Canadian Professional Soccer League (1983)
Tombstone
Born: December 7, 1982 – CPSL founding franchise1CANADIAN PRESS. “Soccer league unveils teams”. The Gazette (Montreal, QC). December 8, 1982
Re-Branded: 1983 (Toronto Croatia)
First Game: May 23, 1983 (T 1-1 vs. Calgary Mustangs)
Last Game: July 24, 1983 (L 2-0 @ Hamilton Steelers)
CPSL Championships: None
Stadium
Centennial Park Stadium
Opened: 1975
Marketing
Team Colors:
Ownership
Owners: Dr. Antun Pavelic, et al.
Background
It’s a bit complicated to trace the family tree of 1983’s Mississauga Croatia side, one of six clubs entered in the disastrous Canadian Professional Soccer League that summer. Feel free to let me have it in the comments if you dispute what follows.
The club’s backers were Toronto Croatia Soccer Club, a long-time amateur side largely composed of and operated by Croatian expatriates. The small ethnic club shot to international prominence during a brief and improbable period during the mid-1970s after officials stepped in to rescue the financially ailing Toronto Metros of the North American Soccer League (NASL). Much to the consternation of NASL officials, the Croatians re-named the NASL franchise “Toronto Metros-Croatia” in 1975. The following year, the team acquired Portuguese legend Eusebio in the midst of an unlikely late season run and ended up winning the NASL’s 1976 Soccer Bowl championship before 25,000 fans in the Seattle Kingdome. In 1979, Toronto Croatia Soccer Club sold the NASL franchise and returned to the sleepy confines of Canada’s National Soccer League (NSL).
By late 1982 the NASL was in its death throes, though the rapidly shrinking league still featured high profile Canadian clubs in Montreal, Toronto and Vancouver. A group of Canadian promoters and semi-pro clubs sought to form a 12-club professional league that would keep soccer thriving in Canada at a higher level of professionalism than the NSL offered.
The goal of 12 clubs quickly faltered and the Canadian Professional Soccer League launched in May 1983 with just six clubs. These included Mississauga Croatia, a Toronto Croatia Soccer Club owned entry that “borrowed the name” of a youth club formed in 1977 in the recently incorporate neighboring city of Mississauga.
Other CPSL clubs were placed in Calgary, Edmonton, Hamilton, Montreal and Toronto.
One and Done
Mississauga Croatia debuted on May 23rd, 1983 with a 1-1 draw vs. Calgary Mustangs at 2,000-seat Centennial Stadium in Toronto. But the CPSL swiftly came apart at the seams. The Toronto Nationals and Inter-Montreal franchises folded within the first month, upending the schedule and reducing the league to just four clubs.
By late July, Mississauga Croatia’s record stood at 4-8-1. The league decided to abandon the remaining two months of its schedule and proceed to a hastily re-scheduled postseason. The Hamilton Steelers dispatched Croatia in a three-leg semi-final in late July.
In addition to their league schedule, Mississauga Croatia also played Italian Serie A club Udinese in an international friendly at Centennial Park. Udinese defeated the hosts 2-0.
The CPSL quietly disbanded after the shambolic 1983 season. Toronto Croatia Soccer Club returned once again to National Soccer League competition.
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