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 was secured 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.

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

The NSL was operative in Northern Ontario, Quebec, and had a franchise in the United States in Upstate New York.

Overview

The membership in the First Division increased to 11 teams with Buffalo Blazers, Ottawa Tigers, and Toronto Falcons receiving promotion.[4][5] The departing clubs were Toronto Macedonia, and the Serbian White Eagles were inactive for the season.[6] Toronto Macedonia attempted to sell their franchise rights to Montreal Stars, but the move was declined by the league ownership.[6] 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.[7] 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.[8]

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.[9][10]

Teams
Team City Stadium Manager
Bradford Marshlanders Bradford, Ontario
Buffalo Blazers Buffalo, New York Hyde Park Stadium[11]
Hamilton Italo-Canadians Hamilton, Ontario Ivor Wynne Stadium Frank Donlavey[12]
London City London, Ontario Cove Road Stadium Graham Sawyer[13]
Mississauga Hungaria Mississauga, Ontario
Montreal Castors Montreal, Quebec Complexe sportif Claude-Robillard Tony Iammatteo[14]
Ottawa Tigers Ottawa, Ontario Lansdowne Park[15] Tommy Henderson[16]
Sudbury Cyclones Sudbury, Ontario
St. Catharines Heidelberg St. Catharines, Ontario
St. Catharines Roma St. Catharines, Ontario Club Roma Stadium
Toronto Croatia Etobicoke, Ontario Centennial Park Stadium Bruno Pilaš[17]
Toronto Falcons Toronto, Ontario Lamport Stadium Wacław Sąsiadek[18]
Toronto First Portuguese Toronto, Ontario Lamport Stadium
Toronto Italia York, Ontario York Stadium[19] Florigi Pagliuso[20]
Toronto Panhellenic Toronto, Ontario Lamport Stadium
Toronto Polonia Toronto, Ontario
Toronto Ukrainians Scarborough, Ontario Birchmount Stadium
Windsor Stars Windsor, Ontario Windsor Stadium Pedro Da Silva[21]

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) Champion; (O) Play-off winner.

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) Champion; (O) Play-off winner.

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. Retrieved 2020-09-06.
  4. "Hibs soccer visitors in June". Ottawa Citizen. April 20, 1978. p. 28.
  5. Burke, Tim (May 10, 1978). "More on soccer". Montreal Gazette. p. 23.
  6. "In a nutshell". Windsor Star. March 6, 1978. p. 30.
  7. "Playoffs out but Stars go in Cup". Windsor Star. September 13, 1978. p. 30.
  8. "Stars throw up hands, decide to end season". Windsor Star. September 18, 1978. p. 36.
  9. "Kitchener man new NSL boss". Toronto Star. March 6, 1978. p. B4.
  10. "Sports Roundup - Soccer". The Globe and Mail. March 6, 1978. p. S6.
  11. "Red tape idles Stars". Windsor Star. July 17, 1978. p. 30.
  12. "1981 Hamilton Steelers - Team of Distinction". Archived from the original on September 24, 2020. Retrieved January 5, 2021.
  13. Hall, Dave (May 11, 1978). "Hard work pays for Stars". Windsor Star. p. 34.
  14. "Montreal ties for top after 3-2 triumph". The Globe and Mail. July 25, 1978. p. 32.
  15. Henderson, Bruce (May 12, 1978). "Pro brand slowly gaining popularity". Ottawa Journal. p. 23.
  16. "Tigers sign coach". Ottawa Journal. April 18, 1978. p. 25.
  17. Nelson, Jim (July 31, 1978). "Stars coast over Croatia". Windsor Star. p. 35.
  18. Czado, Pawel (July 30, 2004). "Gdzie są gwiazdy z tamtych lat: Wacław Sąsiadek". Sport.pl (in Polish). Retrieved 2021-02-03.
  19. "Calendar - Soccer". The Globe and Mail. July 10, 1978. p. S7.
  20. Henderson, Bruce (July 6, 1978). "Tigers roar but come up empty-handed". Ottawa Journal. p. 16.
  21. Knack, Marty (April 13, 1978). "Stars turning to local soccer talent again". Windsor Star. p. 30.
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