The 1978–79 Major Indoor Soccer League season was the first in league history and would end with the New York Arrows winning the first MISL title.
Recap The league would begin with six teams and a 24-game schedule beginning in December 1978 and ending in March 1979. The top four teams would advance to a single-game semifinal and a best of three championship series. League attendance would average 4,453 per game.
Signs were good that the league would have a long-time presence. The early games drew strong crowds, as Philadelphia sold out the Spectrum for their opener, leading the league in attendance. The first expansion team was announced on December 13, nine days before the first game in league history, as the Buffalo Stallions were slated to start play in the 1979-80 season. 10,386 fans were in the Nassau Coliseum to see the Cincinnati Kids play the Arrows in the league's first game.
Despite finishing in a solid third place, Cincinnati folded after the season.
Teams TeamCity/AreaArenaCincinnati KidsCincinnati Riverfront ColiseumCleveland ForceCleveland Richfield ColiseumHouston Summit Houston The SummitNew York ArrowsUniondale, New York Nassau Veterans Memorial ColiseumPhiladelphia FeverPhiladelphia The SpectrumPittsburgh SpiritPittsburgh Civic Arena (Pittsburgh)
Map of clubs
Regular season
Schedule The 1978–79 regular season schedule ran from December 22, 1978, to March 18, 1979. Each team played a schedule of 24 games.
Final standings Playoff teams in bold. W L Pct. GB GF GA Home Road Houston Summit 186.750--17511411-17-5 New York Arrows 168.66721761368-48-4 Cincinnati Kids 168.667215412910-26-6 Philadelphia Fever 1113.45871411545-76-6 Pittsburgh Spirit 618.250121231714-82-10 Cleveland Force 519.20813941594-81-11
Team attendance ClubGamesTotalAveragePhiladelphia Fever 12 90,176 7,515New York Arrows 12 65,350 5,446Houston Summit 12 43,472 3,623Cincinnati Kids 12 38,287 3,191Cleveland Force 12 37,393 3,116Pittsburgh Spirit1233,2062,801OVERALL72308,2844,282
Regular season statistics
Scoring leaders GP = Games played, G = Goals, A = Assists, Pts = Points Player Team GP G A Pts Fred Grgurev Philadelphia Fever 24 46 28 74 Steve Zungul New York Arrows 18 43 25 68 Kai Haaskivi Houston Summit 22 39 25 64 Branko Segota New York Arrows 21 25 22 47 Doug Wark Cincinnati Kids 22 29 16 45 Joey Fink Philadelphia Fever 22 30 14 44 Ian Anderson Houston Summit 21 29 13 42 Stewart Jump Houston Summit 21 21 18 39 John Stremlau Houston Summit 24 16 21 37 Alberto Alves Philadelphia Fever 24 20 16 36
Goalkeeping leaders 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 Paul Hammond Houston Summit 17 1010 70 4.16 13 3 Keith Van Eron Cincinnati Kids 23 1237 104 5.04 15 7 Shep Messing New York Arrows 22 1236 107 5.19 14 7 Woody Hartman Philadelphia Fever 22 1237 120 5.82 10 10 Roland Skinner Houston Summit 8 453 44 5.83 5 3 Jim May Cleveland Force 12 529 53 6.01 1 6 Peter Mannos Pittsburgh Spirit 16 880 159 3.02 5 9 Rich Brands Cleveland Force 13 533 71 7.99 1 8
Playoffs
Bracket
Semifinals March 11 Houston Summit3–6Philadelphia FeverThe Summit • 4,683
March 13New York Arrows9–4Cincinnati KidsNassau Coliseum • 4,411
Championship Series Higher seedLower seedGame 1Game 2Game 3New York Arrows - Philadelphia Fever 14–7 9–5 x March 23 • Nassau Coliseum • 8,640 March 25 • The Spectrum • 6,096
Playoff statistics
Playoff scoring GP = Games played, G = Goals, A = Assists, Pts = Points Player Team GP G A Pts Steve Zungul New York Arrows 3 15 4 19 Branko Segota New York Arrows 3 7 3 10 Pat Ercoli New York Arrows 3 1 7 8 Alberto Alves Philadelphia Fever 3 2 5 7 Luis Alberto New York Arrows 3 1 5 6
Playoff goalkeeping 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 Ian Anderson Houston Summit 1 1 0 0.00 0 0 Shep Messing New York Arrows 3 170 15 5.30 3 0 Enzo DiPede New York Arrows 2 10 1 5.88 0 0 Paul Hammond Houston Summit 1 59 6 6.12 0 1 Woody Hartman Philadelphia Fever 2 93 10 6.45 1 1
League awards Most Valuable Player: Steve Zungul, New York Scoring Champion: Fred Grgurev, Philadelphia Pass Master: Fred Grgurev, Philadelphia Goalkeeper of the Year: Paul Hammond, Houston Coach of the Year: Timo Liekoski, Houston Championship Series Most Valuable Player: Shep Messing, New York
All-MISL team First Team Position Second Team Shep Messing, New York G Paul Hammond, Houston Fred Grgurev, Philadelphia D Ty Keough, Cincinnati Ian Anderson, Houston D Tom Mulroy, Pittsburgh Alan Hamlyn, Cleveland Doug Wark, Cincinnati M Joey Fink, Philadelphia Kai Haaskivi, Houston F Stewart Jump, Houston Steve Zungul, New York F Jim Pollihan, New York
References
External links The Year in American Soccer – 1978 The Year in American Soccer - 1979 1978-79 summary at The MISL: A Look Back