| Full name | Toronto Blizzard | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Nickname(s) | Blizzard, Metros, Metros-Croatia | ||
| Founded | 1971 | ||
| Dissolved | 1984 | ||
| Ground | Varsity Stadium (Capacity: 22,000) |
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| League | North American Soccer League | ||
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The Toronto Blizzard were a professional soccer club based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada that played in the North American Soccer League.
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The Toronto Metros joined the NASL in 1971. Their home field was Varsity Stadium.
In 1975 the team merged with Toronto Croatia of the National Soccer League, becoming Toronto Metros-Croatia. The club won the 1976 Soccer Bowl championship. However, they continued to struggle at the gate.
The Global Television Network purchased the struggling Toronto Metros-Croatia on February 1, 1979.[1] Following the purchase, Toronto Croatia returned to the NSL as a separate club. The NASL team was renamed the 'Toronto Blizzard following the takeover. Under the new ownership, attendances nearly doubled.[1]
The Blizzard were members of the NASL until 1984, the last year of league operations. The team were runners-up for the league championship in 1983, losing the Soccer Bowl to the Tulsa Roughnecks 2-0 in front of nearly sixty thousand people at Vancouver's BC Place Stadium. They were runners-up again in 1984 when they lost to the Chicago Sting two games to none in a best of three championship series. The club was coached in these final two years by Bobby Houghton, assisted by Dave Turner and featured Roberto Bettega, David Byrne, Cliff Calvert, Pasquale De Luca, Charlie Falzon, Sven Habermann, Paul Hammond, Paul James, Conny Karlsson, Victor Kodelja, Trevor McCallum, Colin Miller, Jan Möller, Jimmy Nicholl, Ace Ntsoelengoe, Randy Ragan, Neill Roberts, John Paskin, Derek Spalding, and Bruce Wilson in its lineup.
The Blizzard qualified for the play-offs on only two other occasions, in 1979 and 1982, losing in the first round each time. Prominent players during the first four years included Clyde Best, Željko Bilecki, Jimmy Bone, Roberto Bettega, Drew Busby, David Byrne, Cliff Calvert, Tony Chursky, David Fairclough, Colin Franks, George Gibbs, Jimmy Greenhoff, Graham Hatley, Victor Kodelja, Sam Lenarduzzi, Peter Lorimer, Ivan Lukačević, Drago Vabec, Mike McLenaghen, Willie McVie, Alan Merrick, Charlie Mitchell, Juan Carlos Molina, Jan Möller, Francesco Morini, Ace Ntsoelengoe, Rob Prentice, Randy Ragan, Neill Roberts, Malcolm Robertson, Peter Roe, Jomo Sono, Gordon Sweetzer, Blagoje Tamindžić, Jose Velasquez, and Bruce Wilson.
| Year | League | W | L | T | Pts | Reg. Season | Playoffs | Avg. Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1971 | NASL | 5 | 10 | 9 | 89 | 3rd, Northern Division | Did not qualify | 5,993 |
| 1972 | NASL | 4 | 6 | 4 | 53 | 4th, Northern Division | Did not qualify | 7,173 |
| 1973 | NASL | 6 | 4 | 9 | 89 | 1st, Northern Division | Lost Semifinal (Philadelphia) | 5,961 |
| 1974 | NASL | 9 | 10 | 1 | 87 | 2nd, Northern Division | Did not qualify | 3,458 |
| Year | League | W | L | T | Pts | Regular Season | Playoffs | Avg. Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1975 | NASL | 13 | 9 | — | 114 | 2nd, Northern Division | Lost Quarterfinal (Tampa Bay) | |
| 1976 | NASL | 15 | 9 | — | 123 | 2nd, Atlantic Conference, Northern Division | Won 1st Round (Rochester) Won Division Championship (Chicago) Won Conference Championship (Tampa Bay) Won Soccer Bowl '76 (Minnesota) |
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| 1977 | NASL | 13 | 13 | — | 115 | 1st, Atlantic Conference, Northern Division | Lost Conference Championship (Rochester) | |
| 1978 | NASL | 16 | 14 | — | 144 | 3rd, National Conference, Eastern Division | Lost 1st Round (Vancouver) |
| Year | League | W | L | T | Pts | Reg. Season | Playoffs | Avg. Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1979 | NASL | 14 | 16 | — | 133 | 3rd, National Conference,Eastern Division | Lost Conference Quarterfinal (New York) | 11,821 |
| 1979/80 | NASL Indoor | Did not enter | ||||||
| 1980 | NASL | 14 | 18 | — | 128 | 3rd, National Conference, Eastern Division | Won 1st Round (Los Angeles) Lost Quarterfinal (Chicago) |
15,043 |
| 1980/81 | NASL Indoor | 5 | 13 | — | — | 4th, Northern Division | Did not qualify | |
| 1981 | NASL | 7 | 25 | — | 77 | 4th, Eastern Division | Did not qualify | 7,287 |
| 1981/82 | NASL Indoor | 8 | 10 | — | — | 2nd, American Conference, East Division | Did not qualify | |
| 1982 | NASL | 17 | 15 | — | 151 | 3rd, Eastern Division | Lost 1st Round (Seattle) | 8,105 |
| 1982/83 | NASL Indoor | Season cancelled | ||||||
| 1983 | NASL | 16 | 14 | — | 135 | 3rd, Eastern Division | Won 1st Round (Vancouver) Won Semifinals (Montreal) Lost Soccer Bowl '83 (Tulsa) |
11,630 |
| 1983/84 | NASL Indoor | Did not enter | ||||||
| 1984 | NASL | 14 | 10 | — | 117 | 2nd, Eastern Division | Won Semifinals (San Diego) Lost Championship (Chicago) |
11,452 |