The Fort Lauderdale Strikers were a professional soccer team based in the

Miami metropolitan area The Miami metropolitan area is a coastal metropolitan area in southeastern Florida. It is the sixth-largest metropolitan statistical area (MSA) in the United States, the fifth-largest metropolitan area in the Southern United States, and the lar ...

. They competed in the North American Soccer League (NASL) from 1977 to 1983. They played their home matches at

Lockhart Stadium Lockhart Stadium was a stadium 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 long-standing soccer co ...

. Founded in 1967 as the Washington Darts, the team relocated to

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

in 1972. They were known as the Miami Gatos (1972) and the

Miami Toros The Miami Toros were a professional soccer team in the North American Soccer League (1968–1984), North American Soccer League from 1972 to 1976. The club was founded in 1967 as the Washington Darts, and moved to Miami, where they played the ...

(1973–1976) before moving to nearby

Fort Lauderdale 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 most populous city in Broward County with a population of 182,760 at the 2020 census, making it ...

. In addition to their time in the NASL outdoor league, the Strikers also played two indoor seasons while in Fort Lauderdale, at the West Palm Beach Auditorium for the 1979–80 season and the Hollywood Sportatorium for the 1980–81 season. After the 1983 season, the Strikers moved to

Minneapolis Minneapolis is a city in Hennepin County, Minnesota, United States, and its county seat. With a population of 429,954 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the state's List of cities in Minnesota, most populous city. Locat ...

and became 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 metrop ...

. Among their players during its time in Fort Lauderdale were football legends

George Best George Best (22 May 1946 – 25 November 2005) was a Northern Irish professional association football, footballer who played as a winger (association football), winger, spending most of his club career at Manchester United F.C., Manchester Un ...

and

Gerd Müller Gerhard "Gerd" Müller (; 3 November 1945 – 15 August 2021) was a German professional association football, footballer. A prolific Forward (association football)#Striker, striker, especially in and around the six-yard box, he is widely regarde ...

History

Origins

Founded in 1963 as the amateur club Washington Britannica and eventually rebranding as the Washington Darts, the team joined the North American Soccer League in 1970 after playing three seasons in the American Soccer League and winning two consecutive ASL championships. After the 1970 season, the team was sold to John Bilotta, former part owner of the Rochester Lancers, and Arthur Bant a hotel owner, who relocated and rebranded as the team as the Miami Gatos. After one season, the team was sold to a group of 25 local business leaders including

Miami Dolphins The Miami Dolphins are a professional American football team based in the Miami metropolitan area. The Dolphins compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East division. The team ...

owner

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 Leban ...

and his wife Elizabeth and renamed the

Toros TOROS artillery rocket system (; , lit. "Gunner (artillery), Gunner") is a Turkish rocket artillery multiple rocket launcher system that has been developed in both 230 and 260 mm calibre. The system was developed by TÜBİTAK Defense Industr ...

. In December 1976 and after five seasons in Miami, the team announced it was moving to

. The team played its first game, an indoor friendly, on February 27, 1977, against the

Tampa Bay Rowdies The Tampa Bay Rowdies are an American professional 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 Championship in the second tie ...

, the first meeting in what was to become one of the most enduring rivalries in North American soccer, the

Fort Lauderdale–Tampa Bay rivalry The Fort Lauderdale–Tampa Bay rivalry, also known as the Florida Derby, refers to the suspended soccer rivalry that most recently involved the Fort Lauderdale Strikers and the Tampa Bay Rowdies, both of whom played in the North American Socc ...

Early Success

The Strikers won their debut match 2–1 at

against the St. Louis Stars on April 10, 1977. They finished the 1977 season in first place of the Eastern Division American Conference with a record of nineteen wins and seven losses, tying the league record for most wins in a season. The team drew an average 8,148 fans for the season, a 165% increase over the team's last season as the Toros, and head coach Ron Newman, who had been hired before the team announced its move to Fort Lauderdale, was named NASL coach of the year. In the first match of the Division Championship, the Strikers lost to the

Pelé Edson Arantes do Nascimento (; 23 October 1940 – 29 December 2022), better known by his nickname Pelé (), was a Brazilian professional Association football, footballer who played as a Forward (association football), forward. Widely reg ...

led

New York Cosmos New York Cosmos may refer to * New York Cosmos (1970–1985), a team in the North American Soccer League (then the top-tier soccer league in the United States and Canada) * New York Cosmos (2010), a team playing since 2020 in the National Indepen ...

8–3 at

Giants Stadium Giants Stadium (sometimes referred to as Giants Stadium at the Meadowlands) was a stadium located in East Rutherford, New Jersey, in the Meadowlands Sports Complex. The venue was open from 1976 to 2010, and primarily hosted sporting events and ...

in a match which drew 77,691 fans, a record for a non-exhibition domestic league soccer game. In the return leg played in Fort Lauderdale, the Strikers lost 3–2 in an overtime shootout. Finishing the 1978 season in third place with a record of sixteen wins and fourteen losses, the Strikers made it to the third round of the playoffs, losing the Conference Championship to the

. The team was one of four to participate in the 1979 NASL Budweiser Indoor Soccer Invitational, losing both games the played The 1979 North American Soccer League season ended with the Strikers in second place of the Eastern Division behind the Rowdies with a record of seventeen wins, thirteen losses and averaging 13,774 attendance per game. The Strikers were knocked out of the first round of the playoffs by the

Chicago Sting The Chicago Sting (1974–1988) was an American professional soccer team representing Chicago. The Sting played in the North American Soccer League from 1975 to 1984 and in the Major Indoor Soccer League in the 1982–83 season and again from ...

, losing both games without scoring a goal. The day before the second game, it was announced that the team had relieved Ron Newman as head coach and offered him a job in the team management.

Post Newman Era

After Newman declined the front office position, the Strikers hired Bob Lemieux who had been working as an executive for the

Detroit Red Wings The Detroit Red Wings (colloquially referred to as the Wings) are a professional ice hockey team based in Detroit. The Red Wings compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NHL), Atlantic Division in the East ...

as the team's General Manager. In December 1979, the Strikers announced that Cor van der Hart had been hired as head coach. During the 1980 NASL Season there were several reports of arguments between van der Hart and the players as well as publicity referencing a drinking problem, both issues led to difficulties with the head office. Finishing with a record of eighteen wins and fourteen loses, the team ended the season in second place of the Eastern Division, behind the

again. The Strikers advanced to Soccer Bowl '80 against the

after defeating the California Surf, Edmonton Drillers, and San Diego Sockers in the first three rounds of the playoffs. On September 21, 1980, at

RFK Stadium Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium, commonly known as RFK Stadium and originally known as District of Columbia Stadium, is a defunct multi-purpose stadium in Washington, D.C. located on East Capitol Street near the Anacostia River. Opened in 1 ...

Washington, DC Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and Federal district of the United States, federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from ...

the Strikers lost to the Cosmos 3–0. In mid October, Lemieux was fired from his position as General Manager with Tim Robbie, son of owners Joe and Elizabeth Robbie, taking over the position. Then in late December 1980 with the team 0–6 in the 1980–81 NASL Indoor season and after having announced just after the Soccer Bowl that he would return as head coach for the following outdoor season, van der Hart was fired. Team spokesman stated "personal issues" and "team morale" as the primary reason and that Assistant Bill Nuttall was named caretaker for the remainder of the indoor campaign. German Eckhard Krautzun who had coached the Houston Hurricane during the 1980 season, was named head coach for the 1981 Outdoor season. The 1981 season saw the team's first decline in average attendance since it had moved to Fort Lauderdale with 13,345 fans per game seeing them finish second in the Southern Division with a record of eighteen wins and fourteen losses, rather than the 14,360 who attended each game during the 1980 season. After defeating the Calgary Boomers and

Minnesota Kicks The Minnesota Kicks was a professional soccer team that played at Metropolitan Stadium in the Minneapolis suburb of Bloomington, Minnesota, from 1976 to 1981. The team was a member of the now defunct North American Soccer League (1968–84), No ...

in the first two rounds of the playoffs, the Strikers lost in the Semifinals to the Cosmos. The day after the Strikers were eliminated from contention for Soccer Bowl '81, the North American Soccer League announced that the team would not participate in the upcoming 1981–82 NASL Indoor season, but would return for 1982 outdoor season.

Decline

The Strikers ended the 1982 North American Soccer League season with an identical eighteen wins and fourteen losses from the previous season which won them the Southern Division title with another decline in attendance of 12,345 average attendance. After defeating the Montreal Manic in the first round of the playoffs, the Strikers failed to qualify for Soccer Bowl '82 when they lost the semifinals to Seattle Sounders. After two seasons, Krautzun was fired as head coach with former Striker player and head coach of the recently folded Georgia Generals David Chadwick rumored to be interested in the position. His hiring was confirmed a week later. In addition to compiling a record of one win and seven losses in the 1983 NASL Grand Prix of Indoor Soccer, the Strikers played two indoor friendlies during the offseason. The team's attendance continued decline in the 1983 outdoor season and the team recorded their first losing record in an outdoor NASL season with fourteen wins and sixteen losses. Finishing second in the Southern Division, the team was eliminated in the first round of the playoffs by the Tulsa Roughnecks.

Relocation

Following the conclusion of the 1983 outdoor season season long rumors that the team was looking to move were confirmed when General Manager Tim Robbie met with officials in

On November 30, 1983, team owner Elizabeth Robbie,

Minnesota Minnesota ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Upper Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Manitoba and Ontario to the north and east and by the U.S. states of Wisconsin to the east, Iowa to the so ...

Governor

Rudy Perpich Rudolph George Perpich Sr. (born Rudolph George Prpić; June 27, 1928 September 21, 1995) was an American politician who served as the governor of Minnesota from 1976 to 1979 and again from 1983 to 1991. A member of the Democratic-Farmer-Labor ...

, and NASL president Howard Samuels officially announced the team was moving and indicated the team had lost around $1 million in the last year. In 1984 the team began play as the

. The team survived the NASL folding after the 1984 season and competed in the Major Indoor Soccer League for an additional four seasons before going out of business.

Year-by-year

Honors

NASL championships *

1980 Events January * January 4 – U.S. President Jimmy Carter proclaims a United States grain embargo against the Soviet Union, grain embargo against the USSR with the support of the European Commission. * January 6 – Global Positioning Sys ...

runner-up Regular Season Titles *

1977 Events January * January 8 – 1977 Moscow bombings, Three bombs explode in Moscow within 37 minutes, killing seven. The bombings are attributed to an Armenian separatist group. * January 10 – Mount Nyiragongo erupts in eastern Zaire (no ...

(19–7 • 161 points) Division titles *

Eastern Division, Atlantic Conference * 1982 Southern Division Coach of the Year *1977 Ron Newman U.S. Soccer Hall of Fame * 1992 Ron Newman * 2003 Arnie Mausser, Joe & Elizabeth Robbie Canadian Soccer Hall of Fame * 2002 Branko Šegota * 2004 Bob Bolitho Indoor Soccer Hall of Fame * 2012 Ron Newman, Branko Šegota * 2014 Bruce Savage All-Star first team selections *1977 Gordon Banks *1980 Teófilo Cubillas *1981 Teófilo Cubillas, Jan van Beveren *1983 Jan van Beveren All-Star second team selections *1978 Ray Hudson *1979 Teófilo Cubillas,

*1982 Teófilo Cubillas, Jan van Beveren All-Star honorable mentions *1978

, Maurice Whittle *1980 Ray Hudson, Jan van Beveren *1982 Ray Hudson, Branko Šegota *1983 Ray Hudson, Bruce Miller

Head coaches

* Ron Newman (1977–1979) * Cor van der Hart (1980) * Eckhard Krautzun (1981–1982) * David Chadwick (1983–1984)

References

External links

A page devoted to the history of the Fort Lauderdale Strikers
(archived)
A blog for Fort Lauderdale Striker fans
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fort Lauderdale Strikers (Nasl) North American Soccer League (1968–1984) teams Soccer clubs in Miami Soccer clubs in Florida Association football clubs established in 1977 Association football clubs disestablished in 1983 Defunct indoor soccer clubs in the United States Defunct soccer clubs in Florida 1977 establishments in Florida 1983 disestablishments in Florida Inter Miami CF