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This article is about the 1983 league. For the 1998–2005 league of the same name, see Canadian Professional Soccer League (1998–2005).

Canadian Professional Soccer League
Founded1983
Ceased1983
CommissionerJohn Bailey
No. of teams6
CountryCanada
Confederation CONCACAF
Most titles Edmonton Eagles (1)
Level on pyramid1

The original Canadian Professional Soccer League (CPSL) was a Division 1 professional soccer league that operated in Canada in 1983. It was a nationwide league that had six franchises in three provinces. It lasted for just one abridged, 73-day, summer season in 1983.

Teams

The Canadian Professional Soccer League showcased 6 teams in its single season. [1]

Team City Stadium
Calgary Mustangs Calgary, Alberta Mewata Stadium
Edmonton Eagles Edmonton, Alberta Clarke Stadium
Hamilton Steelers Hamilton, Ontario Ivor Wynne Stadium
FC Inter-Montréal Montreal, Quebec Jarry Park Stadium
Mississauga Croatia Mississauga, Ontario/ Etobicoke, Ontario Centennial Park Stadium
Toronto Nationals Toronto, Ontario Varsity Stadium

History

Formation

On 9 December 1981, the Canadian Soccer Association announced that it would be sanctioning a new professional Division 1 league known, as the Canadian Professional Soccer League, which would be the country's first ever coast-to-coast professional soccer league. [2] The league was to be represented by Sports Professional International Inc. with the goal of the league having twenty franchises across the country, with the majority of players and management being Canadians. [2] Previous leagues in Canada had been attempted such as the Eastern Canada Professional Soccer League from 1961 to 1966, while the semi-professional National Soccer League operated from 1927 to 1982, and five Canadian teams played in the US-based North American Soccer League. [2]

To enter the league, prospective owners would need to pay a performance bond of $50,000, which was a drastically cheaper fee compared to the NASL. [2] In an effort to avoid similar financial struggles that plagued teams in the NASL (including the Calgary Boomers and Edmonton Drillers who folded in 1981 and 1982, respectively and the Montreal Manic who lost $3 million in each of those two years), league commissioner John Bailey announced that teams would work on smaller budgets (presumably around $500,000) to curb potential losses. [2] Each club would be limited to rosters of 16 players, featuring a maximum of 5 international players and would follow FIFA-rules, unlike the NASL which had introduced some Americanized rules. [2] A number of individuals declared their interest in forming a team, including an owner in Victoria, although this franchise did not end up forming. [2]

On 7 December 1982, commissioner Bailey announced the first five franchises locations and owners that would take part - Montreal, Toronto, Missisauga, Hamilton, and Kitchener. The plan was for the league to operate its first season from June to October 1983, with two divisions (a 7-team Central Division with two franchises in Toronto and London pending and a 5-team Western Division). [2] [3] However, these plans were unsuccessful with the league officially launching on 8 February 1983 with five teams - FC Inter-Montréal, Toronto Nationals, Mississauga Croatia, Hamilton Steelers, and the Edmonton Eagles (with the Kitchener group having dropped out). [2] A sixth franchise was later added ( Calgary Mustangs), to be operated by German player agent Edgar Edringer. [2] One day prior to the original team launch announcement, the owner of the NASL Montreal Manic had announced his intention to turn his club into Team Canada, which created concerns for the league about the competition for Canadian players, meanwhile Canadian Soccer Association support for the new CPSL had seemingly evaporated with their focus moving towards the Manic Team Canada project. [2]

Season

The 1983 season began with six teams to play a 25 game schedule. [4] The league's opening match occurred on 21 May 1983 with the Toronto Nationals defeating the visiting FC Inter-Montréal at Varsity Stadium by a score of 2-1, in front of 3,680 spectators. [3]

In June, Montreal owner Bob Laker, organized a four-team tournament featuring Montreal and high-profile European clubs – French club Marseille and Italian clubs Udinese and Avellino with Montreal winning the tournament. [5] Udinese also played exhibition matches with Mississauga and Hamilton. [5]

However, a month into the season, on 18 June, the Toronto Nationals folded, but the league announced that they would be replaced by a new ownership group on 20 June. [3] However, on 26 June, this new ownership group folded as well after only one match, while the Montreal group folded on the same day as well, due to heavy financial losses. [6] [5] After the Montreal and Toronto franchises failed to get new financial backers, the four remaining clubs decided to cancel the remainder of the regular season on 12 July and to proceed directly to the playoffs, with a best-of-three semi-final followed by a one-match winner-take-all championship final on 1 August 1983. [3]

In the semi-finals, the Edmonton Eagles defeated the Calgary Mustangs two games to zero, while the Hamilton Steelers defeated Mississauga Croatia two games to one to advance to the championship final. [5] [7] In the Championship match, the Eagles defeated the Steelers 2-0 to claim the Championship and were awarded the Tip Top Cup (which was sponsored by Canadian retail chain Tip Top Tailors). [8] [4] The very next day, the league officially folded. [4]

Legacy

Competing with the established North American Soccer League, the CPSL failed to attract significant crowds or the attention of the media. Throughout its short tenure, its teams were plagued by financial instability, highlighted by low attendances, owner bail-outs, player walkouts, and wage disputes, ultimately resulting in two clubs folding and the early conclusion of its season and ultimate folding after a single season. [2]

Eventually a new D1 Canadian professional league, the Canadian Soccer League, was formed in 1987, which was a bit more successful, lasting six seasons. [9]

1983 Season

Canadian Professional Soccer League
Season1983
DatesMay 21 – August 1
Champions Edmonton Eagles
Regular season leaders Edmonton Eagles
Top goalscorer Ross Ongaro & Hans Kraay Jr. (6 goals) [10] [11]

Regular season

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1 Edmonton Eagles (O) 10 7 3 0 24 6 +18 17 Advance to Playoffs
2 Hamilton Steelers 12 4 4 4 22 20 +2 12
3 FC Inter-Montréal 8 5 1 2 15 8 +7 11 Folded mid-season
4 Mississauga Croatia SC 13 4 1 8 16 31 −15 9 Advance to Playoffs
5 Calgary Mustangs 12 2 4 6 13 21 −8 8
6 Toronto Nationals 7 2 1 4 11 15 −4 5 Folded mid-season
Source: RSSSF
(O) Play-off winners

Play-offs

Semi-finals
best of 3 series 		Final
single match
         
1 Edmonton Eagles 2 2 – 2
5 Calgary Mustangs 1 1 – 0
1 Edmonton Eagles 2
2 Hamilton Steelers 0
2 Hamilton Steelers 2 4 2 2
4 Mississauga Croatia SC 3 1 0 1

Semifinal

July 13, 1983 Mississauga Croatia 3–2 Hamilton Steelers Etobicoke, Ontario
Nick Dosen 8'
Frank Fiddler 18'
Peter Stipancik 49'		 [12] Report] Marco Abascal 14'
Fred Ferrera 89'		 Stadium: Centennial Park Stadium
July 15, 1983 Hamilton Steelers 4–1 Mississauga Croatia Hamilton, Ontario
Rennie Phillips
Hidelberto Ponte
Carlos Salguero
Jimmy Sinclair 		[13] Report] Peter Stipancik 49' Stadium: Ivor Wynne Stadium
July 25, 1983 Hamilton Steelers 2–0 Mississauga Croatia Hamilton, Ontario

 [14] Report] Stadium: Ivor Wynne Stadium
Attendance: 1000

Hamilton Steelers won 2–1 on best-of-three.

July 17, 1983 Edmonton Eagles 2–1 Calgary Mustangs Edmonton, Alberta
Hans Granander 10'
Ross Ongaro 81'		 [15] Report] Dean Kelly 3' Stadium: Clarke Stadium
Attendance: 1533
July 20, 1983 Calgary Mustangs 1–2 Edmonton Eagles Calgary, Alberta
Dean Kelly 70' [16] Report] John Connor 38', 75' Stadium: Mewata Stadium
Attendance: 1049
Referee: Phil Clarke

Edmonton Eagles won 2–0 on best-of-three.

Final

August 1, 1983 Edmonton Eagles 2–0 Hamilton Steelers Edmonton, Alberta
John Connor 40'
Carlos Rivas 89'		 [17] Report] Stadium: Clarke Stadium
Attendance: 6300
Referee: Derek Douglas

Awards

Award Player Team
Most Valuable Player Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia Dubravko Ledić Edmonton Eagles
Rookie of the Year Canada Randy Samuel Edmonton Eagles
Canadian of the Year Canada Randy Samuel Edmonton Eagles
Top Scorer Netherlands Hans Kraay Jr. [a]
Canada Ross Ongaro [b]		 Edmonton Eagles
Edmonton Eagles
Reference: [18]
  1. ^ Kraay scored 6 goals in the regular season.
  2. ^ Ongaro scored 5 goals in the regular season goals and 1 goal in the playoffs.

See also

References

  1. ^ Crossley, Andrew. "Canadian Professional Soccer League (1983)". Fun While it Lasted. Retrieved April 11, 2020.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Huntley, E.J. 73 Days - The Story of the Canadian Professional Soccer League. Kindle.
  3. ^ a b c d "1983 Season". theCNSL.com.
  4. ^ a b c "LCRV - Episode 168". Loyal Company of the River Valley (Podcast). November 15, 2018. Event occurs at 33:35.
  5. ^ a b c d Huntley, Elliot J. (March 5, 2015). "Canada - Canadian Professional Soccer League". RSSSF.
  6. ^ Crawford, Colin (February 29, 2016). "Toronto's Soccer History: 1987 - Present". Toronto FC.
  7. ^ "2018 Canada Soccer Records & Statistics". Canadian Soccer Association.
  8. ^ Litterer, David (July 7, 1998). "Canadian Professional Soccer League I". US Soccer History Archives.
  9. ^ "Canadian Soccer League (1987-1992)". Fun While it Lasted.
  10. ^ "Technical Director Ross Ongaro". Inter Soccer Club.
  11. ^ Odinga, Norman [@Impact2002Girls] (May 6, 2020). "Edmonton Eagles" ( Tweet) – via Twitter.
  12. ^ "Struggling Pro Loop Starts Playoffs Early". Times Colonist. July 14, 1983. p. 12.
  13. ^ "Steelers Even Soccer Semi-final". Calgary Herald. July 16, 1983. pp. F2.
  14. ^ "Soccer Championship Set". Calgary Herald. July 26, 1983. pp. E2.
  15. ^ Panzeri, Allen (July 18, 1983). "Eagles Reward Generosity". Edmonton Journal. p. 19.
  16. ^ Konotopetz, Gyle (July 21, 1983). "Spirited Players Go Down Fighting". Calgary Herald. p. 35.
  17. ^ Panzeri, Allen (August 2, 1983). "Eagles Become Winners at Last". Edmonton Journal. p. 12.
  18. ^ "Canada Soccer - Records & Results". Canadian Soccer Association.


Preceded by
Inaugural
 Division 1 soccer league in Canada
1983 		Succeeded by
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