| Full name | South Florida Sun | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Founded | 1984 | |||
| Dissolved | July 1985 | |||
| Stadium | Lockhart Stadium | |||
| Capacity | 19,020 | |||
| Owner | Ronnie Sharp | |||
| Chairman | Jeff Sarkin (General Manager) | |||
| Head Coach | Keith Weller | |||
| League | United Soccer League (1984–1985) | |||
| Champions | ||||
Fort Lauderdale Sun was a U.S. soccer team which played two seasons in the United Soccer League. In 1984, the team was known as the Fort Lauderdale Sun. Before the 1985 season they changed their name to the South Florida Sun.
The United Soccer League (USL) was formed after the American Soccer League (ASL) folded in 1983. The ASL had served as the de facto U.S. second division for decades, but collapsed due to overexpansion and financial insolvency. The USL intended to avoid this fate by creating a lean, financially responsible league. In 1984, the league began play with nine teams in three regional divisions. Fort Lauderdale joined the Charlotte Gold and Jacksonville Tea Men in the Southern Division. Both of the Sun's opponents had migrated from the ASL to the USL. Additionally, the Tea Men had played several seasons in the first division North American Soccer League until 1982. [1] The team was originally owned by retired Fort Lauderdale Strikers player, Ronnie Sharp, but he was forced to sell the team shortly after the 1984 season because of his involvement in a drug smuggling operation. [2] Entertainment Investors, Inc., which was mostly made up of a group of doctors that used to sit together at Strikers' games, took over control of the Sun until the team folded in July 1985.
The Sun gained a significant boost when it signed former Peruvian great Teófilo Cubillas. Cubillas joined several other NASL veterans on the Sun, giving the team one of the most talented rosters in the new league. This paid dividends as they played to a 15–9 record, scoring fifty-three goals and giving up only thirty-four. After making the playoffs, the Sun crushed the Buffalo Storm in the semi-finals, then defeated the Houston Dynamos to take the 1984 league title.
On June 27 the Sun made their only appearance in the Florida Derby, falling to the Tampa Bay Rowdies, 5–1, in an inter-league friendly. [3] Two more derby matches were planned for in 1985, but the Sun closed up shop before those games could materialize.
Despite the league's financial austerity, it lost most of its teams during the off season. Only four remained to begin the 1985 season, and the league folded after only six games. The Sun, renamed the South Florida Sun, led the league standings with a 4–2 record when the league collapsed in late June. By virtue of their 1–0 win over the Tulsa Tornados on June 15, the Sun also won the league's Invitational Cup in front of 2,324 fans at Lockhart Stadium. As a harbinger of things to come, no actual cup was presented to them, causing Sun player-coach, Keith Weller, to quip, "There ain't no cup." [4] The Sun's final USL match, a 3–1 victory, was played on June 22, versus the Dallas Americans. It turned out to be the only USL regular season game played that year, as the league suspended play a few days later. [5] [6]
Team officials tried in vain to carry on by staging exhibitions matches against a Haitian Select team, the Minnesota Strikers and Tampa Bay Rowdies, among others. The idea was to help offset owed payroll to the squad. The position of General Manager was eliminated and new investors were sought. In the end only the match against the Topez-Haitian All-Stars materialized. [7] In it, the Sun rallied to win what was to be their final game, 4–3, on the Fourth of July before a Lockhart Stadium crowd of 3,529. After that match's proceeds were divvied up, the players began to disperse back into everyday life. [8] [9] [10] [11]
Champion
USL Invitational Cup
Rookie of the Year
Top Goalkeeper
| Year | Team Name | Division | League | Reg. Season | Playoffs | League Cup | National Cup |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1984 | Fort Lauderdale Sun | 2 | USL | 1st, Southern (15–9) | Champions | none | Did not enter |
| 1985 | South Florida Sun | 2 | USL | 1st (1–0) | none | Champions (4–2) | Did not enter |
| Place | 1985 League Cup | GP | W | T | L | GF | GA | % | Avg. Att. [12] |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | South Florida Sun | 6 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 9 | 8 | .667 | 2,195 |
| 2 | Dallas Americans | 6 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 12 | 9 | .500 | 2,400 |
| 3 | Tulsa Tornados | 6 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 7 | 7 | .500 | 500 |
| 4 | El Paso/Juarez Gamecocks | 6 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 10 | 15 | .333 | 1,430 |
| USL Rank | Scorer | GP | Goals | Assists | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2(tied) | Hassan Nazari | 5 | 3 | 1 | 4 |
| 7 | Wolfgang Rausch | 5 | 1 | 2 | 3 |
| 9 | Tom Fazekas | 5 | 3 | 0 | 3 |
| USL Rank | Player | GP | W–L | Min | SH | SV | SO | GA | GAA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | Jim Tietjens | 6 | 4–2 | 540 | 75 | 21 | 1 | 8 | 1.33 |
*USL cup only
Teófilo Juan Cubillas Arizaga is a Peruvian former footballer who played as an attacking midfielder. He was selected as Peru's greatest ever player in an IFFHS poll, in which he was also included in the world's Top 50. He was renowned for his technique, shooting ability and free kick ability.
The Fort Lauderdale Strikers was a professional soccer team based in the Miami metropolitan area. They competed in the North American Soccer League (NASL) from 1977 to 1983. They played their home matches at Lockhart Stadium.
Thomas Eddy Rongen is a Dutch-American football coach who has spent the majority of his playing and coaching career in the United States. In December 2016, he was named Chief Scout of the United States men's national soccer team. Rongen won the MLS Coach of the Year award in MLS's inaugural season in 1996, leading the Tampa Bay Mutiny to the best regular-season record. His stint managing the American Samoa national team was covered in the 2014 documentary Next Goal Wins, and the 2023 biographical comedy-drama also called Next Goal Wins.
The United Soccer League was a professional soccer league in the United States in the mid-1980s.
The Fort Lauderdale Strikers were an American professional soccer team based in Fort Lauderdale, Florida founded in 2006, that last played in the North American Soccer League (NASL), the second tier of the American soccer pyramid in 2016. The majority of their home games were played in Lockhart Stadium. The Strikers were named after the original Strikers, who played in the old North American Soccer League from 1977 to 1983.
Arnold "Arnie" Mausser is an American former soccer goalkeeper who played with eight different NASL teams from 1975 to 1984. He is a member of the National Soccer Hall of Fame.
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Mike Connell is a former professional footballer who spent most of his career as a defender. He played professionally in his native South Africa as well as in the North American Soccer League (NASL), mostly with the Tampa Bay Rowdies.
The Fort Lauderdale Strikers were an American soccer team established in 1988 as part of the third American Soccer League. In 1990, it moved to the American Professional Soccer League where it spent five seasons before folding in 1994. The Strikers won the 1989 ASL championship, as well as the 1989 National Pro Soccer Championship.
The Tampa Bay Rowdies are an American professional soccer team based in St. Petersburg, Florida. The club was founded in 2008 and first took the pitch in 2010. Since 2017, the Rowdies have been members of the USL Championship in the second tier of the American soccer pyramid. They formerly played in USSF Division 2 and the North American Soccer League (NASL), which were also second-tier leagues. The Rowdies play their home games at Al Lang Stadium on St. Petersburg's downtown waterfront.
Mark Schwartz is a retired American soccer forward who played in the United Soccer League and the third American Soccer League. He was the 1984 USL Rookie of the Year.
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The 1984 USL season was the United Soccer League's first and only full season.
The 1985 USL season was the United Soccer League's second and final season. The season was abruptly canceled after the pre-season League Cup and one regular season game.
The 1988 American Soccer League was the first season of the third American Soccer League which took place during the summer of 1988.
Diego Alejandro Restrepo Garcia is a soccer coach and former player who played as a goalkeeper. Currently, he is the Head of Goalkeeping for Bay FC, a National Women's Soccer League team.
The Fort Lauderdale–Tampa Bay rivalry, also known as the Florida Derby, refers to the suspended soccer rivalry that most recently involved the Fort Lauderdale Strikers and the Tampa Bay Rowdies, both of whom played in the North American Soccer League through the 2016 season. Over the years the rivalry has spanned more than one hundred matches across eight soccer leagues and several tournaments, and involved nine different teams from the two regions of Florida. At times it has involved players, coaches, management and fans. Even the press has fanned the rivalry's flames at times. From 2010 through 2014, the winner of the regular season series automatically won the Coastal Cup as well. The status of the rivalry beyond 2016 remains unclear because the Rowdies have since joined the United Soccer League, while the Strikers ongoing ownership and legal battles of 2016 and 2017 have left them defunct.
Ronnie Sharp is a former professional footballer who played in the North American Soccer League and Mexican Primera División.
The 1983 Fort Lauderdale Strikers season was the team's third season of indoor soccer in the North American Soccer League.
The Coastal Cup is a trophy and soccer competition among the USL Championship (USL) teams based in Florida. Established in 2010, the trophy was originally awarded to the best team in regular season play among Florida-based franchises. Head-to-head playoff games, U.S. Open Cup matches and friendlies have no bearing on the outcome of this competition. The Fort Lauderdale Strikers did not field a team in 2017 and were later dissolved. The Tampa Bay Rowdies also participated in this cup from 2010 though 2016, before leaving the NASL for the USL. With Miami FC joining the USL, the competition restarted in 2020.
