Illustration of Steve Zungul on the cover of a 1986 Tacoma Stars program from the Major Indoor Soccer League

Tacoma Stars (1983-1992)

Major Indoor Soccer League (1983-1990)
Major Soccer League (1990-1992)

Tombstone

Born: June 29, 1983 – The dormant Denver Avalanche franchise shifts to Tacoma
Folded: June 5, 1992

First Game: November 5, 1983 (L 6-2 vs. Los Angeles Lazers)
Last Game
: April 4, 1992 (L 7-2 @ Baltimore Blast)

MISL Championships: None

Arena

Tacoma Dome (20,284)11984-85 Major Indoor Soccer League Media Guide
Opened: 1983

Branding

Team Colors:

  • 1984-85: Blue, Orange & Yellow21984-85 Major Indoor Soccer League Media Guide
  • 1991-92: PMS 279 Reflex Blue & PMS 185 Red31991-92 Tacoma Stars Media Guide

Radio:

  • 1991-92: KJUN (1450 AM) & KLAY (1180 AM)

Radio Broadcasters:

  • 1991-92: Bob Robertson

Ownership

Owners:

Attendance

Tilting your mobile device may offer better viewing.

Sources:

  • 1985-86 MISL Official Guide (1984-85 figures)
  • 1986-87 MISL Official Guide (1985-86 figures)
  • 1987-88 MISL Official Guide (1983-84 Stars figure & 1986-87 figures)
  • 1988-89 MISL Official Guide (1987-88 figures)
  • 1989-90 MISL Official Guide (1988-89 figures)
  • 1991-92 Major Soccer League Official Guide (1990-91 figures)
  • 2003-04 Dallas Sidekicks Media Guide (1989-90 & 1991-92 figures)

Trophy Case

Major Indoor Soccer League Most Valuable Player:

  • 1985-86: Steve Zungul
  • 1988-89: Preki

 

Our Favorite Stuff

Tacoma Stars MISL
Logo T-Shirt

Some people would call the Tacoma Stars logo boring. I get it. But for me, this wordmark will always conjure childhood memories of watching tape-delayed replays of MISL games at weird hours on ESPN and SportsChannel America. The sport seemed incredibly exotic (particular as we had no teams here in the Northeast) and the presence of previously unheard of outposts like Tacoma and Wichita in a “Major” league made it even more so. 
This design is also available as a Hooded or Crewneck Sweatshirt, as a Women’s V-neck and as a Youth Shirt right now at Old School Shirts!

 

When you make a purchase through an affiliate link like this one, Fun While It Lasted earns a commission at no additional cost to you. Thanks for your support!

 

Background

Indoor soccer’s Tacoma Stars were the first tenants at the $44 million Tacoma Dome, which opened in April 1983. The Stars were pretty much the closest thing that the city of Tacoma, Washington has had to a major professional sports franchise, the occasional Seattle Supersonics game excluded.

Most seasons, the team was an also-ran.  The exception was the winter of 1986-87, when the Stars featured two of the all-time greats of the indoor game: Steve Zungul, the six-time MISL MVP known as “The Lord of All Indoors” and the young Serbian midfielder Preki.  The Stars raced out to the best regular season record in the league (35-17) and attendance surged 35% to over 10,000 fans per match.

Mark Peterson of the Tacoma Stars on the cover of a 1985 Major Indoor Soccer League souvenir program

1987 MISL Championship Series

The Stars reached the 1987 MISL Championship Series against the Dallas Sidekicks.  The best-of-seven series drew large crowds in both cities and the Stars raced out to a 3 games to 2 lead.  In a thrilling finale, Games 6 and 7 both went to sudden death overtime.  16,824 turned out for Game 6 at Reunion Arena in Dallas and saw Mark Karpun keep the Sidekicks alive with his overtime goal.

The series moved back to Tacoma on June 20, 1987.  21,728 fans turned out at the sold out Dome for Game 7 – to this day, still the largest crowd ever to watch an indoor soccer game in the United States.  The Stars blew a late lead to send the series into sudden death.  And it was Karpun who struck again for the second time in three nights, with the series winner.   Check out the footage in the Youtube section below.

Decline & Demise

The big crowds in Tacoma lasted for one more season, but the club returned to also-ran status in the standings in 1987-88. On July 8, 1988, barely a year removed from their blockbuster run to the MISL Finals, the Stars went out of business, citing $8.9 million in losses over 5 years.

A few days later, a group of 28 local investors stepped forward to save the Stars.  The new group managed to keep the team going for another four seasons, but the buzz was gone.  In July 1991, Head Coach Keith Weller had to sit on a 30-foot platform in a shopping mall parking lot for five days and nights as part of a publicity stunt to sell season tickets and save the team. By the early 90’s, crowds dwindled to less than 5,000 per match at the Dome. The Stars finally ran out of gas on June 5, 1992, folding after nine seasons.  The rest of the league followed one month later.

 

Tacoma Stars Shop

 

 

Tacoma Stars Video

The Stars host the Dallas Sidekicks in a thrilling Game 7 of the 1987 MISL Championship Series at the Tacoma Dome.

 

In Memoriam

Former Stars Head Coach Keith Weller (1989-1992) died of cancer in November 2004 at age 58. The Independent obituary.

Stars forward Mark Peterson passed away at age 51 on July 7, 2011.

 

Downloads

2-23-1986 Stars @ Baltimore Blast Game Notes

2-23-1986 Tacoma Stars @ Baltimore Blast Game Notes

 

11-4-1987 Stars vs. Dallas Sidekicks Roster Card

2-19-1988 Stars vs. Chicago Sting Roster Card

 

Links

Major Indoor Soccer League Media Guides

Major Indoor Soccer League Programs 1978-1992

Comments

One Response

  1. The series that featured in the Sidekicks documentary, wasn’t it? That’s on YouTube in its entirety, you know.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Share