| Fort Lauderdale Strikers | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Full name | Fort Lauderdale Strikers | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Founded | 1977 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Ground | Lockhart Stadium Fort Lauderdale, Florida (Capacity 20,450) |
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| League | North American Soccer League | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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- This article is about the original Fort Lauderdale Strikers of the NASL. For the second team to use the name in the APSL, see Fort Lauderdale Strikers (APSL). For the third team to use the name in the USISL, see Fort Lauderdale Strikers (USISL).
The Fort Lauderdale Strikers were an American soccer team, a descendant of the Washington Darts, Miami Gatos, and Miami Toros, that played in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. The Strikers were members of the North American Soccer League from 1977 to its penultimate year, 1983. They were owned by the Robbie family who also owned the Miami Dolphins.
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Major signers
The first major signing for Ft Lauderdale was England goalie legend Gordon Banks. Banks was the top keeper in the league his first year despite being blind in one eye. The legendary George Best signed for the Strikers midway through the 1978 season after falling out with the management at the Los Angeles Aztecs. Best played for the rest of the 1978 season and the whole of 1979's campaign. In 1979 the Strikers signed Peruvian legend Teófilo Cubillas, who would play with the club until their departure for Minnesota in 1983. In 1979 the Strikers also acquired USA young superstar John Ambrosio at 19 years old. 1979 was a bumper year for the Strikers as they also acquired German centre forward Gerd Müller. These former World Cup stars helped the Strikers reach the Soccer Bowl, the NASL's championship match, in 1980 where they lost to the New York Cosmos 3-0.
Moved
After the 1983 season, the Strikers were moved to Minnesota and became the Minnesota Strikers. That club survived the end of the NASL by joining the Major Indoor Soccer League in 1984, but did eventually fold in 1988. Ray Hudson, Phil Schoen and Jeff Rusnak were recently interviewed regarding their memories of the Strikers.
Year-by-year
| Year | Record | Regular Season Finish | Playoffs |
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| 1977 | 19-7 | 1st, Eastern Division, American Conference | Divisional Playoff |
| 1978 | 16-14 | 3rd, Eastern Division, American Conference | American Conference Finals |
| 1979 | 17-13 | 2nd, Eastern Division, American Conference | American Conference Quarterfinals |
| 1980 | 18-14 | 2nd, Eastern Division, American Conference | Runners-up |
| 1981 | 18-14 | 2nd, Southern Division | Semifinals |
| 1982 | 18-14 | 1st, Southern Division | Semifinals |
| 1983 | 14-16 | 2nd, Southern Division | Quarterfinals |
Honors
NASL Championships
- none
Division Titles
- 1977 Eastern Division, Atlantic Conference
- 1982 Southern Division
Coach of the Year
- 1977 Ron Newman
All-Star First Team Selections
- 1977 Gordon Banks
- 1980 Teófilo Cubillas
- 1981 Teófilo Cubillas, Jan van Beveren
- 1983 Jan van Beveren
All-Star Second Team Selections
- 1978 Ray Hudson
- 1979 Teófilo Cubillas, Gerd Müller
- 1980 Ray Hudson
- 1982 Teófilo Cubillas, Jan van Beveren
All-Star Honorable Mentions
- 1978 George Best, Maurice Whittle
- 1980 Jan van Beveren
- 1982 Ray Hudson, Branko Segota
- 1983 Ray Hudson, Bruce Miller
Head Coaches
Ron Newman (1977-1979)
Cor van der Hart (1980)
Eckhard Krautzun (1981-1982)
David Chadwick (1983-1984)
Famous players
- Gordon Banks (1977-78)
- Bobby Bell (English footballer) (1977)
George Best (1978-79)- Ian Callaghan (1978)
- David Chadwick (1977-79)
- Bobby Corish (1979)
Teófilo Cubillas (1979-83)- Gordon Fearnley (1977-78) 22 apps 2 goals
Elías Figueroa (1980-1981)- Ken Fogarty (1979-83) [1]
- John Hickton (1978) [2]
- Ray Hudson (1977-83) 176 apps 42 goals
- David Irving (footballer) (1978-80) [3]
- Gary Jones (1978-1979) 18 apps 2 Goals
- Brian Kidd (1982-83) 51 apps 34 goals
- Gerd Müller (1979-81)
- Tim Parkin (1977)
- Norman Piper (1977-78)
- Billy Ronson (1978) 17 apps 1 Goal
- Jan van Beveren (1980-83)
Denny Vaninger (1978-79)- Keith Weller (1980-83)
- Tony Whelan (1977-79;1981)
Yearly Average Attendance
- 1977 - 8,148
- 1978 - 10,479
- 1979 - 13,774
- 1980 - 14,360
- 1981 - 13,324
- 1982 - 12,345
- 1983 - 10,823
