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.

Atlanta Attack (1989-91)

The Atlanta Attack were a professional indoor soccer team from Atlanta, Georgia. They were founded in 1989, but only lasted for 2 seasons until the franchise was moved to Kansas City in 1991. They played their first season (1989-1990) in the American Indoor Soccer Association (AISA), which changed it’s name for their second season (1990-91) to the National Professional Soccer League (NPSL).

Their home ground was the Omni Arena in Atlanta, which had a capacity of 15,278. They shared the arena with the Atlanta Hawks of the NBA.

The franchise’s majority owner was Ron Terwilliger. He was the owner of Trammell Crow Residential, a company which is the largest developer of multi-family housing in the USA. The President was announced as Bob Moreland. After 4 games of the season Terwilliger announced he was taking over day-to-day team operations from Moreland, who was sacked.

The Head Coach was American Keith Tozer, who also saw playing time in the 1989-90 season. He stayed for the duration of the team in Atlanta. Prior to taking up the position he had been working as Sales Manager for Boxing at the Forum in Los Angeles. He’d been doing that role since he lost his job as head coach of the Los Angeles Lazers when they went out of business after the 1988-1989 season. Englishman Adrian Brooks was named as player/assistant coach.

For their first season in the AISA the Attack were placed in the American Division, lining up against the Canton Invaders, Hershey Impact, and the Memphis Rogues. Being a new franchise the team participated in both the expansion draft as well as the Amateur draft. In the expansion draft the Attack were allowed to choose 2 players from every existing AISA franchise, although the existing teams were allowed to protect 12 members of their 16 player rosters. In the amateur draft the Attack had first pick in each of 4 rounds. They chose Brian Haynes (1st), Guy Furfaro (2nd), Angelo Panzetta (3rd) and goalkeeper Jon Halliwell (4th). Of these only Haynes would make any impact. In the main draft they chose Hayden Knight from the Milwaukee Wave, a surprise as the veteran ahd only played 5 games the previous season. Knight opted not to sign, and instead continue wih his teaching career. Zoltan Meszaros was drafted from the Chicago Power, but refused to sign a contract as he had a salesman’s job and a new house in Chicago.

Notable players on the roster for the first year were Americans Peter Hattrup and Keith Tozer, Yugoslavs Drago Dumbovic and Zoran Savic, and Trinidadian midfielder Brian Haynes. The team was limited by the league to a 16 man roster.

7 of the Attack’s away fixtures were televised on Channel 46 – WGNX. However after 2 games the Attack announced that it was pulling out of the contract because it couldn’t afford it (franchises paid the TV stations for the air-time). This gave the indication that the team’s finances weren’t quite right. WHCK 105.7 however offered live radio coverage of the Attack for both seasons. Neil Williamson was the colour announcer.

The franchise began life with a home game against the Indiana Kick on the 10th November 1989. They won 23-11 in front of 10,462 fans, which was the largest ever first game total for an expansion team in the AISA. Attendances were low, and the franchise was worried that not many people knew that they even existed, a fact confirmed by the teams President John Durham.

During the season the Attack acquired Zoran Savic, a leading indoor player in a trade with the Memphis Rogues. In return the Rogues got cash, Glenn Lurie and Paul Carollo. During the season goalkeepr John Halliwell was waived and signed with the Chicago Power. He was replaced with Hank Henry from the Dallas Sidekicks. Forward Jeff Rogers was added from the Milwaukee Wave.

Drago Dumbovic, high scoring crowd favourite, was traded out to the Hershey Impact mid-season for English forward Franklin McIntosh. The Impact had drew 4,000 fans to their arena earlier in the season against the Attack by making it a “Stop Drago” night, which confirmed his prowess as a player indoors. The trade turned acrimonius when Drago’s lawyers stated that he was entitled to incentives worth $45,000 that were verbally agreed by Attack team representative’s. Drago stated that he had a “no-cut, no-trade” clause in his contract. This was disputed by Ron Terwilliger. Drago then went to Cobb County Superior Court to get a temporary restraining order blocking the trade. This was denied and he ended up in Hershey making the trade. On Drago’s return to the Omni later in the season, he was welcomed by a fan’s banner proclaiming “Drago Drago Yugoslavian Ball Hog”.

The team played attacking football, constantly pressing the opposition. This high tempo style of play was exciting, although it frequently left them running on empty towards the end of the match and letting in cheap goals.

By the start of March it was estimated that the franchise had already lost $415,000.

The season lasted 40 games, of which the Attack won 23 and lost 17, scoring 443 goals and conceding 382. This placed them second in the division and entered them into the playoffs. They got through the first round beating the Hershey Impact 13-10 and 13-9. For the semi-finals they were paired against the Dayton Dynamo. After crushing the Dynamo 15-2 in the first game, they ended up losing the decisive second game in overtime. They then lost the third game 13-6.

Leading goal scorer for the Attack was Peter Hattrup with 88 goals. Brian Haynes was voted ‘Rookie of the Year’. Hattrup was placed on the AISA All-star team for his performances.
The teams highest attendance was 13,858 against the Memphis Rogues, a season high for the AISA. It’s lowest was 2,622 against the Milwaukee Wave. Approximately the average (as I don’t have all the attendance figures) was around 7,466. This is certainly very on the optimistic side.


As the league’s name changed for the 1990-1991 season, Atlanta again took their place in a re-jigged American Division. They were again alongside the Canton Invaders and Hershey Impact, but also alongside newcomers the New York Kick, and the Detroit Rockers.

Off the field changes included English ex-professional Graham Tutt was named as a Vice-President of Operations. Tutt had played for Charlton in England, in South Africa, and in the States with the Columbus Magic, Atlanta Chiefs and the Georgia Generals. The team’s President John Durham quit after being ask to take a pay cut. Majority owner Ron Terwilliger was named the NPSL’s Executive Committee Chairman. Vernon Riggs was promoted to the position of General Manager, having only been assistant GM the previous season. He had also previously been in charge of Marketing for the MISL’s Wichita Wings.

In the off season the Attack signed goalkeeper A.J. Lachowski from the MISL’s Tacoma Stars. Notable players were Polish-American Janusz Michallik, Brian Haynes, Zoran Savic, and English forward Franklin McIntosh.

Before the season in an effort to drum up support the Attack enlisted Atlanta marketing firm T.G. Madison, who ran ads in newspapers and on radio, as well 16 billboards around the city proclaiming “Everybody’s Going Socco!”, with faces with soccer ball eyes.

The team started the season badly, and their defence was the worst in the league, although they still maintained their all-out attack approach of the previous season. Their form turned around though and they embarked on a 7 game winning streak.

During the season they had to release midfielder Chris Hellenkamp to stay within the league’s $132,000 salary cap. Defender Todd Smith was traded to the Hershey Impact for cash and a 2nd round draft pick. After the success of their first season Atlanta were given the honour of hosting the NPSL All-star game, however with attendances lower, Ron Terwilliger was non-committal about their future for the flowing season. Midfielder John Diffley was waived. Star player Franklin McIntosh was traded back to the Hershey Impact for defender Larry Julius. Coach Keith Tozer was showered with water and ice cubes after his 100th career AISA/NPSL coaching victory.

Attendances were low. 1,786 (2nd lowest in franchise history) paid to see them play the Illinois Thunder. By the end of January 1st year GM Vernon Riggs was fired by the owner due to the attendances. Graham Tutt also resigned, and the team went on a five game losing streak. By April the players weren’t sure if they were going to be getting their salaries due to ‘cash-flow problems’. Ron Terwilliger stated he wouldn’t be sure if he was going to bring back the franchise until he saw how well financially the Atalanta Attack’s summer coaching schools went. Due to finances they cancelled the WHCK radio broadcasts, only to be met by a fans backlash. The broadcasts were restarted for the playoffs. Also both playoff games were to be held in Dayton, as the Omni was already booked.

They finished the division second after the 40 game regular season, behind the all-powerful Canton Invaders again. They won 25 and lost 15 of their 40 games, scoring 544 and conceding 401. For the second year running they crashed out of the playoffs to the Dayton Dynamo, this time in the first round losing 11-6 and 17-6.
Yugoslav Zoran Savic was the team’s leading goals and assists scorer with 56 and 33 respectively.

The average attendance (again an approximate figure) was around 3,748. It was revealed that the Omni was charging the Attack the highest rent in professional soccer, indoor or outdoor.

Tom Kenny a businessman who made his fortune through 1-800 numbers, began negotiating to buy the franchise, however this came to nothing.On September 4th the franchise was moved to Kansas City ready for the 1991-1992 season, becoming the Kansas City Attack. Terwilliger retained a minority ownership stake, the majority stake was owned by Chris Economides & Lou Gatsis, who had been trying to get an NPSL franchise in Rochester off the ground without much success. Coach Keith Tozer and nearly the whole roster followed the franchise to Kansas City.

In total they played 80 regular season games, winning 48 and losing 32, scoring 987 and conceding 783. In the playoffs they won 3 and lost 4 games, scoring 65 and conceding 70.

Arizona Sandsharks

The Arizona Sandsharks were an indoor soccer team based in Phoenix, Arizona. They were founded on August 3rd 1992, and were founder members of the Continental Indoor Soccer League (CISL). They played in the league between 1993 and the leagues collapse in 1997, although they spent the 1996 season on hiatus.

The CISL was an indoor soccer league, which operated from April through to September, with the playoffs taking place at the start of October. It was created largely by owners of Hockey and Basketball arenas, as well as the ownership of the San Diego Sockers and Dallas Sidekicks, the only surviving members of the now defunct Major Indoor Soccer League (MISL) that had collapsed in 1992. They created the league as a way of keeping indoor soccer going during the summer (traditionally it had been an autumn to Spring season), as well as keeping arenas busy during the slow summer months.

The Sandsharks were owned by Jerry Colangelo. He was a sports mogul who also owned at various points, the Phoenix Suns (basketball), Phoenix Mercury (women’s basketball), Arizona Rattlers (Indoor American football), Arizona Diamondbacks (baseball), and the Phoenix Coyotes (ice hockey).

He also owned the America West Arena, the 15,505 capacity venue in Phoenix where the Sandsharks played, along with Colangelo’s other sports franchises. The arena was new, having only been finished in 1992.

1993:
The inaugural season of the CISL was a one division league. Alongside the Sandsharks were the Dallas Sidekicks, Los Angeles United, Monterrey LaRaza, Portland Pride, Sacramento Knights, and the San Diego Sockers. Monterrey were the first ever Mexico based professional soccer franchise. 3 further franchises were scheduled to play, but they delayed for a season due to organization problems.

Peter Duh was named as head coach.

Under the league’s salary rules, a player could not expect more than $3,000 a month. Each team also had a salary cap of $150,000 for the season, with a 16 player roster. 6 players would earn $3,000, and the rest $2,000 a month for the 4 month season. Players signed to reserve contracts could expect to earn $500 a month. Each team was also required to pay a $200,000 fee to the league at the start of each season.

Under CISL rules any player drafted was tied to that team for 2 years, unless traded or sold to another team. The player has the right to decline to play, but cannot sign with any other team. The Sandsharks had wanted to draft Wes Wade, a player from Phoenix, and making him as the main draw of the team. However he was drafted first by the San Diego Sockers and protected. Wade himself wanted to play in for the Sandsharks, but under league rules found he couldn’t. On their 2nd and 3rd draft picks, the Sandsharks chose Alex Golovnia and Thompson Usiyan, two ex-Sockers players who lived in San Diego as leverage for a trade as the Sockers wanted these 2 players for their own roster. After a dispute between the teams, Wade was traded to the Sandsharks for Golovnia, Thompson Usiyan, and Nassim Olabi.

The 1993 roster featured a fair few standouts. On the roster was striker, and Phoenix native, Mark Kerlin, Englishmen Paul Kitson and Franklin McIntosh, and goalkeeper Warren Westcoat. Also American defender Bill Becher, and Ghanaian forward Paul Agyeman.

The first game for the Sandsharks was at home against the Los Angeles United on June 17th 1993. This was also the first ever CISL game. The Sandsharks won the game 6-4.
The game against the San Diego Sockers was marked by the debut of on-field referee Rosalie Kramm, the first female referee in US soccer history.

The Sandsharks finished the season placed 6 out of 7 franchises, missing out on the playoffs. In the 28 game season their record stood at 6 wins, 22 losses, 201 goals scored, and 243 conceded. At one stage they went on a 12 game losing streak.

Englishman Franklin McIntosh was the leading goal scorer for the franchise with 35 goals. Wes Wade was the leading assist maker and point’s scorer with 25 and 64 respectively.

The Sandsharks average attendance was a respectable 5,316.

1994:
In 1994 7 new franchises were added to the CISL, and the league was split into Eastern and Western Divisions. The Sandsharks were placed in the Western, facing the Anaheim Splash, San Diego Sockers, Las Vegas DustDevils, Sacramento Knights, Portland Pride, and the San Jose Grizzlies.

In an attempt to prevent NPSL players performing in the rival league, NPSL commissioner Steve Paxos implemented a $4,000 “processing fee” for players who switched leagues to the CISL for the summer season. This led to players bringing a lawsuit against the league claiming restraint of trade, forcing the NPSL to back down.

The 1994 roster, again under Head Coach Peter Duh, saw a few changes. In came English defender Terry Woodberry, as well as Americans Rick Soderman and Lee Tschantret. They kept hold of leading scorer Franklin McIntosh, Bill Becher, and Paul Agyeman.
The Sandsharks placed dead last of their 7 team division, again missing the playoffs. In their 28 games they won 11 and lost 17, scoring 200 and conceding 214.

Head coach Peter Duah resigned on September 8th, and was reassigned as a special consultant.

1995:
For 1995 the CISL was re-organized again, this time into 3 divisions, Eastern, Western and Southern. The Sandsharks were placed in the 5 team Southern Division, pitted against the Anaheim Splash, Houston Hotshots, Mexico Toros, and the San Diego Sockers.

After Peter Duh resigned, they turned to the English coach and American soccer veteran, Ron Newman. Prior to taking over the Sandsharks he had won titles outdoors with the Fort Lauderdale Strikers in the NASL, and indoors with the San Diego Sockers in the MSL. He was the winning coach who was going to transform the lacklustre Sandsharks. He left the more successful Sockers as he wanted a new challenge, and also he wanted to work with a settled owner, and on a financially stable team. Luis Dabo was named as his assistant.

The 1995 roster saw the arrival of Peruvian forward Mirko Castillo, and the loss of Franklin McIntosh. A few weeks into the season however, when they acquired CISL star forward Dale Ervine in a trade with the Anaheim Splash. The deal saw Paul Agyeman move in the opposite direction. Ervine had fallen out with his coach, George Fernandez in Anaheim.

Some games in the Sandsharks 1995 season were televised live by Tucson’s KHRR Channel 40.

During the season in a match against the Portland Pride a brawl broke out between the teams. Dave MacIntosh of the Sandsharks continued to fight into the car park. When owner Jerry Colangelo attempted to intervene, MacIntosh hit him breaking his nose. This was the straw that broke the camel’s back, as Colangelo had suffered financial losses running a consistently underperforming team. After the season Colangelo put the franchise up for sale.

The Sandsharks 7-6 overtime victory over the Sacramento Knights also marked Newman’s 700th career victory as a coach, making him the most successful coach in American soccer history.

The hiring of Newman didn’t improve their records on the pitch as they placed 4th in the division, again missing out on the playoffs. In the 28 game season they won 11 and lost 17. Yugolav forward Bojan Vuckovic finished second to the San Diego Sockers’ Mark Chung in the ‘Rookie of the Year’ award.

1996:
The Sandsharks were purchased from Colangelo by Kerry Dunne & Brian Weymouth. The Purchase was only completed days before the 1996 season was due to begin. With not enough time to construct a front office or team, they opted to go on hiatus for the 1996 CISL season and return in 1997.

1997:
The Sandsharks returned to CISL action in 1997, in what would turn out to be the last season for both the franchise and the league itself. The CISL was now a 2 division league again, split between an Eastern and Western Division. Arizona were in the Western, facing the Anaheim Splash, Portland Pride, Sacramento Knights, and the Seattle SeaDogs.

The new head coach was Luis Dabo, who had been assistant coach under Ron Newman’s reign.

After a year on hiatus the 1997 roster featured returning striker Mark Kerlin, who’d last played for the franchise in 1993. Also returning were Terry Woodberry and Rick Soderman.

They placed dead last again in the division, winning 8 and losing 20 of their 28 games. They scored 135 goals and conceded 189. Mark Kerlin was the leading goal scorer with 31.

After the season the CISL folded. Arizona and the Portland Pride founded the Premier Soccer Alliance in the summer of 1998. The CISL however claimed the rights to the nicknames and logos of all the CISL franchises (except the Dallas Sidekicks), so the franchise had to be renamed the Arizona Thunder. The CISL’s Dallas Sidekicks and Sacramento Knights also joined the league.

The Sandsharks never had a winning record in the CISL, and they never made the playoffs. In total they played 112 games, winning only 36 and losing 76.

Arizona Condors

The Arizona Condors were a professional soccer team based in Mesa, Arizona. They were founded in 1989 and joined the Western Soccer League as an expansion team. The team were based at Riggs Stadium, on the campus of the Mesa Community College.The team was owned by Tony Colecki.

For their inaugural season they chose Englishman Adrian Webster as coach. He had finished his professional career playing indoors in 1981 with the Phoenix Inferno. His assistant was Fran Bacon, formerly a soccer and baseball coach at the University of Bridgeport.

Star players were the forward Mark Kerlin and midfielder Wes Wade, both of who would remain with the franchise for its run.

They were placed in the Southern Division, alongside the San Diego Nomads, Los Angeles Salsa, Real Santa Barbara and the California Kickers.

In the 16 game season, they finished with a record of 5 wins and 11 losses, placing 4th in the division with 50 points and missing out on the playoffs. They scored 25 goals and conceded 39. Wes Wade finished as top soccer with 10 goals. Mark Kerlin was top assist maker with 4, and with his 9 goals finished as leading points scorer with 22. Kerlin was also placed on the WSA All-star team.

In 1990 the Western Soccer League and the eastern based American Soccer League merged to form the APSL (American Professional Soccer League). Although the league was a national one, the west and the east remained separate, only meeting in the grand final.

The Condors were placed in the South Division of the Western Conference, paired with the San Diego Nomads, Los Angeles Salsa, California Emperors, Real Santa Barbara, and the New Mexico Chiles.

They finished bottom of the division and failed to make the play offs. Their record consisted of 20 games played, with 5 wins and 15 losses for a total of 59 points. They scored 29 goals and conceded 51. Their top goal scorer was Mark Kerlin with 8 goals

After the 1990 season they folded, with much of the team joining the Phoenix Hearts of the USISL (United States Inter-regional Soccer League).

In total they played 36 professional games, winning 10 and losing 26, scoring 54 goals and conceding 90. Their total points score was 109. Their overall top goal scorer was Mark Kerlin with 17.

Anaheim Splash

The Anaheim Splash was an indoor soccer team based in Anaheim, Los Angeles. They were founded as the Los Angeles United, and competed in the 1993 Continental Indoor Soccer League (CISL) season, before being bought and relocated to Anaheim and renamed. They competed in 4 summer CISL seasons, from 1994 through to 1997 when the team and the league folded.

They were bought by Ogden Facility Management in 1994, the company that operated the Arrowhead Pond, and they owned the franchise for 2 years until it was sold to Bill Williams in 1996. 2 months later he sold it again to The Anaheim Splash Inc just before the start of the 1996 season.

The team played its home games at Arrowhead Pond in Anaheim, which had a capacity of 17,163 and was shared with the Anaheim Ducks (NHL), Los Angeles Clippers (NBA), Anaheim Bullfrogs (Roller Hockey), Anaheim Piranhas (Arena Football), and the Anaheim Storm (Lacrosse).

The team began life as Los Angeles United in the inaugural 1993 CISL season, and were owned by Jerry Buss, the ex-owner of the MISL’s Los Angeles Lazers franchise. He also owned the Los Angeles Lakers. He sold the franchise to Ogden Facility Management in 1994 and the team was relocated to Anaheim and became the Splash. Ogden are a New York based operation, and the running of the team was left to The Ponds general manager Ryan Mayne, and its governer’s (Brad Payne & Tom Orchard). At the start of each season every club in the CISL had to post a $200,000 letter of credit with the CISL.

For their first season they were placed in the Western Division, lining up against the San Diego Sockers, Las Vegas DustDevils, Sacramento Knights, Portland Pride, San Jose Grizzlies and the Arizona Sandsharks.

Their first coach was George Fernandez, appointed on 4th May 1994. As he was a player in the National Professional Soccer League (NPSL) with the Cleveland Crunch, and the NPSL prohibited their players or coaches playing in the rival CISL the Crunch had to release him from his contract. Also as the CISL prohibited player-coaches he couldn’t play and had to remain on the sidelines.

Their squad included a number of holdovers from the franchises previous Los Angeles United incarnation. These players included stars defender Ralph Black, midfielders Dale Ervine and Doug Neely, and forwards Rod Castro & Raffaele Ruotolo. Also on their roster was the actor Andrew Shue (brother of the more famous Elisabeth), who was starring in the hit soap opera ‘Melrose Place’. Shue signed up as a ‘protected amateur’ (whatever that means) and featured in 2 games.

Their CISL debut was on the 10th June 1994, and was a 7-4 win against the Las Vegas DustDevils, watched by 4,721 fans.

Splash games were covered on radio by Korg (1190). Joe Tutino was the main announcer, having turned down the chance to perform the same role with the Las Vegas DustDevils.

After their 28 games regular season they won the CISL’s Western Division with a record of 20 wins and 8 losses. They scored 227 goals and conceding 172. In the playoffs they defeated the Sacramento Knights in the quarter finals, before losing to the eventual champions the Las Vegas DustDevils in the semis.

George Fernandez was named coach of the year, and Ralph Black named ‘Defender of the Year’, as well as making the CISL All-star team. Defender Paul McDonnell was named on the CISL Rookie All-star team. Dale Ervine was the franchises top scorer with 39 goals, and he finished equal top on assists with Raffaele Ruotolo (37).

In a re-organization for the 1995 CISL the Splash were placed in a new Southern Division, alongside the Mexico Toros, San Diego Sockers, Arizona Sandsharks, and the Houston Hotshots. George Fernandez again coached the team. The Splash ownership stated that anything less than the championship in 1995 would be considered a failure.

They lost All-star defender Ralph Black, but kept hold of Ervine, Neely and Castro. They also added defender Sean Bowers (Sacramento Knights in a trade for forward Paul Wright ), forward Bernie Lilavois (San Jose Grizzlies for draft choices), and goalkeeper Ruben Fernandez.

The opening game of the 1995 season was away at the San Diego Sockers on the 24th June 1995 winning 8-5, with its home opener against the Portland Pride the next night. Sean Bowers missed the first 4 games of the season, due to his honeymoon. In the second game of the season Raffaele Ruotolo set an indoor record of registering an assist in 29 consecutive games lasting over the 1994 to 1995 seasons.

The season was characterised by a falling out between the coach George Fernandez, and the franchise’s star player, Dale Ervine. By the start of August the Splash were hawking him to other CISL teams, even though he was their top scorer at that point with 16 goals in 9 games . Ervine lashed out at Fernandez, accusing him of being a poor communicator, who let his ego and jealousy get in the way of rational thinking. He was traded mid-season to the Arizona Sandsharks for Paul Agyeman.

For the 2nd season running they topped their division after the 28 game regular season. They finished with 17 wins and 11 losses. They defeated the San Diego Sockers in the quarter finals, before falling for the second year running in the semis, this time to the Sacramento Knights.

Ruben Fernandez was the top ranked goalkeeper, but missed out on ‘Goalkeeper of the Year’ to Mike Dowler of the Sacramento Knights. Defender Sean Bowers made the CISL All-Star team.

The Splash had just before the season kicked off sold 1,437 season tickets. General Manager Tim Ryan put this down to the high scoring action of indoor football, with games averaging 14 goals. This season saw the Splash break their attendance records a few times over. Their match against the Mexico Toros provided their record crowd up to this point, 10,934. Some games were also televised this year on Prime Ticket, although not live broadcasts.

In January 1996, Ogden announced that they were relinquishing their controlling interest in the franchise, though still remain minority partners. The losses were not substantial, but the head office wanted the management to concentrate on running the Pond, rather than the Splash. If no partners could be found they would close the team down. The league offered the team $100,000 assistance, but this was turned down by the Splash as it was too late to approach the head office with the offer. During the 1995 season the Splash had lost approximately $200,000. The Splash were nearly saved by Bob Bell, the ex-owner of the San Diego Sockers in the NASL and MISL. However, a deal could not be struck and the ownership rights were transferred to the league.

Scottsdale, Arizona-based businessman Bill Williams bought a controlling interest in the team. He also brokered a deal to keep the Arrowhead Pond as the team’s venue, and agreed to keep the Splash in Anaheim for 10 years, and not move it to a new location. Williams had previously been a minority owner of the NFL’s New Orleans Saints.
Williams only owned the club for 2 months however, he sold up to a 20-strong group of investors headed by Gary Sparks just before the season started. The group registered its name as the Anaheim Splash Inc. Sparks was president of the Coast Soccer League, a youth league with over 700 teams.

The new ownership group decided to dispense with George Fernandez as coach, with him going back to the NPSL as coach of the Cincinnati Silverbacks. The Splash hired the Scotland-born Ian Fulton as the new head coach. He had spent the previous 2 years as assistant at the Las Vegas DustDevils.

Don Ebert was named as the franchise’s General Manager. He had previously played indoors with the St. Louis Steamers and the Los Angeles Lazers. He had combined this with a role as Director of Marketing & Operations at Forum Boxing Inc. He had also done colour commentary on CISL games during the 1995 season.

With his nemesis Fernandez leaving, Dale Ervine was brought back from the Arizona Sandsharks, who were on hiatus for the 1996. They lost a number of players in the 1996 inaugural MLS draft. All-star defender Sean Bowers went to the Kansas City Wizards, defender Denis Hamlett went to the Colorado Rapids.

Following a number of teams withdrawing from the CISL the divisions were reorganized again, with the Spash back in a Western Division, lining up against the San Diego Sockers, Sacramento Knights, Portland Pride, and the Seattle SeaDogs.

The Splash’s first fixture of the 1996 season took place on the 14th June 1996 at home against the Dallas Sidekicks.

Fulton had numerous problems with Raffaele Ruotolo throughout the season. Before the teams game with the Houston Hotshots, Ruotolo refused to play and take part in 3 player shifts, wanting more time playing. Fulton stated that the “inmates should not be allowed to run the prison”. For the next training Ruotolo came in dressed like a criminal. The club suspended him for a couple of weeks before bringing him back. After another complaint about lack of playing time Ruotolo walked out on the club saying he wouldn’t play whilst Fulton and General Manager Don Ebert were involved with the club got suspended again, and he never featured for the team again.
He also had problems with another star player, Armando Valdivia. Valdivia had been injured in a car crash that kept him out of the first 4 games. Concerned that he was earning $2,500 a month Fulton decided to waive him, much to the shock of his team-mates.

They finished the 28 game season in 2nd place, winning 15 games and losing 13. They scored 180 goals and conceded 169. They again qualified for the playoffs, but failed at the first hurdle, losing to the Dallas Sidekicks in the quarter finals. Dale Ervine was the top scorer with 45 goals, and Danny Barber led the team in assists with 30.

In 1997, the final year of the Anaheim Splash, and the CISL the Splash had another new coach. Dale Ervine who had played with the franchise since 1993 was named as the league’s first-ever player-coach (The CISL had softened their stance on player-coaches). The previous incumbent Ian Fulton had moved on to the Portland Pride.

New players included English defender Terry Rowe (Indianapolis Twisters in trade for Paul McDonnell), midfielder Kevin Sloan, and defender Thor Lee. Lee came in the dispersal draft from the defunct San Diego Sockers.

They remained in the western Division, with the returning Arizona Sandsharks franchise replacing the San Diego Sockers, who had been folded.

The 1997 campaign kicked off with a home game against the Portland Pride on the 20th June 1997.

Ervine, who had had a fractious relationship under previous coach George Fernandez, had his own fall out with players. After Paul Agyeman had been sent off for kicking Monterrey player’s Marco Coria’s groin failed to defend his player. This lead to one player speaking anonymously saying that he whilst he was extolling the virtues of being a team and all in it together, he was alienating one member of the team. His fiery nature was also shown after the last regular game of the season at the Sacramento Knights. Ervine went face-to-face with the Knight’s coach Keith Weller. Goalkeeper Ruben Fernandez also had to be restrained.

They finished the 28 game season in 2nd place behind the Seattle SeaDogs, winning 16 games and losing 12. This got them into the playoffs. They scored 165 goals and conceded 134. Bernie Lilavois was the team’s leading goal scorer with 44, and he also topped the assists with 18.

A week before the playoffs on September 30th, the league voted unanimously to seize the Splash, removing the Anaheim Splash Inc as owners. The league cited a “failure to meet financial obligations” as the reason and terminated the franchise rights. The CISL said that Gary Sparks had missed paying several quarterly assessment fees to the league. The fees, which totalled $200,000, go into a pool to fund player salaries, worker compensation, disability, TV production fees and league operating costs. This however would not stop them competing in the playoffs that began in October.

The players were considering boycotting the playoffs due to non-payment of wages and this was the only leverage that they had. However, they met with then ex-owner Gary Sparks prior to the playoffs. He gave his version of events regarding the situation with the league, and said he would do his best to make sure the players got paid what was owed to them. The players decided to play on.

However, scheduling conflicts with the Arrowhead Pond (owned by Ogden Facility Management, ex-owners of the Splash) meant that both of their playoff games had to take place in Sacramento. They were defeated by the Sacramento Knights in the first round of the playoffs. This turned out to be the last game the Splash ever played.
On December 5th, Ogden Facility Management were looking to re-purchase the franchise from the league with potential partners.

The CISL folded on December 23rd 2007. The Splash had been seized and 3 franchises (Dallas Sidekicks, Houston Hotshots & Portland Pride) withdrew. The CISL advised that they would still seek the $200,00 of delinquent fees from the ownership of the Splash.

Their overall record was 112 games played, winning 68 and losing 44.

Albany Capitals

The Albany Capitals (1988-91) were a professional soccer team who based in Albany, New York State. They were only active for 4 seasons, the first two years being in the American Soccer League (ASL), and their last 2 years in the American Professional Soccer League (APSL) after the merger of the ASL and the WSL.

They were owned by Italian-born Armand Quadrini, a local property developer and construction company owner. He moved to Schenectady at the age of 15 learned the building trade after returning from a spell in the army. They were based in Bleecker Stadium (capacity 7,000) in Albany, although they played a few fixtures at the Shenendehowah High School Stadium.

In 1988 they began play, under the helm of English coach John Bramley, a coach whose resume apparently included playing professionally for Newcastle United in England, as well as coaching at Nottingham Forest, and with the England national team. There are no records of him ever playing professionally in England, or coaching at that level (he may have played and coached the junior or youth teams however). He had also apparently been around the world on behalf of the English Football Association as a speaker.
Above him was a Scottish General Manager, Jim Sinkins, who had apparently played in Scotland before emigrating to the US in 1962. His day job was as an insurance salesman, though he had been active in coaching in the Albany area, as well as being the announcer for the New York Eagles in the ASL. He doubled up as match day announcer for the Capitals. He knows owns his own insurance business, the Allstate Insurance Co.

The annual budget for the team was $250,000 to $300,000, which was thought to be sufficient for a team in an essentially regional league. The league limited wages to a $50,000 per season cap. A $20,000 bond out of the team’s budget was given to the ASL to keep it functioning. According to ASL rules the visiting team was also entitled to a percentage of the gate income, and no lower than $1,000. This meant that for each home game $2,000 was spent before they started to recoup. Ticket prices were roughly $7 per adult, and $4 per child (children who were members of youth leagues were let in for free with a paying adult). Sponsorship of the team included Keis Distributors, 92-FLY, Otto Oldsmobile/Cadillac & Price Chopper.

To prepare for their inaugural season, they played an exhibition schedule that included playing Southampton FC of England, a match which cost them $12,000 to the English Football Association to arrange. Other teams on the exhibition schedule included games against the ASL opposition of the Washington Stars and the New Jersey Eagles. They were to be based in the ASL Northern Division, matching them against the New Jersey Eagles, Washington Stars, Maryland Bays, and the Boston Bolts.

The roster was capped by ASL rules to 18 players, 3 of which could be foreign players (not counting college graduates), and a maximum of 2 from the MISL (Major Indoor Soccer League). The squad was largely straight out of college soccer, a fair amount of them British. They featured Ex-Derby County midfielder Steve Powell (352 games) who was made captain. Also, Glenn Davis, finishing up a minor league career before going on to become a commentator for ESPN, and Sadri Gjonbalaj. Most of the players were paid on a game-by-game basis, and only if they played. Wages were low, so many had to hold down a regular job to make ends meet.

The Capitals first professional match was a penalty shoot-out loss to the Tampa Bay Rowdies on the 14th April 1988. This was to become a pattern as frequently the Capitals played well, but lost out in the penalties (the ASL had done away with draws). As to be expected the Capitals management wanted to change this situation, stating that they had listened too much to ex-NASL teams about what the crowd wanted.
The first home match was against the Miami Sharks on the 30th April. They won 2-1 before 1,724 fans with goals through their Yugoslavian striker, Viktor Jakovljevic and Russ Downing.

Mid season they entertained Middlesbrough FC, who were on a 4 game American tour. They came out with a very reputable 1-1 draw, although the attendance was a poor 724 fans. Captain Steve Powell also dislocated his shoulder, keeping him out of the next 2 ASL games.

They ended the 1988 season bottom of the Northern Division, with a record of 7 wins and 13 losses. They scored 26 goals, letting in 35. Their top goal scorer was English midfielder, Russ Downing, with 4. Defender Jeff Guinn was voted player of the year, whilst English midfielders Andy Harrison & Steve Powell were voted on to the ASL All-star team.

Their total attendance for their 10 home league games was 10,003, for an average of 1,000. The highest attendance was 1,724 in the opener against the Miami Sharks.

For the 1989 season, the Capitals were looking to move out of downtown Bleecker stadium and into the suburbs in an effort to boost attendance, however a new stadium could not be found so they ended up starting at the Bleecker. The lumpy grass surface at the stadium was now also a cause for concern. Jim Sinkins was moved to become Vice-President and replaced as General Manager by Joe Hennessey, although he quit before the season started. John Bramley had dual roles as Head Coach & General Manager.

Future USA captain and English premier League player John Harkes signed on and played his first season as a professional (6 games 1 goal). Foreign players were now limited to 2 at any one time (not counting College graduates). Steve Powell was kept on as one of the foreign players, as well as being made an assistant coach. Other notable players were future US internationals Brian Bliss (5 games 0 goals) & Mike Windischmann (5 games 0 goals). Chico Borja & Pedro DeBrito filled the MISL roles.

They opened their 1989 season with a 1-0 away loss at the Orlando Lions. The 1989 home opener was against the defending champions, the Washington Diplomats. A record low attendance of only 300 attending to see a shootout loss to the Washington Stars, with both coaches again decrying the shoot out as a means to settle games.
During the season Englishman Bob Cummings, former defender with Grimsby Town and Lincoln City, was brought in. Also in came ex-England international forward Paul Mariner was signed. He had been playing for Australian side Wollongong City after leaving Arsenal.

The match against the Maryland Bays turned into a violent affair, with Chico Borja punched in the mouth and left unconscious, leaving him needing 11 stitches and minor plastic surgery. His brother, and fellow Capital, Ramiro, got sent off for retaliating against the aggressor.

Albany finished 3rd in the Northern division in 1989, with a record of 11 wins and 9 losses from 20 games. The top scorer was English forward Elvis Comrie with 7 goals – during the season he quit his job as a stockbroker to concentrate on soccer. Chico Borja was the ASL’s assist leader, with 12 during the season. 2 players (Chico Borja & John Harkes) made the ASL All-star team.

By the end of the season home game attendance was up 84% on 1988 levels, with a total attendance for all 10 home games being 18,427. The average attendance was 1,842, with a season high being the 4,031 fo4 a 5-1 victory against the New Jersey Eagles at the Shenendehowah High School stadium. This was one of 2 fixtures held at the stadium. The record low was 300 in the game against the Miami Sharks.

At the end of the season the Armand Quadrini ran into money difficulties, and was forced to auction off a number of his properties. He assured the fans that this would not affect his funding of the team. The ASL merged with the WSA (Western Soccer Alliance) to form the APSL (American Professional Soccer League), a truly national league as opposed to the ASL’s East Coast league. The played the leagues as before, but the winners of the east and west played each other in the final game. For 1990 there was now to be a 15 minute overtime period, rather than the game going straight to penalty kicks.

Albany were placed in the American Conference of the APSL, lining up against the Maryland Bays, Penn-Jersey Spirit, Boston Bolts, Washington Stars & New Jersey Eagles.

For the 1990 season, Paul Mariner returned, but would feature as a defender, rather than his usual striking role. He would also serve as assistant coach to John Bramley. Leading scorer Comrie, and assist maker Borja also returned, however John Harkes left for Sheffield Wednesday in England (his agent was Capitals VP Jim Sinkins). Goalkeeper Scoop Stancisic was scheduled to return when his MISL season with the Baltimore Blast finished, but due to the quality play of long-time deputy Bill Steffen he was not needed. Former sportscaster Ed O’Brien was named as Publicity Director.

Their first match was a 1-o win at the Orange Bowl against the Miami Freedom on the 14th of April. The first home match was on the 28th April against the Tampa Bay Rowdies in front of 1,392 fans, which they won 3-1. Due to scheduling 6 of their first 8 games were played away from Bleecker stadium. The improved surface at Bleecker enabled them to play their preferred game on the floor.

Again attendances fluctuated, with only 500 turning up against the Orlando Lions.

Comrie, last year’s leading scorer was sidelined and unhappy about it for most of the year, being replaced by Mike Masters up front. Back up goalkeeper Martin Vulevic quit the team and was replaced as back up goalkeeper by midfielder Franz Zwicklbauer performing a dual role.

On the pitch the Capitals made the play offs for the first time, but were knocked out by the Fort Lauderdale Strikers in the first round. Mike Masters finished as leading goal scorer with 14 goals. Paul Mariner and Chico Borja were voted on to the inaugural APSL All-star team.They finished the 20 game season in second place of the American Conference with a record of 14 wins and 6 losses, scoring 35 and conceding 22.

At the end of the season John Bramley’s 3 year contract expired, and he signed an extension for the upcoming 1991 season. Paul Mariner stayed on as player/assistant coach.

Newcomers for the 1991 season included Yugoslav striker Zoran Savic (Orlando Lions), English defender Shaun Elliott (Colchester United), Northern Irishman Jimmy McGeough Jnr. (Miami Freedom), and forward Jorge Acosta. They lost Elvis Comrie, Chico Borja, Bob Cummings and English defender Steve Stokoe.

Their reconfigured American Conference included the Fort Lauderdale Strikers, Tampa Bay Rowdies, Penn-Jersey Spirit, and Miami Freedom.

The Capitals won their opening game 1-0 against the Tampa Bay Rowdies in Tampa.
The Capitals again made the playoffs in the 1991 season, finishing in second place in the American conference. Their regular season record was 21 games played, with 10 wins and 11 losses. They scored 27 goals and conceded 29. They had joint top scorers, Mike Masters & Ramiro Borja who scored 7 goals apiece. Borja made the APSL All-star team.

They beat the Maryland Bays in the first round of play offs, before losing the APSL championship game to the San Francisco Bay Blackhawks. This would be the team’s last competitive game.

The Capitals folded at the end of the 1991 season.