The 1982–83 Major Indoor Soccer League season was the fifth in league history and would end with the San Diego Sockers winning their first MISL title. It would be the Sockers' second straight indoor championship, as the club had won the North American Soccer League's indoor league the previous spring.
Recap The league would enter into an agreement with the NASL in the summer of 1982 to begin plans for an eventual merger. Initial plans to have all 14 NASL teams play in the winter would not come to pass, as most teams preferred to concentrate on the outdoor season. However, the Chicago Sting and Golden Bay Earthquakes would join the Sockers for the MISL season.
The Earthquakes would perform worst of the three NASL teams, but picked up Steve Zungul from the New York Arrows when New York's new management decided to try to 'Americanize' the team in an attempt to boost ticket sales. The Arrows, only two games out of first place when the trade was made on January 19, finished at .500 and were eliminated in the first round of the playoffs. Despite the Quakes' struggles, Zungul would win the MISL scoring title again.
The expansion Los Angeles Lazers, owned by the Los Angeles Lakers' Jerry Buss, set a record for the lowest winning percentage in league history. After the season, Chicago, San Diego and Golden Bay withdrew and returned to the NASL as the league made plans for an indoor return the following winter. Despite losing the NASL teams, the league continued to expand as teams were announced for Tacoma in 1983-84 and Dallas for 1984–85.
The MISL continued to make inroads on national television. While the spring would see the end of the league's two-year deal with the USA Network, CBS would broadcast a playoff game live from Cleveland on May 7 that drew an estimated four million viewers.
Teams TeamCity/AreaArenaBaltimore BlastBaltimore, Maryland Baltimore ArenaBuffalo StallionsBuffalo, New YorkBuffalo Memorial Auditorium Chicago StingChicago Chicago StadiumCleveland ForceCleveland, Ohio Richfield ColiseumGolden Bay EarthquakesOakland, CaliforniaOakland–Alameda County Coliseum ArenaKansas City CometsKansas City, Missouri Kemper ArenaLos Angeles LazersInglewood, California The ForumMemphis AmericansMemphis, Tennessee Mid-South ColiseumNew York ArrowsUniondale, New York Nassau Veterans Memorial ColiseumPhoenix InfernoPhoenix, Arizona Arizona Veterans Memorial ColiseumPittsburgh SpiritPittsburgh, Pennsylvania Civic Arena (Pittsburgh) San Diego SockersSan Diego, California San Diego Sports ArenaSt. Louis SteamersSt. Louis, MissouriSt. Louis ArenaWichita WingsWichita, Kansas Kansas Coliseum
Map of clubs
Regular season schedule
The 1982–83 regular season schedule ran from November 5, 1982, to April 17, 1983. The 48 games per team was an increase of four over the 1981–82 schedule of 44 games.
Final standings
Playoff teams in bold. Eastern Division W L Pct. GB GF GA Home Road Baltimore Blast 3018.625 --24922419-511-13 Cleveland Force 2919.604128526716-813-11 Chicago Sting 2820.583228523917-711-13 New York Arrows 2424.500622521915-99-15 Pittsburgh Spirit 2424.500625024715-99-15 Buffalo Stallions 2226.458827027413-119-15 Memphis Americans 1929.3961123927415-94-20
Western Division W L Pct. GB GF GA Home Road San Diego Sockers 3216.667-- 28923019-513-11 Wichita Wings 2721.563527324917-710-14 Kansas City Comets 2622.542621921017-79-15 St. Louis Steamers 2622.542623423415-911-13 Phoenix Inferno 2424.500824925517-77-17 Golden Bay Earthquakes 1731.354152402908-169-15 Los Angeles Lazers 840.167241912866-182-22
Playoffs
Quarterfinals
Baltimore vs. New York Date Away Home Attendance April 19 New York 4 Baltimore 11 10,511 April 22 Baltimore 6 New York 7 7,157 April 23 New York 3 Baltimore 8 11,223 Baltimore wins series 2-1 Cleveland vs. Chicago Date Away Home Attendance April 19 Chicago 9 Cleveland 5 8,519 April 21 Cleveland 5 Chicago 4 9,643 April 23 Chicago 5 Cleveland 7 19,106 Cleveland wins series 2-1
San Diego vs. Kansas City Date Away Home Attendance April 20 Kansas City 2 San Diego 6 9,120 April 23 San Diego 9 Kansas City 4 15,957 San Diego wins series 2-0 Wichita vs. St. Louis Date Away Home Attendance April 19 St. Louis 5 Wichita 6 8,355 Andy Chapman scored at 13:01 of overtime April 23 Wichita 2 St. Louis 8 13,881 April 25 St. Louis 7 Wichita 9 9,875 Wichita wins series 2-1
Semifinals
Baltimore vs. Cleveland Date Away Home Attendance April 26 Cleveland 7 Baltimore 6 9,787 April 29 Cleveland 5 Baltimore 10 11,223 May 5 Baltimore 7 Cleveland 3 16,136 May 7 Baltimore 3 Cleveland 6 12,178 May 10 Cleveland 6 Baltimore 8 11,311 Baltimore wins series 3-2 San Diego vs. Wichita Date Away Home Attendance April 28 Wichita 5 San Diego 8 11,340 April 30 Wichita 2 San Diego 5 11,520 May 6 San Diego 4 Wichita 3 9,725San Diego wins series 3-0
Championship Series
San Diego vs. Baltimore Date Away Home Attendance May 13 Baltimore 0 San Diego 6 12,549 May 15 Baltimore 0 San Diego 7 12,185 May 17 San Diego 3 Baltimore 4 11,223 May 19 San Diego 6 Baltimore 7 11,431 Joe Fink scored at 1:03 of overtime May 23 Baltimore 1 San Diego 3 12,948 San Diego wins series 3-2
Regular season player statistics
Scoring leaders
GP = Games Played, G = Goals, A = Assists, Pts = Points Player Team GP G A Pts Steve Zungul New York/Golden Bay 43 75 47 122 Stan Stamenkovic Memphis Americans 41 55 65 120 Juli Veee San Diego Sockers 37 57 53 110 Stan Terlecki Pittsburgh Spirit 45 65 40 105 Omar Gomez Wichita Wings 44 37 49 86 Craig Allen Cleveland Force 45 53 31 84 Keith Furphy Cleveland Force 48 56 28 84 Kai Haaskivi Cleveland Force 46 38 46 84 Steve David Phoenix Inferno 47 61 20 81 Ruben Astigarraga Phoenix Inferno 43 34 46 80
Leading goalkeepers
Note: GP = Games played; Min = Minutes played; GA = Goals against; GAA = Goals against average; W = Wins; L = Losses Player Team GP Min GA GAA W L Zoltán Tóth New York Arrows 27 1555 104 4.01 12 14 Slobo Ilijevski St. Louis Steamers 44 2548 175 4.12 23 19 Keith Van Eron Baltimore Blast 38 1969 138 4.20 23 9 Alan Mayer San Diego Sockers 43 2407 172 4.29 30 10 Victor Petroni Kansas City Comets 26 1498 112 4.49 14 10 Victor Nogueira Chicago Sting 28 1441 110 4.58 14 12 Enzo DiPede Kansas City Comets 24 1362 109 4.80 12 12 Mike Dowler Wichita Wings 42 2502 203 4.87 25 17 Blagoje Tamindzic Phoenix Inferno 39 2252 183 4.88 19 18 Krys Sobieski Pittsburgh Spirit 41 2273 185 4.88 19 20
Playoff Player Statistics
Scoring leaders
GP = Games Played, G = Goals, A = Assists, Pts = Points Player Team GP G A Pts Juli Veee San Diego Sockers 10 13 19 32 Dave MacWilliams Baltimore Blast 13 12 11 23 Heinz Wirtz Baltimore Blast 13 10 11 21 Joey Fink Baltimore Blast 13 12 8 20 Kaz Deyna San Diego Sockers 9 14 4 18
Leading goalkeepers
Note: GP = Games played; Min = Minutes played; GA = Goals against; GAA = Goals against average; W = Wins; L = Losses Player Team GP Min GA GAA W L Alan Mayer San Diego Sockers 10 587 28 2.86 8 2 Keith Van Eron Baltimore Blast 10 556 49 5.29 4 6 Mike Dowler Wichita Wings 6 357 33 5.55 2 4 Cris Vaccaro Cleveland Force 7 321 36 6.73 2 3
All-MISL Teams First Team Position Second Team Alan Mayer, San Diego G Keith Van Eron, Baltimore Val Tuksa, New York D Greg Makowski, Kansas City Heinz Wirtz, Baltimore D Kim Roentved, Wichita Juli Veee, San Diego M Jorgen Kristensen, Wichita Steve Zungul, New York/Golden Bay F Stan Terlecki, Pittsburgh Stan Stamenkovic, Memphis F Kai Haaskivi, Cleveland
Honorable Mention Position Slobo Ilijevski, St. Louis G Renato Cila, New York D Helmut Dudek, Memphis D Pato Margetic, Chicago F Kaz Deyna, San Diego F
League awards Most Valuable Player: Alan Mayer, San Diego
Scoring Champion: Steve Zungul, New York/Golden Bay
Pass Master: Stan Stamenkovic, Baltimore
Defender of the Year: Bernie James, Cleveland
Rookie of the Year: Kirk Shermer, Los Angeles
Goalkeeper of the Year: Zoltán Tóth, New York
Coach of the Year: Pat McBride, Kansas City
Championship Series Most Valuable Player: Juli Veee, San Diego
References
External links The Year in American Soccer - 1983 1982-83 summary at The MISL: A Look Back