The North York Rockets were a professional soccer team based in North York , Toronto , Ontario that competed in the original Canadian Soccer League . They were one of four teams to participate in every season of the CSL. Upon the demise of the CSL, the Rockets joined the Canadian National Soccer League .
32-641: The North York Rockets were formed by a group consisting of Gus Mandarino, Basil Policaro, Tony Ciamarra, Joe D'Urzo, Mario Rollo, and Mario Giangioppo to play in the inaugural season of the Canadian Soccer League in 1987. In their debut league match, the Rockets tied the Toronto Blizzard , by a score of 1-1. The Rockets's best result came in 1991 when they defeated the Nova Scotia Clippers with
64-400: A 9-1 goal aggregate to advance to the league cup semi-finals. The Rockets struggled in their first season, winning only one match, en route to a 1-7-12 record, finishing last in the league. The Rockets improved in the following seasons, qualifying for the playoffs in each of the next three seasons, although they were defeated in the first round of the playoffs each year. During the 1991 season,
96-508: A Football World , North American soccer historian Dave Wangerin partially attributes the downfall of the Manic organization to the Molson ownership's declaration to attempt to build a Team Canada roster for the 1984 season. The new direction of the team meant many of the team's players who originated from foreign countries would be let go, to emphasize an all Canadian roster instead. Given that Canada had
128-566: A low of 6 clubs. Some clubs involved in the league, such as the Vancouver 86ers and Toronto Blizzard , existed prior to the formation of the CSL and would go on to play in other leagues after the CSL's demise in following the 1992 season. Clubs participating in the CSL throughout its six years of existence included: Twenty-six players from the Canadian Soccer League have since been inducted in
160-498: A new Canadian professional league, the Canadian Premier League was launched, serving as the country's first national professional league since the end of the CSL. The Canadian Soccer League showcased 13 teams throughout its six-year history, debuting in 1987 with 8 clubs. The league reached its peak of club participation and national exposure in the 1990 season with 11 clubs, while closing out its final season in 1992 with
192-447: A relatively poor track record at producing world class soccer talent, Montreal fans were likely put off by the prospect that the quality of the team's play would instantly diminish for the 1984 season. More importantly, the team was allegedly in financial trouble despite the fact that the Manic had some of the highest attendances in the NASL. Reports indicated that during the first two seasons,
224-716: The Calgary Kickers , Edmonton Brick Men , Vancouver 86ers , and the Winnipeg Fury . The league's inaugural match took place on June 7, 1987 in Aylmer, Quebec between the National Capital Pioneers and the Hamilton Steelers and finished in a 1–1 draw, in a steady drizzle, in front 2,500 spectators. That season, Hamilton won their division both in the regular season and in the playoffs, as did Calgary. The final saw
256-618: The Canada Soccer Hall of Fame . From that group, 11 honoured members made their professional debuts in the Canadian Soccer League. Montr%C3%A9al Manic The Montreal Manic or the Manic de Montréal were a professional soccer team based in Montreal , Quebec, Canada, that played in the North American Soccer League . "Le Manic" as they were called by the locals, were Montreal's first professional soccer team since
288-613: The Los Angeles Aztecs in the first round of the 1981 NASL playoffs, the Manic faced the Chicago Sting . An Olympic Stadium crowd of 58,542 (the largest-ever to see an NASL playoff game outside the Cosmos' Giants Stadium ) saw the Manic defeat the Sting in the opening match before the series shifted to Chicago where the Manic lost twice and were eliminated. In 1982 the Manic performed better in
320-890: The National Soccer League was formed in Canada, which evolved into the modern edition of the Canadian Soccer League , but was more of a semi-professional nature. From 1960 to 1961, the Eastern Canada Professional Soccer League (ECPSL) operated in the country, at times attracting crowds of around 10,000 spectators. From 1968 to 1984, the US-based North American Soccer League (NASL), a top division professional league, contained two Canadian teams at its inception (the Toronto Falcons and Vancouver Royals ), rising to five Canadian teams at
352-575: The New York Cosmos in the quarterfinals of the 1983 playoffs, winning the first match away 4–2 and winning the second match at home in a shootout. The Manic then lost to the Tulsa Roughnecks in the next round. In the 1983 season, the Manic hosted Nottingham Forest (a 4–3 extra time loss) and FC Nantes (a 2–1 shootout victory for Montreal) at the Olympic Stadium. In his book, Soccer in
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#1732845361005384-442: The Nova Scotia Clippers . Financial instability was common with many teams folding during the years. Only four clubs - Vancouver, North York, Toronto, and Winnipeg - participated in all six seasons. In early 1991, league commissioner Dale Barnes retired before the start of the 1991 season, with Hamilton Steelers owner Mario DiBartolomeo becoming the interim league president. The next year, Montreal Supra owner Frank Aliaga being named
416-654: The Division 1 league by the USSF. Vancouver cited financial stability and higher growth prospects with the league expected by some to become the USSF's Division 1 league as required by FIFA when awarded the United States the 1994 World Cup. Even with the Vancouver defection to the United States, the CSL planned to have seven clubs for the 1993 season as of mid-December 1992 including a Burnaby , B.C.-based team; however, opposition from
448-644: The NASL's Montreal Olympique folded in 1973. The team was named after a river in northeast Quebec, the Manicouagan , the site of a massive hydroelectric project. The Montreal Manic competed from 1981 to 1983, with their home field being the Montreal Olympic Stadium . Previous to Montreal, the team played as the Philadelphia Fury from 1978 through 1980 and ten Fury players as well as manager Eddie Firmani moved to Montreal for 1981. After defeating
480-759: The North American Soccer League years. As of 2014, after the 1986 World Cup, players from the CSL cohort have still progressed the furthest in World Cup Qualifying and formed the veteran core of the 2000 CONCACAF Gold Cup winning squad. Following the demise of the CSL, Canadian professional teams such as the Montreal Impact , Vancouver Whitecaps , and Toronto Lynx continued to play in US-based professional leagues, with later teams such as Toronto FC and Ottawa Fury FC forming as well. In 2019,
512-485: The Rockets finished third in the league, qualifying for the playoffs for the fourth consecutive season. The won their first and only CSL playoff series when they defeated the Nova Scotia Clippers by an aggregate score of 9-1 (5-1 and 4-0 victories), but were defeated in the semi-finals by city rival Toronto Blizzard . During the 1992 season, the Rockets finished in second place in the regular season, six points behind league leaders Vancouver , but were once again defeated in
544-621: The Vancouver 86ers stymied this ownership's efforts. However, the Toronto Blizzard and Montreal Supra had also planned to join the APSL, although it was not able to meet the financial requirements for the league and instead a new club, Montreal Impact formed and joined the APSL. Meanwhile, Winnipeg and North York joined the Canadian National Soccer League . When the dust cleared, there were not six Canadian professional teams,
576-665: The Vancouver 86ers' owner was the only team to fully pay league dues during the final season and had injected $ 65,000 for the London Lasers to finish the season, and paid playoff travel and accommodation expenses for the Toronto Blizzard. On October 6, 1992, the day of the CSL final, it was announced that Vancouver joined the APSL , a league trying to show the USSF it had the wherewithal, new higher standards for 1993 (financial capitalization, salary budget, $ 1 million operating budget, front office, coaching, market size etc.), to be chosen as
608-462: The demise in 1984 of the U.S.-based North American Soccer League . Founding league commissioner Dale Barnes voiced sentiment aptly when he said the league is to "bring our players home." In its first season the league had 138 Canadian players across its eight teams and most of the players from Canada’s 1986 World Cup squad joined the league. Learning from the CPSL failure, the organizers attempted to lay
640-556: The first round of the playoffs by eventual champions Winnipeg . Following the folding of the CSL after the 1992 season, the Rockets joined the semi-professional Canadian National Soccer League for the 1993 season , becoming known as the Toronto Rockets . They finished in first place in the Western Conference (and in the overall league table), qualifying for the playoffs where they defeated London City and Montreal Croatia in
672-546: The first two rounds, but were defeated by St. Catharines Roma in the championship final. After the 1993 season, the Toronto Blizzard, who had joined the US-based American Professional Soccer League in 1993, folded and were replaced by the Rockets, who inherited some of the Blizzard players and played under the name Toronto Rockets . The Rockets finished in last place with a 5–15 record, as well as
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#1732845361005704-468: The foundation more successfully, with several teams coming from existing franchises in the provincial leagues, including a team salary limit of $ 300,000 for players. In the league's inaugural season, eight teams were divided into two divisions. The East Division consisted of National Capital Pioneers , Hamilton Steelers , Toronto Blizzard , and the North York Rockets . The West Division comprised
736-484: The league adopted the standard FIFA points system (2–1–0, then 3–1–0) as well as allowing for draws instead of 'Americanizing' the points system with bonus points and two different categories for both wins and losses unlike the NASL or the APSL which was to follow. Over the course of the league's six seasons, various teams joined the league including Montreal Supra , Victoria Vistas , London Lasers , Kitchener Spirit , and
768-491: The minimum for a league, that survived in any form for the 1993 season, and the league officially folded, bringing an end to the first truly national Canadian league to finish a season. This was a major blow for the Canadian Soccer Association and Canadian soccer, as the CSL had been enormously successful in providing Canadian players with a higher level of competition than had been available at any other time than
800-401: The new league president. The Vancouver 86ers became the dominant team in the league, winning the four consecutive league titles from 1988 to 1991. In 1992, the Winnipeg Fury ended Vancouver's run, winning the final MITA Cup, before the league folded. The league and its franchises struggled with financial issues throughout its tenure. After the 1991 season, four franchises folded, which
832-546: The regular season than in 1981, but lost in the first round of the playoffs to the Fort Lauderdale Strikers and Firmani was fired. In 1983 the interest in the team and the average attendance fell sharply. The Manic's opening home match in 1983 versus the Tampa Bay Rowdies was witnessed by just 6,460 fans. However, in their final season, the Manic produced one of the great shocks in NASL history by eliminating
864-546: The time of its folding - the Calgary Boomers , Edmonton Drillers , Montréal Manic , Vancouver Whitecaps and Toronto Blizzard . In 1983, a fully professional Canadian-only league, the Canadian Professional Soccer League was formed, but it failed to last a full season before disbanding. Following the folding of the NASL, the Canadian Soccer Association created the Canadian Soccer League (CSL). It
896-628: The top point-getting team in the regular season, Calgary, defeat the second-best side, Hamilton, 2–1 at home in a winner take all one game final. The league gained a leap in credibility when an agreement was reached with TSN to broadcast a CSL Game of the Week , allowing a nationwide audience to view a game on domestic cable TV each Sunday evening. Broadcasts featured play-by-play commentator Vic Rauter and analyst Graham Leggat . The league received sponsorship from companies such as Gatorade , Gillette , Chrysler , Molson , and Umbro , among others. Also
928-424: The worst attendance in the league, drawing in fewer than 1500 fans per match. The club had planned to return for the 1995 season, but withdrew only days before the start of the 1995 season, due to a financial dispute with the league's front office. as North York Rockets as Toronto Rockets North York Rockets Official Program Canadian Soccer League (1987%E2%80%931992) The Canadian Soccer League
960-409: Was a Division 1 professional soccer league that operated for six seasons between 1987 and 1992. It was a nationwide league that had teams in six provinces over the course of its history. It was the last top-division league in Canada until the Canadian Premier League began play in 2019. Professional soccer existed in multiple form in Canada in the decades prior to the formation of the CSL. In 1926,
992-510: Was the CSA's second attempt at a national professional league, following the failed CPSL in 1983. The CSL was formed in the aftermath of Canada 's participation in the 1986 World Cup finals tournament held in Mexico, for which Canada was an oddity as a country whose association was able to qualify a team despite not having a domestic professional league, or even a domestically based professional team with
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1024-420: Was the start of the end of the league. The financial picture did not improve during the season, and with dysfunction about the most sustainable path for professional soccer, concerns about club stability – declining attendance and red ink continuing to mount in most markets, the resignation of Canadian soccer advocates such as Mario DiBartolomeo, Frank Aliaga, and Karsten von Wersebe. Vancouver media reported that
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