Toronto Blizzard (1971–1984)
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
History
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
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
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
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-by-year team record
Year | League | W | L | T | Pts | Reg. season | Playoffs | Avg. attendance |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
As Toronto Metros | ||||||||
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] |
As Toronto Metros-Croatia | ||||||||
1975 | NASL | 13 | 9 | — | 114 | 2nd, Northern Division | Lost Quarterfinal (Tampa Bay) | 6,271[12] |
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] |
As Toronto Blizzard | ||||||||
1979 | NASL | 14 | 16 | — | 133 | 3rd, National Conference, Eastern Division | Lost Conference Quarterfinal ( New York )
|
11,821[12] |
1980 | NASL | 14 | 18 | — | 128 | 3rd, National Conference, Eastern Division | Won 1st Round (Los Angeles) Lost Quarterfinal (Chicago) |
15,040[12] |
1981 | NASL | 7 | 25 | — | 77 | 4th, Eastern Division | did not qualify | 7,287[12] |
1982 | NASL | 17 | 15 | — | 151 | 3rd, Eastern Division | Lost 1st Round ( Seattle )
|
8,152[12] |
1983 | NASL | 16 | 14 | — | 135 | 3rd, Eastern Division | Won 1st Round () | 11,630[12] |
1984 | NASL | 14 | 10 | — | 117 | 2nd, Eastern Division | Won Semifinals ( San Diego) )
Lost Championship (Chicago |
11,452[12] |
Indoor seasons
Year | League | W | L | Pts | Regular season | Playoffs | Avg. attendance |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1975 | NASL indoor | 2 | 1 | 2 | 4th, Region 1 (in Dallas) | did not qualify | |
1976 | NASL indoor | 1 | 1 | 2 | 3rd, Midwest Regional (in Chicago) | did not qualify | |
1980/81 | NASL Indoor | 5 | 13 | — | 4th, Northern Division | did not qualify | 5,702 |
1981/82 | NASL Indoor | 8 | 10 | — | 2nd, American Conference, East Division | did not qualify | 5,142 |
Championships
- North American Soccer League, Soccer Bowl: 1976
- Divisions: 1973, 1977
- Conference: 1976
Ownership
- John Fisher (1971–74)
- Sam Paric (1975–78)
- Global Television Network (1979–81)
- Karsten von Werseb (1981–84)
Head coaches
- 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)
Assistant coaches
- Dave Turner (1982–84)
Notable players
- 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
After the NASL
On March 28, 1985, the NASL officially suspended operations for the 1985 season, when only Toronto and
References
- ^ "Toronto enters soccer team in U.S. league". The Globe and Mail. 1970-12-11.
- ^ Waring, Ed (1975-02-06). "Toronto Croatia purchases 50% share of soccer Metros". The Globe and Mail.
- ^ "NASL champ Metros reported disbanding". Democrat and Chronicle. 16 September 1976. p. 3D. Retrieved 5 April 2022.
- ^ Labow, Jeffery (1979-02-01). "95% of shareholders in favor Sale of Metros approved". The Globe and Mail.
- ^ Labow, Jeffery (1979-02-06). "NASL gives Global unanimous support". The Globe and Mail.
- ^ a b Wangerin p.192
- ^ Beard, Randy (April 25, 1979). "Blizzard Hope Revenge Snowballs The Rowdies". Evening Independent. p. 1C. Retrieved July 3, 2016.
- ^ Beard, Randy (May 4, 1984). "Down 3 more teams, but NASL is stronger". Evening Independent. p. 6C. Retrieved July 3, 2016.
- ^ Lewis, Micheal (March 30, 1975). "Lancers bow to Toronto's surge". Rochester Democrat and Chronicle. p. 2D. Retrieved July 12, 2017.
- ^ "Metros-Croatia split two games". The Globe and Mail. 1976-03-15.
- ^ Labow, Jeffery (1982-01-20). "NASL officials feeling good despite splotches of red ink". The Globe and Mail.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Jose, Colin (2001). On-Side - 125 Years of Soccer in Ontario. Vaughan, Ontario: Ontario Soccer Association and Soccer Hall of Fame and Museum. p. 129.
- ^ "THROWBACK THURSDAY | Toronto Metros-Croatia Win First NASL Title By Canadian Side In 1976". Retrieved 2018-06-02.
- ^ "Toronto Metros prove point in capturing soccer title". Montreal Gazette. August 30, 1976. p. 16. Retrieved July 9, 2022.
- ^ Colin Franks NASL profile
- ^ Dave Needham profile
- ^ Alex Cropley profile
- ^ Duncan Davidson profile
- ^ "NASL suspends operations for 1985" page 1D Minneapolis Star and Tribune March 29, 1985
External links
Bibliography
- Wangerin, David. Soccer in a Football World: The Story of America's Forgotten Game. WSC Book (2006).