 | |
| Founded | 1984 |
|---|---|
| Folded | 1985 |
| Country | United States |
| Number of clubs | 4–9 |
| Last champions | Fort Lauderdale Sun (1984) |
| Most championships | Fort Lauderdale Sun (1) |
| Most League Cups | South Florida Sun (1) |
The United Soccer League was a professional soccer league in the United States in 1984 and 1985.
By the end of 1983, professional outdoor soccer in the United States was crumbling. Both the higher-level North American Soccer League and de facto second division American Soccer League had undergone a period of ambitious expansion in the1970's, but the majority of teams at both levels had yet to figure out how to translate the attention generated by high-profile players such as Pelé and the recent surge in American youth participation in soccer into stability or profitability for the professional game. Both leagues had been marked by a constant turnover in teams, with multiple clubs folding or relocating after every season. In the ASL, the expansion from the league's long-time base in the northeastern states into the midwest and west coast in the '70s and southern states in the early '80s overstretched the travel budgets its member clubs, who were operating at a smaller scale than their counterparts in the NASL. The league completed its 1983 season with just six teams, most of whom were on shaky financial footing. [1]
When the ASL owners came together in Atlanta for their annual meetings in January 1984, the Pennsylvania Stoners and Oklahoma City Slickers announced plans to go dormant, and Stoners president William Burfeind also resigned as league president. This left only four active teams plus the Rochester Flash, who had planned to re-activate after sitting out in 1983. Despite losing these two teams, the league rejected an expansion application from a group in Fort Lauderdale (hoping to capitalize on the fan base left behind when the NASL's Strikers had been moved to Minnesota two months earlier) because the ASL's by-laws allowed the owner of the dormant Miami franchise to retain rights to the territory of south Florida and voting privileges. At this point the owners of the Jacksonville Tea Men and Dallas Americans decided that the ASL was in a hopeless situation, and they spent the weekend laying the foundations for a new second division league that they hoped would be better organized, more successful at building a grass roots connection between its member clubs and local fans, and more financially sustainable than the ASL had proven to be. Fiscal responsibility, year round operation with an indoor season in the winter months, and measured expansion were a few of the cornerstones on which the organization was to be structured. A league rule allowed only four of eighteen roster spots be taken by foreign players, and a salary cap was imposed on member clubs. [2] [3]
Almost immediately, the Detroit Express and the Fort Lauderdale expansion group elected to join Jacksonville and Dallas in the new circuit, to be called the United Soccer League, and Dr. Burfeind agreed to be their commissioner (though he chose not to have the Stoners franchise come to the USL with him). [4] [5] In Oklahoma City, David Fraser, who had stepped in midseason to bail the Slickers out of a financial crisis in 1983 but then released his controlling interest following the season after learning that the team was still saddled with significant debt, transplanted the operation to what was, on paper, a new franchise in order to join the league with a clean slate financially. [6] Similarly, staff and players from the Carolina Lightnin' were not out of a job for long following owner Bob Benson's decision to shutter the ASL team in February. An ownership group led by Felix Sabates hired a number of them when they were granted a Charlotte USL franchise in April. [7] Initial excitement for the new league was strong enough that two NASL teams, the Tampa Bay Rowdies and Tulsa Roughnecks, considered moving over as well. [8] By late March, Rochester chose to follow the crowd, and the ASL quietly ended operations.
By the time the dust settled, Tampa and Tulsa decided to stay put in the NASL, and Detroit elected not to field a team due to the new league not being sanctioned by the USSF. [2] This left the USL with three direct transfers from the ASL (the Jacksonville Tea Men, Dallas Americans and Rochester Flash), two teams with new or modified ownership and new names but many of the same staff and players as their recently folded ASL predecessors (the Charlotte Gold and Oklahoma City Stampede), and four new teams (the Buffalo Storm, Fort Lauderdale Sun, Houston Dynamos, and New York Nationals). The clubs were organized into three regional divisions: Northern (Buffalo, Rochester, New York), Southern (Charlotte, Jacksonville, Fort Lauderdale) and Southwest (Oklahoma City, Dallas, Houston). [3] In keeping with the league's commitment to modest budgets, the schedule had teams playing an imbalanced 24-game slate with 12 games against the other two members of their regional divisions (allowing the road team to travel by bus) and 12 games against the six teams in the other two divisions. They also arranged the schedule to have teams play all of the road matches against the members of another division in one trip so that there were only two stretches just short of a week each during a season that any club might need to travel by plane and stay in hotels between games. [6]
The 1984 season got underway on May 12 and lasted until September 1. For a minor league that had been organized in just five months and had four members that were brand new, this debut season was relatively stable and successful. Several of the teams managed to sign players with experience in the NASL and/or MISL, elevating the quality of play, and a league-wide parity (even the top two teams only managed 15–9 records) produced largely engaging and competitive games. [8] Some troubling signs emerged out of the Northern Division, where all three teams finished below .500. The New York Nationals started 5–0 but then collapsed to a 10–14 record after their head coach and several key players left the club a month into the season, [9] and the Buffalo Storm, whose home field had no lights, routinely attracted small crowds and declined the chance to host a playoff game. [10] But even with these challenges, all nine teams completed their full schedules. Oklahoma City, Fort Lauderdale and Buffalo qualified for the playoffs as division winners, and Houston and Dallas made the field as wild card teams. The Sun, whose roster featured former NASL Fort Lauderdale Strikers players Teófilo Cubillas, Keith Weller, Jim Tietjens, and Ernst Jean-Baptiste, won the league title in a three-game series against the Houston Dynamos. [11]
Though the USL survived its first season seemingly intact, the league found itself in crisis heading into the winter of 1984/85. Revenues were not keeping up with expenses despite the league's measures to keep travel and salary costs manageable. The owners were passionate about building up the sport, but almost none of them had the deep pockets and/or patience necessary to persevere through unprofitable early years while they gradually built up a strong network of sponsors, investors and fans. The indoor season planned at the league's founding never materialized, and in February, most teams failed to post a performance bond to demonstrate their readiness for another season. [12] The NASL likewise found itself with only a handful of teams willing to commit to another outdoor campaign, and there were discussions about merging the leagues to stave off the collapse of both. The sides failed to come to an agreement, though, and USL commissioner Burfeind announced that there would be no merger on March 5. By the end of the month, the NASL had abandoned plans for a 1985 season, and Houston had left the USL to be independent while five other clubs (New York, Rochester, Buffalo, Charlotte and Jacksonville) had gone dormant or folded. [2] Only Dallas, Fort Lauderdale (who were renamed South Florida Sun), and the Tulsa Tornado's (who had re-located in December from Oklahoma City and had also been renamed) chose to return. The El Paso/Juarez Gamecocks were added as an expansion team to bring USL membership to a paltry four teams for the 1985 season. [13]
After a hasty schedule re-organization, the league began play in late May with a round-robin style tournament for the "USL Cup" with hopes of attracting more teams to join the league for the second half of its season. Signs of trouble were all around. Commissioner Burfeind resigned just as USL Cup play got underway. The Dallas Americans were forced to offer their players stock options to cover unpaid salaries. [14] Tulsa fell behind on stadium rent and payroll, and the unpaid players and coaches refused to suit up for a home exhibition game on June 6 or travel to Dallas on June 8 for a Cup game. [2] The league had initially announced that the top two teams in the standings at the end of the round-robin set of games would face off to determine the winner of the cup; however, this round of play (which would have pitted South Florida with their 4–2 record against Dallas at 3–3) was called off, and the league declared South Florida the cup winners. As a harbinger of things to come, no physical trophy representing the USL Cup was presented to them, causing Sun player-coach, Keith Weller, to quip, "There ain't no cup." [15] No new teams had joined the league by June 22, when the "regular season" was scheduled to begin. The Tornado's/Gamecocks match scheduled for that night was cancelled because the Tornado's stadium rent and payroll issues remained unresolved. This may have been just as well, as the Gamecocks owner had already quietly ended his relationship with the league, paid bills and salaries through the end of the month, and released the players as of then. The Sun beat Dallas 3–1 at Lockhart Stadium [16] on the same day in what would turn out to be the USL's final match. A few days later, creditors locked league officials out of their offices, and play was suspended for good on June 25. [2]
The demise of the USL and NASL (which would never realize its stated goal of relaunching in 1986) meant that for the first time in over fifty years there was no professional outdoor soccer league in the U.S. This was a temporary void, however, as the Western Soccer Alliance and third incarnation of the American Soccer League would form and grow in the latter half of the 1980s, eventually to merge into the American Professional Soccer League, precursor to the USL First Division.
| Year | Champion | Runner-up | League Cup |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1984 | Fort Lauderdale Sun | Houston Dynamos | Not held |
| 1985 | Season canceled | South Florida Sun | |
The North American Soccer League (NASL) was the top-level major professional soccer league in the United States and Canada that operated from 1968 to 1984. It is considered the first soccer league to be successful on a national scale in the United States. The league final was called the Soccer Bowl from 1975 to 1983 and the Soccer Bowl Series in its final year, 1984. The league was headed by Commissioner Phil Woosnam from 1969 to 1983. The NASL laid the foundations for soccer in the United States that helped lead to the country hosting the 1994 FIFA World Cup and setting up Major League Soccer (MLS) in 1996.
Fort Lauderdale/South Florida Sun was a professional U.S. soccer team which played two seasons in the United Soccer League.
The Fort Lauderdale Strikers were 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.
The Jacksonville Tea Men was a soccer team based in Jacksonville, Florida, United States. Overall, the Tea Men played a total of four years in Jacksonville, first in the major league-level North American Soccer League (NASL) from 1980–1982, then in the lower level American Soccer League in 1983 and United Soccer League in 1984. The NASL incarnation of the club was Jacksonville's first professional soccer team, and the first major league-level sport franchise ever based in the city.
The Carolina Lightnin' was a professional American soccer club based in Charlotte, North Carolina that was a member of the American Soccer League from 1981 to 83. After the Lightnin' folded, much of the front office staff and some of the players joined a new club called the Charlotte Gold that played in the United Soccer League in 1984. Both the Lightnin' and the Gold played home matches at American Legion Memorial Stadium.
Dallas Americans was an American professional soccer club based in Dallas, Texas. The team played in the American Soccer League in 1983 and the United Soccer League in 1984 and 1985. Both leagues unofficially served as the second division of professional American soccer at the time. The team's home games were played at John Clark Stadium in Plano, Texas.
The Oklahoma City Slickers was the name given to two different American soccer clubs based in Oklahoma City. The first team competed in the second American Soccer League in 1982 and 1983. The club was re-organized and re-branded in 1984 as the Oklahoma City Stampede and again in 1985 as the Tulsa Tornado's to play in the short-lived United Soccer League. The second Oklahoma City Slickers competed in the USISL from 1993 to 1996. Home games were played at historical Taft Stadium in Oklahoma City.
The Rochester Flash was an American soccer club based in Rochester, New York, that was a member of the American Soccer League from 1981-82 and of the United Soccer League in 1984.
Houston Dynamos was a U.S. soccer team that existed in various forms from 1983 to 1991. In 1991, the team's owners changed the name to Houston International, but the team lasted only through the 1992 season before folding. The Dynamos were founded by Pete Kane and John M Gaughan. The Dynamos were founded with the intention of a continued building of the sport of soccer in Houston Texas. The Dynamos were the first team to give contracts to its players based on an entire year not on a season. The Houston Dynamos players year round went to parks, schools and events promoting the sport of soccer. In 1985 the Dynamos brought Pele to Houston creating great interest in the sport and spreading goodwill.
Keith Weller was an English footballer who played as a midfielder or striker. He is considered to be one of Leicester City's greatest-ever players.
New York Nationals were a professional soccer team which played a single season in 1984 with the United Soccer League. An earlier team also called the New York Nationals played in the American Soccer League during the 1920s.
The South Carolina Gamecocks men's soccer team represents the University of South Carolina and, as of the 2022 college soccer season, competes in the Sun Belt Conference. The team is coached by Tony Annan, who succeeded Mark Berson as head coach after the 2020 season. Berson had been the Gamecocks' only head coach since the program's inception in 1978 and had participated in 20 NCAA Tournaments, reaching the Quarterfinals on four occasions. Since 1981, South Carolina has played its home games at Stone Stadium, which is affectionately called "The Graveyard" by South Carolina fans due to an adjoining cemetery.
Buffalo Storm were an American professional soccer team. They played for one season (1984) in the United Soccer League, with home games at All-High Stadium.
The Tulsa Tornado's were a professional outdoor soccer team from Tulsa, Oklahoma. They played in the 2nd division United Soccer League during the partially completed 1985 season.
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 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.
The 2014 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup was the 101st edition of the oldest ongoing competition in American soccer. Qualification began in November 2013 in the fifth tier. The USSF announced the tournament format on April 24, 2014.
The 2015 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup was the 102nd edition of the oldest ongoing competition in American soccer.
The 2016 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup was the 103rd edition of the oldest ongoing competition in American soccer.
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