 | |
| Founded | 1984 |
|---|---|
| Folded | 1985 |
| Country | United States |
| Number of teams | 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 the mid-1980s.
As the second incarnation of the American Soccer League was crumbling, [1] five of the eight ASL teams (Carolina Lightnin', renamed the Charlotte Gold, Dallas Americans, Jacksonville Tea Men, Oklahoma City Slickers, renamed Stampede, and Rochester Flash) left to found the USL. They also took the ASL's commissioner, William Burfeind, with them as their first commissioner. [2] Fiscal responsibility, regional rivalries 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. In addition a salary cap was imposed on member clubs. Initially, the league was to have both indoor and outdoor seasons so that clubs could play year round.
In addition to the ASL holdovers were new teams Buffalo Storm, Fort Lauderdale Sun, Houston Dynamos, and New York Nationals. Two North American Soccer League teams, the Tampa Bay Rowdies and Tulsa Roughnecks, also expressed interest in joining the new league.
The USL played its first season in 1984 with nine teams in three divisions. The Fort Lauderdale 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 [3]
Despite its conservative fiscal plan, the league found itself in crisis heading into its second season. While attendance was on par with the ASL in its last season, revenues did not keep up with expenses and team owners could not cope with the losses. Houston left the league to be independent and all but three other clubs, Fort Lauderdale (now called South Florida Sun), Oklahoma City (who moved and re-branded as the Tulsa Tornado's [4] ) and Dallas, folded. The evaporation of teams caused the cancellation of the planned indoor season. The El Paso/Juarez Gamecocks were added to bring league membership to a paltry four teams in 1985. [5] A short six-game first half of the season was completed, but before a second half could begin the league's creditors foreclosed on the organization. The Sun led the league standings with a 4–2 record when the league collapsed. By virtue of their 1–0 win over Tulsa on June 15, the Sun also won the league's new Invitational Cup. 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." [6] The Sun played Dallas on June 22 at Lockhart Stadium, [7] and the league folded shortly thereafter as league officials were locked out of their offices and the USL never played another game.
The collapse of the USL and the end of the NASL a year before 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 was 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 the set-up of Major League Soccer (MLS) in 1996.
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 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 second Oklahoma City Slickers competed in the USISL from 1993 to 1996. Home games were played at historical Taft Stadium in Oklahoma City
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.
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.
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.
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.
John Dolinsky is a retired German-American soccer player who played professionally in the Major Indoor Soccer League, American Soccer League, United Soccer League and American Indoor Soccer Association. He also coached in the American Indoor Soccer Association where he was the 1989 Coach of the Year.
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.
The El Paso/Juarez Gamecocks were a professional soccer team that played one season in the United Soccer League. They played 6 games in the USL's 1985 League Cup before folding. The entire league collapsed after only one regular season game had been played. For their part, the team paid off all debts, and the player's salaries through the end of the month before releasing them all from their contracts. The Gamecocks were owned by Pedro Meneses, who also founded Juarez City's first television station, XEJ-TDT.
The Tulsa Tornado's were a professional soccer team from Tulsa, Oklahoma. They played for one season (1985) in the United Soccer League. The 1985 season only lasted six games as the league folded halfway through.
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.
Rudy Pena is a retired American soccer player who played professionally in the North American Soccer League, American Soccer League and United Soccer League.
Jim Millnder is a retired American soccer player and coach who played professionally in the North American Soccer League and Major Indoor Soccer League, American Soccer League and United Soccer League. He coached collegiate soccer for twenty-nine years.
The 1979 NASL Budweiser Indoor Soccer Invitational was a four-team indoor soccer tournament held at the Bayfront Center in St. Petersburg, Florida on the final weekend of January 1979.
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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