The Major Indoor Soccer League (MISL), known in its final two seasons as the Major Soccer League, was an indoor soccer league in the United States that played matches from fall 1978 to spring 1992.

History

The MISL was founded by businessmen Ed Tepper and

Earl Foreman Earl Marin Foreman (March 29, 1924 – January 23, 2017) was an American lawyer and sports executive. Foreman practiced law in the District of Columbia. He was the owner of the short-lived Washington Whips professional soccer club of the NASL an ...

in October 1977. The league fielded six teams for its inaugural 1978–79 season. Before folding after 14 seasons of competition, at the conclusion of the 1991–92 season, a total of 24 franchises – under 31 team names (seven teams changed city/name) – had played in the MISL. Over its life, MISL teams were based in 27 different cities – with two different teams, at different times, playing in

Cleveland Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U.S. ...

, East Rutherford, New Jersey,

St. Louis St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the bi-state metropolitan area, which e ...

and

Uniondale, New York Uniondale is a census-designated place (CDP), as well as a suburb in Nassau County, New York, on Long Island, in the Town of Hempstead. The population was 32,473 at the 2020 United States Census. Uniondale is home to Hofstra University's nort ...

. The

Houston Summit Houston Summit were a professional indoor soccer team that operated from 1978 to 1980. They played in the original Major Indoor Soccer League. In 1980, the franchise was moved to Baltimore to become the Baltimore Blast. Their roster mainly include ...

(1978–80)/

Baltimore Blast The Baltimore Blast is an American professional indoor soccer team based in Baltimore, Maryland, United States. The team is a part of the Major Arena Soccer League. The team has won 10 championships since it was founded in 1980. Beginning with ...

(1980–92) franchise was the only one to compete for the entire 14 seasons of the MISL's existence. The next longest-lived franchise, and the longest in a single city, was the

Wichita Wings The Wichita Wings were a professional indoor soccer franchise based in Wichita, Kansas. The Wings were admitted to the Major Indoor Soccer League as an expansion team on August 21, 1979.

team, which played for 13 seasons and missed only the inaugural 1978–79 season. The third longest-lived franchise was the

Detroit Lightning The Detroit Lightning was a Major Indoor Soccer League franchise which existed for only one season, 1979–1980. The Lightning finished that season at 15–17. The team's home arena was Cobo Arena. On May 28, 1980, at the end of the 1979–1980 ...

(1979–80)/

San Francisco Fog Fog is a common weather phenomenon in the San Francisco Bay Area as well as along the entire coastline of California extending south to the northwest coast of the Baja California Peninsula. The frequency of fog and low-lying stratus clouds is ...

(1980–81)/ Kansas City Comets (1981–91) franchise, which played for 12 seasons, missing only the first and last seasons. The

San Diego Sockers San Diego Sockers may refer to: *San Diego Sockers (1978–1996) The San Diego Sockers were a soccer and indoor soccer team based in San Diego, California. The team played in the indoor and outdoor editions of the North American Soccer League ( ...

was the most successful franchise, winning eight of the MISL's 14 overall championships during the team's nine seasons in the league. The New York Arrows won the MISL's first four championships, then folded after the league's sixth season. The most successful player in the MISL is arguably

Steve Zungul ''yes'Steve is a masculine given name, usually a short form (hypocorism) of Steven or Stephen Notable people with the name include: steve jops * Steve Abbott (disambiguation), several people * Steve Adams (disambiguation), several people * Steve ...

, a

Yugoslav American Yugoslav Americans are Americans of full or partial Yugoslav ancestry. In the 2021 Community Surveys, there were 210,395 people who indicated ''Yugoslav'' or ''Yugoslav American'' as their ethnic origin; a steep and steady decrease from previous ...

striker who was MISL Most Valuable Player six times, was the Scoring Champion six times, the Pass Master (most assists) four times, played on eight championship-winning teams (and one runner-up), and won Championship Series Most Valuable Player four times. Zungul is the MISL's all-time leader in goals (652, nearly 200 ahead of the second highest scorer), assists (471, nearly 100 ahead of second) and points (1,123, nearly 300 ahead of second). Despite ongoing financial hardships, the MISL had some success.MISL History
@ MISL A Look Back The league averaged a respectable 7,644 fans per game over its 14 regular seasons, and averaged 9,049 fans per game over its 14 playoff runs. The league changed its name to the Major Soccer League (MSL) in 1990, and then folded in 1992. Four of the league's seven franchises continued to operate:

Cleveland Crunch The Cleveland Crunch are an American professional indoor soccer club located in Cleveland, Ohio competing in as a charter member of the Major League Indoor Soccer (MLIS). The rebranded Crunch returned to indoor play as a member of the MASL 2 i ...

and Wichita Wings joined the National Professional Soccer League; Dallas Sidekicks and San Diego Sockers helped found the Continental Indoor Soccer League.

MISL inspires Arena Football

The concept was initially so popular that in 1981, it helped pave the way for the creation of another indoor sports league, the

Arena Football League The Arena Football League (AFL) was a professional arena football league in the United States. It was founded in 1986, but played its first official games in the 1987 season, making it the third longest-running professional football league in ...

, and subsequently the entire sport of indoor "gridiron" football. During the MISL All-Star Game at Madison Square Garden,

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

promotions director Jim Foster sketched a design of what a football field would look like on the back of a 9x12 manila envelope. That inspiration gave birth to the concept now known as

arena football Indoor American football, or arena football, is a variation of gridiron football played at ice hockey-sized indoor arenas. While varying in details from league to league, the rules of indoor football are designed to allow for play in a smaller ...

(also indoor football) and the AFL was born six years later. Foster credits the MISL for the inspiration.

MISL teams

*Three

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 ...

(NASL) teams temporarily joined the MISL for the 1982–83 season, as the NASL did not play indoors for that season. As the NASL was folding in 1985, four of its former teams (Chicago, Minnesota, New York and San Diego) joined the MISL in late 1984. The "Denver Avalanche" had declared bankruptcy and ceased operations after the 1981–82 season, but the franchise still existed and was purchased out of bankruptcy and moved to Tacoma after a dormant season. The MISL, however, considered the Stars a new franchise and, thus, team records did not transfer to Tacoma. In June 1987, the MISL granted a conditional franchise to NBA Denver Nuggets owner

Sidney Shlenker Sidney L. Shlenker (August 14, 1936 – April 23, 2003) was an American businessman. His management/ownership of a series of professional sports teams was marked by both success and controversy. Early life Shlenker was born in Monroe, Louisiana. ...

, to commence play in the 1988–89 season. When the tentative "Denver Desperados" attracted deposits on 400 season tickets, rather than the required 5,000 within four months, the franchise was revoked in November 1987.

Attendance

MISL/MSL Championship Series

By year

*''Single-game championship, game score rather than series results.''

By club

Commissioners

(1978–1985) *

Francis Dale Francis Lykins Dale (July 13, 1921 – November 28, 1993) was an American business executive and Republican political operative. He was also owner and president of the Cincinnati Reds for six years, and served as commissioner of the Major Indo ...

(1985–1986) * Bill Kentling (1986–1989) *

(1989–1992)

All-time statistics leaders

Points

# 1,123 –

(New York Arrows, Golden Bay Earthquakes, San Diego Sockers, Tacoma Stars) # 841 –

Branko Šegota Branimir "Branko" Šegota (born June 8, 1961) is a Canadian former professional soccer forward, starring in the original Major Indoor Soccer League (MISL), the North American Soccer League (NASL), the Continental Indoor Soccer League (CISL) ...

(New York Arrows, San Diego Sockers, St.Louis Storm) # 690 – Tatu (Dallas Sidekicks) # 686 – Dale Mitchell (Tacoma Stars, Kansas City Comets, Baltimore Blast) # 683 –

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 ...

(Houston Summit, Cleveland Force, Baltimore Blast, Cleveland Crunch) # 682 –

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 ...

(Golden Bay Earthquakes, Minnesota Strikers, Kansas City Comets, Dallas Sidekicks) # 664 – Preki (Tacoma Stars, St. Louis Storm) # 612 –

Chico Borja Hernan "Chico" Borja (August 24, 1959 – January 25, 2021) was an Ecuadorian-born American soccer player and coach. He spent time in the several U.S.-based leagues including the North American Soccer League, Major Indoor Soccer League and th ...

(Las Vegas Americans, Wichita Wings, Los Angeles Lazers) # 544 –

Fred Grgurev Ferdo "Fred" Grgurev (born September 14, 1951) is an American retired soccer forward who played professionally in the North American Soccer League and Major Indoor Soccer League. He also earned 14 caps, scoring one goal, for the United State ...

(Philadelphia Fever, New York Arrows, New Jersey Rockets, Memphis/Las Vegas Americans, Pittsburgh Spirit, New York Express) # 542 –

Stan Stamenkovic Stan or STAN may refer to: People * Stan (given name), a list of people with the given name ** Stan Laurel (1890–1965), English comic actor, part of duo Laurel and Hardy * Stan (surname), a Romanian surname * Stan! (born 1964), American author ...

(Memphis Americans, Baltimore Blast)

Goals

# 652 – Steve Zungul (New York Arrows, Golden Bay Earthquakes, San Diego Sockers, Tacoma Stars) # 463 – Branko Šegota (New York Arrows, San Diego Sockers, St. Louis Storm) # 406 – Tatu (Dallas Sidekicks) # 406 – Dale Mitchell (Tacoma Stars, Kansas City Comets, Baltimore Blast) # 344 – Jan Goossens (Golden Bay Earthquakes, Minnesota Strikers, Kansas City Comets, Dallas Sidekicks) # 332 – Preki (Tacoma Stars, St. Louis Storm) # 331 – Fred Grgurev (Philadelphia Fever, New York Arrows, New Jersey Rockets, Memphis/Las Vegas Americans, Pittsburgh Spirit, New York Express) # 307 –

Andy Chapman Andrew Chapman (born 18 September 1959) is an English-American retired soccer player who saw his greatest success as an indoor player in the United States. He spent six seasons in the American Soccer League, ten in the Major Indoor Soccer Lea ...

(Wichita Wings, Cleveland Force, Baltimore Blast) # 297 – Craig Allen (New Jersey Rockets, Cleveland Force) # 297 – Kai Haaskivi (Houston Summit, Cleveland Force, Baltimore Blast, Cleveland Crunch)

Assists

# 471 – Steve Zungul (New York Arrows, Golden Bay Earthquakes, San Diego Sockers, Tacoma Stars) # 386 – Kai Haaskivi (Houston Summit, Cleveland Force, Baltimore Blast, Cleveland Crunch) # 378 – Branko Šegota (New York Arrows, San Diego Sockers, St. Louis Storm) # 338 – Chico Borja (New York Cosmos, Las Vegas Americans, Wichita Wings, Los Angeles Lazers) # 338 – Jan Goossens (Golden Bay Earthquakes, Minnesota Strikers, Kansas City Comets, Dallas Sidekicks) # 332 – Preki (Tacoma Stars, St. Louis Storm) # 311 – Stan Stamenkovic (Memphis Americans, Baltimore Blast) # 284 – Tatu (Dallas Sidekicks) # 280 – Dale Mitchell (Tacoma Stars, Kansas City Comets, Baltimore Blast) # 271 – Jorgen Kristensen (Wichita Wings, Kansas City Comets)

Goals against average

(9,500 minutes minimum) # 4.03 – Zoltán Tóth (New York Arrows, San Diego Sockers, St. Louis Storm) # 4.09 –

Tino Lettieri Martino "Tino" Lettieri (born 27 September 1957) is a former NASL and MISL professional soccer goalkeeper, who represented Canada twice at the Summer Olympics: 1976 and 1984 and at the 1986 FIFA World Cup. Club career He was born as an Italian b ...

(Minnesota Strikers) # 4.14 – Krzysztof Sobieski (Pittsburgh Spirit, Cleveland Force, Dallas Sidekicks) # 4.18 –

Victor Nogueira Victor Nogueira (born July 17, 1959 in Mozambique) is a retired American soccer goalkeeper. Nogueira spent six seasons in the North American Soccer League, but gained his greatest recognition in over twenty seasons in three indoor leagues, the Ma ...

(Chicago Sting, Cleveland Force, San Diego Sockers) # 4.21 –

David Brcic David Joseph Brcic (born January 21, 1958) is an American former professional soccer player who played as a goalkeeper in the North American Soccer League and Major Indoor Soccer League. He also competed at the 1984 Summer Olympics and earned fo ...

(New York Cosmos, Wichita Wings, Pittsburgh Spirit, Los Angeles Lazers, Kansas City Comets, St. Louis Storm) # 4.26 –

Slobo Ilijevski Slobodan "Slobo" Ilijevski ( Cyrillic: Слободан Илијевски Слобо) (October 24, 1949 in Skopje, Yugoslavia – July 14, 2008 in Bellingham, Washington) was a Yugoslav and Macedonian football (soccer) goalkeeper who played in t ...

(St. Louis Steamers, Baltimore Blast, St. Louis Storm) # 4.32 –

P.J. Johns Philip Joseph Johns (born June 7, 1958, in Oconomowoc, Wisconsin) is a retired United States of America, American soccer goalkeeper (football), goalkeeper. Johns spent four seasons in the North American Soccer League (1968–1984), North American ...

(Cleveland Force, Tacoma Stars, Cleveland Crunch) # 4.35 – Jim Gorsek (San Diego Sockers, Los Angeles Lazers, Kansas City Comets, St. Louis Storm) # 4.3972 –

Joe Papaleo Joe Papaleo (born October 7, 1961) is a retired American soccer goalkeeper who played professionally in the Major Indoor Soccer League and the Continental Indoor Soccer League. He was the 1990 MISL Goalkeeper of the Year and the 1993 CISL Goa ...

(Pittsburgh Spirit, Tacoma Stars, Dallas Sidekicks) # 4.3979 –

Keith Van Eron Keith Van Eron is a retired American soccer goalkeeper who played one season in the American Soccer League and three in the North American Soccer League. He also played the first eleven seasons of Major Indoor Soccer League, winning the 1984 c ...

(Cincinnati Kids, Wichita Wings, Philadelphia Fever, Baltimore Blast, Las Vegas Americans)

Awards

Most Valuable Player

Scoring Champion

MISL Pass Master

The Pass Master award was given out to the player with the most assists during the regular season.

Defender of the Year

Goalkeeper of the Year

Rookie of the Year

Newcomer of the Year

This award was given to 'the most outstanding player in his first year of competition in the Major Indoor Soccer League' in order to differentiate it from the Rookie of the Year award.

Coach of the Year

Championship Series Most Valuable Player

Championship Series Unsung Hero

This award was given to the player 'in the Championship Series whose impact to his team's success was measured by hustle, determination and leadership.'

Prominent players

* Ralph Black *

* Paul Child *

Fernando Clavijo Fernando Caetano Clavijo Cedrés (January 23, 1956 – February 8, 2019) was a Uruguayan-American soccer defender and former head coach of the New England Revolution and Colorado Rapids of Major League Soccer. He played three seasons in the ...

Dan Counce Dan Counce (born October 22, 1951, in St. Louis, Missouri) is a retired American soccer player and current professional soccer executive. He played six seasons in the North American Soccer League and six more in the Major Indoor Soccer League. ...

Kevin Crow Kevin Troy Crow (born September 17, 1961) is an American former soccer defender. He played two seasons in the North American Soccer League, eight in the Major Indoor Soccer League and four in the Continental Indoor Soccer League, all with th ...

Steve David Steve David (born 11 March 1951 in Point Fortin, Trinidad) is a Trinidadian former North American Soccer League and international football player. Club career David began his professional career with Police in Trinidad and Tobago. In 1974, he ...

Rick Davis Richard Dean Davis (born November 24, 1958) is an American former soccer midfielder, and former captain of the U.S. National Team for much of the 1980s. He is considered by fans the best U.S.-born player of the North American Soccer League er ...

Enzo Di Pede Enzo Di Pede (born January 3, 1957) is a retired Italian-born goalkeeper who played in the North American Soccer League and the original Major Indoor Soccer League (MISL). Career In 1976, he played in the National Soccer League with Toronto ...

Daryl Doran Daryl Doran (born March 29, 1963) is a U.S. indoor soccer player. His 827 games are the most of any player in American professional indoor soccer history. Doran previously coached the St. Louis Ambush in the Major Arena Soccer League from 2013� ...

Don Ebert Don "Mad Hatter" Ebert is a retired U.S. soccer forward who spent most of his career with two indoor clubs, the St. Louis Steamers and the Los Angeles Lazers. Youth Ebert attended Rosary High School in St. Louis, Missouri. In 1976, Ebert and h ...

Pat Ercoli Pat Ercoli (born 30 November 1957) is a Canadian former professional soccer player who currently works as President of the Rochester New York FC. Career Ercoli played club football for the Rochester Lancers and the Jacksonville Tea Men in t ...

Andranik Eskandarian Andranik Eskandarian ( Armenian: , fa, آندرانیک اسکندریان, born 31 December 1951) is an Iranian former footballer. He played as a defender for the F.C. Ararat Tehran, Taj SC and New York Cosmos of the North American Soccer Leagu ...

* Joey Fink *

Karl-Heinz Granitza Karl-Heinz Granitza (born 1 November 1951) is a German former professional footballer who played as a forward. In the United States, he is a member of the National Soccer Hall of Fame. Granitza was born in Lünen, North Rhine-Westphalia. He ...

* Gerry Gray *

Tommy Jenkins Thomas Ernest Jenkins (born 2 December 1947) is an English retired footballer. He played professionally in two continents as a winger and is now a soccer coach in the United States. Early career Born in Bethnal Green, Jenkins played for Ea ...

Erhardt Kapp Erhardt Kapp (born June 16, 1959 in Romania) is a retired Romanian-American soccer defender and current business owner and soccer coach. He was also a member of the 1984 U.S. Olympic soccer team and U.S. national team. Career Kapp as a youth ...

* Zoran Karić * Michael King * Jorgen Kristensen * Erik Rasmussen *

Mickey Kydes Mickey Kydes (born July 25, 1964 in Norwalk, Connecticut) is a retired American soccer midfielder who played professionally in the Major Indoor Soccer League, USISL and Major League Soccer. He also spent three seasons in Greece and several in the ...

Doc Lawson Aldophus "Doc" Lawson (born February 11, 1958, in Liberia) is a former American soccer defender best known for his long indoor career. Lawson played the third most games in the history of the original MISL. He also spent four seasons in the ...

Mark Liveric Mirko "Mark" Liveric ( hr, Liverić; born August 16, 1953) is an American retired Association football, soccer Striker (association football), forward who spent eight years in the North American Soccer League (1968-1984), North American Soccer Lea ...

Dave MacWilliams Dave MacWilliams (last name also spelled McWilliams) (born May 20, 1957, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) is a retired American soccer forward and head coach who played professionally in the North American Soccer League and Major Indoor Soccer L ...

* Scott Manning * Pato Margetic *

Hector Marinaro Hector Luis Marinaro Jr (born December 6, 1964) is a Canadian soccer coach and former player who is the men's soccer coach at John Carroll University. As a player he was the all-time leader in points and goals in professional indoor soccer, a ...

Alan Mayer Alan Mayer (born July 3, 1952) is an American retired soccer goalkeeper. He played professionally in the North American Soccer League and Major Indoor Soccer League and earned six caps with the United States men's national soccer team. In 2019 ...

Wes McLeod Wes McLeod (born October 24, 1957) is a retired Canadian soccer player who earned eighteen caps with the Canadian national soccer team. Club career Born in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, McLeod spent his youth career with Coquitlam Blue ...

* Dale Mitchell *

George Nanchoff George Nanchoff (born 1954 in Resen, Yugoslavia ( SR Macedonia)) is a retired Yugoslavian-American soccer player. He spent three seasons in the North American Soccer League and seven seasons in the Major Indoor Soccer League. He also earned t ...

* Steve Pecher * Hugo Perez *

Ljupko Petrović Ljubomir "Ljupko" Petrović ( sr-Cyrl, Љубомир "Љупко" Петровић; born 15 May 1947) is a Serbian professional football manager and former player. He also holds a Bosnian passport. As a manager, Petrović's biggest success wa ...

* Preki *

Kim Roentved Kim or KIM may refer to: Names * Kim (given name) * Kim (surname) ** Kim (Korean surname) *** Kim family (disambiguation), several dynasties **** Kim family (North Korea), the rulers of North Korea since Kim Il-sung in 1948 ** Kim, Vietnamese ...

* Carl Rose *

Bruce Savage William Bruce Savage is an American retired soccer defender. He played four seasons in the North American Soccer League, nine in Major Indoor Soccer League and earned sixteen caps with the U.S. national team between 1983 and 1992. On March ...

* John Stremlau *

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 ...

* Zoltán Tóth *

Thompson Usiyan Thompson Usiyan (27 April 1956 – 31 August 2021) was a Nigerian professional footballer who played as a forward. He holds the NCAA Division I career scoring record and played in the North American Soccer League, Major Indoor Soccer League, ...

Carl Valentine Carl Howard Valentine (born 4 July 1958) is a former professional soccer player and coach who has had a long association with soccer in the Vancouver area. Born in England, he represented the Canada national team at international level. He w ...

Juli Veee Juli Veee (born Gyula Visnyei; February 22, 1950) is a Hungarian-American retired soccer forward. Announced as "Double-deuce, triple-E, the one and only Juli Veee", Veee experienced his greatest success as an indoor player with the San Diego So ...

* Tatu * Peter Ward * Jean Willrich *

Television and radio coverage

The MISL made inroads on national television in 1982–83. While the spring would see the end of the league's two-year deal with the

USA Network USA Network (simply USA) is an American basic cable television channel owned by the NBCUniversal Television and Streaming division of Comcast's NBCUniversal through NBCUniversal Cable Entertainment. It was originally launched in 1977 as Madison ...

, CBS would broadcast a playoff game live from Cleveland on May 7 that drew an estimated four million viewers. One game during the 1983–84 season was televised on CBS (Game 3 of the championship series on June 2) as well. 1984–85 would be the final year the MISL would have games aired on network television, CBS broadcast Game 4 of the championship series live on May 25.

References

* *

External links

''The MISL: A Look Back''All-Time MISL StandingsAll-Time MISL Attendance
{{DEFAULTSORT:Major Indoor Soccer League (1978-92) 1986 labor disputes and strikes Defunct indoor soccer leagues in the United States Sports leagues established in 1978 Defunct professional sports leagues in the United States 1978 establishments in the United States 1992 disestablishments in the United States