# 1983–84 Major Indoor Soccer League season

The 1983–84 Major Indoor Soccer League season was the sixth in league history and ended with the Baltimore Blast winning their first MISL championship. The Blast would beat the St. Louis Steamers in the championship series, the third time in five seasons the Steamers would lose in the MISL championship round. This would be the first time the MISL finals would be a best-of-seven series, part of the league's expanded playoff format.

## Recap

With the North American Soccer League restarting their indoor league in the fall of 1983, the defending champion San Diego Sockers, Chicago Sting and Golden Bay Earthquakes would not rejoin the MISL for the upcoming season. To replace the teams, the Tacoma Stars (actually the reactivated Denver Avalanche) began play this season.
While there were some franchises who would begin a run of respectability at the box office, the Cleveland Force chief among them, others would see the end of their run. The New York Arrows, Buffalo Stallions and Phoenix Pride would all go out of business at the end of the season. Despite winning the first four MISL titles, the Arrows never gained a foothold in the New York market. Changing the name of the Phoenix franchise (GM Ted Podleski hated the Inferno name, and wanted a name more in tune with his Christian beliefs) would not bring about an improved record and new owner Bruce Merrill was ready to fold after losing $2 million in less than a year. The Stallions, in particular, would be caught trying to move out of their Buffalo Memorial Auditorium offices without paying back rent, similar to what had happened with the NFL's Baltimore Colts a few months earlier.
Not all news was bad. The Force and Blast routinely drew strong crowds, and the new franchise in Tacoma nearly made the playoffs. The MISL drew 2.5 million to their games, and another 300,000 attended the playoff games. One game was televised on CBS (Game 3 of the championship series on June 2), as well.
After the season, the Memphis Americans would move to Las Vegas.

## Teams

| Team | City/Area | Arena |
| Baltimore Blast | Baltimore, Maryland | Baltimore Arena |
| Buffalo Stallions | Buffalo, New York | Buffalo Memorial Auditorium |
| Cleveland Force | Cleveland, Ohio | Richfield Coliseum |
| Kansas City Comets | Kansas City, Missouri | Kemper Arena |
| Los Angeles Lazers | Inglewood, California | The Forum |
| Memphis Americans | Memphis, Tennessee | Mid-South Coliseum |
| New York Arrows | Uniondale, New York | Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum |
| Phoenix Pride | Phoenix, Arizona | Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum |
| Pittsburgh Spirit | Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania | Civic Arena (Pittsburgh) |
| St. Louis Steamers | St. Louis, Missouri | St. Louis Arena |
| Tacoma Stars | Tacoma, Washington | Tacoma Dome |
| Wichita Wings | Wichita, Kansas | Kansas Coliseum |

## Regular season schedule

The 1983–84 regular season schedule ran from November 4, 1983, to April 21, 1984. It would be the first time in MISL history that the length of the schedule stayed the same as the previous year. In this case, each team continued to play 48 games apiece.

## Final standings

Playoff teams in bold.
| Eastern Division | W | L | Pct. | GB | GF | GA | Home | Road |
| Baltimore Blast | 34 | 14 | .708 | -- | 280 | 203 | 20-4 | 14-10 |
| Pittsburgh Spirit | 32 | 16 | .667 | 2 | 245 | 204 | 19-5 | 13-11 |
| Cleveland Force | 31 | 17 | .646 | 3 | 269 | 229 | 18-6 | 13-11 |
| New York Arrows | 20 | 28 | .417 | 14 | 232 | 280 | 12-12 | 8-16 |
| Memphis Americans | 18 | 30 | .375 | 16 | 216 | 284 | 14-10 | 4-20 |
| Buffalo Stallions | 15 | 33 | .313 | 19 | 226 | 279 | 12-12 | 3-21 |
| Western Division | W | L | Pct. | GB | GF | GA | Home | Road |
| St. Louis Steamers | 26 | 22 | .542 | -- | 220 | 202 | 16-8 | 10-14 |
| Wichita Wings | 25 | 23 | .521 | 1 | 237 | 228 | 17-7 | 8-16 |
| Los Angeles Lazers | 24 | 24 | .500 | 2 | 223 | 239 | 13-11 | 11-13 |
| Kansas City Comets | 23 | 25 | .479 | 3 | 232 | 246 | 15-9 | 8-16 |
| Tacoma Stars | 22 | 26 | .458 | 4 | 226 | 232 | 14-10 | 8-16 |
| Phoenix Pride | 18 | 30 | .375 | 8 | 221 | 249 | 12-12 | 6-18 |

## Playoffs

| Division Semifinals | Division Semifinals | Division Semifinals | Division Finals | Division Finals | Division Finals | Championship Series | Championship Series | Championship Series |
| E1 | Baltimore Blast | 3 | | | | | | |
| E4 | New York Arrows | 1 | | | | | | |
| E4 | New York Arrows | 1 | E1 | Baltimore Blast | 3 | | | |
| | | | E3 | Cleveland Force | 0 | | | |
| E2 | Pittsburgh Spirit | 1 | E3 | Cleveland Force | 0 | | | |
| E3 | Cleveland Force | 3 | | | | | | |
| E3 | Cleveland Force | 3 | | | | E1 | Baltimore Blast | 4 |
| | | | | | | W1 | St. Louis Steamers | 1 |
| W1 | St. Louis Steamers | 3 | | | | | | | W1 | St. Louis Steamers | 1 |
| W4 | Kansas City Comets | 2 | | | | | | |
| W4 | Kansas City Comets | 2 | W1 | St. Louis Steamers | 3 | | | |
| | | | W2 | Wichita Wings | 0 | | | |
| W2 | Wichita Wings | 3 | W2 | Wichita Wings | 0 | | | |
| W3 | Los Angeles Lazers | 1 | | | | | | |

### Quarterfinals

Baltimore vs. New York :
| Date | Away | Home | Attendance |
| April 27 | New York 5 | Baltimore 11 | 11,220 |
| April 29 | New York 9 | Baltimore 8 | 10,606 |
| | Mark Liveric scored at :17 of overtime | Mark Liveric scored at :17 of overtime | Mark Liveric scored at :17 of overtime |
| May 4 | Baltimore 4 | New York 3 | 2,353 |
| May 9 | Baltimore 14 | New York 5 | 1,779 |
| Baltimore wins series 3-1 ||||
Pittsburgh vs. Cleveland :
| Date | Away | Home | Attendance |
| April 26 | Cleveland 6 | Pittsburgh 4 | 7,002 |
| April 27 | Cleveland 1 | Pittsburgh 4 | 11,739 |
| May 1 | Pittsburgh 5 | Cleveland 6 | 10,383 |
| | Alex Tarnoczi scored at 11:46 of overtime | Alex Tarnoczi scored at 11:46 of overtime | Alex Tarnoczi scored at 11:46 of overtime |
| May 4 | Pittsburgh 3 | Cleveland 5 | 18,630 |
| Cleveland wins series 3-1 ||||
St. Louis vs. Kansas City :
| Date | Away | Home | Attendance |
| April 24 | Kansas City 4 | St. Louis 6 | 7,445 |
| April 27 | Kansas City 6 | St. Louis 7 | 12,235 |
| May 5 | St. Louis 1 | Kansas City 2 | 15,007 |
| May 9 | St. Louis 3 | Kansas City 5 | 13,127 |
| May 13 | Kansas City 5 | St. Louis 6 | 13,273 |
| St. Louis wins series 3-2 ||||
Wichita vs. Los Angeles :
| Date | Away | Home | Attendance |
| April 24 | Los Angeles 7 | Wichita 10 | 8,782 |
| May 1 | Los Angeles 6 | Wichita 4 | 9,586 |
| May 4 | Wichita 5 | Los Angeles 4 | 4,522 |
| May 7 | Wichita 6 | Los Angeles 5 | 3,392 |
| Wichita wins series 3-1 ||||

### Semifinals

Baltimore vs. Cleveland :
| Date | Away | Home | Attendance |
| May 12 | Cleveland 4 | Baltimore 5 | 11,034 |
| May 16 | Cleveland 5 | Baltimore 6 | 9,110 |
| May 17 | Baltimore 7 | Cleveland 2 | 10,591 |
| Baltimore wins series 3-0 ||||
St. Louis vs. Wichita :
| Date | Away | Home | Attendance |
| May 16 | Wichita 3 | St. Louis 4 | 8,695 |
| May 19 | Wichita 6 | St. Louis 7 | 13,112 |
| May 22 | St. Louis 5 | Wichita 4 | 9,681 |
| | Tony Bellinger scored at 1:55 of overtime | Tony Bellinger scored at 1:55 of overtime | Tony Bellinger scored at 1:55 of overtime |
| St. Louis wins series 3-0 ||||

### Championship Series

Baltimore vs. St. Louis :
| Date | Away | Home | Attendance |
| May 27 | St. Louis 7 | Baltimore 3 | 11,546 |
| May 31 | St. Louis 3 | Baltimore 5 | 10,778 |
| June 2 | Baltimore 5 | St. Louis 2 | 14,114 |
| June 6 | Baltimore 5 | St. Louis 4 | 15,302 |
| | Stan Stamenkovic scored at 1:59 of overtime | Stan Stamenkovic scored at 1:59 of overtime | Stan Stamenkovic scored at 1:59 of overtime |
| June 8 | St. Louis 3 | Baltimore 10 | 12,007 |
| Baltimore wins series 4-1 ||||

## Regular Season Player Statistics
### Scoring leaders

GP = Games Played, G = Goals, A = Assists, Pts = Points
| Player | Team | GP | G | A | Pts |
| Stan Stamenkovic | Baltimore Blast | 46 | 34 | 69 | 97 |
| Kai Haaskivi | Cleveland Force | 47 | 37 | 51 | 88 |
| Craig Allen | Cleveland Force | 44 | 49 | 37 | 86 |
| Mark Liveric | New York Arrows | 48 | 58 | 26 | 84 |
| Fred Grgurev | New York/Memphis | 50 | 42 | 34 | 76 |
| Andy Chapman | Wichita Wings | 46 | 53 | 21 | 74 |
| Poli Garcia | Los Angeles Lazers | 48 | 39 | 33 | 72 |
| Keith Furphy | Cleveland Force | 48 | 39 | 31 | 70 |
| Gordon Hill | Kansas City Comets | 41 | 46 | 24 | 70 |
| Louie Nanchoff | Cleveland Force | 42 | 36 | 33 | 69 |

### Leading goalkeepers

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 |
| Slobo Ilijevski | St. Louis Steamers | 40 | 2336 | 143 | 3.67 | 22 | 15 |
| Scott Manning | Baltimore Blast | 28 | 1552 | 104 | 4.02 | 18 | 8 |
| Joe Papaleo | Pittsburgh Spirit | 25 | 1455 | 100 | 4.12 | 16 | 8 |
| Mike Mahoney | Los Angeles Lazers | 42 | 2390 | 172 | 4.32 | 19 | 18 |
| Mike Dowler | Wichita Wings | 46 | 2724 | 196 | 4.32 | 25 | 21 |
| Krys Sobieski | Cleveland Force | 32 | 1716 | 125 | 4.37 | 19 | 7 |
| John Baretta | Tacoma Stars | 30 | 1741 | 130 | 4.48 | 11 | 14 |
| Blagoje Tamindzic | Phoenix Pride | 30 | 1486 | 116 | 4.68 | 9 | 14 |
| Enzo DiPede | Kansas City Comets | 39 | 2180 | 174 | 4.79 | 18 | 18 |
| Wieslaw Surlit | Buffalo Stallions | 35 | 1736 | 155 | 5.36 | 10 | 20 |

## Playoff Player Statistics
### Scoring leaders

GP = Games Played, G = Goals, A = Assists, Pts = Points
| Player | Team | GP | G | A | Pts |
| Stan Stamenkovic | Baltimore Blast | 12 | 13 | 20 | 33 |
| Dave MacWilliams | Baltimore Blast | 12 | 12 | 14 | 26 |
| Njego Pesa | St. Louis Steamers | 13 | 15 | 9 | 24 |
| Pat Ercoli | Baltimore Blast | 10 | 16 | 2 | 18 |
| Don Ebert | St. Louis Steamers | 12 | 9 | 7 | 16 |

### Leading goalkeepers

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 |
| Scott Manning | Baltimore Blast | 9 | 500 | 31 | 3.72 | 8 | 0 |
| Chris Vaccaro | Cleveland Force | 6 | 325 | 22 | 4.06 | 3 | 3 |
| Enzo DiPede | Kansas City Comets | 5 | 286 | 22 | 4.62 | 2 | 2 |
| Slobo Illijevski | St. Louis Steamers | 10 | 596 | 48 | 4.83 | 6 | 4 |
| Mike Dowler | Wichita Wings | 7 | 398 | 34 | 5.13 | 3 | 3 |

## All-MISL Teams

| First Team | Position | Second Team |
| Slobo Illijevski, St. Louis | G | Mike Dowler, Wichita |
| Sam Bick, St. Louis | D | Tony Bellinger, St. Louis |
| Kim Roentved, Wichita | D | Greg Makowski, Kansas City |
| Kai Haaskivi, Cleveland | M | Craig Allen, Cleveland |
| Art Hughes, Memphis | M | Greg Makowski, Kansas City |
| Stan Stamenkovic, Baltimore | F | Gordon Hill, Kansas City |
| Andy Chapman, Wichita | F | Mark Liveric, New York |
| Honorable Mention | Position |
| Scott Manning, Baltimore | G |
| Helmut Dudek, Memphis | D |
| Ray Evans, Tacoma | D |
| Batata, Los Angeles | F |
| Poli Garcia, Los Angeles | F |

## League awards

Most Valuable Player: Stan Stamenkovic, Baltimore
Scoring Champion: Stan Stamenkovic, Baltimore
Pass Master: Stan Stamenkovic, Baltimore
Defender of the Year: Kim Roentved, Wichita
Rookie of the Year: Kevin Maher, Pittsburgh
Goalkeeper of the Year: Slobo Ilijevski, St. Louis
Coach of the Year: Kenny Cooper, Baltimore
Championship Series Most Valuable Player: Scott Manning, Baltimore

## Team Attendance Totals

| Club | Games | Total | Average |
| Kansas City Comets | 24 | 378,864 | 15,786 |
| St. Louis Steamers | 24 | 335,805 | 13,992 |
| Cleveland Force | 24 | 328,619 | 13,692 |
| Baltimore Blast | 24 | 268,534 | 11,189 |
| Wichita Wings | 24 | 216,824 | 9,034 |
| Pittsburgh Spirit | 24 | 198,668 | 8,278 |
| Memphis Americans | 24 | 157,361 | 6,557 |
| Phoenix Pride | 24 | 142,157 | 5,923 |
| New York Arrows | 24 | 131,472 | 5,478 |
| Tacoma Stars | 24 | 127,728 | 5,322 |
| Buffalo Stallions | 24 | 116,020 | 4,834 |
| Los Angeles Lazers | 24 | 105,720 | 4,405 |
| OVERALL | 288 | 2,507,722 | 8,707 |