1979–80 Major Indoor Soccer League season

August 2023 Major Indoor Soccer League 1979–80 New York Arrows (2nd title) YUG Steve Zungul (90 goals) 160 1897 6,009 1978–79 1980–81 The 1979–80 Major Indoor Soccer League season was the second in league history and would end with the New York Arrows repeating as MISL champions. Recap Expansion would increase league membership to 10 teams. There would be a split into two divisions (the Atlantic and Central).1979–80 Buffalo Stallions Media Guide 1979 42 The new teams were placed in Buffalo, Hartford, Wichita, Detroit and St. Louis. All but Hartford had a measure of success, as three of the new clubs would make the playoffs and St. Louis averaged over 14,000 fans despite finishing tied for the MISL's worst record.http://webpages.charter.net/jimfossell/steamers/history.htm St. Louis Indoor Soccer History Jim Fossell December 2, 2011 https://web.archive.org/web/20130807100335/http://webpages.charter.net/jimfossell/steamers/history.htm August 7, 2013 dead To accommodate the expanded league, the playoff format was tweaked to include the top three teams in each division. The first round would be a single game between the second and third-place finishers, while the semifinals were a two-game series between the first-place finisher and the first round winner. If the teams were tied at one win apiece, there would be a 15-minute minigame to decide the winner. If the teams remained tied, there would be a MISL-style penalty shootout to break the tie. The winner of the Atlantic Division final would host the championship game. The Pittsburgh Spirit would recover from a 5–10 start and a coaching change to finish second in the Atlantic, thanks to a league-record 13-game winning streak.http://www.oursportscentral.com/misl/197980.html 1979–80 MISL Season Summary Our Sports Central January 1, 2012 They would be joined in the playoffs by the Buffalo Stallions, who snuck into the postseason thanks to the Philadelphia Fever's loss in the season finale.Spirit, Buffalo Meet In Playoff Matchup March 13, 1980 Pittsburgh Post-Gazette https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=zJ5RAAAAIBAJ&sjid=520DAAAAIBAJ&pg=5349,1774651&dq=pittsburgh+buffalo&hl=en 9–10 2012-01-01 The Stallions qualified due to their 3–1 head-to-head record against the Fever.1982–83 MISL Information Guide 1982 54 In the end, the New York Arrows repeated as champions, thanks to the goalscoring exploits of Steve Zungul. Zungul scored a combined 100 goals (90 in the regular season, 10 in the playoffs) to lead the Arrows, winning both the regular season and playoff MVP awards in the process. After the season, the Spirit suspended operations for one year.Musick Phil The Spirit take year off to recoup finances August 27, 1980 Pittsburgh Post-Gazette https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=WoBIAAAAIBAJ&sjid=_20DAAAAIBAJ&pg=6419,4368570&dq=pittsburgh+spirit&hl=en 17 2012-01-01 Pittsburgh would return for the 1981–82 season, however.Roberts Jerry Fuhrer, MISL chief reveal vacation plans for Spirit August 29, 1980 Pittsburgh Post-Gazette https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=XIBIAAAAIBAJ&sjid=_20DAAAAIBAJ&pg=5051,4960858&dq=pittsburgh+spirit&hl=en 16 2012-01-01 Teams TeamCity/AreaArenaBuffalo StallionsBuffalo, New YorkBuffalo Memorial Auditorium Cleveland ForceCleveland, Ohio Richfield ColiseumDetroit LightningDetroit, MichiganCobo ArenaHartford Hellions Hartford, Connecticut New Haven Coliseum Hartford Civic CenterHouston Summit Houston, Texas The SummitNew York ArrowsUniondale, New York Nassau Veterans Memorial ColiseumPhiladelphia FeverPhiladelphia The SpectrumPittsburgh SpiritPittsburgh, Pennsylvania Civic Arena (Pittsburgh) St. Louis SteamersSt. Louis, MissouriSt. Louis ArenaWichita WingsWichita, Kansas Kansas Coliseum Map of clubs left 10px Atlantic Division 10px Central Division 1090 500 300 425 355 North America 870 North America 42.88 -78.88 Blue pog.svg 80 top Stallions North America 41.77 -72.68 Blue pog.svg 80 top Hellions North America 40.72 -73.59 Blue pog.svg 80 right Arrows North America 39.90 -75.17 Blue pog.svg 80 bottom Fever North America 40.44 -79.99 Blue pog.svg 80 bottom Spirit North America 41.25 -81.59 Red pog.svg 80 top Force North America 42.33 -83.05 Red pog.svg 80 left Lightning North America 29.73 -95.44 Red pog.svg 80 bottom Summit North America 38.63 -90.28 Red pog.svg 80 bottom Steamers North America 37.84 -97.32 Red pog.svg 80 bottom Wings Regular season Schedule The 1979–80 regular season schedule ran from November 24, 1979, to March 9, 1980. The 32 games per team was an increase of eight over the 1978–79 schedule of 24 games.1979–80 Buffalo Stallions Media Guide 1979 48–49 Final standings Playoff teams in bold. Atlantic Division W L Pct. GB GF GA Home Road New York Arrows 275.844 -- 296 17516–011–5 Pittsburgh Spirit 1814.563 918819111–57–9 Buffalo Stallions 1715.5311017219710–67–9 Philadelphia Fever 1715.531102011979–78–8 Hartford Hellions 6 26.188 211512404–122–14 Central Division W L Pct. GB GF GA Home Road Houston Summit 2012.625 -- 18116014–26–10 Wichita Wings 1616.500418717310–66–10 Detroit Lightning 1517.469 51922018–87–9 St. Louis Steamers 1220.37581771848–84–12 Cleveland Force 1220.37581521798–84–12 Team attendance ClubGamesTotalAverageSt. Louis Steamers16224,95914,060Buffalo Stallions16136,8928,556New York Arrows16125,0087,813Philadelphia Fever16105,8816,618Hartford Hellions1686,2035,388Pittsburgh Spirit1681,7815,111Wichita Wings1661,6183,851Detroit Lightning1656,3253,520Cleveland Force1649,3203,280Houston Summit1633,4962,094OVERALL160961,4436,009 Regular season statistics MISL Official Tenth Anniversary Guide 1987 56 Scoring leaders GP = Games Played, G = Goals, A = Assists, Pts = Points Player Team GP G A PtsYUG Steve Zungul New York Arrows 32 90 46 136 USA Fred Grgurev Philadelphia Fever 31 64 40 104 FIN Kai Haaskivi Houston Summit 27 51 36 87 CAN Branko Segota New York Arrows 31 55 31 86 CAN Pat Ercoli Detroit Lightning 32 44 24 68 YUG Iubo Petrovic Buffalo Stallions 31 46 21 67SCO Graham Fyfe Pittsburgh Spirit 31 37 28 65 USA Juli Veee New York Arrows 26 29 35 64 YUG Damir Sutevski New York Arrows 30 32 26 58 SCO Jim Ryan Wichita Wings 29 26 29 55 Goalkeeping leaders Note: GP = Games played; Min – Minutes played; GA = Goals against; GAA = Goals against average; W = Wins; L = Losses Player Team GP Min GA GAA W LUSA Sepp Gantenhammer Houston Summit 14 801 59 4.42 8 5USA Alan Mayer Pittsburgh Spirit 17 952 77 4.85 13 4USA Cliff Brown Cleveland Force 28 1130 95 5.04 8 10 USA Keith Van Eron Wichita Wings 20 1050 89 5.09 10 8USA Paul Turin St. Louis Steamers 18 932 80 5.15 6 10USA Shep Messing New York Arrows 32 1754 151 5.17 15 5 ENG Mick Poole Pittsburgh Spirit 20 1124 99 5.29 12 7USA Eric Delabar St. Louis Steamers 12 498 44 5.301 5 5 USA Mike Ivanow Wichita Wings 14 792 70 5.303 6 6USA Bob Rigby Philadelphia Fever 12 684 65 5.70 8 4 All-Star Game The first MISL All-Star game was played at the Checkerdome in St. Louis, Missouri on February 27, 1980. Players were divided up by division.https://www.newspapers.com/image/139182798/?terms=MISL 7 Feb 1980, Page 19 – St. Louis Post-Dispatch at Newspapers.com 1980-02-07 2022-06-05 Rosters spots were determined by peer voting, with additional spots decided by the two coaches.https://www.newspapers.com/image/139192907/?terms=MISL 14 Feb 1980, Page 21 – St. Louis Post-Dispatch at Newspapers.com 1980-02-14 2022-06-05https://www.newspapers.com/image/139189153/?terms=MISL%2BAll%2BStar 26 Feb 1980, Page 30 – St. Louis Post-Dispatch at Newspapers.com 1980-02-26 2022-06-05 A crowd of 16,892 watched the Central Division squad upset the Atlantic, 9–4. On the strength of three goals and one assist, Pat Ercoli of Detroit was named the game's MVP, with Mick Poole of Houston finishing second, and St. Louis' Steve Pecher third.https://www.newspapers.com/image/139191128/?terms=MISL%2BAll%2BStar 28 Feb 1980, Page 41 – St. Louis Post-Dispatch at Newspapers.com 1980-02-28 2022-06-05 Central Division roster Coach:USA Pat McBride, St. Louis First Team   Position   Second Team Coach's Additions ENG Mick Poole, Houston GCAN Chris Turner, Detroit –SCO Ian Anderson, Houston D*ENG Stewart Jump, HoustonCAN Carl Rose, St. LouisUSA Steve Pecher, St. Louis DENG George Ley, Wichita#USA Tony Bellinger, St. LouisFIN Kai Haaskivi, Houston FCAN Pat Ercoli, DetroitESP Manny Cuenca, St. LouisDEN Flemming Lund, Detroit FUSA John Stremlau, HoustonUSA Johnny Moore, DetroitSCO Jim Ryan, Wichita FENG Norman Piper, Wichita*BER Clyde Best, Cleveland #USA Poli Garcia *injured, did not play • #replaced injured player Atlantic Division roster Coach: Don Popovic, New York First Team   Position   Second Team Coach's AdditionsUSA Jim May, Buffalo GUSA Shep Messing, New York – USA David D'Errico, New York DHUN László Harsányi, New YorkUSA Bobby Smith, PhiladelphiaUSA Doc Lawson, Philadelphia DENG Clive Charles, PittsburghUSA Paul Toomey, HartfordYUG Steve Zungul, New York FUSA Juli Veee, New YorkENG Steve Buttle, PittsburghCAN Branko Šegota, New York FYUG Steve Karasi, BuffaloYUG Damir Šutevski, New YorkUSA Fred Grgurev, Philadelphia F*YUG Slobodan Jankovic, Buffalo#YUG Iubo Petrović, Buffalo *injured, did not play • #replaced injured player Match report All-Star Game February 27, 1980 7:30 PM (CST) Central Division All-Stars 9–4 Report Atlantic Division All-Stars Ercoli 8:29 PecherErcoli 18:41 StremlauErcoli 20:38 PoolePiper 21:26 HaaskiviCuenca 21:58 LundPecher 47:47 ErcoliRyan 53:46 BellingerHaaskivi 56:31 PiperGarcia 58:25 Anderson Lawson 24:31 GrgurevGrgurev 25:02 SegotaZungul 29:14 VeeeVeee 39:49 Harsanyi Checkerdome Dr. Joe Machnik St. Louis, Missouri 16,892 Three Stars of the Match: 1. CAN Pat Ercoli, Detroit; 2. ENG Mick Poole, Houston; 3. USA Steve Pecher, St. Louis Playoffs Bracket Division SemifinalsSingle match Single matchBest-of-three Championship GameSingle match A2 Pittsburgh Spirit 5 A3 Buffalo Stallions 3 C2 Wichita Wings 6 C3 Detroit Lightning 5 A1 New York Arrows 2 A2 Pittsburgh Spirit 0 C1 Houston Summit 2 C2 Wichita Wings 0 A1 New York Arrows 6 C2 Houston Summit 5 Division Semifinals March 11Wichita Wings6–5Detroit LightningKansas Coliseum • 6,245 March 13Pittsburgh Spirit5–3Buffalo StallionsCivic Arena • 5,079 Division Finals Higher seedLower seedGame 1Game 2Mini-gameNew York Arrows – Pittsburgh Spirit 6–3 11–3 x March 16 • Civic Arena • 6,300March 21 • Nassau Coliseum • 8,802Houston Summit – Wichita Wings 5–4 (OT) 4–3 x March 18 • Kansas Coliseum • 9,300March 20 • The Summit • 2,641 Championship Game MISL Finals March 23, 1980 7:35 PM (EST) New York Arrows 7–4 Report AReport BReport C Houston Summit Zungul 8:29Šutevski 10:11Cila 22:14Zungul Šegota Zungul 56:09Vee 57:27 Anderson 7:39Jump Morielli Russell 54:08 Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum Uniondale, New York 8,469 Playoff MVP: Steve Zungul, New York Arrows (3 games, 10 goals) Playoff statistics MISL Official Tenth Anniversary Guide 1987 83 Playoff scoring GP = Games Played, G = Goals, A = Assists, Pts = Points Player Team GP G A Pts YUG Steve Zungul New York Arrows 3 10 4 14 USA Juli Veee New York Arrows 3 5 3 8 ENG Steve Buttle Pittsburgh Spirit 3 6 2 8 ARG Omar Gomez Wichita Wings 3 4 2 6FIN Kai Haaskivi Houston Summit 3 4 1 5 Playoff goalkeeping Note: GP = Games played; Min – Minutes played; GA = Goals against; GAA = Goals against average; W = Wins; L = Losses Player Team GP Min GA GAA W LENG Tony Betts Buffalo Stallions 1 4 0 0.00 0 0USA Shep Messing New York Arrows 3 180 10 3.33 3 0 CAN Chris Turner Detroit Lightning 1 48 3 3.75 0 0 ENG Mick Poole Houston Summit 3 185 14 4.54 2 1USA Keith Van Eron Wichita Wings 3 185 14 4.54 1 2 League awards Most Valuable Player: YUG Steve Zungul, New York Scoring Champion: YUG Steve Zungul, New York Pass Master: YUG Steve Zungul, New York Rookie of the Year: CAN Jim Sinclair, Buffalo Goalkeeper of the Year: USA Sepp Gantenhammer, Houston Coach of the Year: USA Len Bilous, Pittsburgh and Pat McBride, St. Louis Championship Series Most Valuable Player: YUG Steve Zungul, New York All-MISL Teams MISL Official Tenth Anniversary Guide 1987 89 First Team   Position   Second Team USA Shep Messing, New York GUSA Alan Mayer, PittsburghFIN Kai Haaskivi, Houston DUSA Fred Grgurev, PhiladelphiaCAN Branko Segota, New York DENG Steve Buttle, Pittsburgh USA Juli Veee, New YorkYUG Steve Zungul, New York MUSA Dave D'Errico, New YorkSCO Ian Anderson, Houston FENG Clive Charles, PittsburghDEN Flemming Lund, Detroit FUSA Steve Pecher, St. Louis Honorable Mention   Position   ENG Mick Poole, Houston GNED Keith Van Eron, Wichita USA Jim May, BuffaloUSA Doc Lawson, Philadelphia DUSA Jim Pollihan, HoustonARG Luis Alberto, New York MENG Norman Piper, Wichita ARG Ernie Buriano, BuffaloCAN Pat Ercoli, Detroit FSCO Jim Ryan, Wichita References 1979–80 Buffalo Stallions Media Guide Buffalo Stallions 1979 Buffalo, New York 1980–81 MISL Media Guide Major Indoor Soccer League 1980 Bala Cynwyd, Pennsylvania Verb Doug Jones-Fearnley Alaina 1982–83 MISL Information Guide Major Indoor Soccer League 1982 Bala Cynwyd, Pennsylvania MISL Official Tenth Anniversary Guide Leary Dan Griffin John Major Indoor Soccer League Communications Department 1987 New York External links The Year in American Soccer – 1980 1979–80 summary at The MISL: A Look Back Category:Major Indoor Soccer League (1978–1992) seasons Major Major