Soccer Bowl '83 was the 17th edition of the

Soccer Bowl The Soccer Bowl was the annual championship game of the North American Soccer League, which ran from 1968 to 1984. The two top teams from the playoffs faced off in the final to determine the winner of the NASL Trophy. From the league's founding ...

, the championship match of

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), which took place on October 1, 1983. It was the final match of the 1983 North American Soccer League playoffs and was contested by the

Tulsa Roughnecks Tulsa Roughnecks may refer to any of four distinct professional soccer teams: *Tulsa Roughnecks (1978–1984), the original top-flight team that played in the North American Soccer League from 1978 to 1984. *Tulsa Roughnecks (1993–2000), the team ...

and the

Toronto Blizzard Toronto Blizzard may refer to: *Toronto Blizzard (1971–1984), the original soccer club, a franchise of the North American Soccer League *Toronto Blizzard (1986–1993), the later club and franchise of the Canadian Soccer League *Toronto Azzurri B ...

BC Place Stadium BC Place is a multi-purpose stadium in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Located at the north side of False Creek, it is owned and operated by the BC Pavilion Corporation (PavCo), a crown corporation of the province. The venue is currently ...

Vancouver Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...

Background

Tulsa Roughnecks

The Tulsa Roughnecks won the Southern Division with a 17-13 record and a total of 145 points. They dispatched the

Fort Lauderdale Strikers Fort Lauderdale Strikers may refer to: *Fort Lauderdale Strikers (1977–1983), member of North American Soccer League from 1977 to 1983 *Fort Lauderdale Strikers (1988–1994), member of American Soccer League from 1988 to 1989 and American Profes ...

in the quarterfinals with a two-game sweep. By virtue of their two games to one victory In the semifinals against the Montreal Manic, the Roughnecks advanced to the Soccer Bowl for the first time in franchise history.

Toronto Blizzard

The Toronto Blizzard qualified for the playoffs as a wild card by finishing third in the Eastern Division with a 16-14 record and a total of 135 points. In the quarterfinals they were the upset-winner over the Western Division champion

Vancouver Whitecaps Vancouver Whitecaps Football Club is a Canadian professional soccer team based in Vancouver. They compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member club of the league's Western Conference. The MLS iteration of the club was established on March ...

by two games to one. Vancouver had only lost 6 matches all season. The Blizzard pulled off a second upset in their semifinal match-up by sweeping the

Golden Bay Earthquakes Golden means made of, or relating to gold. Golden may also refer to: Places United Kingdom *Golden, in the parish of Probus, Cornwall *Golden Cap, Dorset *Golden Square, Soho, London *Golden Valley, a valley on the River Frome in Gloucestershir ...

in two games, and earning their second ever trip to the Soccer Bowl.

Pre-match controversy

During game three of their semifinal series with Montreal, Tulsa forward

Ron Futcher Ronald Futcher (born 25 September 1956) is an English former footballer who played as a centre-forward. He was the fourth highest career scorer of the North American Soccer League, and made over 400 appearances in total for nine different Engli ...

picked up his third yellow card of the playoffs. By rule this earned him a one-match suspension, and league director of operations

Ted Howard Ted or Teddy Howard may refer to: * Ted Howard (author) (born 1950), US social entrepreneur and author * Ted Howard (conservationist), New Zealand conservationist and local politician * Ted Howard (politician) (1868–1939), New Zealand politician ...

was poised to enforce it. For his part, Futcher was not only the team's leading scorer, but also a leader in the Roughnecks' locker room. Tulsa's owners appealed the yellow card and even alluded to the press, the possibility of boycotting the final if Futcher was not allowed to play. Toronto team president

Clive Toye Clive Roy Toye (born Devonport, Plymouth, 23 November 1932) was inducted to the National Soccer Hall of Fame in the United States in 2003. Toye was born in Plymouth, United Kingdom, to Thomas Roy Toye (1906–65) and Irene Turner. He was a spo ...

felt that bending the rules for a star player might set a bad precedent, but was nevertheless prepared to face whatever lineup Tulsa put on the pitch. Ultimately, NASL president

Howard J. Samuels Howard Joseph Samuels (December 3, 1919 – October 26, 1984) was an American statesman, industrialist, civil rights activist and philanthropist who served as United States Under Secretary of Commerce and Director of the Small Business Administra ...

overruled Ted Howard and decided to allow Futcher to play, because he felt that the fans in attendance would be the ones made to suffer by Futcher's absence.

Match details

1983 NASL Champions:

Television: Budwieser Network ''(syndicated)''
Announcers: Bob Carpenter,

Gordon Bradley Gordon Bradley (23 November 1933 – 29 April 2008) was an English-American soccer midfielder born and raised on Wearside who played several seasons with lower-division English clubs before moving to play in Canada at the age of 30. During the ...

Touchline reporter: Al Miller

Match statistics

References

{{1983 in American soccer

1983 The year 1983 saw both the official beginning of the Internet and the first mobile cellular telephone call. Events January * January 1 – The migration of the ARPANET to Internet protocol suite, TCP/IP is officially completed (this is consid ...

1983 in Canadian soccer

Toronto Blizzard matches Sport in Vancouver 1983 in British Columbia Sports competitions in Vancouver October 1983 sports events in Canada