The original St. Louis Steamers played in the Major Indoor Soccer League from 1979 through 1988. Their home fixtures were held at the

St. Louis Arena St. Louis Arena (known as the Checkerdome from 1977 to 1983) was an indoor arena in St. Louis, Missouri. The country's second-largest indoor entertainment venue when it opened in 1929, it was home to the St. Louis Blues and other sports franchis ...

. The Steamers were popular for several years, with average attendance exceeding 12,000 for each season from 1980–81 through 1984–85, and outdrawing the NHL's St. Louis Blues for four consecutive seasons from 1980–81 through 1983–84.

Ownership

* Marvin Mann (1979–1980) *

Stan Musial Stanley Frank Musial (; born Stanislaw Franciszek Musial; November 21, 1920 – January 19, 2013), nicknamed "Stan the Man", was an American baseball outfielder and first baseman. Widely considered to be one of the greatest and most consistent ...

& Partnership (1980–83) * Thomas M. Bowers & Partnership (1983–87) *

Bing Devine Vaughan Pallmore "Bing" Devine (March 1, 1916 – January 27, 2007) was an American front office executive in Major League Baseball. As general manager, Devine was a major architect of four National League champions and three World Series c ...

(1987–88)

History

The Major Indoor Soccer League awarded St. Louis a franchise on July 31, 1979. The home opener on December 14, 1979, drew over 18,000 fans to the Arena. Part of the Steamers' attraction was that their roster was drawn in large part from local talent. The Steamers' popularity peaked during the 1981–82 season, when the team averaged 17,107 fans per game, including 19,298 fans in the Steamers' match at the Arena against the Denver Avalanche. In 1981–82, the Steamers won their second straight division title and reached the MISL Championship finals, where they lost to New York in a five-game series. The Steamers played their final match on April 15, 1988, in front of 4,839 fans.Our St. Louis Steamers
/ref> Following the 1987–88 season, the club folded, and the MISL terminated the Steamers' franchise.

Year-by-year

Retired numbers

* #30

Slobo Ilijevski Slobodan "Slobo" Ilijevski (; October 24, 1949 in Skopje, Yugoslavia – July 14, 2008 in Bellingham, Washington) was a Yugoslav and Macedonian football (soccer) goalkeeper who played in the North American Soccer League and Major Indoor Soccer L ...

* #7

Daryl Doran Daryl Doran (born March 29, 1963) is a U.S. former 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 (2013), St. Louis Ambush in the Major ...

Coaches

Pat McBride Patrick McBride (November 13, 1943 – December 11, 2024) was an American soccer midfielder and indoor soccer coach. He earned five cap (sports), caps with the United States men's national soccer team, U.S. national team and is a member of the Na ...

(1979–81) (1985–87) *

Al Trost Alan Trost (born February 7, 1949) is an American former professional soccer player who played as a 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 ...

(1981–83) *

Dave Clements David Clements (born 15 September 1945) is a Northern Irish former football player and coach. He started his career as an outside left but also played as a defensive midfielder and left-back. During a career which lasted from 1964 to 1976, pla ...

(1983–85) *

Tony Glavin Tony Glavin (born 29 April 1958) is a Scottish former professional footballer who played as a midfielder in both Scotland and the United States, making over 300 career appearances. His elder brother Ronnie was also a footballer. Playing career ...

(1987–88)

Yearly Awards

MISL Rookie of the Year *1980–81 –

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 ...

MISL Goalkeeper of the Year *1981–1982 –

*1983–1984 –

MISL All-Star Team Selection *1980–1981 –

Steve Pecher Steve Pecher (born St. Louis, Missouri) is an American former soccer defender who is currently the President of St Louis Scott Gallagher. Youth and college Pecher began playing soccer with the youth club, Florissant Cougars, then with his high ...

*1980–1981 –

*1981–1982 –

*1983–1984 –

Sam Bick Sam Bick (born St. Louis, Missouri) is a former American soccer midfielder. He spent nine seasons in the North American Soccer League and seven seasons in the Major Indoor Soccer League. He also earned two caps with the United States men's nat ...

MISL Coach of the Year *1979–80 –

(Jointly held)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Saint Louis Steamers 1979-88 St. Louis Steamers, Steamers 1979-88 Soccer clubs in Missouri Defunct indoor soccer clubs in the United States Major Indoor Soccer League (1978–1992) teams 1979 establishments in Missouri 1988 disestablishments in Missouri Association football clubs established in 1979 Association football clubs disestablished in 1988