The Los Angeles Lazers were an

indoor soccer Indoor soccer or arena soccer (known internationally as indoor football, fast football, or showball) is five-a-side version of minifootball, derived from association football and adapted to be played in walled hardcourt indoor arena. Indoor socc ...

team that played in the Major Indoor Soccer League (MISL) from 1982 to 1989.

History

Jerry Buss Gerald Hatten Buss (January 27, 1933 – February 18, 2013) was an American businessman, investor, chemist, and philanthropist. He was the majority owner of the Los Angeles Lakers of the National Basketball Association (NBA), winning 10 l ...

, the owner of California Sports, the parent company of the

Los Angeles Lakers The Los Angeles Lakers are an American professional basketball team based in Los Angeles. The Lakers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference Pacific Division. The Lakers play their ...

, Kings and

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and The Forum, the home arena of all three teams, was always looking for innovative ways to add additional creative programming to the Forum. He called upon his oldest son Johnny Buss and long-time California Sports executive Ron Weinstein to bring indoor soccer to Los Angeles. In 1981, Buss was awarded an expansion franchise at the same August league meeting where the MISL granted a one-year leave of absence to the Philadelphia Fever. Buss and Weinstein named the team the Los Angeles Lazers, and the team began play in the fall of 1982. The team's name stemmed from the up-and-coming laser light show industry, which management believed would depict a perfect synergy of the lightning fast pace of indoor soccer. It became a pre-game ritual for every Lazers game to have a laser show displayed on the walls of the Forum, which even intrigued

Neil Diamond Neil Leslie Diamond (born January 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. He has sold more than 130 million records worldwide, making him one of the best-selling musicians of all time. He has had ten No. 1 singles on the Hot 100 and Adul ...

enough to visit the Lazer offices in order to investigate and ultimately incorporate this new laser technology into his own onstage live performances. Following in the footsteps of the "Showtime" Los Angeles Lakers, the Lazers drew many celebrities to their games including

Cher Cher (; born Cherilyn Sarkisian; May 20, 1946) is an American singer, actress and television personality. Often referred to by the media as the Honorific nicknames in popular music, "Goddess of Pop", she has been described as embodying female ...

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and Diamond. The "Laker Girls" performed double duty from 1982 to 1989, performing as the "Lazer Girls" at all home games. This opportunity played an integral part in the career of

Paula Abdul Paula Julie Abdul (born June 19, 1962) is an American singer, dancer, choreographer, actress, and television personality. She began her career as a cheerleader for the Los Angeles Lakers at the age of 18 and later became the head choreograph ...

, who was the lead dancer and choreographer of the team. Johnny Buss was president of the Lazers from 1982 to 1985 when he went on to pursue other endeavors. His younger brother, Jim Buss, took over as president for the 1985–86 season. In 1986, Jerry Buss attended his first MISL Board of Governors meeting. He strongly suggested to the board that they begin to reduce player salaries and gradually move the league into the summer months. Dr. Buss continued to play for three more seasons, and, after recognizing the MISL was not moving in the proper direction in the summer of 1989, he shared with Lazers executive vice president Ron Weinstein that he was closing the doors on the Lazers. He told Weinstein that if he ever wanted to start a professional indoor soccer league that played in the summer months with a fiscally responsible budget, then he would mentor him while tying the new league into the NBA and NHL. Thus, the seed was planted in Weinstein for the founding of the

Continental Indoor Soccer League The Continental Indoor Soccer League (CISL) was a professional indoor soccer league that played from 1993 to 1997. History In the summer of 1989 Dr Jerry Buss, the owner of the Los Angeles Lakers and California Sports, told his executive Vice Pre ...

(CISL).

Arena

The Lazers played their home games in The Forum in

Inglewood, California Inglewood is a city in southwestern Los Angeles County, California, in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. As of the 2020 U.S. Census, the city had a population of 107,762. It was incorporated on February 14, 1908. The city is in the South Bay ...

Coaches

* Peter Wall 1982–1987 *

Keith Tozer Keith Tozer is a retired American soccer player who played professionally in the Major Indoor Soccer League, American Soccer League and American Indoor Soccer Association. He is currently the commissioner of the Major Arena Soccer League. Play ...

1987–1989

Year-by-year

Honors

Coach of the Year * 1984–1985 Peter Wall Rookie of the Year * 1982–83

Kirk Shermer Kirk Shermer is a retired American soccer goalkeeper who was the 1983 Major Indoor Soccer League Rookie of the Year. Shermer attended Fresno State University where he played on the men’s soccer from 1978 to 1981. He was a 1981 Second Team All ...

Television and radio coverage

In their inaugural season, the Lazers games were broadcast on Cable Radio Network. Beginning in the second season, Bill MacDonald asked Buss and Weinstein for permission to broadcast the Lazers home games on KBOB radio in Pasadena. MacDonald's family agreed to purchase the air time, and MacDonald's long running career was launched. During the 1983–84 season, the Lazers made the first entree into the television arena by broadcasting a few games on the Lakers and Kings KCAL 9 television network. Chick Hearn, the Lakers broadcaster, and Bob Miller, the Kings broadcaster, shared the play-by-play responsibilities. During the 1984–85 season, the Lazers began to broadcast their games on Prime Ticket, which was the regional sports network created by Dr. Jerry Buss for Southern California. This first Lazers broadcast was only the second event to have ever been aired on the Prime Ticket Network. Joel Meyers, a new and upcoming telecaster, joined MacDonald to become the dynamic team that announced every play from then on for the Lazers.

References

{{Major Indoor Soccer League (1978–1992) Association football clubs established in 1982 Association football clubs disestablished in 1989 Defunct indoor soccer clubs in the United States Lazers Lazers Major Indoor Soccer League (1978–1992) teams 1982 establishments in California 1989 disestablishments in California Soccer clubs in California