So grim was the state of professional outdoor soccer in the United States in 1985 that only 13 games were staged by American pro clubs that calendar year. All of these matches were put on by the United Soccer League (USL), a barely solvent gaggle of four teams spread across Florida, Texas and Oklahoma that folded after only one month of competition. The Tornado’s – the team’s nonsensical apostrophe is not a typo – were one of the USL’s many trouble spots.
The Oklahoma City Stampede were a 2nd division pro soccer franchise that operated under a handful of names in Oklahoma during the mid-1980’s. The club originated in 1982 as an expansion called the Oklahoma City Slickers in the American Soccer League. After the ASL folded in early 1984, Slickers owner David Fraser was one of several team owners that banded together to form the new United Soccer League. As part of the shift to the USL, Fraser changed the name of the team to the Stampede. Fraser moved the team to Tulsa in 1985 and the club disbanded along with the rest of the USL later that spring.
The Oklahoma City Slickers were a 2nd division American pro soccer club active in 1982 and 1983. The 1982 Slickers team was outstanding and included former British NASL stars Jeff Bourne and Phil Parkes. The team advanced to the 1982 American Soccer League championship series, losing the decisive third leg of the series 4-1 to the Detroit Express in front of 33,000 fans at the Pontiac Silverdome. The Slickers changed their name to the Oklahoma City Stampede for one final season in 1984.
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