1984–85 Major Indoor Soccer League season

The 1984–85 Major Indoor Soccer League season was the seventh in league history and ended with the San Diego Sockers winning their second MISL title in three seasons over the Baltimore Blast. It was the Sockers' fourth straight indoor title, as they had also won the North American Soccer League's indoor league in the spring of 1984.

With the NASL near death in the summer of 1984, a handful of teams made plans to switch from outdoor to indoor soccer once the NASL season ended in October.[1] Along with the Sockers, the Chicago Sting, Minnesota Strikers and New York Cosmos formally made the leap in late August.[2] With the addition of the Dallas Sidekicks, the league went back to a 14-team, two-dvision setup.

With an influx of new teams, the league expanded the playoffs even further. 10 teams would qualify, the top three in each division and the next best four wild-card teams. The wild-card teams would play a best-of-three series. The second and third round were best-of-five series, and the championship round would be a best-of-seven series. Each successive round would see the winners reseeded, similar to the NHL playoff format used for almost 20 years.[3]

While the Sting and Strikers made the playoffs, the Cosmos struggled. On February 22, with their record at 11-22, the team announced they were pulling out of the MISL effective immediately.[4] The league would scramble to fill out the schedule,[5] but only the Wichita Wings would play an uneven number of games.

The Strikers would make a run from the wildcard series to the league semifinals, only falling to San Diego in a decisive fifth game. Trailing in the series two games to one, Minnesota actually lost the fourth game in a shootout,[6] but lodged a protest with commissioner Francis Dale over San Diego's shooting order. Dale upheld the protest and declared the Strikers winners.[7] Despite the Sockers only being made aware of the fifth game once they landed at the San Diego airport, they shut out Minnesota to win the series[8]

This would be the final year the MISL would have games aired on network television, CBS broadcast Game 4 of the championship series live on May 25.[9]

Despite having the league's third-best record, the Las Vegas Americans would be terminated by the league after the season due to financial difficulties.[10]

Teams

Team City/Area Arena
Baltimore Blast Baltimore Baltimore Arena
Chicago Sting Chicago Chicago Stadium
Cleveland Force Cleveland Richfield Coliseum
Dallas Sidekicks Dallas Reunion Arena
Kansas City Comets Kansas City, Missouri Kemper Arena
Las Vegas Americans Paradise, Nevada Thomas & Mack Center
Los Angeles Lazers Inglewood, California The Forum
Minnesota Strikers Bloomington, Minnesota Met Center
New York Cosmos East Rutherford, New Jersey Brendan Byrne Arena
Pittsburgh Spirit Pittsburgh Civic Arena (Pittsburgh)
San Diego Sockers San Diego San Diego Sports Arena
St. Louis Steamers St. Louis St. Louis Arena
Tacoma Stars Tacoma, Washington Tacoma Dome
Wichita Wings Wichita, Kansas Kansas Coliseum

Regular season schedule

The 1984–85 regular season schedule ran from November 2, 1984, to April 14, 1985. Despite the Cosmos leaving the league in mid-season, each team played their scheduled 48 games with the exception of Wichita.[11]

Final standings

Playoff teams in bold.

Eastern Division W L Pct. GB GF GA Home Road
Baltimore Blast 3216.667 --25219019-513-11
Chicago Sting 2820.583426122320-48-16
Cleveland Force 2721.563523922815-912-12
Minnesota Strikers 2424.500822422616-88-16
St. Louis Steamers 2424.500821120716-88-16
Pittsburgh Spirit 1929.3961321725616-83-21
New York Cosmos 1122.33313½1372857-94-13
Western Division W L Pct. GB GF GA Home Road
San Diego Sockers 3711.771-- 30220118-619-5
Las Vegas Americans 3018.625726921418-612-12
Los Angeles Lazers 2424.5001323223014-1010-14
Kansas City Comets 2226.4581521622113-119-15
Wichita Wings 2126.43715½20223314-107-16
Tacoma Stars 1731.3542020726311-136-18
Dallas Sidekicks 1236.333251942868-164-20

Playoffs

  Wildcard Series Division Semifinals Division Finals Championship Series
                                     
WC2  St. Louis Steamers 1  
WC3  Kansas City Comets 2  
  1  San Diego Sockers 3  
    8  Kansas City Comets 0  
      
        
  1  San Diego Sockers 3  
  6  Minnesota Strikers 2  
WC1  Minnesota Strikers 2  
WC4  Wichita Wings 1  
  3  Las Vegas Americans 1
    6  Minnesota Strikers 3  
      
        
  1  San Diego Sockers 4
  2  Baltimore Blast 1
        
        
  2  Baltimore Blast 3
    7  Los Angeles Lazers 0  
      
        
  2  Baltimore Blast 3
  5  Cleveland Force 2  
        
        
  4  Chicago Sting 2
    5  Cleveland Force 3  
      

Wildcard Series

Minnesota vs. Wichita
Date Away Home Attendance
April 17 Wichita 1 Minnesota 2 4,233
April 19 Minnesota 3 Wichita 8 7,053
April 21 Wichita 2 Minnesota 3 4,032
Jan Goossens scored at 2:45 of overtime
Minnesota wins series 2-1
St. Louis vs. Kansas City
Date Away Home Attendance
April 17 Kansas City 5 St. Louis 4 7,636
Damir Haramina scored at 8:14 of overtime
April 19 St. Louis 3 Kansas City 2 10,241
Tasso Koutsoukos scored at 1:22 of overtime
Kansas City wins series 2-0

Quarterfinals

San Diego vs. Kansas City
Date Away Home Attendance
April 24 Kansas City 3 San Diego 4 7,552
Brian Quinn scored at 11:45 of overtime
April 26 Kansas City 7 San Diego 11 9,560
April 28 San Diego 3 Kansas City 2 10,458
San Diego wins series 3-0
Chicago vs. Cleveland
Date Away Home Attendance
April 19 Cleveland 5 Chicago 4 6,550
Peter Ward scored at 10:31 of overtime
April 21 Cleveland 4 Chicago 8 5,005
April 24 Chicago 1 Cleveland 6 8,112
April 27 Chicago 4 Cleveland 5 11,248
Keith Furphy scored at 5:01 of overtime
Cleveland wins series 3-1
Baltimore vs. Los Angeles
Date Away Home Attendance
April 24 Los Angeles 3 Baltimore 4 7,108
April 26 Los Angeles 3 Baltimore 11 9,493
April 28 Baltimore 5 Los Angeles 4 4,746
Baltimore wins series 3-0
Las Vegas vs. Minnesota
Date Away Home Attendance
April 24 Minnesota 6 Las Vegas 5 5,278
April 26 Minnesota 4 Las Vegas 6 6,016
April 28 Las Vegas 2 Minnesota 3 7,134
May 1 Las Vegas 1 Minnesota 4 5,094
Minnesota wins series 3-1

Semifinals

San Diego vs. Minnesota
Date Away Home Attendance
May 5 Minnesota 1 San Diego 8 8,494
May 8 Minnesota 5 San Diego 6 10,143
Jean Willrich scored at 1:15 of overtime
May 10 San Diego 5 Minnesota 8 8,270
May 12 San Diego 3 Minnesota 3 7,871
Minnesota wins shootout 3-2**
May 14 Minnesota 0 San Diego 7 10,059
San Diego wins series 3-2
Baltimore vs. Cleveland
Date Away Home Attendance
May 3 Cleveland 5 Baltimore 6 7,568
May 5 Cleveland 5 Baltimore 3 8,205
May 10 Baltimore 3 Cleveland 4 13,093
May 11 Baltimore 7 Cleveland 6 13,861
May 14 Cleveland 4 Baltimore 7 9,184
Baltimore wins series 3-2

**San Diego won the shootout 4-3, but Minnesota appealed the result, as the Sockers used an ineligible player. The Strikers were declared winners on May 13.

Championship Series

San Diego vs. Baltimore
Date Away Home Attendance
May 17 Baltimore 4 San Diego 5 11,639
May 19 Baltimore 3 San Diego 7 12,185
May 23 San Diego 6 Baltimore 10 11,074
May 25 San Diego 14 Baltimore 2 9,084
May 28 Baltimore 3 San Diego 5 12,948
San Diego wins series 4-1

Regular season player statistics

[12]

Scoring leaders

GP = Games Played, G = Goals, A = Assists, Pts = Points

Player Team GP G A Pts
Steve Zungul San Diego Sockers 48 68 68 136
Karl-Heinz Granitza Chicago Sting 47 64 53 117
Branko Segota San Diego Sockers 46 66 40 106
Stan Stamenkovic Baltimore Blast 43 39 52 91
Tatu Dallas Sidekicks 43 59 29 88
Dale Mitchell Tacoma Stars 48 55 32 87
Jean Willrich San Diego Sockers 48 43 43 86
Fred Grgurev Las Vegas Americans 48 48 29 77
Craig Allen Cleveland Force 42 45 30 75
Jan Goossens Minnesota Strikers 48 49 24 73

Leading goalkeepers

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 L
Scott Manning Baltimore Blast 36 2080 135 3.89 23 11
Slobo Illjevski St. Louis Steamers 30 1681 112 4.00 11 12
Jim Gorsek San Diego Sockers 30 1665 112 4.04 19 8
Manny Schwartz Kansas City Comets 40 2192 152 4.16 19 15
Alan Mayer Las Vegas Americans 30 1759 124 4.23 17 12
Victor Nogueira Chicago Sting 43 2440 162 4.34 23 15
Tino Lettieri Minnesota Strikers 45 2672 198 4.45 24 21
Cris Vaccaro Cleveland Force 27 1453 108 4.46 16 8
Mike Dowler Wichita Wings 41 2394 179 4.49 20 20
John Baretta Tacoma Stars 31 1637 127 4.65 11 13

Playoff player statistics

[13]

Scoring leaders

GP = Games Played, G = Goals, A = Assists, Pts = Points

Player Team GP G A Pts
Steve Zungul San Diego Sockers 13 13 24 37
Branko Segota San Diego Sockers 13 22 8 30
Jean Willrich San Diego Sockers 13 11 12 23
Brian Quinn San Diego Sockers 13 11 11 22
Andy Chapman Cleveland Force 9 14 5 19
Stan Stamenkovic Baltimore Blast 11 8 11 19

Leading goalkeepers

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 L
Jim Gorsek San Diego Sockers 9 516 21 2.44 7 1
Mike Dowler Wichita Wings 3 180 8 2.67 1 2
Cris Vaccaro Cleveland Force 9 546 38 4.18 5 3
Slobo Ilijevski St. Louis Steamers 2 129 9 4.19 0 2
Tino Lettieri Minnesota Strikers 11 667 51 4.59 6 5
Manny Schwartz Kansas City Comets 4 222 17 4.59 2 2

All-MISL teams

First Team   Position   Second Team
Scott Manning, Baltimore G Slobo Ilijevski, St. Louis
Mike Stankovic, Baltimore D Jorge Espinoza, Las Vegas
Branko Segota, San Diego D Jean Willrich, San Diego
Kevin Crow, San Diego M Kim Roentved, Wichita
Steve Zungul, San Diego F Stan Stamenkovic, Baltimore
Karl-Heinz Granitza, Chicago F Tatu, Dallas
Honorable Mention   Position  
Jim Gorsek, San Diego G
Bruce Savage, Baltimore D
Gerry Gray, Chicago D
Benny Dargle, Cleveland M
Dale Mitchell, Tacoma F
Fred Grgurev, Las Vegas F

League awards

Team attendance totals

Club Games Total Average
Cleveland Force 24 310,284 12,929
Kansas City Comets 24 310,017 12,917
St. Louis Steamers 24 305,054 12,711
Baltimore Blast 24 265,224 11,051
Chicago Sting 24 255,073 10,628
San Diego Sockers 24 230,272 9,595
Wichita Wings 24 209,035 8,710
Pittsburgh Spirit 24 187,021 7,793
Tacoma Stars 24 173,317 7,222
Las Vegas Americans 24 152,083 6,337
Los Angeles Lazers 24 121,488 5,062
Dallas Sidekicks 24 119,248 4,969
Minnesota Strikers 24 115,408 4,809
New York Cosmos 16 66,900 4,181
OVERALL 328 2,820,424 8,599

References

  1. Miranda, Randy (August 10, 1984). "Four NASL squads will play in MISL". Lakeland Ledger. p. D1. Retrieved 2012-05-08.
  2. "MISL takes four NASL teams". Boca Raton News. August 31, 1984. p. 2C. Retrieved 2012-05-08.
  3. 1984-85 Dallas Sidekicks Media Guide. 1984. p. 34.
  4. "Cosmos pull out of MISL, NASL". Ellensburg Daily Record. February 23, 1985. p. 11. Retrieved 2012-05-08.
  5. "MISL revises schedule after Cosmos pullout". Gainesville Sun. February 24, 1985. p. 10F. Retrieved 2012-05-08.
  6. Dolan, Steve (May 13, 1985). "It Takes Sockers 14 Shooters in the Shootout to Win". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2012-05-08.
  7. "Sockers' Semifinal Playoff Victory Overturned by MISL Commissioner". Los Angeles Times. May 14, 1985. Retrieved 2012-05-08.
  8. "Sockers Win, 7-0, to Gain MISL Final". Los Angeles Times. May 15, 1985. Retrieved 2012-05-08.
  9. Sarni, Jim (May 25, 1985). "Blast For Soccer Fans: CBS Airs MISL Game". South Florida Sun-Sentinel. Retrieved 2012-05-08.
  10. "MISL board terminates Las Vegas franchise". Lawrence Journal-World. July 18, 1985. p. 18. Retrieved 2012-05-08.
  11. 1984-85 Dallas Sidekicks Media Guide. 1984. pp. 50–54.
  12. MISL Official Tenth Anniversary Guide. 1987. p. 51.
  13. MISL Official Tenth Anniversary Guide. 1987. p. 80.

1984-85 Dallas Sidekicks Media Guide. Dallas: Dallas Sidekicks. 1984. 

1985-86 MISL Media Guide. Chicago: Major Indoor Soccer League. 1985. 

Leary, Dan; Griffin, John (1987). MISL Official Tenth Anniversary Guide. New York: Major Indoor Soccer League Communications Department. 

External links

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