1985 United Soccer League season
| Season | 1984 |
|---|---|
| Champions |
South Florida Sun (2nd title) |
| Premiers | South Florida Sun |
| Matches played | 13 |
| Goals scored | 42 (3.23 per match) |
| Top goalscorer |
Josue Portillo (8 goals) |
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← 1984
Final Season →
|
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Statistics of the 1985 United Soccer League season. This was the USL's second and final season.
The United Soccer League played its first season in 1984 as the de facto United States second division. The previous second division, the American Soccer League, had collapsed in 1983 and the United Soccer League intended to establish itself as a fiscally sound replacement for the failed league. The USL played the 1984 season with nine teams in three divisions. In February 1985, the North American Soccer League and USL began negotiations to merge the two leagues. On March 5, USL President William Burfeind announced the merger would not take place. The NASL collapsed soon afterwards, along with six of the USL franchises. The Oklahoma City Stampede moved to Tulsa and became the Tulsa Tornados and the league added the El Paso/Juarez Gamecocks. The season was scheduled to run from May 19 through August 24. By mid-May, league officials had extensively revamped the schedule. They decided to hold a six-game "cup" schedule beginning at the end of May. The top two teams would then play for the cup title. After a short break, the league planned to continue with a twelve-game regular season. This would allow the league to expand the number of teams. Burfeind resigned as league president and Kalman Csapo replaced him. By the end of the six game cup schedule, the league and teams were bankrupt and failed to complete the championship between the two top teams, the South Florida Sun and the Dallas Americans. The league announced the Sun, who had the best record, were cup champions.
Within days El Paso/Juarez owner, Pedro Meneses, announced that he was dropping out of the league. He paid all debts through the end of June and released his players. Only the thin possibility of a new ownership group taking over the Gamecocks tenuously kept the team in the league. At the same time Dallas had to grant its players a stock participation program and pay back-salaries to keep their team afloat.
In what should have been the start of the 1985 USL regular season, the Sun rallied to defeat Dallas, 3–1, on Saturday, June 22, 1985 at Lockhart Stadium in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Instead, it turned out to be the USL's swan song. Tulsa players had refused to play their match later that night against the Gamecocks, because they had not been paid in six weeks, and issues had also arisen with the Tornados' stadium lease. South Florida were scheduled to host El Paso/Juarez on June 26. Instead on the evening of June 25, the league voted to suspend the remainder of the season.
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