Canadian Soccer League (1987 — 1992)

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The original Canadian Soccer League was a semi-professional football (soccer) that was operated in Canada during the summer from 1987 and 1992. It was a nationwide league as it included franchises from all parts of the country.

The CSL was formed in the aftermath of Canada's participation in the 1986 World Cup finals tournament held in Mexico. Canada was an oddity as a country whose association was able to qualify a team despite not having a domestic professional league, or even a domestically based professional team with the demise in 1984 of the North American Soccer League. Founding league commissioner Dale Barnes voiced sentiment aptly when he said the league is to "bring our players home."

The league gained a leap in creditibility when an agreement was reached with The Sports Network to broadcast a CSL Game of the Week, allowing a nationwide audience view a game on domestic cable TV each Sunday evening. Broadcasts featured play-by-play commentator Vic Rauter and analyst Graham Leggat. The league received sponsorship from Air Canada, Foster's Lager, Hyundai, and Gatorade.

Contents

[edit] 1987 season

The league's opening game was played May 26, 1987 in Aylmer, Quebec and saw the hometown Ottawa Pioneers and Hamilton Steelers play to a 0-0 draw in steady drizzle in front 2,500 spectators. The league was divided into an Eastern and Western division for its first four seasons and without divisions in its final two. The Eastern Division in 1987 consisted of Ottawa, Hamiton, the Toronto Blizzard, and North York Rockets. The Western Division was comprised of the Calgary Kickers, Edmonton Brickmen, Vancouver 86ers, and Winnipeg Fury. Hamiton won their division both in the regular season and in the playoffs, as did Calgary. The final saw the top point-getting team in the regular season, Calgary, defeat the second-best side, Hamilton, 2-1 at home in a winner take all one game final.

[edit] Regular season

The final regular season standings were:


Eastern Division

Team Games Wins Losses Ties Goals Scored Goals Conceded Points
Hamilton Steelers 20 10 4 6 32 22 26
Ottawa Pioneers 20 7 4 9 15 23 23
Toronto Blizzard 20 6 8 6 22 27 20
North York Rockets 20 1 12 7 15 39 9











Western Division

Team Games Wins Losses Ties Goals Scored Goals Conceded Points
Calgary Kickers 20 11 4 5 32 22 27
Vancouver 86ers 20 9 8 3 37 27 21
Edmonton Brickmen 20 7 6 7 27 24 20
Winnipeg Fury 20 5 11 4 25 36 14











[edit] Leading goalscorers

Player Team Goals
Nick Gilbert Calgary 10
Domenic Mobilio Vancouver 9
Jerry Adzic Hamiton 8
Norm Odinga Edmonton 7
Han Kim Winnipeg 7
Jim Easton Vancouver 7













[edit] Play-offs

  • Quarter-finals
  • Calgary bye
  • Edmonton 1 at Vancouver 2
  • Hamilton Bye
  • Toronto 2 at Ottawa 1
  • Semi-finals
  • Vancouver 3 at Calgary 4
  • Toronto 0 at Hamilton 1
  • Final
  • Hamilton 1 at Calgary 2

[edit] League all-star team

[edit] 1988 season

For 1988, the Montreal Supra was added to the Eastern Division. The Ottawa franchise changed their name from the Pioneers to the Intrepid. In a repeat of the previous season, regular season leaders met in the playoff final with the top team, Vancouver defeating second-best Hamilton, again runners-up, by a score of 4-1. Calgary went from being champions to second worst team in the league, with a mere 6 wins in 28 games.

[edit] Regular season

Eastern Division

Team Games Wins Losses Ties Goals Scored Goals Conceded Points
Hamilton Steelers 28 18 4 6 64 28 42
Toronto Blizzard 28 7 7 13 44 31 29
North York Rockets 28 10 10 8 40 39 28
Ottawa Intrepid 28 8 11 9 32 43 25
Montreal Supra 28 8 12 8 36 44 24












Western Division

Team Games Wins Losses Ties Goals Scored Goals Conceded Points
Vancouver 86ers 28 21 1 6 84 30 48
Winnipeg Fury 28 9 12 7 33 46 25
Calgary Kickers 28 6 16 6 39 70 18
Edmonton Brickmen 28 4 19 5 33 74 13










[edit] Leading goalscorers

[edit] Play-offs

  • Quarter-finals
  • Vancouver bye
  • Calgary 1 at Winnipeg 2
  • Hamilton bye
  • North York 1 at Toronto 2
  • Semi-finals
  • Winnipeg 1 at Vancouver 3
  • Toronto 0 at Hamilton 1
  • Final
  • Hamilton 1 at Vancouver 4

[edit] League all-star team


[edit] 1989 season

1989 saw a tenth team added to the league, the Victoria Vistas. Naturally, the Vista joined the Western Division which re-established a balance of teams in each division, with five each. Calgary rename themselves the 'Strikers'; the change though could not avert disaster as the franchise folded upon the season's conclusion. Vancouver was dominant again, losing but two regular season matches on route to a second straight victory over Hamilton in the championship game. The 86ers went 46 consecutive games from the previous season into this one without losing, which is a record for a professional sports team in Canada or the United States[citation needed]. The Steelers reached the final despite relinguishing their Eastern Division title to Toronto.

[edit] Regular season standings

Eastern Division

Team Games Wins Losses Ties Goals Scored Goals Conceded Points'
Toronto Blizzard 26 16 4 6 48 27 38
Hamilton Steelers 26 15 4 7 56 28 37
North York Rockets 26 12 5 9 35 23 33
Ottawa Intrepid 26 7 11 8 41 46 22
Montreal Supra 26 3 14 9 26 46 15












Western Division

Team Games Wins Losses Ties Goals Scored Goals Conceded Points
Vancouver 86ers 26 18 2 6 65 33 42
Edmonton Brickmen 26 9 14 3 44 55 21
Calgary Strikers 26 8 15 3 36 56 19
Winnipeg Fury 26 6 13 7 35 51 19
Victoria Vistas 26 4 16 6 32 53 14












[edit] Leading goalscorers

  • Ted Eck, Ottawa, 21
  • Justin Fashanu, Edmonton, 17
  • Amadeo Gasparini, Hamilton, 15
  • Vladan Tomic, North York, 14
  • Billy Domazetis, Hamilton, 13
  • Andy Smith, Calgary, 11

[edit] Play-offs

  • Quarter-finals
  • Edmonton 3 at Calgary 1
  • Calgary 0 at Edmonton 0
  • Hamilton 1 at North York 1
  • North York 0 at Hamilton 1
  • Semi-finals
  • Vancouver 5 at Edmonton 3
  • Edmonton 0 at Vancouver 4
  • Toronto 1 at Hamilton 1
  • Hamilton 2 at Toronto 1
  • Finals
  • Hamilton 2 at Vancouver 3


[edit] League all-star team

[edit] 1990 season

[edit] 1991 season

[edit] 1992 season

The CSL barely limped into the 1992 season, staggering under the weight of their ever-present financial problems. Despite their losses from 1991, they managed to add a new team, the London Lasers. However the financial picture did not improve during the season, and with declining attendance and red ink continuing to mount, the league called it quits after the season. This brought an unfortunate end to the first truly national Canadian league. This was a major blow for the Canadian Soccer Federation, as the CSL had been enormously successful in providing Canadian players with a higher level of competition than had been previously available since the demise of the North American Soccer League. All was not lost however, as Montreal, Toronto and Vancouver joined the APSL, while North York and Winnipeg, with fewer financial resources, joined the semi-pro Canadian National Soccer League.

[edit] Final League Standings

Before the season, London was added.

G W L T GF GA PTS
Vancouver 86ers 20 11 6 3 42 28 36
North York Rockets 20 8 6 6 25 20 30
Winnipeg Fury 20 8 11 1 27 42 25
Montreal Supra 20 6 7 7 29 24 25
London Lasers 20 6 7 7 25 32 22
Toronto Blizzard 20 6 8 6 28 29 21

[edit] Semifinals

    Vancouver 1 at Montreal 1
               Montreal 0 at Vancouver 1
               North York 1 at Winnipeg 1
               Winnipeg 1 at North York 0

[edit] CHAMPIONSHIP

  Vancouver 0 at Winnipeg 2
               Winnipeg 1 at Vancouver 1

After the season, the league folded, along with the London franchise. Vancouver Montreal, and Toronto joined the APSL, and North York, and Winnipeg joined the semi-pro National Soccer League (which changed its name to the Canadian National Soccer League in 1993).

[edit] Leading Goalscorers

Eddy Berdusco, North York 14 Carlo Corazzin, Winnipeg 8 John Catliff, Vancouver 6 Doug Muirhead, Vancouver 6 Dale Mitchell, Vancouver 6 Geoff Aunger, London 5 Grant Needham, Montreal 5 Tony Notica, Winnipeg 5

[edit] All-Star Team

Pat Onstad, Winnipeg Peter Sarantopoulos, Winnipeg Nick Dasovic, North York Dino Lopez, London Carl Fletcher, Toronto Geoff Aunger, London Dale Mitchell, Vancouver Lyndon Hooper, Toronto Eddy Berdusco, North York Carlo Corazzin, Winnipeg Paul Peschisolido, Toronto

[edit] Sources