Toronto Blizzard (1971–1984)


The Toronto Blizzard was a professional soccer club based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada that played in the North American Soccer League.

History

The Toronto Metros joined the NASL in 1971. Their home ground was Varsity Stadium.
In 1975, 50% of the team was purchased for $250,000 by the Toronto Croatia of the National Soccer League, and the team became the Toronto Metros-Croatia. The club won the 1976 Soccer Bowl championship. However, they continued to struggle at the gate. In mid September 1976, it was reported that team owed $100,000 to the Ontario government and $95,000 to the metropolitan Toronto government, that several star players were free agents and the team might fold.
The Global Television Network purchased 85% of the struggling Toronto Metros-Croatia on February 1, 1979, for $2.6 million. Following the purchase, Toronto Croatia returned to the NSL as a separate club. With only 7 of the 26 players from the 1978 roster staying, the NASL team was renamed the Toronto Blizzard following the takeover. Under the new ownership, attendances nearly doubled. From 1979 to 1983 the Blizzard played home games at Exhibition Stadium before returning to Varsity Stadium for the 1984 NASL season.
The Blizzard were members of the NASL until 1984, the last year of league operations. The team were runners-up for the league championship in 1983, losing the Soccer Bowl to the Tulsa Roughnecks 2–0 in front of nearly sixty thousand people at Vancouver's BC Place Stadium. They were runners-up again in 1984 when they lost to the Chicago Sting two games to none in a best of three championship series. The club was coached in these final two years by Bobby Houghton, assisted by Dave Turner and featured Roberto Bettega, David Byrne, Cliff Calvert, Pasquale De Luca, Charlie Falzon, Sven Habermann, Paul Hammond, Paul James, Conny Karlsson, Victor Kodelja, Trevor McCallum, Colin Miller, Jan Möller, Jimmy Nicholl, Ace Ntsoelengoe, Randy Ragan, Neill Roberts, John Paskin, Derek Spalding and Bruce Wilson in its lineup.
The Blizzard qualified for the play-offs on only two other occasions, in 1979 and 1982, losing in the first round each time. Prominent players during the first four years included Clyde Best, Željko Bilecki, Jimmy Bone, Roberto Bettega, Drew Busby, David Byrne, Cliff Calvert, Tony Chursky, David Fairclough, Colin Franks, George Gibbs, Jimmy Greenhoff, Graham Hatley, Victor Kodelja, Sam Lenarduzzi, Peter Lorimer, Ivan Lukačević, Drago Vabec, Mike McLenaghen, Willie McVie, Alan Merrick, Charlie Mitchell, Juan Carlos Molina, Jan Möller, Francesco Morini, Ace Ntsoelengoe, Bobby Prentice, Randy Ragan, Neill Roberts, Malcolm Robertson, Peter Roe, Jomo Sono, Gordon Sweetzer, Blagoje Tamindžić, Jose Velasquez and Bruce Wilson.
The Metros-Croatia fielded a team in NASL's indoor league in 1975 and 1976, as did the Blizzard from 1980 through 1982.
In 2010, the 1976 Soccer Bowl winning team was inducted into the Canada Soccer Hall of Fame.

Championships

Ownership

Head coaches

Assistant coaches

Notable players

After the NASL

On March 28, 1985, the NASL officially suspended operations for the 1985 season, when only Toronto and Minnesota Strikers were interested in playing. In the meantime Blizzard owners York-Hanover purchased Dynamo Latino of the National Soccer League with the intention of renaming them the Toronto Blizzard. Though the Blizzard franchise had never actually folded, they had ceased operations for several months between these incarnations and NSL regulations did not permit a name change in the midst of the season. The following season Dynamo Latino began play as the Toronto Blizzard. A history of this team can be found at Toronto Blizzard (1986–93).