The Fort Lauderdale Strikers were an American

soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...

team established in 1988 as part of the third American Soccer League. In 1990, it moved to the

American Professional Soccer League The American Professional Soccer League (APSL) was a professional men's soccer league with teams from the United States and later Canada. It was formed in 1990 by the merger of the third American Soccer League with the Western Soccer League. It ...

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.

History

In October 1987, the American Soccer League announced that it had awarded a franchise to

Joe Robbie Joseph Robbie (July 7, 1916 – January 7, 1990) was an American attorney, politician, and the principal founder of the Miami Dolphins. Early life Robbie was raised in Sisseton, South Dakota, the second of five children. His father was a Lebanes ...

which would be located in

Fort Lauderdale, Florida Fort Lauderdale () is a coastal city located in the U.S. state of Florida, north of Miami along the Atlantic Ocean. It is the county seat of and largest city in Broward County with a population of 182,760 at the 2020 census, making it the tenth ...

. Robbie, who owned the

Minnesota Strikers The Minnesota Strikers were an American soccer team that competed in the North American Soccer League (NASL) for the 1984 season and in the Major Indoor Soccer League from 1984 through 1988. The team was based in Minneapolis/St. Paul metropoli ...

of the Major Indoor Soccer League announced his intentions of resurrecting the name Fort Lauderdale Strikers and hired

Wim Suurbier Wilhelmus Lourens Johannes Suurbier () (16 January 1945 – 12 July 2020) was a Dutch professional footballer and among others assistant coach of the Albania national team. He played as a right back and was part of the Netherlands national te ...

to coach the team. The team played their home games in

Lockhart Stadium Lockhart Stadium was a stadium used mostly for soccer in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, United States. It was used in a variety of sports, particularly soccer and American football. Originally designed in 1959 for high school sports, the stadium's l ...

. In their first season, the Strikers stormed the ASL, finishing with a 14-6 record, best in the league, before falling to the

Washington Diplomats The Washington Diplomats were an American soccer club representing Washington, D.C. Throughout their playing existence, the club played their home games at Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium and indoor home matches at the neighboring D.C. Arm ...

in the finals. In 1988, Robbie later sold his share in the team to Noel Lemon. In January 1989, Suurbier resigned as coach to be replaced by

Thomas Rongen Thomas Eddy Rongen (born 31 October 1956) is a Dutch American football coach who has spent the majority of his playing and coaching career in the United States. In December 2016, he was named Chief Scout of the United States Men's National Team. ...

. In their second season the Strikers did almost as well, finishing the season at 12-8. They went on to defeat the Boston Bolts for the 1989 championship. This qualified them for the 1989 National Pro Soccer Championship, the first American national outdoor soccer championship since the collapse of the

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 ...

in 1984. On September 9, 1989, the Strikers defeated the

San Diego Nomads Nomads Soccer Club (formerly San Diego Nomads) is an American soccer club based in San Diego, California. From 1986 to 1990, the club fielded a professional senior team, but has since operated as an amateur and youth club. History The Nomads wer ...

of the

Western Soccer League Western Soccer Alliance was a professional soccer league featuring teams from the West Coast of the United States and Western Canada. The league began in 1985 as the Western Alliance Challenge Series. In 1986, it became the Western Soccer Alli ...

, 3–1, to win the title. Following that game, the ASL merged with the WSL to form the

. They played five more years in that league. For the 1990 season seven home games were played at Pompano Beach Municipal Stadium and five at the Royal Palm Polo Club in

Boca Raton Boca Raton ( ; es, Boca Ratón, link=no, ) is a city in Palm Beach County, Florida, United States. It was first incorporated on August 2, 1924, as "Bocaratone," and then incorporated as "Boca Raton" in 1925. The population was 97,422 in the ...

, after the Broward School Board denied the team access to Lockhart Stadium. In January 1991, the Strikers merged with the

Orlando Lions The Orlando Lions were an American soccer team from Orlando, Florida which existed from 1985 to 1996. Over the years, the Lions competed at both the amateur and professional levels including some seasons as an independent team. The Lions is a ni ...

. The combined team retained the Strikers name, uniforms and staff. Soon after Lemons sold the team to Bryan Lockwood. The team had an ongoing rivalry with the

Tampa Bay Rowdies The Tampa Bay Rowdies are an American professional Association football, soccer team based in St. Petersburg, Florida. The club was founded in 2008 and first took the pitch in 2010. Since 2017, the Rowdies have been members of the USL Champions ...

that stemmed from Robbie's previous Strikers team's rivalry with same Rowdies, while playing in the NASL.

Kit

When they first played in 1988, the Strikers played in a cream shirt with white sleeves and black shorts with white socks. That kit has been used as their home kit from that time until they dissolved. Their away kit from 1988 to 1990 was a red shirt and white shorts with white socks. After their second game in the 1990 season, they switched to an all-white kit and played in that until 1994 when they dissolved.

Year-by-year

Coaches

(1988) *

(1989–1994)

References

External links

Fort Lauderdale Strikers historyFort Lauderdale Striker fan blog
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fort Lauderdale Strikers (1988-94) American Soccer League (1988–89) teams Defunct soccer clubs in Florida American Professional Soccer League teams 1987 establishments in Florida 1994 disestablishments in Florida Phoenix clubs (association football) Association football clubs established in 1987 Association football clubs disestablished in 1994 Soccer clubs in Florida

History

Kit

Year-by-year

Coaches

See also

References

External links