1978 National Soccer League (Canada) season

The 1978 National Soccer League season was the fifty-fifth season under the National Soccer League (NSL) name. The season began in May 1978 and concluded in late September 1978 with the Toronto Falcons defeating Hamilton Italo-Canadians for the NSL Cup.[1][2] The regular-season title and NSL Championship were successfully defended by the Montreal Castors by finishing first in the First Division.[3] The Second Division title was won by St. Catharines Roma by finishing first in the standings.[4]

National Soccer League
Season1978
Champions
League cupToronto Falcons
Top goalscorerSergio Clerici
Best goalkeeperTony Dallas
← 1977
1979 →

The NSL was operative in Northern Ontario, Quebec, and had a franchise in the United States in Upstate New York. The season also marked the final time the league employed the promotion and relegation system as the Second Division was dissolved the following year.

Overview

The membership in the First Division increased to 11 teams with Buffalo Blazers, Ottawa Tigers, and Toronto Falcons receiving promotions.[5][6] Ottawa was defeated in the previous season's promotion and relegation match series by Toronto Croatia but still was granted promotion to the First Division.[7] The departing clubs were Toronto Macedonia, and the Serbian White Eagles were inactive for the season.[8] Toronto Macedonia attempted to sell their franchise rights to Montreal Stars, but the move was declined by the league ownership.[8]

A league meeting occurred in early September where the league ownership decided to eliminate the playoff format and conclude the season early after the completion of the NSL Cup tournament.[9] The league champions Montreal Castors decided to withdraw from the competition, while the Windsor Stars forfeited after protesting the league's decision to change their opponent.[10] The Second Division consisted of 7 teams with the Toronto Ukrainians returning to the NSL after a two-year absence. The Montreal Stars were absent for the season but returned for the 1979 season. Further changes occurred at the administrative level with John Fischer succeeding Joe Piccininni as the league's president.[11][12]

Teams
Team City Stadium Manager
Bradford Marshlanders Bradford, Ontario Bradford High School[13] Dave Reid[14]
Buffalo Blazers Buffalo, New York

Niagara Falls, New York

 War Memorial Stadium[15]
Hyde Park Stadium[16]		 Roberto Lonardo[15]
Hamilton Italo-Canadians Hamilton, Ontario Ivor Wynne Stadium[17] Frank Donlavey[18]
London City London, Ontario Cove Road Stadium[19] Graham Sawyer[20]
Mississauga Hungaria Mississauga, Ontario
Montreal Castors Montreal, Quebec Complexe sportif Claude-Robillard Tony Iammatteo[21]
Ottawa Tigers Ottawa, Ontario Lansdowne Park[22] Tommy Henderson[23]
Sudbury Cyclones Sudbury, Ontario Queen's Athletic Field[24] Jim Thomson[25]
St. Catharines Heidelberg St. Catharines, Ontario
St. Catharines Roma St. Catharines, Ontario Club Roma Stadium
Toronto Croatia Etobicoke, Ontario Centennial Park Stadium Bruno Pilaš[26]
Toronto Falcons Toronto, Ontario Lamport Stadium Wacław Sąsiadek[27]
Toronto First Portuguese Toronto, Ontario Lamport Stadium[28] Assis Viola[28]
Toronto Italia York, Ontario York Stadium[29] Fiorigi Pagliuso[30]
Toronto Panhellenic Toronto, Ontario Lamport Stadium
Toronto Polonia Toronto, Ontario Lamport Stadium[31]
Toronto Ukrainians Etobicoke, Ontario Centennial Park Stadium[32]
Windsor Stars Windsor, Ontario Windsor Stadium Pedro Da Silva[33]

Coaching changes
Team Outgoing coach Manner of
departure		 Date of
vacancy		 Position in table Incoming coach Date of
appointment
Buffalo Blazers Sam Buscarino[34] resigned April 23, 1978 11th in June Roberto Lonardo June, 1978

Standings

First Division
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1 Montreal Castors (C, O) 20 15 3 2 55 22 +33 33 Qualification for Playoffs
2 Toronto First Portuguese 20 10 9 1 34 15 +19 29
3 Toronto Falcons 20 10 5 5 26 23 +3 25
4 Toronto Panhellenic 20 9 6 5 37 28 +9 24
5 Toronto Italia 20 9 5 6 31 19 +12 23
6 Windsor Stars 20 7 9 4 34 26 +8 23
7 Ottawa Tigers 20 6 6 8 40 38 +2 18
8 Hamilton Italo-Canadians 19 5 4 10 31 32 −1 14
9 Toronto Croatia 19 5 1 13 15 47 −32 11
10 London City 20 3 3 14 16 39 −23 9
11 Buffalo Blazers 20 3 3 14 26 56 −30 9
Updated to match(es) played on September 30, 1978. 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

Second Division
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1 St. Catharines Roma (C, O) 12 10 2 0 35 7 +28 22 Qualification for Playoffs
2 St. Catharines Heidelberg 12 9 0 3 37 12 +25 18
3 Sudbury Cyclones 12 6 2 4 20 11 +9 14
4 Toronto Polonia 12 5 3 4 25 18 +7 13
5 Toronto Ukrainians 12 4 2 6 19 26 −7 10
6 Mississauga Hungaria 12 3 0 9 13 33 −20 6
7 Bradford Marshlanders 12 0 1 11 8 50 −42 1
Updated to match(es) played on September 30, 1978. 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

References
  1. 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.
  2. "Falcons gain soccer final with 0-0 tie". Toronto Star. September 21, 1978. p. B1.
  3. "CSL Past Champions – Canadian Soccer League". canadiansoccerleague.ca. Archived from the original on 2020-10-30. Retrieved 2020-09-06.
  4. "CPSL Featured Team - St. Catharines Wolves". Archived from the original on April 16, 2003. Retrieved 2021-04-04.
  5. "Hibs soccer visitors in June". Ottawa Citizen. April 20, 1978. p. 28.
  6. Burke, Tim (May 10, 1978). "More on soccer". Montreal Gazette. p. 23.
  7. "Tigers lose relegation series". Ottawa Journal. October 11, 1977. p. 30.
  8. "In a nutshell". Windsor Star. March 6, 1978. p. 30.
  9. "Playoffs out but Stars go in Cup". Windsor Star. September 13, 1978. p. 30.
  10. "Stars throw up hands, decide to end season". Windsor Star. September 18, 1978. p. 36.
  11. "Kitchener man new NSL boss". Toronto Star. March 6, 1978. p. B4.
  12. "Sports Roundup - Soccer". The Globe and Mail. March 6, 1978. p. S6.
  13. "Marshlanders tie" (PDF). The Liberal. 14 June 1978. pp. B4. Retrieved 30 December 2022.
  14. "Cyclones deserving of shoutout triumph". Sudbury Star. May 23, 1978. p. 16.
  15. "Blazers Set Talks With Falls Brass". Buffalo Courier-Express. June 11, 1978. p. 279.
  16. "Red tape idles Stars". Windsor Star. July 17, 1978. p. 30.
  17. "Blazers' Goalie Signs Contract". Buffalo Courier-Express. May 10, 1978. p. 7.
  18. "1981 Hamilton Steelers - Team of Distinction". Archived from the original on September 24, 2020. Retrieved January 5, 2021.
  19. "A Late Goal Gives Blazers a 1-1 Deadlock". Buffalo News. 29 May 1978. p. 14.
  20. Hall, Dave (May 11, 1978). "Hard work pays for Stars". Windsor Star. p. 34.
  21. "Montreal ties for top after 3-2 triumph". The Globe and Mail. July 25, 1978. p. 32.
  22. Henderson, Bruce (May 12, 1978). "Pro brand slowly gaining popularity". Ottawa Journal. p. 23.
  23. "Tigers sign coach". Ottawa Journal. April 18, 1978. p. 25.
  24. "Cyclones win out in first contest". Sudbury Star. May 15, 1978. p. 12.
  25. Gallagher, Danny (May 5, 1978). "Czerwinec, Gonko are unsure as Cyclones appear weaker". Sudbury Star. p. 13.
  26. Nelson, Jim (July 31, 1978). "Stars coast over Croatia". Windsor Star. p. 35.
  27. Czado, Pawel (July 30, 2004). "Gdzie są gwiazdy z tamtych lat: Wacław Sąsiadek". Sport.pl (in Polish). Archived from the original on 2021-02-06. Retrieved 2021-02-03.
  28. Falldien, Jack (July 31, 1978). "Cyclones stage big upset by beating Portuguese 3-1". Sudbury Star. p. 13.
  29. "Calendar - Soccer". The Globe and Mail. July 10, 1978. p. S7.
  30. Henderson, Bruce (July 6, 1978). "Tigers roar but come up empty-handed". Ottawa Journal. p. 16.
  31. "Cyclones open season". Sudbury Star. May 12, 1978. p. 16.
  32. "Key encounter for Cyclones". Sudbury Star. June 24, 1978. p. 17.
  33. Knack, Marty (April 13, 1978). "Stars turning to local soccer talent again". Windsor Star. p. 30.
  34. Billoni, Mike (April 23, 1978). "Buscarino Named Blazers' Coach". Buffalo Courier-Express. p. 47.
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