1981 National Soccer League (Canada) season

National Soccer League
Season	1981
Champions	Hamilton Steelers (regular season); Hamilton Steelers (playoffs, 1st title);
League cup	Hamilton Steelers
Top goalscorer	Rennie Phillips (18)
	← 1980 1982 →

The 1981 National Soccer League season was the fifty-eighth season under the National Soccer League (NSL) name. The season began in May, 1981 and concluded in October 1981 with the NSL Championship final where Hamilton Steelers defeated Toronto Italia in a two-legged series final.^[2]^[3] Hamilton would achieve a treble by also securing the regular-season title, and defeating Toronto Ukrainians for the NSL Cup.^[4]

Overview

News of a potential Canadian national soccer league was confirmed when the Canadian Soccer Association (CSA) officially sanctioned a proposal from a group known as Sports Professionals International Inc.^[5]^[6]^[7] Meanwhile, on the National Soccer League (NSL) front the office of the league commissioner was established with league secretary Job Jones serving as the inaugural officeholder.^[8] A Canadianization policy was adopted by the league owners in an attempt to limit the ethnically associated clubs.^[8] The membership in the league remained identical to the previous season with the Serbian White Eagles, and Sudbury Cyclones departing.^[8] The league retained its American representative with Detroit Besa returning and replacing the Buffalo Blazers.^[9]^[8]

The Hamilton Italo-Canadians returned under the name Hamilton Steelers.^[1] Toronto Italia participated in the Toronto International Soccer Tournament against Barcelona S.C., S.L. Benfica, and Leeds United F.C.^[10]

Teams

Team	City	Stadium	Manager
Bradford Marshlanders	Bradford, Ontario	Bradford Community Centre^[11]	Tommy Henderson^[12]
Detroit Besa	Detroit, Michigan	Keyworth Stadium	Nino Berisic^[9]
Hamilton Steelers	Hamilton, Ontario	Brian Timmis Stadium	Carlo Del Monte^[13]
London City	London, Ontario	Cove Road Stadium
St. Catharines Roma	St. Catharines, Ontario	Club Roma Stadium
Toronto Croatia	Etobicoke, Ontario	Centennial Park Stadium
Toronto Falcons	Toronto, Ontario	Lamport Stadium
Toronto First Portuguese	Toronto, Ontario	Lamport Stadium	Bernardo da Velha^[14]
Toronto Italia	Etobicoke, Ontario	Centennial Park Stadium^[15]	Fiorigi Pagliuso^[16]
Toronto Panhellenic	Toronto, Ontario	Lamport Stadium	Germán Sánchez^[17]
Toronto Ukrainians	Etobicoke, Ontario	Centennial Park Stadium

Coaching changes

Team	Outgoing coach	Manner of departure	Date of vacancy	Position in table	Incoming coach	Date of appointment
Bradford Marshlanders	Dave Reid^[18]	replaced	may 20, 1981	preseason	Tommy Henderson^[12]	May 20, 1981
Toronto First Portuguese	Ralph Pisani^[14]	replaced	July 18, 1981	10th in July	Bernardo da Velha	July 18, 1981

Bradford

Detroit

Hamilton

London

St. Catharines

TORONTO

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Location of NSL teams outside of Toronto for the 1981 NSL season.

Ukraina

Panhellenic

Toronto Croatia

Falcons

First Portuguese

Toronto Italia

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Location of NSL teams in Toronto for the 1981 NSL season.

Final standings

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Hamilton Steelers (C, O)	20	16	1	3	55	14	+41	33	Qualification for Playoffs
2	Toronto Panhellenic	20	12	3	5	38	21	+17	27
3	Toronto Italia	20	11	5	4	43	25	+18	27
4	Toronto Falcons	20	7	10	3	32	28	+4	24
5	Toronto Croatia	20	8	7	5	30	22	+8	23
6	St. Catharines Roma	20	8	6	6	30	27	+3	22
7	London City	20	4	8	8	25	28	−3	16
8	Detroit Besa	20	7	2	11	25	39	−14	16
9	Toronto First Portuguese	20	4	7	9	22	28	−6	15
10	Bradford Marshlanders	20	1	7	12	20	49	−29	9
11	Toronto Ukrainians	20	2	4	14	15	30	−15	8

Updated to match(es) played on September 30, 1981. Source: ^[4]
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored.
(C) Champions; (O) Play-off winners

References

^ ^a ^b "1981 Hamilton Steelers - Hamilton Soccer Hall of Fame". hshof.ca. Archived from the original on September 24, 2020. Retrieved December 29, 2020.
^ Jose, Colin (2001). On-Side - 125 Years of Soccer in Ontario. Vaughan, Ontario: Ontario Soccer Association and Soccer Hall of Fame and Museum. p. 117.
^ "CSL Past Champions – Canadian Soccer League". canadiansoccerleague.ca. Archived from the original on 2020-10-30. Retrieved 2020-09-06.
^ ^a ^b "1981 NSL Season" (PDF). canadiansoccerleague.ca. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2014-06-28.
^ "New league for soccer sanctioned". The Globe and Mail. December 10, 1981. p. S6.
^ "Soccer group wants details from proposed new league". The Globe and Mail. December 4, 1981. p. S5.
^ Huntley, E.J. 73 Days - The Story of the Canadian Professional Soccer League 1983.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d Labow, Jeffrey (May 6, 1981). "Canadian flavor for new look NSL". The Globe and Mail. p. S4.
^ ^a ^b Pepper, Jon (August 6, 1981). "They play soccer for honor". Newspapers.com. Detroit Free Press. p. 41. Retrieved 2020-12-30.
^ Labow, Jeffrey (August 13, 1981). "Toronto soccer takes on international flair". The Globe and Mail. p. 55.
^ "Soccer fence receives council approval". The Bradford Witness. 25 March 1981. p. 11.
^ ^a ^b "Tom Henderson back as player, and coach". The Bradford Witness. 20 May 1981. p. 15.
^ McGee, William (October 25, 1982). "New-look Steelers take soccer crown". The Globe and Mail. p. S8.
^ ^a ^b "Cosmos reinstate star Neeskens". The Globe and Mail. July 18, 1981. p. S8.
^ Welner, Chris (September 1, 1981). "Soccer rivalry declines but fans still love game". Toronto Star. p. G15.
^ "2018 Wall of Fame Induction". torontoazzurri.com. p. 17. Archived from the original on 2022-01-02. Retrieved January 2, 2022.
^ Koep, Bob (July 27, 1981). "Olympics prove Toronto has top soccer talent". Toronto Star. p. B4.
^ "Marsh coach unhappy". The Bradford Witness. 6 May 1981. p. 9.

External links

[:3-1] "1981 Hamilton Steelers - Hamilton Soccer Hall of Fame". hshof.ca. Archived from the original on September 24, 2020. Retrieved December 29, 2020.

[:02-2] Jose, Colin (2001). On-Side - 125 Years of Soccer in Ontario. Vaughan, Ontario: Ontario Soccer Association and Soccer Hall of Fame and Museum. p. 117.

[3] "CSL Past Champions – Canadian Soccer League". canadiansoccerleague.ca. Archived from the original on 2020-10-30. Retrieved 2020-09-06.

[:1-4] "1981 NSL Season" (PDF). canadiansoccerleague.ca. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2014-06-28.

[5] "New league for soccer sanctioned". The Globe and Mail. December 10, 1981. p. S6.

[6] "Soccer group wants details from proposed new league". The Globe and Mail. December 4, 1981. p. S5.

[7] Huntley, E.J. 73 Days - The Story of the Canadian Professional Soccer League 1983.

[:2-8] Labow, Jeffrey (May 6, 1981). "Canadian flavor for new look NSL". The Globe and Mail. p. S4.

[:4-9] Pepper, Jon (August 6, 1981). "They play soccer for honor". Newspapers.com. Detroit Free Press. p. 41. Retrieved 2020-12-30.

[10] Labow, Jeffrey (August 13, 1981). "Toronto soccer takes on international flair". The Globe and Mail. p. 55.

[11] "Soccer fence receives council approval". The Bradford Witness. 25 March 1981. p. 11.

[:6-12] "Tom Henderson back as player, and coach". The Bradford Witness. 20 May 1981. p. 15.

[:0-13] McGee, William (October 25, 1982). "New-look Steelers take soccer crown". The Globe and Mail. p. S8.

[:5-14] "Cosmos reinstate star Neeskens". The Globe and Mail. July 18, 1981. p. S8.

[15] Welner, Chris (September 1, 1981). "Soccer rivalry declines but fans still love game". Toronto Star. p. G15.

[16] "2018 Wall of Fame Induction". torontoazzurri.com. p. 17. Archived from the original on 2022-01-02. Retrieved January 2, 2022.

[17] Koep, Bob (July 27, 1981). "Olympics prove Toronto has top soccer talent". Toronto Star. p. B4.

[18] "Marsh coach unhappy". The Bradford Witness. 6 May 1981. p. 9.

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