New York Arrows

New York Arrows

Full name	New York Arrows
Founded	1978
Ground	Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum, Uniondale, New York (Capacity: 16,234)
League	Major Indoor Soccer League

The New York Arrows was an indoor soccer team that played in the original Major Indoor Soccer League (MISL) from 1978 to 1984. They won the first four MISL championships.

History

Preparing for the first season

In 1978, the New York Arrows began its first season as an indoor soccer team in the newly established Major Indoor Soccer League (MISL). They were owned by Bernie Rodin, who also owned the Rochester Lancers and the Baltimore Blast. As they began preparation for the first MISL season, Arrows management pondered how they would build a team from scratch. Management hit on an inspired concept which mirrored the creation of the National Professional Soccer League in the 1960s. The NPSL had imported professional teams from Europe as a means of quickly creating teams. The Arrows decided to revisit this concept and imported the Rochester Lancers from upstate New York. The Lancers played in the North American Soccer League which had a spring to fall schedule. After negotiating with the Lancers front office, the Arrows signed nearly the entire roster. However, they did make one significant, and crucial, addition, they signed a virtually unknown Yugoslavian player by the name of Steve Zungul. Zungul was a seasoned outdoor player from Hajduk Split who had gained the approval of the Yugoslavia Football Federation to play outside of his native country for a few months. When he refused to return to Split Hejduk, the Yugoslavian Football Federation gained a ruling from FIFA forbidding any outdoor team from signing him. This ruled out nearly every club in the world and forced him to sign with a newly established MISL team.^[1] On December 22, 1978, the New York Arrows kicked off the first season of MISL, playing in the league's first game, at home versus the Cincinnati Kids.

Champions

The decision to import the Lancers paid off as the Arrows finished second out of six teams. Only the Houston Summit, essentially the NASL Houston Hurricanes had a better record, but it was the Arrows which took the title, defeating the Philadelphia Fever. The Arrows winning ways continued for the next three seasons as they ran to first in their division before taking the titles over the Houston Summit (1979-80), and the St. Louis Steamers (1980-81 and 1981-82).

Dominating players

While the Arrows dominated the league as a team, several Arrows players gained repeated individual recognition. In his four seasons with the Arrows, Steve Zungul, "The Lord of All Indoors", regularly scored nearly 5 goals per game and on one instance, scored seven in a game vs. the Phoenix Inferno in 1981. His scoring exploits led to his selection as League MVP four times running. He was also the four time league scoring leader and a two time assists leader. While Zungul was head and shoulders above nearly every other player in the league, he was not the only Arrows great. Shep Messing was the first championship series MVP and a perennial all star. His replacement, Zolton Toth, was the 1982-1983 Goalkeeper of the Year. Juli Veee was an outstanding midfielder while Branko Segota was a perenniall All Star. However, these are merely a handful of great Arrows players.

Decline and bankruptcy

Though a powerhouse on the field, they were not a powerhouse at the box office. Shortly after the team won its fourth and final MISL title, the team was sold. In January 1983, the team traded Steve Zungul to the San Jose Earthquakes for Gary Etherington and Gordon Hill.^[2] While billed as a move to "Americanize" the Arrows, it was largely a cost saving device. While Zungul went on to become the NASL League MVP in 1984, the Arrows collapsed and folded at the end of the season. The six seasons in the MISL the Arrows avg. 6,440 per game.

Arena

Their home arena was Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Uniondale, New York.

this

Coaches

• Don Popovic 1978-1983
• Shep Messing 1983

Year-by-year

Year	Record	Regular Season	Playoffs	Avg. Attendance
1978-1979	16-8	2nd	Champions	5,446
1979-1980	27-5	1st Atlantic Division	Champions	7,813
1980-1981	35-5	1st Atlantic Division	Champions	8,083
1981-1982	36-8	1st Eastern Division	Champions	6,429
1982-1983	24-24	4th Eastern Division	1st Round	5,623
1983-1984	20-28	4th Eastern Division	1st Round	5,478

Honors

MISL Championship

• 1979, 1980, 1981, 1982

League MVP

• 1978-1979 Steve Zungul
• 1979-1980 Steve Zungul
• 1980-1981 Steve Zungul
• 1981-1982 Steve Zungul

Championship MVP

• 1978-1979 Shep Messing
• 1979-1980 Steve Zungul
• 1980-1981 Steve Zungul
• 1981-1982 Steve Zungul

Scoring Champion

• 1979-1980 Steve Zungul
• 1980-1981 Steve Zungul
• 1981-1982 Steve Zungul
• 1982-1983 Steve Zungul

Pass Master (Assists Leader)

• 1979-1980 Steve Zungul
• 1981-1982 Steve Zungul

Defender of the Year

• 1981-1982 Val Tuksa

Goalkeeper of the Year

• 1982-1983 Zoltan Toth

Coach of the Year

• 1980-1981 Don Popovic

First Team All MISL

• 1978-1979: Shep Messing, Steve Zungul
• 1979-1980: Shep Messing, Branko Segota, Steve Zungul
• 1980-1981: Shep Messing, Dave D'Errico, Branko Segota, Steve Zungul
• 1981-1982: Val Tuksa, Steve Zungul
• 1982-1983: Val Tuksa

Significant players

• Fernando Clavijo
• Dave D'Errico
• Fred Grgurev
• Shep Messing
• Doc Lawson
• Branko Segota
• Zoltan Toth
• Juli Veee
• Steve Zungul

External links

• 1979 Championship series roster