The California Surf 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 that competed in the North American Soccer League (NASL) from

1978 Events January * January 1 – Air India Flight 855, a Boeing 747 passenger jet, crashes off the coast of Bombay, killing 213. * January 5 – Bülent Ecevit, of CHP, forms the new government of Turkey (42nd government). * January 6 ...

to 1981. The team was based in

Anaheim, California Anaheim ( ) is a city in northern Orange County, California, part of the Los Angeles metropolitan area. As of the 2020 United States Census, the city had a population of 346,824, making it the most populous city in Orange County, the 10th-most ...

and played their home games at

Anaheim Convention Center The Anaheim Convention Center is a major convention center in Anaheim, California and is the largest exhibition facility on the West Coast of the United States. It is located across from the Disneyland Resort on Katella Avenue. The original co ...

and the Long Beach Arena during the indoor seasons and

Anaheim Stadium Angel Stadium of Anaheim is a baseball stadium located in Anaheim, California. Since its opening in 1966, it has served as the home ballpark of the Los Angeles Angels of Major League Baseball (MLB), and was also the home stadium to the Los Angel ...

for outdoor matches. Originally founded as the St. Louis Stars, the team relocated to Anaheim after the 1977 NASL season. The team disbanded after the 1981 NASL season.

History

The team that would become the Surf was originally founded as the St. Louis Stars in 1967 as a charter member of the National Professional Soccer League. When the NPSL and

United Soccer Association The United Soccer Association was a professional soccer league featuring teams based in the United States and Canada. The league survived only one season before merging with the National Professional Soccer League to form the North American S ...

merged to form the North American Soccer League (NASL), the Stars moved to the new league and competed in an additional 10 seasons. After the conclusion of the 1977 season, team president Ted Martin announced that unless other adequate stadium facilities could be secured, as Francis Field on the campus of

Washington University Washington University in St. Louis (WashU or WUSTL) is a private research university with its main campus in St. Louis County, and Clayton, Missouri. Founded in 1853, the university is named after George Washington. Washington University is r ...

-where the team has played its home games for the previous three seasons-was too small to accommodate the larger crowds attending it games and the team's inability to use

Busch Memorial Stadium Busch Memorial Stadium, also known as Busch Stadium II, was a multi-purpose sports facility in St. Louis, Missouri, that operated for 40 years, from 1966 through 2005. The stadium served as the home of the St. Louis Cardinals National League ...

due to too many scheduling with

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (A ...

's Cardinals, the team would have to relocate to another city. In late September 1977, General Manager Case Frankiewiez announced the team would leave the city with

and

Columbus, Ohio Columbus () is the state capital and the most populous city in the U.S. state of Ohio. With a 2020 census population of 905,748, it is the 14th-most populous city in the U.S., the second-most populous city in the Midwest, after Chicago, an ...

name as likely destinations. A week later on October 7, 1977, the NASL officially approved the team's move pending a lease with

. Two months later, it was announced that the name Surf has been chosen from 350 public suggestions. The Surf opened the 1978 North American Soccer League season at home with a 1–0 victory against the

Portland Timbers The Portland Timbers are an American professional men's soccer club based in Portland, Oregon. The Timbers compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member club of the league's Western Conference. The Timbers have played their home games at ...

on April 1, 1978. The team finished the season in second place in the Western Division of the American Conference with 13 wins and 17 loses and losing to 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 ( ...

in the first round of the playoffs. After a 4-4 start to the 1979 season,

John Sewell John Sewell (born December 8, 1940) is a Canadian politician and lawyer who served as the 58th mayor of Toronto from 1978 to 1980. Background Born and raised in the Beach neighbourhood, in Toronto, Sewell attended Malvern Collegiate Institut ...

, who had managed the team in St. Louis, was fired as head coach and replaced by Peter Wall. The Surf finished the season with a record of 15 wins and 15 losses, tied for first place of the American Conference, Western Division on points with San Diego, but losing the division title on goal differential. For the second year in a row, the team exited the playoffs after losing to San Diego in the first round. The team reported an official average attendance of 10,330 for the season; however, it was midway through the following season, it was reported that the Surf had been inflating their attendance totals. In September 1979 it was announced that the Surf would be one of ten teams to participate in the

1979–80 NASL Indoor season The 1979–80 season was the North American Soccer League's first ever full indoor soccer season with playoffs. It began in November 1979, and the championship occurred in March 1980. Overview Only 10 of the 24 NASL member-teams chose to field a ...

. During the league's first ever full indoor season, the Surf compiled a record of four wins and eight loses and failed to qualify for the playoffs. In the following outdoor season, the Surf compiled a record of 15 wins and 17 loses while finishing in second place in the Western Division of the American Conference. The team was defeated in the first round of the playoffs by 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 Profe ...

. After the season, it was announced that the team had ranked 20th in league attendance and was rumored to have lost nearly $7.5 million. The Surf competed in the 1980–81 NASL Indoor season finishing first in the Southern Division, but again bowing out in the first round of the playoffs, this time to the

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 ...

. After opening the 1981 NASL season, with a 4 - 3 record, Peter Wall resigned as head coach and was replaced by

Laurie Calloway Laurence John Calloway (born 17 June 1945) is an English retired footballer who played as defender, spending thirteen years in the English leagues and five years in the North American Soccer League. Since retiring from playing professionally, ...

. The team finished the season with a record of 11 wins and 21 losses and did not qualify for the playoffs. On September 15, 1981, it was announced the team was ceasing operations. The next day, the league announced the Surf were one of five teams that failed to post the required $150,000 bond to participate in the

1981–82 NASL Indoor season The 1981–82 season was the North American Soccer League's third indoor soccer season. Overview Thirteen of a possible 14 NASL teams participated. Fort Lauderdale was the only non-participant in the 18-game regular season. The Los Angeles Azte ...

, confirming the team has folded.

Ownership and staff

* Robert Hermann & Partners – Owners (1978–1980) * Henry Segerstrom & Partners – Owners (1980–1981) *

Lynne Saunders Lynne may refer to: * Lynne (surname) * Lynne (given name) * Lynne, Florida, an unincorporated community * Lynne, Wisconsin, a town in Oneida County, Wisconsin, United States {{Disambig ...

– Deputy General Manager

Managers

(1978–1979) * Peter Wall (1979-1981) *

1981

Year-by-year

Honors

NASL Division titles *

Western Division, American Conference ''(tie)'' * 1980–81 indoor Southern Division NASL All-Star First Team * 1978

Ray Evans Raymond Bernard Evans (February 4, 1915 – February 15, 2007) was an American songwriter. He was a partner in a composing and song-writing duo with Jay Livingston, known for the songs they composed for films. Evans wrote the lyrics and Living ...

U.S. Soccer Hall of Fame * 2001: Bob Hermann * 2003: Carlos Alberto Torres * 2006:

Al Trost Alan Trost (born February 7, 1949) is an American retired soccer midfielder. He played collegiate soccer at Saint Louis University where he won the 1969 and 1970 Hermann Trophy as the player of the year. His professional career includes years i ...

Canada Soccer Hall of Fame * 2004:

Tony Chursky Tony Chursky (born June 13, 1953 in New Westminster, British Columbia, Canada) is a former Canadian national soccer team and NASL goalkeeper. Playing career Chursky grew up in Vancouver, British Columbia and attended Simon Fraser University w ...

Indoor Soccer Hall of Fame * 2019:

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 ...

References

{{Orange County Sports North American Soccer League (1968–1984) teams Association football clubs established in 1978 Association football clubs disestablished in 1981 Defunct indoor soccer clubs in the United States Defunct soccer clubs in California Soccer clubs in California 1978 establishments in California 1981 disestablishments in California