Los Angeles Skyhawks
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John Shepard Stadium | |
Owner | Robert Nordskog |
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League | American Soccer League |
The Los Angeles Skyhawks was an American professional
The Skyhawks played their games at
History
1976: The magical first season
The Skyhawks managed to obtain the services of the renowned
The 1976 ASL playoff format had the top 3 teams in each division qualifying for the playoffs, with the 1st place teams earning a first round bye while the 2nd place team hosted the 3rd place team.
After earning a first round bye, the Skyhawks faced the 2nd place Tacoma Tides, who had defeated Utah 2–1 in the first round. The Skyhawks took a 1–0 lead, but midway through the second half, goalkeeper Brian Parkinson suffered a head injury in a collision, and Tacoma equalized against backup keeper Marine Cano to force overtime. Facing the prospect of going into a penalty kick shootout without their #1 keeper, the Skyhawks won the game in the second 10-minute overtime period on a goal by Jimmy Rolland.
In the ASL championship game, the Skyhawks faced Eastern Division winner and defending champion New York Apollo. Over 9,000 fans showed up at Birmingham Stadium and saw the Skyhawks fall behind early, 1–0. Then late in the first half, Skyhawk defender Alty McKenzie was controversially sent off with a red card so L.A. had to play a man down the remainder of the game. But Hinch equalized early in the second half, and late in the game Ralbovsky was tripped from behind in the penalty area while on a breakaway. Skyhawk forward Ane Mihailovich buried the penalty kick into the back of the net past N.Y. keeper Gerard Joseph, and the Skyhawks were ASL champs, making Ron Newman the only man to coach an ASL and NASL champion. Hinch was named MVP, and Newman was coach of the year.
Roster
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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1977 season
The Skyhawks were again led offensively by Jimmy Hinch and Jimmy Rolland (who finished 2nd and 3rd in the league in scoring) and in goal by Brian Parkinson (who finished 2nd in GAA). While they couldn't duplicate their dominance of the 1976 season, they finished 2nd in the West and 4th overall with 13 wins, 4 draws, and 7 defeats. After a 3–2 first round playoff win over the California Sunshine, they lost to Western Division champion Sacramento in the Western Division playoff finals, 2–1.
Roster
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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1978 season
By 1978, the ASL was in severe financial difficulty, with every team losing money. On the field, the Skyhawks, led by ASL leading scorer and MVP Jimmy Rolland and goalkeeper Brian Parkinson (again 2nd in GAA), returned to the top of the Western Division and with a record of 17–6–1. They made it to the championship game for the 2nd time in 3 years, but lost in the final, 1–0 to the New York Apollo, who had the league's best record at 18–5–1.
Roster
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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1979 season
The Skyhawks lost much of their scoring punch with the departures of Jimmy Hinch and Jim Rolland. Despite it all, the Skyhawks managed to place 3rd in the West with a 13–11–4 record. But the season ended with a first round playoff loss to Sacramento by a score of 3–2, in what proved to be the final Skyhawk game ever. The Skyhawks also played a friendly that season in Los Angeles Jackie Robinson Stadium against the 1980 US Men's Olympic Team in March losing the match 2–1. Due to financial difficulties, the team folded at the end of the 1979 season.
Roster
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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Honours
Champions
- 1976
MVP
- 1976: Jimmy Hinch
- 1978: Jimmy Rolland
Leading Scorer
- 1976: Jimmy Hinch
- 1978: Jimmy Rolland
Leading Goalkeeper
- 1976: Brian Parkinson
Coach of the Year
- 1976: Ron Newman
First Team All Star
- 1977: Jimmy Hinch
Year-by-year
Year | Division | League | Reg. Season | Playoffs | U.S. Open Cup |
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1976 | West | ASL | 1st, West | Champion | Did not enter |
1977 | West | ASL | 2nd, West | Semifinals | Did not enter |
1978 | West | ASL | 1st, Western | Final | Did not enter |
1979 | West | ASL | 3rd, Western | 1st Round | Did not enter |
Management
- Jack Young, General Manager & Owner (1976–1977)
- Robert Nordskog, Owner (1978–1979)
Coaches
- 1976 Ron Newman(Head coach)
- 1978 Max Wosniak (Head coach) [1]
- 1978 Doug McMillan (Head coach)
- 1979 Geoff Davies (Head coach)
Skyhawk Trivia and Notes
- Colors: Black and Gold. The home uniforms featured gold jerseys with black shorts and gold socks, while the away uniforms were black jersey with black shorts and black socks.
- First game: April 17, 1976 at Birmingham Stadium. Score: Sacramento 0 Skyhawks 0 Attendance: 4,108
- First goal: April 24, 1976, scored by Leif Werneid in a 1–1 tie vs. Oakland in the second game of the season.
- Ron Newman is the only man to coach an NASL champion (Dallas Tornado), ASL champion (L.A. Skyhawks) and MISL champion (San Diego Sockers). He also coached the Kansas City Wizards to a division title in the MLS.
- Skyhawk alum Marine Cano currently runs "Mr. Soccer" Soccer camps in southern California. In addition, he has been a highly successful college women's soccer coach at Cal State Dominguez Hills and UC Irvine.
- The Skyhawks played a friendly in March 1979 against the 1980 US Olympic team at Jackie Robinson stadium losing the match 2–1. Jimmy Rolland scored the only goal for the Skyhawks before his departure to the California Sunshine.