The Edmonton Drillers were a

North American Soccer League The North American Soccer League may refer to: *North American Soccer League (1968–1984), a former Division I league *North American Soccer League (2011–2017) The North American Soccer League (NASL) was a professional men's soccer league b ...

team that played both outdoors and indoors from 1979 to 1982, at the peak of the league's success. The team was brought to

Edmonton Edmonton ( ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Alberta. Edmonton is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Alberta's central region. The city ancho ...

by local entrepreneur and

Edmonton Oilers The Edmonton Oilers are a professional ice hockey team based in Edmonton. The Oilers compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference. They play their home games at Rogers Place, which ...

owner

Peter Pocklington Peter Hugh Pocklington (born November 18, 1941) is a Canadian entrepreneur and vocal advocate of free-market capitalism. Peter Pocklington was known among North American hockey fans as "Peter Puck", the maverick entrepreneur from oil-rich Albert ...

, after witnessing the strong support for Brian Rice's Edmonton Black Gold team in 1978. Previous to playing in Edmonton, the team was known as the

Oakland Stompers The Oakland Stompers were a soccer team based out of Oakland, California that played the 1978 season in the North American Soccer League (NASL). The Stompers played in the Western Division of the American Conference and finished the year with ...

Hartford Bicentennials The Connecticut Bicentennials were an American soccer team that competed in the North American Soccer League (NASL) from 1975 to 1977. Originally founded as the Hartford Bicentennials, the team relocated to New Haven, Connecticut after the 19 ...

and

Connecticut Bicentennials The Connecticut Bicentennials were an American soccer team that competed in the North American Soccer League (NASL) from 1975 to 1977. Originally founded as the Hartford Bicentennials, the team relocated to New Haven, Connecticut after the 1 ...

History

Joe Petrone was the Drillers general manager for their entire existence. The Drillers were coached in 1979 and 1980 by Hans Kraay, who brought a number of players with him from the Netherlands. After Kraay,

Timo Liekoski Timo Liekoski (born June 30, 1942) is a Finnish soccer coach who managed teams in the North American Soccer League, Major Indoor Soccer League, American Indoor Soccer Association and Major League Soccer. He currently holds a variety of coach ...

took over as coach in 1981, while Patrone would serve as the team's final caretaker coach until the team folded at the end of the 1982 season.NASL Jerseys
Edmonton Drillers Rosters
Retrieved on 14 February 2009 During the outdoor season, the Drillers played their home games at

Commonwealth Stadium Commonwealth Stadium is an open-air, multipurpose stadium located in the McCauley neighbourhood of Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. It has a seating capacity of 56,302, making it the largest open-air stadium in Canada. Primarily used for Canadian fo ...

, but dwindling crowds during the final year saw the team move to much older and smaller

Clarke Stadium Clarke Stadium is a multipurpose facility located in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. The stadium was originally used for Canadian football. Over the years different sports have participated at the site. Presently, it is the home of the Edmonton Hus ...

, which led to even fewer fans attending the games. The Drillers played their two seasons of indoor soccer at

Northlands Coliseum Northlands Coliseum is a now-unused indoor arena located in Edmonton, Alberta, situated on the north side of Northlands. It was used for sports events and concerts, and was home to the Edmonton Oilers of the World Hockey Association (WHA) and N ...

and also at

Edmonton Gardens The Edmonton Gardens was the first indoor hockey arena built in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. It was originally built as Edmonton Stock Pavilion in 1913, and held 5,200 spectators after its 1966 renovations. It was home to the World Hockey Associat ...

. The outdoor team was characterized by a strong defensive style of play, but their indoor style was built upon a run-and-go style of attack. Attendance for the outdoor games ranged greatly from 10,000 in the early stages of the franchise to 4,000 per game in 1982. By comparison, the more successful and profitable indoor games had attendances ranging between 5,000 and 7,000 paying fans per game in 1981 and 1982.Prince, Gerry. (2004) Pro soccer in Edmonton... a look through the years. Because the Northlands Coliseum was booked, Game 1 of the 1981 NASL indoor finals was instead played at the slated-for-demolition Edmonton Gardens. On March 2, 1981 the Drillers defeated the

Chicago Sting The Chicago Sting (1974–1988) was an American professional soccer team representing Chicago. The Sting played in the North American Soccer League from 1975 to 1984 and in the Major Indoor Soccer League in the 1982–83 season and again from 1 ...

, 9–6, in front of 5,089 fans to lead the series. In Game 2, played five days later, Edmonton came from behind to down the Sting, 5–4, in front of a then-record NASL indoor crowd of 16,257 at

Chicago Stadium Chicago Stadium was an indoor arena in Chicago, Illinois, that opened in 1929, closed in 1994 and was demolished in 1995. It was the home of the National Hockey League's Chicago Blackhawks and the National Basketball Association's Chicago Bulls. ...

to sweep the finals and claim the 1981 NASL indoor championship.

Factors leading to collapse

In 1982, costs were skyrocketing for the team as they were with a number of the other NASL franchises. In Edmonton's case in particular, the following have been speculated as factors connected with the team's collapse: poor support by local media; difficulties stemming from a tricky deal with the owners of the Coliseum and Commonwealth Stadium relating to the attendance, concessions and parking at the indoor games; and as admitted by John Colbert, the Drillers' business manager in 1982, a business strategy that consisted a "top-down construction" for the team (i.e., bringing in expensive international players as opposed to developing cheaper local talent).

Year-by-year results

Honours

Championships (1) * NASL indoor: 1980–81 Regular Season/ Division Titles (2) * NASL:

1980 Events January * January 4 – U.S. President Jimmy Carter proclaims a grain embargo against the USSR with the support of the European Commission. * January 6 – Global Positioning System time epoch begins at 00:00 UTC. * January 9 – ...

* NASL indoor: 1981–82 NASL All Stars * 1980:

Peter Nogly Peter Nogly (born 14 January 1947) is a former German football player and coach. Club career All his 320 West German top-flight matches he made in the Hamburger SV shirt. He played in the North American Soccer League for the Edmonton Dri ...

-Second Team * 1981:

-First Team NASL indoor MVP * 1980–81:

Kai Haaskivi Kai Haaskivi (born 28 December 1955 in Lahti) is a retired Finnish soccer player. He starred in the North American Soccer League, playing outdoor as well as indoor soccer. He also played for the Finland national football team. He now coaches ...

NASL indoor Scoring Champion * 1980–81:

''(co-champion)'' NASL indoor Finals MVP * 1981–82:

NASL indoor All Stars * 1980–81: Drew Ferguson,

* 1981–82:

Jan Goossens Jan Goossens (born December 18, 1958) is a former Dutch soccer player and coach. He played for clubs from the Netherlands and Canada, but spend most of his career in the United States of America. Jan Goossens played 612 official matches and scor ...

Canadian Soccer Hall of Fame *

Mike Sweeney Michael John Sweeney (born July 22, 1973) is a former Major League Baseball designated hitter and first baseman. Sweeney played his first 13 seasons in the majors with the Kansas City Royals, first as a catcher, then at first base and designated ...

: 2002 *

Bruce Twamley Bruce Richardson Twamley (born 23 May 1952 in Victoria, British Columbia) is a former Canadian international soccer player. Twamley began his professional career with Ipswich Town but after only two appearances in two seasons, he moved back t ...

: 2008 Indoor Soccer Hall of Fame *

: 2013 *

: 2019

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Edmonton Drillers (1979-82) Association football clubs established in 1979 Association football clubs disestablished in 1982 Canadian indoor soccer teams Defunct soccer clubs in Canada North American Soccer League (1968–1984) teams North American Soccer League (1968–1984) teams based in Canada 1979 establishments in Alberta 1982 disestablishments in Alberta Soccer clubs in Edmonton it:Edmonton Drillers#Edmonton Drillers (NASL 1975–1982)