-81. They were placed in the Atlantic Division, against the Hartford Hellions, New York Arrows, and the Philadelphia Fever.
Holdovers on the roster from the Houston Summit included defender Neil Cohen, goalkeeper Sepp Gantenhammer, defender Jim Pollihan, and forward Gerry Morielli.

During the season Tim Leiweke resigned as GM under heavy pressure from majority owner Bernie Rodin to sign a longer contract. He was replaced in by Mitch Burke. In other news they signed forward Mark Liveric, who would go on to score 32 goals in the season. They decided to play Kool & The Gang’s hot track ‘Celebration’ every time they scored. Radio coverage was provided by WFBR, and commentary by Art Sinclair and Charley Eckman. Sonny Askew was signed from the Washington Diplomats in the NASL only lasted 11 games before being traded to the Montreal Manic after being unable to come to terms with the indoor game.

The Blast finished the 40 game regular season in 2nd place, making the playoffs. They won 21 games and lost 19, scoring 182 and conceding 190. In the 1st round of the playoffs the Blast beat the Cleveland Force in a tight contest over 3 games. They won the first 6-5 in overtime, were soundly beaten 7-1 in the return before winning the decider 5-2. The semi-finals were a one leg affair, and the Blast were crushed 10-1 against the New York Arrows, who were the MISL’s best side.

Their average attendance was 6,540. Dan Counce was named the Blast’s MVP for the season. The Blast ownership reportedly lost around $300,000 in the first season.
For the 1981-1982 season the MISL league structure was altered, placing teams in either an Eastern or Western division. The Blast were placed in the Eastern, alongside the Buffalo Stallions, Cleveland Force, New Jersey Rockets, New York Arrows, Philadelphia Fever, and the Pittsburgh Spirit.

Before the season forward Joey Fink and goalkeeper Keith Van Eron were signed from the Philadelphia Fever. Also Tim Wittman was drafted from Calvert Hall College High School. He was to play 10 seasons for the Blast in defence. Also incoming was Yugoslav-born defender Mike Stankovic who was signed from the NASL’s Dallas Tornado.
During the season summer signing and NASL veteran Garry Ayre had to retire with a knee injury.
Over a longer 44 game regular season the Blast placed 3rd in their 6 team division, again making the playoffs. They won 27 and lost 17 of their games, scoring 223 and conceding 207 goals. In the 1st round of playoffs the Blast defeated the Pittsburgh Spirit. They lost the first game 3-1, before winning the final 2 games 6-5 and 6-2. For the 2nd year running they met the New York Arrows in the playoffs, this time over a 3 game series. The result was the same though, losing 6-5 and 6-2 to eliminate them. Their leading goal scorer was Joey Fink with 51 goals, 22 assists, and 73 points.

Their average attendance increased to 9,557.

For the 1982-1983 season the Blast were again in the Eastern Division, now expanded to 7 teams. The Philadelphia Fever had moved to Los Angeles to become the Lazers, and were replaced by the NASL’s Chicago Sting (the NASL indoor league was on hiatus for the season), and the Memphis Americans. The season as extended to 48 games.

Major signings included German defender Heinz Wirtz from the Washington Diplomats in the NASL, Canadian midfielder Pat Ercoli joined from the Buffalo Stallions, and American forward Dave MacWilliams was signed from the Philadelphia Fever.

Bernie Rodin proved to be a colourful owner, when he wasn’t demanding that referees be replaced, he was promising his players free colour TV sets if they won.

Over the 48 game season, the Blast topped the Eastern Division with a record of 30 wins and 18 losses. The Blast scored 249 goals and conceded 224. Paired again against the New York Arrows, this time in the 1st round of the playoffs, the Blast finally managed to beat them. The first game was an 11-4 victory, they lost a close second 7-6, before winning the decider 8-3. In the semi-finals they beat the Cleveland Force over a 5 game series. They then reached the grand final against another NASL interloper, the San Diego Sockers. The Sockers crushed the Blast 6-0 and 7-0 in the first 2 games of the series, before the Blast battled back to win the next 2 games 4-3 and 7-6. In the MISL title decider however the Sockers returned to form winning 3-1.

Dave McWilliams was the Blast’s leading scorer with 41 goals and 27 assists for 68 points. This however only placed him joint 16th in the MISL scoring list. Yugoslav Stan Stamenkovic won the title for most assists however, and German defender Heinz Wirtz made the MISL All-Star team. Their average attendance was 10,729 – a figure which nearly filled the Baltimore Arena, and topped most NASL outdoor franchises.

The 1983-1984 MISL season saw the Blast in a nearly unchanged Eastern Division, with only the Chicago Sting leaving to go back into the NASL’s indoor league.

The Blasts major signing in was Yugoslav Srboljub “Stan” Stamenkovic from the the Memphis Americans. Due to his portliness and love of American fast food, Stan was quickly nicknamed the “Pizza Man”, and was noted for his skill outweighing his oversize frame. In Memphis they ran a competition where one fan could go to a “Pizza Party” with Stan who tipped the scales at 223 pounds. Stamenkovic cost the blast and league record $150,000 to sign (although fellow Yugoslav Ray Kunovac was thrown in as well), and his salary was reputed to be $100,000 a year. As soon as he signed Cooper flew to Stamenkovic’s home town of Titova Uzice in Yugoslavia to make him add a ‘weight clause’ into his contact. Also in was English born defender Paul Kitson from the New York Arrows who signed a 3-year $80,000 a year contract. Also incoming was goalkeeper Scott Manning from the Phoenix Inferno. Head Coach Kenny Cooper signed a new 3-year deal.

During the season it was announced that Bernie Rodin would be selling the Blast at the end of the season to Nathan Scherr for $2,900,000. Scherr was involved in construction in Baltimore. He beat off rival offers from Joe Cowan & Dennis Townsend, and another offer from Charles A. Lankford. Joey Fink became the first player to score over 200 MISL goals.

The Blast again topped the Eastern Division after 49 regular season games, winning 34 and losing only 14 for the best record in the MISL. They scored a league high 280 goals for the season, conceding 203. They again met the New York Arrows in the 1st round of playoffs . They won the first game 11-5, before losing the second 9-8 in overtime. They won the next 2 games 4-3 and 14-5 to reach the semi finals and a match against the Cleveland Force. They whitewashed the Force, winning 3 games 5-4, 6-5 and 7-2 to reach the MISL grand final series against the St. Louis Steamers.

The Final series was over 7 games, and the Steamers gained the upper hand in the 1st match winning 7-3. This was to be their only win of the series as the Blast went on to win the next 4 games 5-3, 5-2, 5-4, and 10-3 to win their first and only MISL championship. The final game attracted a Baltimore Arena record of 12,007 fans, despite the Baseball team playing , and the match being on live television locally.

Each player on the roster was due to receive $1,608 for winning the championship, but outgoing owner Bernie Rodin said he would be giving each player a diamond ring and $9,000 instead. Goalkeeper Scott Manning was named as the championship series ‘Player of the Year’ title. Yugoslav Stan Stamenkovic led the MISL in points with 97, and assists with 63, he was also the Blast’s leading goal scorer with 34 goals.

In the end of season awards Stamenkovic won the league’s MVP title, and was the only Blast player to make the MISL All-Star team. The Blast’s average attendance again rose, this time up to a franchise all-time high of 11,189, nearly filling the Baltimore Arena.

The 1984-1985 season in the MISL kicked off with less competition, the outdoor NASL had folded leaving the MISL as the premier professional soccer league in America. This also meant that the quality of players available to the MISL became better, and cut out the salary wars that had been fought with the NASL over players. The Blast were again in the Eastern Division, this time lining up alongside established MISL franchises (Cleveland Force, Pittsburgh Spirit, and St. Louis Steamers), as well as 3 new teams from the NASL (Chicago Sting. Minnesota Strikers, and the once powerful New York Cosmos.

The season began under the new ownership group headed by Nathan Scherr. Rodin stated that in the previous 2 season the Blast had lost $11,200,000. Scherr however quickly got used to the showmanship factor of the MISL by dressing up as the ‘Ghostbusters’ with Head Coach Kenny Cooper and GM Mitch Burke and sliding down a pole ss pre-match entertainment.

Before the season kicked off the Blast lost forward Joey Fink who had retired, and goalkeeper Keith Van Eron who signed for the Las Vegas Americans. They signed defender Bruce Savage who would play 8 seasons for the Blast and play 347 games.

During the season Scherr proved himself a hands-on owner, lambasting the bully-boy tactics the Cleveland Force used against Stan Stamenkovic.

The Blast topped the Eastern Division again, winning 32 of its 48 games, and losing 16. The Blast scored 252 goals and conceded only 190, for the best defence in the league. Winning the Division automatically out the Blast into the quarter finals of the playoffs where they easily beat the Los Angeles Lazers over 3 games 4-3, 12-3 and 5-4. Into the semi finals against the Cleveland Force, the Blast won 4 of the 7 game series, losing only to get into the MISL Championship Final for the 3rd season in a row. They were beaten over only 5 games of the 7 game series by the San Diego Sockers, the same teamed who had beaten them in the final 2 years previously. They lost the opening 2 games 5-4 and 7-3, then won the 3rd 10-6, before losing the final two 14-2 and 5-3.

The Blast had joint leading goal scorers, Yugoslav Stan Stamenkovic, and naturalized Englishman Paul Kitson with 39 goals apiece. Stamenkovic was the team’s leading assist maker with 52, and the leading points scorer with 91. The Blast’s Scott Manning was voted the MISL’s ‘Goalkeeper of the Year’. Manning and defender Mike Stankovic made the MISL All-Star team. The teams average attendance was 11,051.

The 1985-86 season began with the Blast again in the Eastern Division. The New York Cosmos had folded during the previous season, and the St. Louis Steamers had moved to the Western Division. To replace them the Dallas Sidekicks had been drafted in. The MISL had also signed a deal with ESPN for 15 regular season MISL games to be televised nationwide.

Prior to the season defender and ex All-Star, Heinz Wirtz was sold to the Chicago Sting for $5,000 after 151 games and 82 goals. Midfielder Pat Ercoli left and joined the Cleveland Force after 170 games and 112 goals. Goalkeeper Keith Van Eron was re-signed from the defunct Las Vegas Americans after 1 season away. The Blast was looking to reduce the roster by 4 to 18 players. The Blast signed Cypriot player Yilmaz Orhan, however they had to wait for him as he was serving a 4 month prison sentence for drink-driving. Antonio Carbognani signed a one year deal worth $40,000.
Also during the season Scherr brought a lawsuit against former owner Bernie Rodin over $55,000 interest charges on the sale of the Blast.

After 3 years of success the Blast only just made the playoffs. They finished a disappointing 4th in the Eastern Division, winning and losing 24 games of their 48 game schedule. They scored 211 and conceded 201 goals, and barely pipped the Chicago Sting to the playoffs by 1 game. They went out of the playoffs at the first hurdle, the quarter finals, losing to the Cleveland Force.

Stan Stamenkovic was again the team’s leader, scoring the most goals (37), registering the most assists (44), and scoring the most points (81). Keith Van Eron was voted ‘Goalkeeper of the Year’ in the MISL, but the Blast placed no players on the MISL All-Star team. Their average attendance was decreasing but remained high at 10,189.

The 1986-1987 season saw the Blast compete in an almost unchanged Eastern Division, with only the expansion New York Express replacing the folded Pittsburgh Spirit. The Express proved disaster however and folded after only 26 games of the 52 game schedule.

Ex-Player Dan Counce was named the Blast’s Assistant General Manager, and ex-player Jim Pollihan was named as Assistant Coach.

Before the season English born defender Paul Kitson left after 3 seasons, 129 games and 94 goals. He signed for the Los Angeles Lazers. Kitson had fallen out of favour the season before, when after being benched in a game against his new team, and then he’d turned up late for training. Replacing him came English ford Billy Ronson. His signing was rare for an indoor soccer team as he was signed directly from outdoors professional football in England, Ronson having played for Blackpool the previous season. Also signing was NASL scoring legend Paul Child, who signed after the Pittsburgh Spirit had folded.

During the season the Blast traded Franz Mathieu and Ernie Buriano to the Chicago Sting for indoor legend Drago Dumbovic.

The season saw a return to form of the Baltimore Blast, finishing 2nd behind the Cleveland Force. They won 33 and lost 19 of their 52 games, scoring 239 and conceding 201. They again went out in the first round of the playoffs, losing over 5 games to the eventual champions, the Dallas Sidekicks.

Bruce Savage was voted as the ‘Defender of the Year’ in the MISL, and was placed on the MISL All-Star Team. The average attendance dropped again, down to 9,936. The franchise reputedly lost $1,000,000 during the season.

The 1987-1988 season saw the MISL teams play a record 56 game regular season. The Blast were in a smaller Eastern Division, alongside the Chicago Sting, Cleveland Force, Dallas Sidekicks, and the Minnesota Strikers. The Strikers limped into the season, and were originally due to sit it out due to their finances. The league also celebrated signing a 2 year TV deal with FNN/SCORE, which included a Friday game of the week, the playoffs, and the MISL Championship Final.

Before the season the Blast lost defender Mike Stankovic to the Wichita Wings after 212 games and 120 goals. Also leaving were forward Dave MacWilliams, who signed for the Chicago Sting after 162 games and 115 goals. They acquired polish defender Helmut Dudek from the Minnesota Strikers for future considerations. In the draft the blast acquired David Nakhid as 1st pick.

The Blast qualified for the playoffs, finishing a lowly 4th out of their 5 game Division. They won 25 of their games and lost 31, scoring 235 and conceding 249. They fell to their Division winners Minnesota Strikers in the 1st round of the playoffs to end another disappointing season. Their average attendance dropped again, down to 8,221 fans.

The 1988-1989 MISL season was greatly weakened after 5 franchises folded after the 1987-1988 season. The teams had begun a salary war with the rival AISA/NPSL, which caused a number of franchises to over-extend themselves financially, leading to many casualties. The MISL was re-organized into a single division comprising only 7 teams. The Blast lined up against the Dallas Sidekicks, Kansas City Comets, Los Angeles Lazers, San Diego Sockers, Tacoma Stars, and the Wichita Wings.

The Blast lost Stan Stamenkovic, who retired and moved back to Yugoslavia to open a pizza parlour. He had played 179 games and scored 130 goals. Also retiring was goalkeeper Keith Van Eron. In two spells with the Blast he played a total of 165 games. In the 199=88 draft the Blast chose Mike Agnew as their 1st choice (4th overall). Other draft picks included defender Mark Mettrick.

During the season the Blast featured in an indoor exhibition against the touring Lokomotiv Moscow, beating the Russians 8-4.

After 2 years of disappointing regular season the Blast turned it around in 1988-1989 to top the regular standings. After 48 games, they had won 29 and lost 19, scoring 215 and conceding 208. They went straight into the Semi-finals of the playoffs where they dispatched the Wichita Wings over the 7 game series, ending it with a crushing 11-1 victory.

The final was for the 3rd time against the San Diego Sockers, and for the 3rd time they lost. They won the 1st 4-3 in overtime, before losing the second in overtime again 5-4. The Sockers won the next two 5-2 and 4-3, but managed to claw back in the next two winning 6-3 and 7-0. The decider went down to the wire but the Sockers triumped 6-5.

Canadian Dominic Mobilio was the team’s leading goal scorer with 36, South African David Byrne registered most assists with 29, and Canuck Carl Valentine scored the most points overall with 57. In the end of season awards Kenny Cooper was voted ‘Coach of the Year’, defender Rusty Troy was ‘Rookie of the Year’, and midfielder Dominic Mobilio won ‘Newcomer of the Year’. Strangely given the award winners the two players the Blast placed on the MISL All-Star team were goalkeeper Scott Manning, and defender Bruce Savage. The Blast’s average attendance fell again, despite their successful season, to 8,170. The franchise lost around $1,000,000 during the season.

The 1989-90 season saw the MISL revert back to two separate divisions, both comprising 4 teams. The Blast were placed in the Eastern, lining up against the expansion Cleveland Crunch, the Kansas City Comets, and the Wichita Wings.

The ownership changed again, with Nathan Scherr selling his interest to Ed Hale for $700,000 ($2.200,000 less than Scherr paid for it in 1984) on the 16th September 1989. Ed Hale was involved in shipping, containers, and haulage. He said he was purchasing the team to keep them in Baltimore and to show the NFL that Baltimore deserved an American football team too. Hale had been trying to bring the NFL to Baltimore since the Colts had left in 1983. Hale said he was prepared to lose money for 3 seasons. Mitch Burke left his position as General Manager and was replaced by Stan White.

The 1989-1990 season saw the return of defender Mike Stankovic after one season with the Wichita Wings. He arrived in a trade alongside Peter Ward that took Brazilian forward Keder, and South African forward David Byrne to Wichita.

During the season Ed Hale was named on the MISL’s management committee.

The Blast topped the Eastern Division after the 52 game regular season, winning 32 and losing 20. They scored a season league high 231 goals, and conceded only 191. Winning their division placed them directly into the Semi-finals of the playoffs where they easily dispatched the Kansas City Comets, and put them into the MISL Championship Series.

For the 4th time, they met the all-powerful San Diego Sockers in the final, and again they were to come up short. They won the first game of the series 7-4 which gave them hope, before losing the next three games 4-3, 5-2 and 4-1. Needing to win to keep in contention, they scraped a 3-2 win, but lost the series in the next game, losing 6-4.

Dominic Mobilio was the team’s leading goal scorer and points scorer, with 41 and 61 respectively. Fellow Canadian Carl Valentine registered the most assists with 34. Despite reaching the final their players won no awards, and no player was placed on the MISL All-Star team. Their average attendance rose slightly, up to 8,530. The Blast reputedly lost $1,100,000 this season.

The 1990-1991 MISL rebranded as the MSL (Major Soccer League). A 9 game deal was signed with ESPN to televise the games. The MSL retained all the same teams as the season before, and no changes were made to the divisions. Despite this show of stability a lot of the franchises were struggling financially after the bidding war with the NPSL. Each team’s salary cap was limited to $630,000.

Before the season General manager Stan white resigned to pursue other business opportunities , and his duties were mostly taken over by the owner Ed Hale. Ex-player and Director of Marketing John Borozzi took over the role and was also named as Vice President. Kenny Cooper was named as President as well as fulfilling his Head Coach role. Drew Forrester was appointed assistant GM, replacing ex-player Dan Counce. Assistant Coach Jim Pollihan quit in order to become Head Coach at the Harrisburg Heat in the NPSL.

During the season veteran Tim Wittman injured his back, and had to sign a special amendment to his $52,000 a year contract, which meant he wasn’t paid during his injury lay-off. Also during the season English midfielder Billy Ronson spoke out about the stay-away fans, and the discrepancy between those who attend the promotions and those who actually attend the games. One reason given for this was the state of the Baltimore Arena. Hale had plans to build a new 20,000 capacity arena on Timonium racecourse, however what type of arena this would be, would be dependent on if he was granted an NFL franchise. They also offered fans who attended the game against the Kansas City Comets free tickets for the next home game against the Tacoma Stars.

Hale was also fined 1,000 for having a go at referee Toros Kibritjian, suggesting he retire. The referee had reported the Blast to the league about the state of their playing surface., which ended up with the Blast spending $30,000 on upgrading it. Hale also had a feud running with Cleveland Crunch owner George Hoffman, Hoffman had said some uncomplimentary things about the Blast after his Crunch side had beaten them 11-2. Hale also got involved in a feud with Baltimore broadcaster Tom Davis, who had compared him to Baltimore Colts Head Coach Robert Irsay. Irsay was thought to have been a “cheap” owner. Mid season the Blast visited the UK and played against Oldham Athletic in an exhibition, winning 6-1.

During the season Hale and MISL commissioner Earl Foreman began negotiations with the NPSL with regards to a merger. This eventually came to nothing. Also due to their poor play during the season Hale was forced to defend Kenny Cooper. He also expressed a desire to have more Baltimore natives on the roster for the 1991-1992 season. To keep his run of feuds going Hale also fell out with Tim Wittman. Reportedly at a team meeting in Hale’s office in March, Wittman stormed out, cursing at Hale. Hale apparently thought Wittman was too concerned with “scoring points”.

For the first time in their history the Baltimore Blast failed to make the playoffs, finished 3rd in the Eastern Division after 52 games. They won 21 and lost 31 of their games, scoring 298 and conceding 315. Their average attendance dropped to an all-time low of 7,432. The Blast reputedly lost around $674,000.

Due to budgetary concerns the Blast had to lay off 3 of its front office. Art Sinclair, voice of the Blast since the start, and the Director of Sales and Corporate broadcasting, was laid off (only a year after quitting his day job to join the Blast full-time), PR Director Tim Donelli, and Leah Miller. Also during the close season the owners had approached the players trying to get them to reduce the salary cap to $525,000 per team (one year after the players had agreed to lower it to $630,000, with a collective bargaining deal and no morefuture cuts for 3 years. This was rejected by the players union.

For the 1991-1992 season, which was to be the last of the MISL/MSL, the league decided to reduce the schedule to 40 games to reduce costs (up to a potential $750,000). This idea was put forward by Blast owner Ed Hale Also the league concluded a new collective bargaining agreement with the players to keep salaries in check. Despite this the NPSL was still the league on the up, and after the Kansas City Comets folded the league had to go back to a single division set-up. Ominously a lot of players were jumping ship to the NPSL, which although a lower level league, was financially stable. Tragedy struck the Blast in the off season, when defender and 5-year veteran Mike Reynolds suffered a stroke whilst making an appearance with 5 other Blast members at the Jessup Pre-Release Clinic, part of the Maryland correctional system. He briefly regained consciousness before passing away. The Blast retired Reynolds’ jersey after the event. They also wore black armbands throughout the 1991-1992 season.

Before the season Blast veteran Tim Wittman left to join the San Diego Sockers after a team record 332 games and 168 goals His run-in with Hale was the reason for the trade, and he signed a one-year contract worth $45,000. Wittman also had to file a grievance against the Blast in an attempt to get $6,250 in back pay. This was in relation to the back injury he had the previous season where he wasn’t paid despite being under contract. Legendary goalkeeper Scott Manning left to join the Wichita Wings after 193 games, but was upset that he had to learn from a friend that he’d been released. In another surprising move, forward Dale Mitchell was released.

General Manager and Vice President John Borozzi quit to become Deputy Commissioner at the MISL. His GM duties were taken on by his assistant, Drew Forrester, and the new Vice President of Sales & Marketing Rob Schraf.

During the season the Blast acquired Nigerian forward Jean Harbor, for his first season indoors. Harbor took up a leave of absence from his job as a chemist to take up his position on the Blast roster. He had to work his 2 week’s notice before joining up with the team. Midfielder Waad Hirmez filed a grievance against the Baltimore Blast for them releasing him whilst he had a knee injury. He said that this violated the collective bargaining agreement between the player’s association and the owners. Assistant GM Drew Forrester said that after an MRI scan he was fit enough to play.

In January 1992 Ed Hale and Kenny Cooper had papers filed against them (along with the Cleveland Crunch) charging them with unfair labour practices concerning their attempts to lower the salary cap in the summer. They allegedly interrogated players and created the impression of surveillance regarding which players continued to oppose a reduction in the salary cap. Players Bernie James and Mike Sweeney were convinced that they had been blackballed after the July salary cap, and were told that Kenny Cooper were responsible. The matter was taken to the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), who found no wrongdoing by Cooper, Hale or the Crunch. NLRB Regional Director Louis D’Amico said that “there was no evidence whatsoever”. Hale threatened action against the players responsible.

During the season they again travelled to England, beating Sheffield Wednesday 8-3 in a match played by MSL rules.

The Blast finished the 40 game season placing 4th out of 7 teams and qualifying for the playoffs. The Blast won 19 and lost 21 of their regular season games, scoring 213 and conceding 230. They went out in the semi-finals of the playoffs to their old nemesis the San Diego Sockers. Kenny Cooper had offered his resignation if they failed to beat the Sockers, but this was turned down by Ed Hale. Dominic Mobilio led the team in all areas, scoring 45 goals, making 20 assists and scoring 65 points. The average attendance dropped slightly again down to 8,206.

At the end of the season the MSL and all of its teams folded (apart from the Cleveland Crunch and Dallas Sidekicks who joined the rival NPSL). Baltimore was not long without a professional indoor soccer team, as the expansion Baltimore Spirit joined the NPSL ready for the 1992-1993 season. Head Coach Kenny Cooper, who had been instrumental in the founding of the Baltimore Spirit joined as Head Coach, and a number of Blast players followed suit. Joe Koziol, Doug Neely, Mike Stankovic, Rusty Troy, and goalkeeper Cris Vaccaro all moved to the Spirit.

Over the 12 season history of the Baltimore Blast, they played 576 regular season games, winning 327 and losing 249. They scored 2,778 goals and conceded 2,609.
In the playoffs they played 90 games, winning 49 and losing 41. They scored 444 goals and conceded 420. They won one MISL championship in the 1983-1984 season, lost the championship series 4 times (each time to the San Diego Sockers). They also won 4 divisional titles.

Bruce Savage holds the all-time appearance record for the Blast with 347 games. Tim Wittman holds the goals scored record with 168. Dave MacWilliams holds the Blast record for playoff games played and playoff points scored with 47 and 73 respectively.
Their average attendance over 12 seasons was 9,146.

Atlanta Chiefs (1979-81)

This page deals with the second incarnation of the Atlanta Chiefs, who played in the North American Soccer League (NASL) for 3 summer seasons between 1979 and 1981. The earlier version of the franchise had operated from 1967 to 1972. The original franchise was owned by the Atlanta Braves baseball franchise, and was the brainchild of the vice-President Dick Cecil, who had seen the 1966 World Cup and was intrigued by Soccer’s potential. They won the second NASL championship in 1972. They played their final season, 1973, under a different name (Atlanta Apollos) and under different ownership. The Chiefs were created when the ownership bought the franchise rights to the Colorado Caribous in August 1978 and moved them to Atlanta. The Caribous had been a 1978 expansion franchise, but had flopped in Denver.

The Chiefs were again owned by Dick Cecil, ex Vice-President of the original Chiefs, Al Thornwell, and media mogul Ted Turner. Dick Cecil opted to return to the NASL after 7 years away as the league was stable and seemed stronger than before. Seeing the 10 year development of the league, and the grassroots strength of the sport, Cecil firmly believed that Soccer was going to be one of the major games of the future in America. He wasn’t expecting huge crowds like those that the New York Cosmos were drawing, but felt that over time the franchise would be solid and have a bright future. He was expecting the franchise to lose money over the first few seasons, and hoped for an average of 10,000 fans, although 20,000 would be needed to break even. Turner made his money in advertising, and also owned numerous TV stations in the southern United States. Prior to him becoming involved in professional soccer he also purchased the Atlanta Braves (baseball) and Atlanta Hawks (basketball) franchises in 1976. He was also a reputedly a very “hands-on” owner. During his spell as Chiefs owner he founded CNN in 1980. Co-owner Al Thornwell, was appointed President of the team, as well as running his electrical business, and his rubbish hauling business. Terry Hanson was named as Vice-President. Michael Oglesby was named as Public Relations Director.

The team also ran the Atlanta Chiefs indoor franchise in the NASL’s indoor league, also operating over 2 winter seasons between 1979 and 1981.

The outdoor team played at the local government owned Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium which had a capacity of 50,000. The Chiefs shared the stadium with the Atlanta Braves (baseball) and the Atlanta Falcons (American Football). For their indoor seasons the Chiefs played at the Omni Coliseum, a 15,278 capacity arena. The Omni was shared with the Atlanta Flames (NHL), and the Hawks (NBA). It too was owned by the City of Atlanta.



The first Head Coach of the franchise was also one of the youngest. Dan Wood was 33 years old when he was appointed. He had also been the Head Coach of the Colorado Caribous at the end of the 1978 season, and moved with the franchise regardless of the Caribous’ poor performance. He had also been Head Coach of Cornell University’s soccer program, and the Tacoma Tides of the American Soccer League (ASL). Wood wanted the team and their style to be fun for the American fans, providing a fun night out for the family.

Co-owner Dick Cecil had stated he wanted a young team competing, and with a base of American players. He wouldn’t guarantee a playoff spot, but said that they would be competitive. He wanted slow and steady progress for what he felt was still an expansion franchise, what with the Caribous only having played for one season. Financially, they were not going to over-extend themselves, or try and compete with the likes of the New York Cosmos and their multi-million pound budgets. He also felt that there wouldn’t be any competition with the Atlanta Braves who were paying at the same time in the same stadium.

The Chiefs were placed in the Central Division of the National conference, lining up against the Dallas Tornado, Minnesota Kicks, and the Tulsa Roughnecks. Each team in the NASL had to post a $150,000 bond to the league at the start of each season.
NASL rules stated that each team could have a roster of up to 30 players under contract at any one time. The Chiefs retained 10 members of the 1978 Colorado Caribous. Prior to the season they traded experienced goalkeeper Arnie Mausser to the Fort Lauderdale Strikers for cash and naturalized Yugoslav forward George Nanchoff. Nanchoff’s brother Louis was also on the Chiefs roster having been a holdover from the 1978 Caribous. Forward Bob Rohrbach was traded to the Detroit Express for cash and a 2nd round draft pick. The 1979 draft was held at the Waldorf Astoria hotel in New York. The Chiefs had first choice overall in the draft, which they traded away to the Dallas Tornado for English striker Jeff Bourne, and their 2nd and 10th draft picks. Their first choice in the draft was English born midfielder Adrian Brooks from Philadelphia Textile University who signed a 2 year contract. Wood felt he was the standout college player of the 1978 season.

The Chiefs also acquired English defender Colin Waldron from the Philadelphia Fury for cash a second round selection in the 1980 draft.

Their pre-season was hugely successful, winning 6 of their 7 games, including victory against the strong Tampa Bay Rowdies franchise.

During the season NASL players voted to go on strike over team’s management refusing to recognize their union. The Chiefs players however opted out of the strike action, The Chiefs took a while to get going, losing their first 5 games, before 2 straight wins stabilized the team. English striker George Dewsnip was signed from the Los Angeles Aztecs. To make way for him Yugoslav striker Nino Zec was sold to the Houston Hurricane mid-season, after 5 goals in 14 games. Continuing signing players during the season, English defender Mike Balson was acquired from South African side Highlands Park.

The Chiefs had some big wins, putting 6 past the Memphis Rogues, and 5 past the Edmonton Drillers, but overall were quite inconsistent, alternating from winning runs to losing runs with frequency. In August, Dan Wood was given a 2 year contract extension as Head Coach, as well as assuming duties as the team’s Director of Player Personnel. Towards the end of the season they were still in with chance of a wildcard playoff slot, but they just missed out.

After the 30 game season the Chiefs placed last in their division, failing to qualify for the NASL playoffs. They won 12 of their 30 regular season games, losing 18, scoring 60 and conceding 60 goals in the process. English striker Jeff Bourne was the Chiefs leading goal scorer and assist maker, scoring 18 and assisting on 15 goals. This earned him 51 points, placing his 4th in the list of NASL leading points scorer.
The average attendance at the 50,000 capacity Atlanta-Fulton Stadium was low, only 7,350. This figure was far lower than the expected 10,000, and nearly 13,000 short of their break-even figure of 20,000. The sight of a few thousand fans rattling around massive stadia was a common sight in the NASL. The highest attendance was 13,012 when the Dallas Tornado were the visitors.

In the close season the Chiefs joined the NASL’s indoor season for 1979-80. This was the first of the NASL indoor seasons, started up as a response to the successful Major Indoor Soccer League that had started up in 1978. Teams were limited to a roster of 14 players, 5 of which had to be American or Canadian citizens. However, only 10 of the NASL’s 24 franchises opted to play.

Dan Wood continued as head coach, and the roster was comprised of 12 members of the outdoor team, the 2 new members being defender Stuart Lilley and Joe Mui. Lilley was signed from South African side Highlands Park, where he had played for 10 years. He signed a one year contract for covering the outdoor season as well.

The Chiefs were placed into the Eastern Division, lining up against the Detroit Express, Fort Lauderdale Strikers, New England Tea Men, and the Tampa Bay Rowdies.
The season was only 12 games long, and the chiefs finished the regular season top of the division with 10 wins and only 2 losses, scoring 70 and conceding 46. Topping the division put them directly into the semi-finals of the playoffs, however they were defeated by the Tampa Bay Rowdies 7-3 and 6-5. David Byrne finished as both the Chiefs, and the league’s top goal scorer and points scorer with 23 goals and 11 assists for 57 points. The average attendance was good, 5,069, and they frequently outdrew the outdoor team.

Returning to outdoor action in the summer of 1980, Dan Wood remained at the helm. He also brought in Englishman Dave Chadwick, and Scottish born ex-player to act as assistant coaches. McMahon prime role was in a scouting capacity.

David Irving and Tony Whelan came in from the Fort Lauderdale Strikers, Whelan was traded for 3 1981 draft picks, cash, and future considerations. Scottish midfielder Brian Alderson was purchased from the New England Tea Men for cash and a 1981 3rd round draft pick. American defender Greg Makowski was sent to the Toronto Blizzard in exchange for 2 players, although he ended up at the Seattle Sounders. In the 1980 draft the Chiefs drafted defender Bruce Savage from Miami Dade, he was the 6th pick overall in the 1st round of the draft. They sold 2 South African forwards, Neill Roberts after a contract dispute, was sold to the Tampa Bay Rowdies, and Jomo Sono to the Toronto Blizzard.

The team lined up in the same division, with the same teams as the season before. The Chiefs opened their home 1980 campaign with a 2-1 defeat of the New England Tea Men in front of 5,442 fans. Louie Nanchoff and Brian Alderson got the goals, with Keith Weller replying for the Tea Men.

During the season the Chiefs released Adrian Brooks, who moved to the ASL’s Pennsylvania Stoners, as well as acquiring French striker Oliver Barthou from Bordeaux on a 2 year contract. Draft pick Bruce Savage was impressive at left back, Coach Dan Wood proclaiming that he wouldn’t trade him for any other left back in the league. As he had been drafted from High School he was also the youngest starter in the NASL. He developed into a minor celebrity in Atlanta, frequently being interview by local radio and newspapers. Back-up goalkeeper Tad DeLorm left to join the Minnesota Kicks in exchange for cash and a 1st round draft pick in 1981.

Al Thornwell resigned as Chairman of the Board, being replaced by Robert Wussler. English forward Keith Furphy, was signed from the Detroit Express in exchange for cash and a 1981 1st round draft pick. Keith’s father Ken was the Head Coach at Detroit. One of the reasons for the trade was the fact that the Express’ fans frequently booed him for being the coach’s son. Mike Otiz-Velez was signed from the Fort Lauderdale Strikers for cash, however the deal was not concluded when he was sent back for failing to pass the physical.

The Chiefs went on a 6 game losing streak during a terrible season, and were rumoured to have approached Ron Newman, who was managing the Miami Americans of the ASL to replace Dan Wood. This didn't come to pass but Wood was fired as Head Coach on the 27th June, only a few months after signing a new 2 year contact. The Chiefs were 5 and 11 at the time of his dismissal, and in total his record in 56 games in charge was 19 wins and 37 losses, and he was replaced by his assistant David Chadwick until the end of the season. Robert Wussler said the ownership were disappointed with the record and were thinking of the team’s future.
Chadwick’s first game in charge was a 3-0 defeat against the Seattle Sounders, losing to a Roger Davies hat-trick. Ex-player Pat McMahon was hired as his assistant coach.
The change of coaches didn’t help as the team went on an 11 game losing streak(9 under Chadwick).They also set the all-time NASL record for going 13 games without scoring. Assistant Pat McMahon quit to take up a similar position with the Portland Timbers, as well as coaching their NASL indoor team. To spice up the team the Chiefs acquired 2 English forwards, David Irving and Tommy Ord from the Tulsa Roughnecks in a cash deal. Surprisingly the previous season’s leading scorer, and fellow Englishman Jeff Bourne was sent to the Seattle Sounders, also in a cash deal. He was having a disappointing season with only 5 goals, but the whole team was struggling. Goalkeeper Slobodan Illijevski was released, along with French striker Barthou, who had only been at the club just over a month and had signed a 2 year contract.

After the expanded 32 game regular season the Chiefs again finished dead last, winning only 7 games and losing 25 for the worst record in the whole NASL. They also scored the lowest amount of goals (34), and conceded the most (84). The franchises top goal scorer was Keith Furphy with 8 goals, he was also the leading points scorer with 21. Leading assist-maker was David Byrne with 6.

The average attendance slumped dramatically down to 4,884, making the Chiefs the lowest draw in the whole NASL. Given they needed 20,000 to break even this figure was a disaster.

Heading in to the 1980-81 indoor season, the Chiefs again fielded most of the team that had performed poorly outdoors. The season was conducted with nearly a full complement of the outdoor teams, with only the New York Cosmos and the Philadelphia Fury not competing. Due to this the divisions were re-organized. The Chiefs were placed in the Eastern Division alongside the Fort Lauderdale Strikers, Jacksonville Tea Men, and the Tampa Bay Rowdies. The Jacksonville franchise had actually begun as the New England Tea Men, but the franchise moved from Boston after only 2 games.

English forward Paul Child was signed, coming back to a club where he had started his American soccer career in 1972. He at that point was 4th on the all-time NASL points scorers list. The Chiefs acquired him from the Calgary Boomers in exchange for a “substantial” amount of cash and a 1981 1st round draft pick. Child had never played for the Boomers, who were a new franchise for 1981 who had previously been the Memphis Rogues. The Chiefs also signed Ken Mokgojoa from the Washington Diplomats. The Nanchoff brothers left in cash deals to join clubs in the more stable MISL, George signed for the Phoenix inferno, and Louie for the Philadelphia Fever. Ex-South African player of the year Lawrence Chelan was signed from the Arcadia Shepherds for cash.

Surprisingly, the Chiefs who had been so abysmal outdoors yet again won their division indoors. Of the 18 game schedule, the Chiefs won 13 and lost only 5, scoring 97 and conceding 75. In the 1st round of the playoffs the Chiefs dispatched the Minnesota Kicks 10-8 and 5-4. However they failed in the semi-finals, losing to the Chicago Sting in a mini-game after they won a game apiece. They also vastly outdrew the outdoor team, attracting an average of 10,287 to the Omni Coliseum. This was the highest average attendance in the whole history of the NASL indoor league . Keith Furphy scored the most goals with 32, scoring 76 points. The leading assist-makers were Brian Alderson and Tony Whelan with 16 each.

Before the start of the outdoor 1981 season, Ted Turner had stated that this season was their last chance to make a success, otherwise he would look to sell or close the franchise. The team retained Dave Chadwick as Head Coach for the 1981 NASL season. The team boosted its frontline considerably by signing English forward Brian Kidd on loan from Bolton Wanderers in England, pairing him alongside Paul Child. Also signed were English goalkeeper Graham Tutt. Defender Hayden Knight signed from Edmonton Drillers, in exchange for a 1982 draft pick.

In a league re-jigging, the Chiefs were placed in the Southern Division alongside the Fort Lauderdale Strikers, Jacksonville Tea Men, and the Tampa Bay Rowdies.

There was hope that the team’s attendance might rise as the baseball season was delayed by strike action. Ted Turner offered any Atlanta Braves ticket-holders the chance to watch Chiefs’ games for free. The affect was only minimal however, with around 700 fans taking up the offer. Due to their success indoors Ted Turner was considering dropping the Chiefs and moving them indoors into the MISL. General Manager Terry Hanson partially blamed Turner for the team’s low attendances because he chose to televise all home Chiefs games in its debut season, thus not encouraging fans to come to the stadium, especially as they lost the first 5 games.

After 2 regular seasons finishing in last position, the 1981 season saw an impressive turnaround with them topping the division and qualifying for the playoffs. In 32 games the Chiefs won 17 and lost 15 games, scoring 62 goals and conceding 60. They went out in the first round of the playoffs however, losing 3-2 and 2-1 against divisional rivals the Tea Men.

Brian Kidd was the Chiefs leading goal scorer with 22 in only 27 games, placing him 3rd in the NASL’s goal scoring table behind Giorgio Chinaglia of the Cosmos and Mike Stojanovic of the San Diego Sockers. He was also the Chiefs leading points scorer with 52 (4th overall in NASL). The Chiefs leading assist maker was Scot Brian Alderson with 13.

The average attendance rose from the 1980 level back up to 6,189, but this was still the 3rd worst in the NASL that year, even though the Chiefs were successful.

On the 28th August 1981, 2 days after going out of the NASL playoffs, the Atlanta Chiefs announced that they were to fold. They blamed low attendances and the fact that they had lost $7,000,000 over the team’s 3 year history. Robert Wussler said the team would terminate operations on the 7th September, one day after the Soccer Bowl. The NASL had a rule prohibiting any team to cease operations before the Soccer Bowl. Up until that point they would consider any viable offers to buy the franchise. He also confirmed that the team was not going to be moving indoors and joining the MISL. They were put off by the potential of lawsuits from the NASL about jumping leagues. Turner had said in June that if the team won their division (they did) that he would sell everything he owned to keep the Chiefs going, however he now felt he couldn't afford it, as he needed every dollar for his new CNN network.

Bruce Savage and Carl Strong were sold to the Portland Timbers, the Montreal Manic purchased the NASL rights to defender Hayden Knight and goalkeeper Victor Nogueira. Any players not signed went into a dispersal draft.

Ex-General Manager Terry Hanson said that if the Chiefs had still been going he would have wanted to get them into a smaller stadium, as the atmosphere in the Atlanta-Fulton stadium was the worst in the league and like a mausoleum due to the number of empty seats.

Outdoors there record in regular season game was:
Played: 94 Won: 36 Lost: 58 Goals for: 156 Goals against: 204
Most Appearances: Webster Lichada (93)
Most Goals: Jeff Bourne (23)
Most Assists: Jeff Bourne (20)
Most Points: Jeff Bourne (66)

Their playoff record was 2 games played, both losses scoring 3 and conceding 5.

Their total attendance outdoors over 3 seasons was 18,434, and their overall average was 6,141 fans in the 50,000 capacity Atlanta-Fulton stadium.

Their record indoors was
Games Played : 30 Won: 23 Lost: 7 Goals Scored 167 Goals Against 121
David Byrne scooped all the Atlanta Chiefs indoor records, with most appearances (28), most goals (37), most assists (20), and most points (94).

In the NASL indoor playoffs they played 6 games, winning 3 and losing 3. They scored 37 and conceded 42.

Their total attendance at the 15,278 capacity Omni Coliseum over 2 seasons was 15,356, making their overall average indoors, 7,678. This was a substantially higher average that their outdoor figures.