We are now up to the final part of the Fort Lauderdale Strikers series. After a decade plus of wanting to get out some more articles about the Strikers, and trying to make them my first book, we have the fruit of my labors. The major issue with non-Cosmos writing is the lack of match reports. Sure, the Cosmos did not have the best coverage ever, the New York City dailies have never given massive coverage to the game. This time, we will chat about the best matches in Strikers’ history.

The most memorable match in Strikers’ history is as one would expect against the Cosmos. In East Rutherford, New Jersey at Giants Stadium 77,691 fans watched the 1977 NASL playoffs on August 14. This was for a while the largest crowd that ever watched any type of event at Giants Stadium. One of the people there to see the match was former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, who was responsible for Pele coming to the States. The attendance surpassed the American Canadian record for a soccer contest in Montreal for an Olympic match against East Germany and Poland at 71,619.

Unfortunately, it wasn’t a good match for the Strikers, the Cosmos won 8-3. This was the home leg of the Atlantic Conference Title playoffs for Cosmos v Strikers. The second leg was the following week, and if the Strikers won, there would be a 30-minute overtime mini game to choose the series winner. This was a great team for the Cosmos, outside of Pele they had Franz Beckenbauer, Steve Hunt, and Giorgio Chinaglia.

The first goal did not take long to be scored, Steve Hunt scored after 97 seconds. It was set up off a play from Pele and Chinaglia. The two stars won a battle in the midfield, when Chinaglia drew defenders towards him. Those two exchanged passes, and Pele set Hunt through on the left side. Hunt took no time putting the ball past Gordon Banks.

Then the former captain of the West German National team got to work. First, he eluded two full backs, battled two other players, and blasted a ball into the back of Bank’s net for a quick 2-0. The third goal would end up being the Swansea born Italian Chinaglia. By half time, it was already 4-1, with Steve Hunt getting a second goal. The only goal scored for the South Florida team was Maurice Whittle, a former Oldham left back. In the second half Chinaglia scored two more goals to get his hattrick. The great Italian was the first to score a hattrick in the NASL post season.

In the 65th minute Cosmos manager Eddie Firmani started pulling the great players off the pitch: Pele, Beckenbauer, and Tony Fiel. On for their compatriots were: Jomo Sono, Ramon Mifflin and Gary Etherington. The final player, who was signed out of a high school in Virginia, scored the final goal, after the hat trick by Chinaglia, two by Hunt, one by Beckenbauer, and one by Field. Whistle scored another goal for the Strikers, and Norman Piper rounded out the 8-3 loss.

In addition to the fireworks the Cosmos put on, Gordon Banks put on one of the worst games he’s ever had. Keep in mind, he was playing after being retired for years, recovering from a car accident, and losing sight in one eye. He was responsible for three of the goals in the second half. However, his fullbacks weren’t up to par either, despite being so good during the league year. The second leg was played a week later which finished 2-2, causing a mini game which the Cosmos won 3-0.

Two years later, on August 10, 1979, the Strikers had another impressive match, in front of 14,285 spectators at Lockhart Stadium. This was the final match of the season, and it was against the Philadelphia Fury. A little on the opponent first, the Fury were the second attempt by the city of Brotherly Love for a team in Philadelphia. The Atoms had preceded them 1973-1976, their predecessor won the league championship in 1973 and was the first NASL team on the cover of Sports Illustrated in 1973.

1979 was a bad year for the Fury, becoming the first NASL team to go through the entire regular season winless on the road, and going 10-20. However, they strangely made the playoffs. This all came after a match with the Strikers. In the playoffs, the Fury swept the best team in the conference, Houston Hurricane in a two-legged first round. Eventually, they were swept by the eventual Soccer Bowl 1979 finalists Tampa Bay Rowdies in the quarter finals.

On August 10, 1979, finished their regular season with a 4-1 win at Lockhart Stadium. The Strikers won 4-1, on a brace from the Peruvian Legend Teofilo Cubillas, Gerd Muller who had his 19th goal of the season, and future Manchester City midfielder on loan from Stockport Country Terry Park. Fort Lauderdale would go on to be eliminated in the first round of the playoffs by the Chicago Sting.

However, the next year they were even better. They hired Dutch coach Cor van der Hart, who was able to pry top Dutch goalkeeper Jan van Beveren from PSV Eindhoven. It was a strange season for the Strikers; they had off the pitch controversies between players and the coaching staff. The Strikers 18-14 was the best they could do, until the post season. The Strikers had a tough time in the American Conference playoffs. They won the first match on the road against the California Surf. That was followed by a loss at Lockhart Stadium, which made them play an eleven round minigame to advance to the second round against the Edmonton Drillers.

The series against the Drillers was the same, win on the road and lose at home. It forced a mini game, in which Cubullas and Muller helped the Strikers to get through to the conference finals against the San Diego Sockers. The Conference finals were like the rest of the playoffs, a win on the road, and a loss at home required another minigame. This time, goals by Ray Hudson and Cubillas put the Strikers into Soccer Bowl 80 against the Cosmos.

Even though the Cosmos rolled to a 3-0 win in Soccer Bowl 80, the Strikers had their best season to date. Four years later, due to the Robbies wanting more money, the Strikers moved to Minnesota where they played out their days in the Twin Cities. And that’s it for the Fort Lauderdale Strikers section. We will be back next time with another team. If you want to suggest a non-Cosmos, Cascadia, or Tampa Bay Rowdies team for me to cover, drop a line.

Did you miss the first three parts? We got you!
Part 1: Introduction

Part 2: The Managers

Part 3: The Players

- by Stephen Brandt