Miami Americans

American Soccer League (1980)

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American Soccer League
T-Shirt

For most of its existence, the American Soccer League was a collection of ethnically-based semi-pro clubs clustered in the northeast. But in the 1970’s, the ASL expanded nationwide and became American’s de facto 2nd Division, underneath the bigger-budgeted NASL. This logo was used by the league from the 1970’s until its demise in 1983. 

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Background

At the end of the 1979 North American Soccer League (NASL) season, Fort Lauderdale Strikers owner Elizabeth Robbie fired Head Coach Ron Newman.  Newman had led the Strikers to three consecutive playoff appearances and was the NASL’s all-time winningest coach.  But the Robbie family invested big dollars to bring international stars Gerd Muller and Teofilo Cubillas to South Florida. They were not satisfied with a first round playoff exit.

Newman’s novel response was to recruit investors and drop a 2nd Division American Soccer League (ASL) franchise right in the Robbies’ back yard at Miami’s Tropical Park for the 1980 season.  Newman’s partners included Barry Leighton-Jones, an ex-pat English artist who carved out a niche painting clowns, local attorney Richard Marx and Stanley Worshore, a Ft. Lauderdale businessman.  The group purchased the ASL’s New Jersey Americans in early 1980 and moved the franchise south, sans most of its players and staff.  Newman signed on as President/Head Coach for a record-setting $200,000 per year. It was an outlandish salary for the ever wobbly ASL, where most clubs were thrilled to draw 3,000 fans per match.

The Miami Americans’ big signing was 28-year old Haitian striker Manu Sanon.  Sanon starred for Haiti in the 1974 World Cup, scoring against both Argentina and Italy.  The Americans agreed to a $100,000 transfer fee to import him from Beerschot of the Belgian first division. The Americans then handed Sanon the fattest contract in the ASL, variously reported as $400,000 for the 1980 campaign or $500,000 over three seasons.

The season went sideways immediately.  Compared to the Strikers, the Americans were invisible in the Miami-Ft. Lauderdale region.  The Strikers averaged 14,729 fans at Lockhart Stadium that summer.  The Americans struggled to get 2,000 at Tropical Park.  Ron Newman, the franchise front man, quit the club on June 19th after only a handful of matches, apparently sensing a sinking ship.  Newman soon hooked on with the San Diego Sockers of the NASL, taking over their vacant Head Coach position in mid-season.

The Rhodesians

Six days later, the cash-strapped Americans owners  announced the sale of the team to a pair of shady Rhodesians, Stan Noah and Archie Oliver.  But the deal collapsed over who would be responsible for the club’s existing debt. The Rhodesians then began poking around two other financially distressed ASL clubs – the Columbus Magic and the Sacramento Gold.  In the end, Noah and Oliver turned out to be tire-kickers. All three teams folded before the year was out.

Demise & Aftermath

Manu Sanon soon followed Newman to San Diego of the NASL, walking out the door in July.  The Americans, who couldn’t afford the installment payments on the transfer fee owed to his former Belgian club, were relieved to be out from under his monster contract.  The team limped along in acute financial distress. The team occasionally played with as few as two bench players to avoid signing replacements for injured players.  The Americans managed to make it to the finish line in September, finishing the 1980 season with a 10-15-3 record. They folded quietly shortly thereafter.

Meanwhile, Ron Newman’s odd rivalry with his former club continued.   After taking over the San Diego Sockers in midseason, he led the team deep into the 1980 NASL playoffs until they reached the semi-final series against none other than the Fort Lauderdale Strikers.   The Strikers defeated Newman’s Sockers to advance to Soccer Bowl ’80.  But Newman would go on to turn the Sockers into an indoor soccer dynasty, winning eight indoor soccer championships between 1983 and 1992.

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In Memoriam

Coach Brian Tiler died in a car accident in Italy during the 1990 World Cup on June 30, 1990. He was 47.

Americans striker Manu Sanon died of pancreatic cancer on February 21, 2008 at age 56.

Former Americans owner Barry Leighton-Jones died on November 20, 2011.

Downloads

May 7, 1980 Americans @ California Sunshine Roster

5-12-1980 Miami Americans Grab First Victory ASL Press Release

Links

American Soccer League Media Guides

American Soccer League Programs

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