The Oakland Breakers were one of four original franchises in the low-key, California-only relaunch of World Team Tennis in 1981. The original World Team Tennis, founded in part by superstar Billie Jean King, existed from 1974 to 1978 and included a Bay Area franchise known as the “Golden Gaters”. The Breakers, like the Gaters before them, made their home at the Oakland Coliseum.
Imagine if some upstart sport – a junk sport as some of the old cranks in the sporting press would call it – went into an big city arena next fall and outdrew the local NBA team. Not just outdrew it, but nearly doubled their average gate for each game and eventually drove the NBA out of town. It’s inconceivable that a sport like indoor lacrosse or arena football could blindside a city like this today. But this is exactly what happened in Kansas City in the early 1980’s with the arrival of the Comets and the Major Indoor Soccer League.
The Long Island-based New York Arrows were the original dynasty franchise in the sport of indoor soccer in the United States. One of six founding franchises in the Major Indoor Soccer League in 1978, the Arrows won the first four MISL championships from 1979 to 1982. The team was virtually unbeatable during this stretch, posting a regular season record of 114-26 with a star-studed roster that included all-time greats Steve Zungul and Branko Segota along with ex-New York Cosmos goalkeeper Shep Messing.
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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