Fort Lauderdale Strikers (1977–1983)
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Full name | Fort Lauderdale Strikers | ||
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Founded | 1977 (Previously Miami Toros) | ||
Dissolved | 1983 (rebranded as Minnesota Strikers) | ||
Stadium | Lockhart Stadium Fort Lauderdale, Florida West Palm Beach Auditorium (indoor 1980–81) Pembroke Pines, Florida | ||
Capacity | 20,450/15,532 (indoor) | ||
Owner | Elizabeth Robbie | ||
League | North American Soccer League | ||
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The Fort Lauderdale Strikers were an American soccer team, based in the Miami metropolitan area. They played in the North American Soccer League (NASL) from 1977 to 1983. They played their home games at Lockhart Stadium. Among their players at that time were football legends George Best and Gerd Müller.
The franchise was founded as the Washington Darts in 1967 and moved to the Miami area in 1972, where they were known as the Miami Gatos (1972) and the Miami Toros (1973–1976) before moving to Fort Lauderdale. In addition to their time in the NASL outdoor league, the Strikers also played two NASL indoor seasons in 1979–80 and 1980–81,[1] and competed in the 1983 NASL Grand Prix of Indoor Soccer tournament.
They were owned by Miami Dolphins owner Joe Robbie and his wife Elizabeth Robbie. In 1984 they relocated to Minnesota as the Minnesota Strikers. Their first game was an indoor exhibition match with their cross-state rival the Tampa Bay Rowdies on February 27, 1977[2]
Moved[]
After the 1983 season, the Strikers were moved to Minnesota and became the Minnesota Strikers. That club survived the end of the NASL by joining the Major Indoor Soccer League in 1984, but did eventually fold in 1983.
Year-by-year[]
Year | Record | Regular Season Finish | Playoffs | Avg. Attend. |
---|---|---|---|---|
1977 | 19–7 | 1st, Eastern Division, American Conference | Divisional Playoff | 8,148 |
1978 | 16–14 | 3rd, Eastern Division, American Conference | American Conference Finals | 10,479 |
1979 indoor | 0–2 | 4th, Budweiser Invitational[3] | n/a | |
1979 | 17–13 | 2nd, Eastern Division, American Conference | American Conference Quarterfinals | 13,774 |
1979–80 indoor | 3–9 | 4th, Eastern Division | n/a | 2,069 |
1980 | 18–14 | 2nd, Eastern Division, American Conference | Runners-up | 14,360 |
1980–81 indoor | 1–17 | 4th, Eastern Division | n/a | 1,699 |
1981 | 18–14 | 2nd, Southern Division | Semifinals | 13,345 |
1982 | 18–14 | 1st, Southern Division | Semifinals | 12,345 |
1983 indoor | 2–8 | 4th, Indoor Grand Prix | n/a | |
1983 | 14–16 | 2nd, Southern Division | Quarterfinals | 10,823 |
Honors[]
NASL Championships[4]
Regular Season Titles[4]
Division Titles[4] Coach of the Year[4]
U.S. Soccer Hall of Fame[5]
Canadian Soccer Hall of Fame[6]
Indoor Soccer Hall of Fame[7]
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All-Star First Team Selections[9]
All-Star Second Team Selections[9]
All-Star Honorable Mentions[9]
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Head coaches[]
- Ron Newman (1977–1979)
- Cor van der Hart (1980)
- Eckhard Krautzun (1981–1982)
- David Chadwick (1983–1984)
See also[]
- Fort Lauderdale Strikers (2006–2016) competing in the NASL
- Fort Lauderdale Strikers (1994–1997)
- Fort Lauderdale Strikers (1988–1994)
- Fort Lauderdale Sun Division 2 team of the short-lived USL (1984–85)
- Miami Fusion Now defunct MLS team (1997–2001)
- Miami Toros
- Minnesota Strikers
- Fort Lauderdale–Tampa Bay rivalry
References[]
- ^ [1][dead link]
- ^ "The Evening Independent - Google News Archive Search". google.com. Retrieved 23 January 2015.
- ^ "The Evening Independent - Google News Archive Search". news.google.com.
- ^ a b c d "American Soccer History Archives". homepages.sover.net. Archived from the original on 2009-11-08. Retrieved 2013-11-03.
- ^ "US Soccer Hall of Fame Membership". homepages.sover.net. Archived from the original on 2017-09-23. Retrieved 2013-11-03.
- ^ "Canada Soccer Hall of Fame". www.canadasoccer.com.
- ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2013-10-23. Retrieved 2014-01-11.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
- ^ "Home - Indoor Soccer Hall of Fame". www.indoorsoccerhall.com.
- ^ a b c . 1 May 2008 https://web.archive.org/web/20080501104955/http://home.att.net/~nasl/nasl.htm. Archived from the original on 2008-05-01. Missing or empty
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External links[]
- Fort Lauderdale Strikers (1977–1983)
- North American Soccer League (1968–1984) teams
- Soccer clubs in Miami
- Soccer clubs in Florida
- Association football clubs established in 1977
- Association football clubs disestablished in 1983
- Defunct indoor soccer clubs in the United States
- Defunct soccer clubs in Florida
- 1977 establishments in Florida
- 1983 disestablishments in Florida