1978 NATIONAL SOCCER LEAGUE
President: John Fischer
Secretary: Job Jones
The National Soccer League operated with two divisions, a First Division and a Second Division.
At the Annual General Meeting held in Sudbury on March 5, 1978, John Fischer was named president of the NSL. 44 years old at the time and from Kitchener he was also a director of non-amateur and professional soccer in Canada. He succeeded 56-year old Joseph Piccininni who stepped down after 12 years as president.
Toronto Macedonia surrendered its franchise at the meeting. Owner Dr. Dragi Denkowski wanted to sell his team’s first division franchise rights to second division Club Montreal Stars, but this was refused by the league.
Toronto Ukraina returned to the NSL and played in the second division.
Referees
Chief-referee: Larry Naccarato
Referees included Frank Pavicic, Nevio Novacco (Chatham, Ontario), Phil Clarke (London, Ontario) and Larry Naccarato
DIVISION 1
Review of the season
The opening games of the 1978 season was played on Sunday May 7. In Toronto First Portuguese and London City tied 1-1. In Buffalo Toronto Croatia defeated the Blazers 2-1. Montreal Castors played their opening game at Robillard Stadium in Montreal. In front of 4,000 fans they defeated Panhellenic 2-1.
Hamilton Italo-Canadians opened their 1978 NSL season by beating Buffalo Blazers 6-0 on Wednesday night May 10. Toronto Falcons opened their season against Toronto Croatia on May 14 at Lamport Stadium. Falcons defeated Croatia 2-0. Led by strong imports from Poland the Toronto Falcons finished third in the final league standings.
On Sunday July 16 the game between Buffalo Blazers and Windsor Stars was cancelled when members of the visiting team was detained at the border.
Montreal Castors won the league championship. After winning the league championship the Castors decided not to take part in the play-offs or in the NSL Cup.
Toronto Falcons won the playoff championship.
At the end of the season London City and Buffalo Blazers were relegated to the second division. St. Catharines Roma, St. Catharines Heidelberg and Sudbury Cyclones were promoted from the Second Division to the First Division. The NSL would however operate with only a First Division in the 1979 season.
After the season Montreal Castors asked for a one-year leave of absence, but never returned. Toronto Italia dropped out.
Leading goalscorer – Sergio Clerici (Montreal Castors)
Brazilian-born forward Sergio Clerici had a long career in Serie A and Serie B. He played for Lecco, Bologna, Atalanta Bergamo, Hellas Verona, Fiorentina, Napoli and Lazio in Italy. He finished the 1978 season as the leading goalscorer in the National Soccer League.
Leading goalkeeper – Tony Dallas (First Portuguese)
Tony Dallas was born in Greece and started his career with his local club A. O. Kastoria. He moved to Chicago where he played for the Hellenic Club and for the Chicago Cats in the American Soccer League. Tony played for Homer, Panhellenic and First Portuguese in the NSL. In 1978 he won the leading goalkeeper trophy in the NSL. He later played for Chicago Horizon in the Major Indoor Soccer League.
Final standings
| GP | W | L | T | GF | GA | Pts | |
| Montreal Castors | 20 | 15 | 2 | 3 | 55 | 22 | 33 |
| First Portuguese | 20 | 10 | 1 | 9 | 34 | 15 | 29 |
| Toronto Falcons | 20 | 10 | 5 | 5 | 26 | 23 | 25 |
| Panhellenic | 20 | 9 | 5 | 6 | 37 | 28 | 24 |
| Toronto Italia | 20 | 9 | 6 | 5 | 31 | 19 | 23 |
| Windsor Stars | 20 | 7 | 4 | 9 | 34 | 26 | 23 |
| Ottawa Tigers | 20 | 6 | 8 | 6 | 40 | 38 | 18 |
| Hamilton Italo-Canadians | 19 | 5 | 10 | 4 | 31 | 32 | 14 |
| Toronto Croatia | 19 | 5 | 13 | 1 | 15 | 47 | 11 |
| London City | 20 | 3 | 14 | 3 | 16 | 39 | 9 |
| Buffalo Blazers | 20 | 3 | 14 | 3 | 26 | 56 | 9 |
Leading goalscorers
| Player | Goals |
| 1. Sergio Clerici (Montreal Castors) | 19 |
| 2. Mike Burke (Toronto Italia) | 15 |
| 2. Billy Telford (Ottawa Tigers) | 15 |
| 4. Saban Ramanovic (Panhellenic) | 14 |
| 5. Jose Testas (Montreal Castors) | 11 |
National Soccer League Play-offs
Semi-finals
September ??, 1978
Toronto Falcons 1
First Portuguese 0
September 20, 1978 Lamport Stadium
Toronto Falcons 0
First Portuguese 0
Toronto Falcons won the two-game, total-goal series
Montreal Castors vs Hamilton Italo-Canadians
Hamilton Italo-Canadians won on default.
Finals
September 22, 1978 Lamport Stadium
Toronto Falcons
Hamilton Italo-Canadians
September 24, 1978 Ivor Wynne Stadium
Hamilton Italo-Canadians
Toronto Falcons
Toronto Falcons won the NSL play-offs championship
DIVISION 2
Final standings
| GP | W | L | T | GF | GA | Pts | |
| St. Catharines Roma | 12 | 10 | 0 | 2 | 35 | 7 | 22 |
| St. Catharines Heidelberg | 12 | 9 | 3 | 0 | 37 | 12 | 18 |
| Sudbury Cyclones | 12 | 6 | 4 | 2 | 20 | 11 | 14 |
| Toronto Polonia | 12 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 25 | 18 | 13 |
| Toronto Ukraina | 12 | 4 | 6 | 2 | 19 | 26 | 10 |
| Mississauga SC | 12 | 3 | 9 | 0 | 13 | 33 | 6 |
| Bradford Marshlanders | 12 | 0 | 11 | 1 | 8 | 50 | 1 |
Leading goalscorers:
(As of July 21, 1978)
1. Jim Douglas (St. Catharines Roma) 10 goals
2. Tony Novacic (St. Catharines Roma) 7 goals
3. George Johnston (St. Catharines Heidelberg) 6 goals
3. Neil Watton (St. Catharines Heidelberg) 6 goals
U-23 DIVISION
Club directory
First Portuguese
Hamilton Croatia
Hamilton Italo-Canadians
London City
Panhellenic
St. Catharines Club Roma
Toronto Croatia
Toronto Italia
National Soccer League Cup
(Incomplete)
First round
June 2, 1978
Toronto Falcons
Toronto Ukraina
??, 1978
Toronto Ukraina
Toronto Falcons
Toronto Falcons qualified for the second round
June 9, 1978 London, Ontario
London City 1
Windsor Stars 3 (Ian Guthrie)
July 12, 1978
Windsor Stars 1
London City 0
Windsor Stars (4-1) qualified for the second round.
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Hamilton Italo-Canadians qualified for the second round
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July 30, 1978: Sudbury Cyclones 3, First Portuguese 1
August 2, 1978: Ottawa Tigers @ Montreal Castors
Second round
September 17, 1978 Windsor Stadium, Windsor
Windsor Stars
Toronto Polonia
September 20, 1978 Toronto
Toronto Polonia
Windsor Stars
Toronto Polonia qualified for the semifinals on default
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Hamilton Italo-Canadians qualified for the semifinals
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Toronto Falcons qualified for the semifinals
NSL Cup Semifinals
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Toronto Falcons qualified for the final
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Hamilton Italo-Canadians qualified for the final
NSL Cup Finals
Toronto Falcons won over Hamilton Italo-Canadians
Exhibition games
April 30, 1978 War Memorial Stadium, Buffalo, New York
Buffalo Blazers 2
Sudbury Cyclones 0
June 18, 1978 Toronto
Panhellenic 1
Avellino 1
June 21, 1978 Windsor
Montreal Castors 1
Avellino 2
June 24, 1978 Windsor
Windsor Stars 0
Avellino 0
June 25, 1978 Toronto
Panhellenic 0
Benfica 7
June 27, 1978 McGill Stadium, Montreal
Montreal Castors 0
Benfica 1
Read about the match here
July 4, 1978
Detroit Soccer League All-Stars 4
London City 2
July 5, 1978
Windsor Stars
Italian National Military Team
July 26, 1978 Toronto
Panhellenic 2
Lusitano (Portugal) 0
August 16, 1978 Centre Claude Robillard, Montreal
Attendance:
Montreal Castors 1
Rochester Lancers (NASL) 3
August 16, 1978 Finnie Stadium, Berea, Ohio
Cleveland Cobras 5
London City 1
August 19, 1978 Centre Claude Robillard, Montreal
Montreal Castors
CP Sporting Lisboa (Portugal)
August 30, 1978 Centre Claude Robillard, Montreal
Montreal Castors 0
Haiti National Team 2