Football league season
The 1978–79 Major Indoor Soccer League season was the first in league history and would end with the New York Arrows winning the first MISL title.
Recap
The league would begin with six teams and a 24-game schedule beginning in December 1978 and ending in March 1979. The top four teams would advance to a single-game semifinal and a best of three championship series. League attendance would average 4,453 per game.[ 1]
Signs were good that the league would have a long-time presence. The early games drew strong crowds, as Philadelphia sold out the Spectrum for their opener, leading the league in attendance. The first expansion team was announced on December 13, nine days before the first game in league history, as the Buffalo Stallions were slated to start play in the 1979-80 season. 10,386 fans were in the Nassau Coliseum to see the Cincinnati Kids play the Arrows in the league's first game.[ 2]
Despite finishing in a solid third place, Cincinnati folded after the season.
Teams
Map of clubs
1978-79 Major Indoor Soccer League clubs
Regular season
Schedule
The 1978–79 regular season schedule ran from December 22, 1978, to March 18, 1979.
[ 3]
Final standings
Playoff teams in bold .
Team attendance
Club
Games
Total
Average
Philadelphia Fever
12
90,176
7,515
New York Arrows
12
65,350
5,446
Houston Summit
12
43,472
3,623
Cincinnati Kids
12
38,287
3,191
Cleveland Force
12
37,393
3,116
Pittsburgh Spirit
12
33,206
2,801
OVERALL
72
308,284
4,282
Regular season statistics
[ 4]
Scoring leaders
GP = Games played, G = Goals, A = Assists , Pts = Points
Goalkeeping leaders
Note: GP = Games played; Min = Minutes played; GA = Goals against; GAA = Goals against average; W = Wins; L = Losses
Playoffs
Bracket
Semifinals Single match
Championship series Best-of-three
1
Houston
3
4
Philadelphia
6
4
Philadelphia
0
2
New York
2
2
New York
9
3
Cincinnati
4
Semifinals
Championship Series
Playoff statistics
[ 5]
Playoff scoring
GP = Games played, G = Goals, A = Assists , Pts = Points
Player
Team
GP
G
A
Pts
Steve Zungul
New York Arrows
3
15
4
19
Branko Segota
New York Arrows
3
7
3
10
Pat Ercoli
New York Arrows
3
1
7
8
Alberto Alves
Philadelphia Fever
3
2
5
7
Luis Alberto
New York Arrows
3
1
5
6
Playoff goalkeeping
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
Ian Anderson
Houston Summit
1
1
0
0.00
0
0
Shep Messing
New York Arrows
3
170
15
5.30
3
0
Enzo DiPede
New York Arrows
2
10
1
5.88
0
0
Paul Hammond
Houston Summit
1
59
6
6.12
0
1
Woody Hartman
Philadelphia Fever
2
93
10
6.45
1
1
League awards
Most Valuable Player : Steve Zungul, New YorkScoring Champion : Fred Grgurev, PhiladelphiaPass Master : Fred Grgurev, PhiladelphiaGoalkeeper of the Year : Paul Hammond, HoustonCoach of the Year : Timo Liekoski, HoustonChampionship Series Most Valuable Player : Shep Messing, New York
All-MISL team
First Team
Position
Second Team
Shep Messing, New York
G
Paul Hammond, Houston
Fred Grgurev, Philadelphia
D
Ty Keough, Cincinnati
Ian Anderson, Houston
D
Tommy Mulroy, Pittsburgh
Alan Hamlyn, Cleveland
Doug Wark, Cincinnati
M
Joe Fink, Philadelphia
Kai Haaskivi, Houston
F
Stewart Jump, Houston
Steve Zungul, New York
F
Jim Pollihan, New York
References
^ "1978-79 MISL Season Summary" . Our Sports Central. Retrieved November 30, 2011 .^ 1980-81 MISL Media Guide . 1980. p. 60.^ 1982-83 MISL Information Guide . 1982. p. 10.^ MISL Official Tenth Anniversary Guide . 1987. p. 57.^ MISL Official Tenth Anniversary Guide . 1987. p. 83.
1979-80 Buffalo Stallions Media Guide . Buffalo, New York: Buffalo Stallions. 1979.
1980-81 MISL Media Guide . Bala Cynwyd, Pennsylvania: Major Indoor Soccer League. 1980.
Verb, Doug; Jones-Fearnley, Alaina (1982). 1982-83 MISL Information Guide . Bala Cynwyd, Pennsylvania: Major Indoor Soccer League.
Leary, Dan; Griffin, John (1987). MISL Official Tenth Anniversary Guide . New York: Major Indoor Soccer League Communications Department.
External links
