1978–79 Major Indoor Soccer League season

August 2023 Major Indoor Soccer League 1978–79 New York Arrows USA Fred Grgurev (46 goals) 72 863 4,282 First season 1979–80 The 1978–79 Major Indoor Soccer League season was the first in league history and would end with the New York Arrows winning the first MISL title. Recap The league would begin with six teams and a 24-game schedule beginning in December 1978 and ending in March 1979. The top four teams would advance to a single-game semifinal and a best of three championship series. League attendance would average 4,453 per game.http://www.oursportscentral.com/misl/197879.html 1978-79 MISL Season Summary Our Sports Central November 30, 2011 Signs were good that the league would have a long-time presence. The early games drew strong crowds, as Philadelphia sold out the Spectrum for their opener, leading the league in attendance. The first expansion team was announced on December 13, nine days before the first game in league history, as the Buffalo Stallions were slated to start play in the 1979-80 season. 10,386 fans were in the Nassau Coliseum to see the Cincinnati Kids play the Arrows in the league's first game.1980-81 MISL Media Guide 1980 60 Despite finishing in a solid third place, Cincinnati folded after the season. Teams TeamCity/AreaArenaCincinnati KidsCincinnati Riverfront ColiseumCleveland ForceCleveland Richfield ColiseumHouston Summit Houston The SummitNew York ArrowsUniondale, New York Nassau Veterans Memorial ColiseumPhiladelphia FeverPhiladelphia The SpectrumPittsburgh SpiritPittsburgh Civic Arena (Pittsburgh) Map of clubs left 10px 1978-79 Major Indoor Soccer League clubs 1090 500 300 425 355 North America 870 North America 39.10 -84.50 Black pog.svg 80 bottom Kids North America 41.25 -81.59 Black pog.svg 80 left Force North America 29.73 -95.44 Black pog.svg 80 bottom Summit North America 40.72 -73.59 Black pog.svg 80 top Arrows North America 39.90 -75.17 Black pog.svg 80 right Fever North America 40.44 -79.99 Black pog.svg 80 bottom Spirit Regular season Schedule The 1978–79 regular season schedule ran from December 22, 1978, to March 18, 1979. 1982-83 MISL Information Guide 1982 10 Each team played a schedule of 24 games. Final standings Playoff teams in bold. W L Pct. GB GF GA Home Road Houston Summit 186.750--17511411-17-5 New York Arrows 168.66721761368-48-4 Cincinnati Kids 168.667215412910-26-6 Philadelphia Fever 1113.45871411545-76-6 Pittsburgh Spirit 618.250121231714-82-10 Cleveland Force 519.20813941594-81-11 Team attendance ClubGamesTotalAveragePhiladelphia Fever 12 90,176 7,515New York Arrows 12 65,350 5,446Houston Summit 12 43,472 3,623Cincinnati Kids 12 38,287 3,191Cleveland Force 12 37,393 3,116Pittsburgh Spirit1233,2062,801OVERALL72308,2844,282 Regular season statistics MISL Official Tenth Anniversary Guide 1987 57 Scoring leaders GP = Games played, G = Goals, A = Assists, Pts = Points Player Team GP G A PtsUSA Fred Grgurev Philadelphia Fever 24 46 28 74 YUG Steve Zungul New York Arrows 18 43 25 68FIN Kai Haaskivi Houston Summit 22 39 25 64 CAN Branko Segota New York Arrows 21 25 22 47 USA Doug Wark Cincinnati Kids 22 29 16 45 USA Joey Fink Philadelphia Fever 22 30 14 44SCO Ian Anderson Houston Summit 21 29 13 42ENG Stewart Jump Houston Summit 21 21 18 39USA John Stremlau Houston Summit 24 16 21 37USA Alberto Alves Philadelphia Fever 24 20 16 36 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 LENG Paul Hammond Houston Summit 17 1010 70 4.16 13 3USA Keith Van Eron Cincinnati Kids 23 1237 104 5.04 15 7USA Shep Messing New York Arrows 22 1236 107 5.19 14 7 USA Woody Hartman Philadelphia Fever 22 1237 120 5.82 10 10TRI Roland Skinner Houston Summit 8 453 44 5.83 5 3USA Jim May Cleveland Force 12 529 53 6.01 1 6 USA Peter Mannos Pittsburgh Spirit 16 880 159 3.02 5 9 USA Rich Brands Cleveland Force 13 533 71 7.99 1 8 Playoffs Bracket SemifinalsSingle match Championship seriesBest-of-three 1 Houston 3 4 Philadelphia 6 2 New York 9 3 Cincinnati 4 4 Philadelphia 0 2 New York 2 Semifinals March 11 Houston Summit3–6Philadelphia FeverThe Summit • 4,683 March 13New York Arrows9–4Cincinnati KidsNassau Coliseum • 4,411 Championship Series Higher seedLower seedGame 1Game 2Game 3New York Arrows - Philadelphia Fever 14–7 9–5 x March 23 • Nassau Coliseum • 8,640 March 25 • The Spectrum • 6,096 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 PtsYUG Steve Zungul New York Arrows 3 15 4 19 CAN Branko Segota New York Arrows 3 7 3 10 CAN Pat Ercoli New York Arrows 3 1 7 8 USA Alberto Alves Philadelphia Fever 3 2 5 7ARG Luis Alberto New York Arrows 3 1 5 6 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 LSCO Ian Anderson Houston Summit 1 1 0 0.00 0 0USA Shep Messing New York Arrows 3 170 15 5.30 3 0 CAN Enzo DiPede New York Arrows 2 10 1 5.88 0 0 ENG Paul Hammond Houston Summit 1 59 6 6.12 0 1USA Woody Hartman Philadelphia Fever 2 93 10 6.45 1 1 League awards Most Valuable Player: YUG Steve Zungul, New York Scoring Champion: USA Fred Grgurev, Philadelphia Pass Master: USA Fred Grgurev, Philadelphia Goalkeeper of the Year: ENG Paul Hammond, Houston Coach of the Year: FIN Timo Liekoski, Houston Championship Series Most Valuable Player: USA Shep Messing, New York All-MISL team First Team   Position   Second TeamUSA Shep Messing, New York GENG Paul Hammond, HoustonUSA Fred Grgurev, Philadelphia DUSA Ty Keough, CincinnatiSCO Ian Anderson, Houston DUSA Tom Mulroy, Pittsburgh USA Alan Hamlyn, ClevelandUSA Doug Wark, Cincinnati MUSA Joey Fink, PhiladelphiaFIN Kai Haaskivi, Houston FENG Stewart Jump, HoustonYUG Steve Zungul, New York FUSA Jim Pollihan, New York 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 – 1978 The Year in American Soccer - 1979 1978-79 summary at The MISL: A Look Back Category:Major Indoor Soccer League (1978–1992) seasons Major Major