Category: Major Indoor Soccer League 1978

Juli Veee on the cover of a 1985 San Diego Sockers indoor soccer program

San Diego Sockers (1978-1996)

February 10, 2013

The greatest indoor soccer dynasty of all time started out as a struggling outdoor soccer team that couldn’t find a home. As outdoor soccer faltered in San Diego and nationwide in the early 1980’s, the Sockers found new life in the air conditioned confines of the San Diego Sports Arena, winning 10 indoor titles between 1982 and 1992. At the time the original Sockers closed their doors in 1996, they were the oldest continuously operating professional soccer club in the United States.

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1980-81 San Francisco Fog Media Guide from the Major Indoor Soccer League

San Francisco Fog

February 8, 2013

This short-lived entry in the Major Indoor Soccer League lasted just one season at the Cow Palace during the winter of 1980-81. With former San Jose Earthquakes star Johnny Moore onboard as player-coach, the Fog finished with the worst record (11-29) in the 12-team MISL that winter. The franchise moved to Kansas City prior to the 1981-82 season.

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Illustration of Steve Zungul on the cover of a 1986 Tacoma Stars program from the Major Indoor Soccer League

Tacoma Stars (1983-1992)

January 22, 2013

Indoor soccer’s Tacoma Stars were the first tenants at the $44 million Tacoma Dome that opened in April 1983. The Stars were pretty much the closest thing that the city of Tacoma, Washington has had to a major professional sports franchise, the occasional Seattle Supersonics game excluded. Most years, the team was an also-ran. The exception was the winter of 1986-87, when the Stars featured two of the all-time greats of the indoor game: Steve Zungul, the six-time league MVP known as “The Lord of All Indoors” and the brilliant young Serbian midfielder Preki.  The Stars raced out to the best regular season record in the league averaged over 10,000 fans per match at the Dome that winter.

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Paul Child of the Pittsburgh Spirit on the cover of a 1984 Major Indoor Soccer League program

Pittsburgh Spirit

January 21, 2013

The Spirit were Pittsburgh’s indoor soccer team at the Civic Arena from 1978 until 1986. During their peak years in the early 1980’s, the Spirit was owned by Pittsburgh Penguins owner Edward DeBartolo and frequently drew better crowds than the Pens. That dynamic changed with the NHL debut of Mario Lemieux in 1984 and the Spirit closed their doors in the spring of 1986.

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1986-87 Minnesota Strikers Yearbook from the Major Indoor Soccer League

Minnesota Strikers

January 20, 2013

The Minnesota Strikers were a top-flight pro soccer club that played both outdoor and indoor soccer in the Twin Cities between 1984 and 1988. Originally a North American Soccer League club from Fort Lauderdale, Florida, the team moved to Minneapolis in 1984 to play an “outdoor” season indoors at the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome. With the NASL about to fold, the Strikers joined the indoor Major Indoor Soccer League in the fall of 1984 and played four winter seasons at the Met Center before going out of business in June of 1988.

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