National Soccer League
Season1977
Champions
League cupToronto Panhellenic
Top goalscorerSaban Romanovic
Best goalkeeperPaolo Cimpiel
← 1976
1978 →

The 1977 National Soccer League season was the fifty-fourth season under the National Soccer League (NSL) name. The season began in late April and concluded in early October with the Montreal Castors securing the double (First Division title, and NSL Championship) by finishing first in the First Division.[1][2] The NSL Cup was claimed by Toronto Panhellenic.[3] The Second Division title was won by Toronto Falcons by finishing first in the standings which allowed promotion to the First Division.[4] The NSL was operative in Northern Ontario, Quebec, and had a franchise in the United States in Upstate New York.

Overview

The National Soccer League (NSL) had intentions of expanding westward with the idea of forming a division in British Columbia.[5] Though the idea never materialized the NSL would ultimately establish an affiliated league in British Columbia with the Pacific Rim Soccer League in the 1986 season.[6] Several changes were approved by the league owners to limit the usage of imports by placing a further restriction on foreign players from five to four.[7][8] As the league attempted to curve the usage of imports it approved the requirement of every First Division club to field a feeder team in the NSL's youth division.[7] The season produced several controversies as multiple riots and fan violence erupted throughout matches, which were primarily fueled by ethnic rivalries amongst the ethnically associated clubs.[9][10][11] One particular match that produced a riot occurred between Toronto Italia, and Toronto Panhellenic supporters which caused Italia to contemplate leaving the league before reconsidering.[12][13][14]

The membership in the league increased to 20 teams with 10 members in both divisions.[15] Hamilton Italo-Canadians and Toronto Croatia were promoted to the First Division, while Hamilton Croatia and Welland Lions departed from the league.[16] St. Catharines Roma with experience in the Inter-City Soccer League purchased Welland's franchise rights, and Toronto Hungaria returned and became based in Mississauga, Ontario.[17][18][19] The NSL expanded further into Montreal with the acceptance of the Montreal Stars, and the addition of the Bradford Marshlanders with both clubs operating in the Second Division.[20] Reports were also circulating about the league employing a potential commissioner with Toronto attorney Joe Kane as the primary candidate.[21] Kane served as the league's legal advisor and assisted in drafting the league's new constitution the previous year.[22]

Teams

Team City Stadium Manager
Bradford Marshlanders Bradford, Ontario Bradford District High School[23] Elio Radocchia[24]
Buffalo Blazers Buffalo, New York War Memorial Stadium[25] Alex Crawley[26]
Hamilton Italo-Canadians Hamilton, Ontario Ivor Wynne Stadium[27]
London City London, Ontario Cove Road Stadium Ron Clayton[28]
Mississauga Hungaria Mississauga, Ontario Corn Starch Stadium[29] Andy Birk[30]
Montreal Castors Montreal, Quebec Complexe sportif Claude-Robillard[31] Hugo Nicolini[31]
Montreal Stars Montreal, Quebec Jarry Park[32]
Ottawa Tigers Ottawa, Ontario Lansdowne Park[33] Mario Carilli[34]
Serbian White Eagles Toronto, Ontario Lamport Stadium[35] Luis Dabo[36]
Sudbury Cyclones Sudbury, Ontario Queen's Athletic Field[37] Peter Severinac[38]
St. Catharines Heidelberg St. Catharines, Ontario Heidelberg Stadium[39] Frank McArdia[40]
St. Catharines Roma St. Catharines, Ontario Club Roma Stadium
Toronto Croatia Etobicoke, Ontario Lamport Stadium[41]
Toronto Falcons Toronto, Ontario Lamport Stadium[42] Kazimierz Drugalski[43]
Toronto First Portuguese Toronto, Ontario Lamport Stadium
Toronto Italia York, Ontario York Stadium[44] Fiorigi Pagliuso[45]
Toronto Macedonia Toronto, Ontario Lamport Stadium[46] Carlo Del Monte[47]
Toronto Panhellenic Toronto, Ontario Lamport Stadium[35]
Toronto Polonia Toronto, Ontario Lamport Stadium[48]
Windsor Stars Windsor, Ontario Mic Mac Park[49]

Windsor Stadium[49]

Jim Townsend[50]

Coaching changes

Team Outgoing coach Manner of
departure 		Date of
vacancy 		Position in table Incoming coach Date of
appointment
Windsor Stars Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia Ivan Marković[51] resigned April 12, 1977 preseason Scotland Jim Townsend[50] April 14, 1977
Sudbury Cyclones Fulvio Stepancich[52] resigned May 26, 1977 8th in May Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia Branko Knezevich[53] May 28, 1977
Sudbury Cyclones Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia Branko Knezevich[54] replaced June 11, 1977 8th in May Fulvio Stepancich[55] June 11, 1977
Bradford Marshlanders Derek Nash[23]

John Rowley[23]

replaced July 13, 1977 4th in July Elio Radocchia[24] July 13, 1977
Sudbury Cyclones Fulvio Stepancich fired August 8, 1977 7th in August Peter Severinac[38] August 8, 1977

Standings

First Division

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1 Montreal Castors (C, O) 36 24 8 4 93 56 +37 56 Qualification for Playoffs
2 Toronto Italia 36 22 10 4 74 22 +52 54
3 Toronto Panhellenic 36 21 7 8 74 47 +27 49
4 Windsor Stars 36 20 6 10 87 38 +49 46
5 Toronto First Portuguese 36 17 9 10 72 43 +29 43
6 London City 36 9 13 14 41 62 −21 31
7 Toronto Macedonia 36 12 6 18 40 56 −16 30
8 Hamilton Italo-Canadians 36 7 10 19 40 60 −20 24
9 Toronto Croatia 36 7 6 23 34 78 −44 20
10 Serbian White Eagles (R) 36 0 7 29 24 137 −113 7
Updated to match(es) played on September 30, 1977. Source: http://canadiansoccerleague.ca/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/NSL_1921_1992.pdf
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored.
(C) Champions; (O) Play-off winners; (R) Relegated

Second Division

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1 Toronto Falcons (C, O, P) 18 15 2 1 48 10 +38 32 Qualification for Playoffs
2 Ottawa Tigers 18 14 1 3 66 17 +49 29
3 Buffalo Blazers 18 12 3 3 50 13 +37 27
4 Montreal Stars 18 11 2 5 53 23 +30 24
5 St. Catharines Roma 18 8 4 6 38 25 +13 20
6 Sudbury Cyclones 18 6 4 8 28 35 −7 16
7 St. Catharines Heidelberg 18 4 4 10 22 35 −13 12
8 Mississauga Hungaria 18 3 3 12 33 71 −38 9
9 Toronto Polonia 18 2 3 13 25 65 −40 7
10 Bradford Marshlanders 18 1 2 15 13 82 −69 4
Updated to match(es) played on September 30, 1977. Source: http://canadiansoccerleague.ca/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/NSL_1921_1992.pdf
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored.
(C) Champions; (O) Play-off winners; (P) Promoted

Promotion and relegation matches

The promotion and relegation system utilized by the National Soccer League operated with the last-placed team in the First Division being automatically relegated, while the Second Division champion would receive an automatic promotion to the First Division.[56] The second last team in the First Division would play in a series of matches against the runner-ups in the Second Division to determine which team would be relegated or promoted.[56]

Matches

October 2, 1977 Toronto Croatia 3–1 Ottawa Tigers Toronto, Ontario
Dennis D'Hugo ,
Loparić 		[[57] Report] Henderson Stadium: Lamport Stadium
October 10, 1977 Ottawa Tigers 1–1 Toronto Croatia Ottawa, Ontario
15:00 Mick Wharton [[58] Report] Bill McGill Stadium: Mooney's Bay

References

  1. ^ "CSL Past Champions – Canadian Soccer League". canadiansoccerleague.ca. Archived from the original on 2020-10-30. Retrieved 2020-09-06.
  2. ^ "Castors clinch championship". The Globe and Mail. October 5, 1977. p. 33.
  3. ^ Jose, Colin (2001). On-Side - 125 Years of Soccer in Ontario. Vaughan, Ontario: Ontario Soccer Association and Soccer Hall of Fame and Museum. p. 117.
  4. ^ Dowd, Eric (September 12, 1977). "Ottawa sport - Soccer". Ottawa Citizen. p. 21.
  5. ^ Hall, Dave (January 14, 1977). "Stars on prowl for GM". Windsor Star. p. 26.
  6. ^ Da Costa, Norman (July 21, 1986). "New pro league starts play in May". Toronto Star. p. C8.
  7. ^ a b Krivel, Peter (July 12, 1977). "NSL division scheme boosts competition". Toronto Star. p. C4.
  8. ^ Wilkinson, Jeff (October 11, 1977). "Pro Soccer in Windsor: Still kicking". Windsor Star. p. 51.
  9. ^ "Guilty of assault, goalie must coach". Toronto Star. July 1, 1977. p. B5.
  10. ^ Proudfoot, Jim (September 1, 1977). "An easy solution for the problems of soccer league". Toronto Star. p. C2.
  11. ^ "London boss rips NSL ethnic makeup". Windsor Star. September 3, 1977. p. 24.
  12. ^ "Italian club is upset over replay order". Toronto Star. September 5, 1977. p. B3.
  13. ^ Kernaghan, Jim (August 31, 1977). "Italia may quit soccer league". p. C2.
  14. ^ "Italia delays decision on withdrawing from NSL". Toronto Star. September 6, 1977. p. C3.
  15. ^ "Stars open Apr. 24". Windsor Star. February 22, 1977. p. 18.
  16. ^ "Cyclones on road against Toronto Falcons". Sudbury Star. April 30, 1977. p. 30.
  17. ^ "CPSL - St. Catharines Roma Wolves". Archived from the original on February 24, 2001. Retrieved 2021-04-06.
  18. ^ Heppell, Jim (May 13, 1977). "St. Anthony's plan rebuilding year". Ottawa Journal. p. 19.
  19. ^ "Roma too much for Cyclones". Sudbury Star. May 30, 1977. p. 15.
  20. ^ Witten, Mark (23 February 1977). "Businessman Form Soccer Club". The Witness.
  21. ^ Hall, Dave (December 15, 1977). "Kane, full of ideas, leans toward NSL position". Windsor Star. p. 54.
  22. ^ Kernaghan, Jim (January 24, 1976). "Soccer league's new plan gives owner more power". Toronto Star. p. D3.
  23. ^ a b c "Marshlanders play Sunday". The Bradford Witness. 27 April 1977. p. 5.
  24. ^ a b Slykhus, John (13 July 1977). "Marshlanders lose close one". The Bradford Witness. p. 14.
  25. ^ Boeck, Greg (March 10, 1977). "Sports Roundup". Democrat and Chronicle. p. 42.
  26. ^ "Crawley to Coach Blazers". Buffalo Evening News. 21 February 1977. p. 13.
  27. ^ "Stars help create logjam near top". Windsor Star. May 19, 1977. p. 57.
  28. ^ Hall, Dave (May 2, 1977). "City shuts down Stars". Newspapers.com. The Windsor Star. p. 26. Archived from the original on 2021-04-16. Retrieved 2020-08-22.
  29. ^ Gallagher, Danny (June 11, 1977). "Stepancich makes return". Sudbury Star. p. 14.
  30. ^ "Sports Roundup - Soccer". The Globe and Mail. August 1, 1977. p. 15.
  31. ^ a b Phillips, Randy (April 30, 1977). "Castors start drive for title in soccer". Montreal Gazette. p. 28.
  32. ^ Dowd, Eric (August 5, 1977). "Ottawa sport - Soccer". Ottawa Citizen. p. 15.
  33. ^ "Ottawa sport". Ottawa Citizen. May 13, 1977. p. 19.
  34. ^ Warburton, Wendy (July 21, 1977). "Tigers ready for Israel". Ottawa Citizen. p. 25.
  35. ^ a b "Weekend sports calendar - Soccer". The Globe and Mail. June 18, 1977. p. 53.
  36. ^ Lewis, Michael (August 7, 1977). "Lancers on the hot seat". Democrat and Chronicle. p. 54.
  37. ^ Gallagher, Danny (April 27, 1977). "Cyclones import adjusts". Sudbury Star. p. 17.
  38. ^ a b Falldien, Jack (August 8, 1977). "Stepancich is cut as Cyclones coach". Sudbury Star. p. 17.
  39. ^ "Four Blazers Put Boot to Forner Club". Buffalo News. 2 June 1977. p. 34.
  40. ^ Kruse, Chuck (June 6, 1977). "Halftime adjustments helps Cyclones win". Sudbury Star. p. 17.
  41. ^ "Stars shine again". Windsor Star. July 6, 1977. p. 50.
  42. ^ Heppell, Jim (September 9, 1977). "Playing space for Gloucester". Ottawa Journal. p. 19.
  43. ^ "Cyclones meeting powerful Falcons". Sudbury Star. June 30, 1977. p. 12.
  44. ^ "Stars control game, but come up empty". Windsor Stars. August 2, 1977. p. 35.
  45. ^ "2018 Wall of Fame Induction". torontoazzurri.com. p. 17. Archived from the original on 2022-01-02. Retrieved January 2, 2022.
  46. ^ "Wignot saves Stars". Windsor Star. May 11, 1977. p. 53.
  47. ^ McKay, Jim (June 11, 1977). "Newcomers stir Stars, 4-0". Windsor Star. p. 24.
  48. ^ "Cyclones drop second match in soccer play". Sudbury Star. May 9, 1977. p. 13.
  49. ^ a b Hall, Dave (April 21, 1977). "Townsend: We'll have a good team". Windsor Star. p. 64.
  50. ^ a b Knack, Marty (April 14, 1977). "No systems for new coach". Windsor Star. p. 59.
  51. ^ "Markovich quits Stars". Windsor Star. April 12, 1977. p. 19.
  52. ^ Kruse, Chuck (May 28, 1977). "Cyclones now lose off the field". Sudbury Star. p. 18.
  53. ^ "Knezevich named Cyclones' coach". Sudbury Star. June 4, 1977. p. 18.
  54. ^ Gallagher, Danny (June 13, 1977). "Knezevich riled by Cyclones". Sudbury Star. p. 19.
  55. ^ Gallagher, Danny (June 11, 1977). "Stepancich makes return". Sudbury Star. p. 14.
  56. ^ a b Heppell, Jim (August 26, 1977). "First place within reach". Ottawa Journal. p. 18.
  57. ^ "Ottawa Sport - National Soccer". Ottawa Journal. October 3, 1977. p. 20.
  58. ^ "Tigers lose relegation series". Ottawa Journal. October 11, 1977. p. 30.

External links

Canadian National Soccer League
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