 | |||
| Full name | Toronto Blizzard | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Nickname(s) | Blizzard Metros Metros-Croatia | ||
| Founded | 1971 | ||
| Dissolved | 1984 | ||
| Stadium | Varsity Stadium, Exhibition Stadium (1979–1983) Indoor: Maple Leaf Gardens | ||
| Capacity | 21,739 (Varsity) 54,741 (Exhibition) Indoor: 16,845 | ||
| League | North American Soccer League | ||
The Toronto Blizzard were a professional soccer club based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada that played in the North American Soccer League (NASL).
The Toronto Metros joined the NASL in 1971. [1] Their home field was Varsity Stadium.
In 1975, 50% of the team was purchased for $250,000 by the Toronto Croatia of the National Soccer League (NSL), and the team became the Toronto Metros-Croatia. [2] The club won the 1976 Soccer Bowl championship. However, they continued to struggle at the gate. In mid September 1976, it was reported that team owed $100,000 to the Ontario government and $95,000 to the metropolitan Toronto government, that several star players were free agents and the team might fold. [3]
The Global Television Network purchased 85% of the struggling Toronto Metros-Croatia on February 1, 1979 for $2.6 million. [4] [5] [6] Following the purchase, Toronto Croatia returned to the NSL as a separate club. With only 7 of the 26 players from the 1978 roster staying, the NASL team was renamed the Toronto Blizzard following the takeover. Under the new ownership, attendances nearly doubled. [6] From 1979 to 1983 the Blizzard played home games at Exhibition Stadium before returning to Varsity Stadium for the 1984 NASL season. [7] [8]
The Blizzard were members of the NASL until 1984, the last year of league operations. The team were runners-up for the league championship in 1983, losing the Soccer Bowl to the Tulsa Roughnecks 2–0 in front of nearly sixty thousand people at Vancouver's BC Place Stadium. They were runners-up again in 1984 when they lost to the Chicago Sting two games to none in a best of three championship series. The club was coached in these final two years by Bobby Houghton, assisted by Dave Turner and featured Roberto Bettega, David Byrne, Cliff Calvert, Pasquale De Luca, Charlie Falzon, Sven Habermann, Paul Hammond, Paul James, Conny Karlsson, Victor Kodelja, Trevor McCallum, Colin Miller, Jan Möller, Jimmy Nicholl, Ace Ntsoelengoe, Randy Ragan, Neill Roberts, John Paskin, Derek Spalding, and Bruce Wilson in its lineup.
The Blizzard qualified for the play-offs on only two other occasions, in 1979 and 1982, losing in the first round each time. Prominent players during the first four years included Clyde Best, Željko Bilecki, Jimmy Bone, Roberto Bettega, Drew Busby, David Byrne, Cliff Calvert, Tony Chursky, David Fairclough, Colin Franks, George Gibbs, Jimmy Greenhoff, Steve Harris-Byrne, Graham Hatley, Victor Kodelja, Sam Lenarduzzi, Peter Lorimer, Ivan Lukačević, Drago Vabec, Mike McLenaghen, Willie McVie, Alan Merrick, Charlie Mitchell, Juan Carlos Molina, Jan Möller, Francesco Morini, Ace Ntsoelengoe, Bobby Prentice, Randy Ragan, Neill Roberts, Malcolm Robertson, Peter Roe, Jomo Sono, Gordon Sweetzer, Blagoje Tamindžić, Jose Velasquez, and Bruce Wilson.
The Metros-Croatia fielded a team in NASL's indoor league in 1975 [9] and 1976, [10] as did the Blizzard from 1980 through 1982. [11]
In 2010, the 1976 Soccer Bowl winning team was inducted into the Canada Soccer Hall of Fame.
| Year | League | W | L | T | Pts | Reg. season | Playoffs | Avg. attendance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1971 | NASL | 5 | 10 | 9 | 89 | 3rd, Northern Division | did not qualify | 5,922 [12] |
| 1972 | NASL | 4 | 6 | 4 | 53 | 4th, Northern Division | did not qualify | 7,173 [12] |
| 1973 | NASL | 6 | 4 | 9 | 89 | 1st, Northern Division | Lost Semifinal (Philadelphia) | 5,961 [12] |
| 1974 | NASL | 9 | 10 | 1 | 87 | 2nd, Northern Division | did not qualify | 3,458 [12] |
| Year | League | W | L | T | Pts | Regular season | Playoffs | Avg. attendance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1975 | NASL indoor | 2 | 1 | — | 2 | 4th, Region 1 (in Dallas) | did not qualify | |
| 1975 | NASL | 13 | 9 | — | 114 | 2nd, Northern Division | Lost Quarterfinal (Tampa Bay) | 6,271 [12] |
| 1976 | NASL indoor | 1 | 1 | — | 2 | 3rd, Midwest Regional (in Chicago) | did not qualify | |
| 1976 | NASL | 15 | 9 | — | 123 | 2nd, Atlantic Conference, Northern Division | Won 1st Round (Rochester) Won Division Championship (Chicago) Won Conference Championship (Tampa Bay) Won Soccer Bowl '76 (Minnesota) | 6,079 [12] |
| 1977 | NASL | 13 | 13 | — | 115 | 1st, Atlantic Conference, Northern Division | Lost Conference Semifinal (Rochester) | 7,336 [12] |
| 1978 | NASL | 16 | 14 | — | 144 | 3rd, National Conference, Eastern Division | Lost 1st Round (Vancouver) | 6,233 [12] |
| Year | League | W | L | T | Pts | Reg. season | Playoffs | Avg. attendance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1979 | NASL | 14 | 16 | — | 133 | 3rd, National Conference, Eastern Division | Lost Conference Quarterfinal (New York) | 11,821 [12] |
| 1979/80 | NASL Indoor | did not enter | ||||||
| 1980 | NASL | 14 | 18 | — | 128 | 3rd, National Conference, Eastern Division | Won 1st Round (Los Angeles) Lost Quarterfinal (Chicago) | 15,040 [12] |
| 1980/81 | NASL Indoor | 5 | 13 | — | — | 4th, Northern Division | did not qualify | 5,702 |
| 1981 | NASL | 7 | 25 | — | 77 | 4th, Eastern Division | did not qualify | 7,287 [12] |
| 1981/82 | NASL Indoor | 8 | 10 | — | — | 2nd, American Conference, East Division | did not qualify | 5,142 |
| 1982 | NASL | 17 | 15 | — | 151 | 3rd, Eastern Division | Lost 1st Round (Seattle) | 8,152 [12] |
| 1982/83 | NASL Indoor | Season cancelled | ||||||
| 1983 | NASL | 16 | 14 | — | 135 | 3rd, Eastern Division | Won 1st Round (Vancouver) Won Semifinals (Montreal) Lost Soccer Bowl '83 (Tulsa) | 11,630 [12] |
| 1983/84 | NASL Indoor | did not enter | ||||||
| 1984 | NASL | 14 | 10 | — | 117 | 2nd, Eastern Division | Won Semifinals (San Diego) Lost Championship (Chicago) | 11,452 [12] |
Graham Leggat (1971–72)
Arthur Rodrigues (1972–74)
Frank Pike (1975 indoor season only)
Ivan Marković (1975–76) [13] Marijan Bilić [14] (1976) interim Domagoj Kapetanović (1976, 1978) Ivan Sangulin (1977)
Keith Eddy (1979–81) Bob Houghton (1982–84) Dave Turner (1982–84)
Juan Carlos Molina 
Ivair Ferreira 
Clyde Best Nick Albanis Aldo D'Alfonso Željko Bilecki Brian Budd Tony Chursky Pasquale de Luca Charlie Falzon Tibor Gemeri Sven Habermann Graham Hately Robert Iarusci Patrick Harrington Paul James Victor Kodelja Sam Lenarduzzi Trevor McCallum Mike McLenaghen Dave McQueen Colin Miller Randy Ragan Peter Roe Gordon Sweetzer Gordon Wallace Bruce Wilson 
Renard Moxam Cliff Calvert David Fairclough Colin Franks [15] George Gibbs Jimmy Greenhoff Steve Harris-Byrne Jimmy Kelly Alec Lindsay Alan Merrick Dave Needham [16] Phil Parkes Brian Talbot Dick Howard 
Nikos Sevastopoulos 
Conleth Davey Dave Henderson 
Alessandro Abbondanza Roberto Bettega Francesco Morini Marino Perani 
Damian Ogunsuyi 
Jimmy Nicholl 
Jose Velasquez Juan Carlos Ramirez Gaston Eusébio 
Robert Godoka Jimmy Bone Drew Busby Alex Cropley [17] Duncan Davidson [18] Peter Lorimer Willie McVie Charlie Mitchell Bobby Prentice Malcolm Robertson Derek Spalding 
David Byrne Ace Ntsoelengoe John Paskin Neill Roberts Jomo Sono Julius Sono Geoff Wegerle 
Tore Cervin Conny Karlsson Jan Moller 
Gungor Tekin 
Dan Counce Paul Hammond Jimmy McAlister Alan Merrick Derek Spalding 
Arno Steffenhagen Sead Sušić Blagoje Tamindžić Filip Blašković Drago Vabec Ivica Grnja Ivan Lukačević Damir Šutevski Vojin Lazarević Stjepan Loparić On March 28, 1985, the NASL officially suspended operations for the 1985 season, when only Toronto and Minnesota Strikers were interested in playing. [19] In the meantime Blizzard owners York-Hanover purchased Dynamo Latino of the National Soccer League with the intention of renaming them the Toronto Blizzard. Though the Blizzard franchise had never actually folded, they had ceased operations for several months between these incarnations and NSL regulations did not permit a name change in the midst of the season. The following season (1986) Dynamo Latino began play as the Toronto Blizzard. A history of this team can be found at Toronto Blizzard (1986–93).
The Minnesota Kicks were a professional soccer team that played at Metropolitan Stadium in the Minneapolis suburb of Bloomington, Minnesota, from 1976 to 1981. The team was a member of the now defunct North American Soccer League (NASL). Initially known as the Denver Dynamos, the team relocated and became the Minnesota Kicks in 1976. The Kicks quickly became one of the league's more popular teams, with an average attendance of 23,120 fans per game in 1976. The Kicks won their division four years in a row from 1976 to 1979. The Kicks drew over 23,000 fans in each season from 1976 to 1979, with attendance peaking at 32,775 in 1977.
Patrick Pule "Ace" Ntsoelengoe OIS was a South African soccer player who is widely considered as one of the greatest the country has ever produced.
Randolph "Randy" Lee Ragan is a former Canadian elite professional soccer player, who was considered one of the top midfield players in Canada in the 1980s.
Peter Roe is a Canadian international soccer player who spent twelve seasons in the North American Soccer League and two in the Major Indoor Soccer League. He also earned nine caps, scoring one goal, with the Canadian national soccer team between 1974 and 1983.
David Byrne is an English-born South African soccer coach and former professional player. He was in 1982 and 1984 a top ten scorer in the North American Soccer League.
The second iteration of the Toronto Blizzard was a Canadian professional soccer team in Toronto, Ontario that competed in the Canadian Soccer League, National Soccer League, and the American Professional Soccer League. The club was formed shortly after the folding of the original team that coincided with the folding of the North American Soccer League. This edition of the club folded in 1993 after poor financial prospects and lack of attendance.
Željko Bilecki was a Canadian soccer player who played as a goalkeeper.
Tibor Gemeri is a retired soccer player. Born in Yugoslavia, he represented the Canada national team.
Gordon Eric Peter Sweetzer is a Canadian former professional soccer player who played as a forward. In a short, injury-plagued career, he played in the Football League for Brentford, Cambridge United and in the North American Soccer League for Toronto Blizzard and Edmonton Drillers. Sweetzer won three caps for Canada and later became a manager and coach. As a player, he was described as "an aggressive, all-action, bustling striker, with little finesse about his game".
Ivair Ferreira is a retired Brazilian association football player nicknamed Ivair who played in Brazil for Portuguesa, Corinthians, Fluminense, América (RJ) and Paysandu (PA). Ferriera then played in the NASL between 1975 and 1979 for the Toronto Metros-Croatia and Toronto Blizzard, scoring the final goal in their 3–0 victory over Minnesota in the 1976 Soccer Bowl. In late 1979, he played in the National Soccer League with Toronto Panhellenic. He later played in the United States for the Cleveland Cobras, Kansas City Stars, Boston Athletic and Los Angeles Aztecs, before returning to Brazil with América. He earned one cap with the Brazil national team in 1966.
Ivan Lukačević was a Croatian professional footballer who played as a striker.
Charlie Mitchell is a Scottish American former soccer defender and coach. He played ten seasons in the North American Soccer League from 1970 to 1979.
Blagoje Tamindžić is a retired soccer goalkeeper.
North American Soccer League (NASL) was a professional soccer league with teams in the United States and Canada that operated from 1968 to 1984. Beginning in 1975, the league final was called the Soccer Bowl.
Robin Megraw is a Canadian former soccer player who competed at the 1976 Summer Olympics.
Arthur Rodrigues was a Portuguese football manager who primarily coached in the National Soccer League, and North American Soccer League.
The 1985 National Soccer League season was the sixty-second season under the National Soccer League (NSL) name. The season began on May 12, 1985, and concluded in early October 1985 with the NSL Championship final where Toronto Italia successfully defended their title against Windsor AC Roma. London Marconi secured the regular-season title by finishing first in the standings, and Dinamo Latino won the NSL Cup.
The 1983 National Soccer League season was the sixth season under the National Soccer League (NSL) name. The season began in May, 1983 and concluded in early October 1983 with the NSL Championship final where Toronto Italia secured the title against Dinamo Latino in a penalty shootout. Toronto would also secure the double by defeating Toronto Panhellenic for the NSL Cup. Toronto Panhellenic achieved a milestone in league history as it won its first regular-season title.
Sudbury Cyclones was a soccer club based in Sudbury, Ontario. The club was formed in 1976 and originally competed in the Second Division of the National Soccer League (NSL). Sudbury played in the National Soccer League for five seasons from 1976 until the 1980 season. The club became the last representative from Northern Ontario to compete in the National Soccer League.
The 1975 Canadian Soccer League season was the fifty-second season for the National Soccer League (NSL) which operated under the Canadian Soccer League (CSL) name for the season. The season began in April and concluded in late October with Toronto Italia securing a double. Italia would also win the Canadian Open Cup by defeating the Challenge Trophy champions London Boxing and Athletic Club of Victoria from British Columbia. The Serbian White Eagles were the NSL Cup winners and the Canadian representative for the 1975 CONCACAF Champions' Cup.
