Tombstone
Formed: January 19841Lewis, Michael. “Flash in six-team ASl; dispute produces USL”. The Democrat & Chronicle (Rochester, NY). January 23, 1984
Disbanded: June 25, 19852LaBelle, Fran. “USL cancels ’85 schedule; Sun in limbo”. The South Florida Sun Sentinel (Fort Lauderdale, FL). June 26, 1985
First Game: May 12, 1984
Last Game: June 22, 1985
Seasons: 1.5
States: 5
(FL, NC, NY, OK, TX)
Leadership
President & Commissioner:
- 1984 – April 1985: Dr. William Burfeind
- April 1985 – June 1985: Kalman Csapo
Attendance
Trophy Case
Background
The United Soccer League was a 2nd division outdoor pro league in the United States during the spring/summer of 1984 and the spring of 1985.
The USL rose out of the ashes of the defunct American Soccer League (1933-1983), which collapsed in early 1984. The Dallas Americans, Jacksonville Tea Men, an Oklahoma City franchise, and the Rochester Flash came over from the ASL and were joined by five new expansion franchises to field a league of nine clubs in 1984. The USL also announced plans to play an indoor season in the fall/winter of 1984-1985, but the indoor plans never came to fruition.
When the league returned in the spring of 1985, six of the nine franchises had disbanded. The Houston Dynamos, one of the league’s most stable clubs, elected to operate as an independent club playing an exhibition scheduled rather than continue in the USL. This left the league with only two holdovers – the champion Ft. Lauderdale Sun (now known as the South Florida Sun) and the Dallas Americans. Oklahoma City moved to Tulsa and a new team was added in the El Paso-Juarez border region.
The league managed only a handful of games in 1985 before chronic financial problems caused the league to disband at the end of June 1985.
United Soccer League Franchises
| Franchise | Years Active | USL Champions |
|---|---|---|
| Buffalo Storm | 1984 | None |
| Charlotte Gold | 1984 | None |
| Dallas Americans | 1984-1985 | None |
| El Paso-Juarez Gamecocks | 1985 | None |
| Fort Lauderdale Sun | 1984 | 1984 |
| Houston Dynamos | 1984 | None |
| Jacksonville Tea Men | 1984 | None |
| New York Nationals | 1984 | None |
| Oklahoma City Stampede | 1984 | None |
| Rochester Flash | 1984 | None |
| South Florida Sun | 1985 | None |
| Tulsa Tornados | 1985 | None |
Downloads
1984 United Soccer League Directory
1984 United Soccer League Directory##
