TheAmerican Professional Soccer League(APSL) was a professional men'ssoccerleague with teams from the United States and later Canada. It was formed in 1990 by the merger of the thirdAmerican Soccer Leaguewith theWestern Soccer League.[2]It was the first outdoor soccer league to feature teams from throughout the United States since the demise of theNorth American Soccer Leaguein 1984.[2]
 APSL logo (1993) | |
| Sport | Soccer |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1990 |
| Ceased | 1996 |
| No. of teams | 22 in 1990 |
| Country |  United States Canada |
| Last champion(s) | Seattle Sounders |
| TV partner(s) | Prime Network[1] |
The league was sanctioned as Division II in theUnited States soccer league systembut was the country'sde factotop professional soccer league until 1995. In 1993, the APSL applied for the vacant Division I role but lost out toMajor League Soccerwho would begin play in 1996.[3]
For its final two seasons in 1995 and 1996, the APSL changed its name to theA-League.It was subsequently absorbed by the emergingUSISLorganization with six of seven clubs joining the newUSISL A-Leaguein 1997. The USISL (later USL) retained the A-League name until 2004 when it became theUSL First Division.
History
editIn 1989, amatch was heldbetween the winners of theAmerican Soccer Leagueand the winners of theWestern Soccer Leagueto declare anational soccer champion.[4]On February 22, 1990, the two leagues merged as the American Professional Soccer League. To reduce travel expenses, the inaugural season would be played under two separate leagues akin toMajor League Baseball:the ASL became theAmerican Soccer Conferenceand featured teams from theEast Coast,while the WSL became theWestern Soccer Conferenceand featured teams from theWest Coast.[5]Teams only played other teams from within the same conference and it was not until the title decider, betweenMaryland BaysandSan Francisco Bay Blackhawksthat teams from the two different conferences actually met in a competitive game.[2][6]
Throughout its existence, the league would struggle financially and its roster of teams quickly dropped from 22 in 1990 to just 5 in1992.However, in1993the league expanded when following the demise of theCanadian Soccer League,three former CSL clubs –Vancouver 86ers,Montreal ImpactandToronto Blizzard– joined the APSL.[3][7]
As part of the conditions for been awarded the1994 FIFA World Cup,theUnited States Soccer Federationhad agreed to launch a new Division I professional league. In December 1993, together with League One America andMajor League Soccer,the APSL was one of three proposals that was put before the USSF national board of directors. At the time the APSL was the only candidate who were currently operating a soccer league. It featured several established clubs and its roster of players included several members of theUnited States men's national soccer team.Despite this they lost out to MLS.[3][7]
Despite rebranding itself as the A-League in 1995, it faced increasing competition on two fronts. TheUSISLhad initially confined itself to organizing regional leagues but by 1995, it began organizing on a national level. By1996,MLS was also up and running and a number of top A-League players left to join it.[8]In 1996 the A-League and theUSISL Select League,both operating as USSF Division II leagues, agreed to merge. Six of the seven remaining A-League teams, the Montreal Impact,Colorado Foxes,Seattle Sounders,Rochester Raging Rhinos,Vancouver 86ers, andAtlanta Ruckus,and two planned A-League expansion teams, theToronto LynxandHershey Wildcats,effectively joined the USISL Select League in 1997. Thecombined leaguewas operated by USISL but retained the A-League name.[9]
Complete team list
editChampions
editBy year
editBy club
edit| Club | Winner | Runner-up | Seasons won |
|---|---|---|---|
| Colorado Foxes | 2 | 1 | 1992,1993 |
| Seattle Sounders | 2 | 0 | 1995,1996 |
| Maryland Bays | 1 | 0 | 1990 |
| San Francisco Bay Blackhawks | 1 | 1 | 1991 |
| Montreal Impact | 1 | 0 | 1994 |
League average attendance
edit- Regular season/playoffs
- 1996: 4,946/4,781
- 1995: 3,347/5,280
- 1994: 3,478/6,082
- 1993: 2,271/2,903
- 1992: 2,104/1,502
- 1991: 1,827/3,106
- 1990: 1,082/2,039
References
edit- ^"The Year in American Soccer – 1995".Archived fromthe originalon August 5, 2009.RetrievedOctober 14,2009.
- ^abc"The Year in American Soccer – 1990".Archived fromthe originalon January 8, 2009.RetrievedOctober 14,2009.
- ^abc"The Year in American Soccer – 1993".Archived fromthe originalon March 3, 2009.RetrievedOctober 14,2009.
- ^"The Year in American Soccer – 1989".Archived fromthe originalon March 3, 2009.RetrievedOctober 14,2009.
- ^Richardson, Kenneth (February 23, 1990). "Seattle part of new soccer merger".Seattle Post-Intelligencer.p. G4.
- ^nytimes.com
- ^abWangerin, David (2008).Soccer in a Football World: The Story of America's Forgotten Game(Paperback). Temple University Press.ISBN978-1-59213-885-2.().
- ^"The Year in American Soccer – 1995".Archived fromthe originalon August 5, 2009.RetrievedOctober 14,2009.
- ^"The Year in American Soccer – 1996".Archived fromthe originalon August 5, 2009.RetrievedOctober 14,2009.