History

The third American Soccer League owed its creation to several events in the early 1980s. In 1983, the second American Soccer League collapsed from over-expansion, runaway spending and a restricted fan base. A year later, the North American Soccer League

North American Soccer League

North American Soccer League was a professional soccer league with teams in the United States and Canada that operated from 1968 to 1984.-History:...

 collapsed for essentially the same reasons. In 1985, the West-coast based Western Soccer Alliance was created as a regional, financially austere league. This new league kept expenditures low while building its fan base. In 1987, the Lone Star Soccer Alliance

Lone Star Soccer Alliance

Lone Star Soccer Alliance was a soccer league that existed from 1987 to 1992. While the majority of the teams came from Texas, some also came from Oklahoma and Kansas.-History:...

 began its first season, mimicking the WSA model with teams in or near Texas. On May 7, 1987, several team executives led by Clive Toye

Clive Toye

Clive Toye was inducted to the National Soccer Hall of Fame in the United States in 2003.Toye was born in Plymouth, United Kingdom. He was a sports writer for the Express and Echo newspaper in Exeter, and later Chief Sports Writer for the Daily Express....

 announced the creation of an east coast-based league using the WSA model. This new league, named the American Soccer League, planned to begin its first season in 1988. Chuck Blazer

Chuck Blazer

Charles "Chuck" Blazer is an American soccer administrator.He has been a member of the FIFA Executive Committee since 1996, and served as Commissioner of the American Soccer League and Executive Vice President of the United States Soccer Federation...

 was announced as the league's commissioner and Clive Toye was named its chairman. The league planned a twenty-game schedule with at least six teams having a $75,000 salary cap. The league initially concentrated on the northeast, but in August 1987, plans expanded to include teams situated in Florida. This was soon followed by announcements of the entry of the Fort Lauderdale Strikers and Tampa Bay Rowdies. By October 1987, the list of teams was finalized with the addition of the Orlando Lions

Orlando Lions

The Orlando Lions was an American soccer team from Orlando, Florida which existed from 1985 to 1996. Over the years, the Lions competed at both the amateur and professional levels including some seasons as an independent team....

 and Miami Sharks. The league now divided itself into two five-team divisions. On April 9, 1988, the American Soccer League began its first season when the New Jersey Eagles

New Jersey Eagles

The New Jersey Eagles were an American soccer team founded in 1987 as the Cosmopolitan Eagles. In 1988, they entered the third American Soccer League as the New Jersey Eagles. They folded following the 1990 American Professional Soccer League season....

 defeated the Miami Sharks, 2-1. When the regular season ended the first week of August, Eagles had topped the standings with forty-five points. Four teams made the playoffs, the top two from both the Northern and Southern Divisions. The Washington Diplomats which had the worst record of the four playoff teams, stunned the league by defeating first the New Jersey Eagles, then the Fort Lauderdale Strikers to win the first league championship.

Northern Division

Place	Team	GP	W	L	GF	GA	Points
1	New Jersey Eagles New Jersey Eagles The New Jersey Eagles were an American soccer team founded in 1987 as the Cosmopolitan Eagles. In 1988, they entered the third American Soccer League as the New Jersey Eagles. They folded following the 1990 American Professional Soccer League season....	20	15	5	39	24	45
2	Maryland Bays Maryland Bays The Maryland Bays were an inaugural franchise of the third incarnation of the American Soccer League in 1988.They were based in Catonsville, Maryland, and played their games at the University of Maryland-Baltimore County. The team joined the American Professional Soccer League in 1990 when the ASL...	20	12	8	32	31	36
3	Washington Stars Washington Stars The Washington Stars were an American soccer team established in 1987 as F.C. Washington. The team entered the American Soccer League in 1988 under the name Washington Stars and merged with the Maryland Bays in 1990.-History:...	20	11	9	31	28	33
4	Boston Bolts Boston Bolts The Boston Bolts were a short lived U.S. soccer team which came into existence in 1988 as a member of the third American Soccer League . They played in Boston, Massachusetts at Nickerson Field...	20	9	11	31	33	27
5	Albany Capitals Albany Capitals The Albany Capitals joined the third incarnation of the American Soccer League in 1989. The team joined the American Professional Soccer League in 1990 when the ASL merged with the Western Soccer League...	20	7	13	26	35	21

Southern Division

Place	Team	GP	W	L	GF	GA	Points
1	Fort Lauderdale Strikers	20	14	6	46	25	42
2	Washington Diplomats	20	10	10	27	30	30
3	Tampa Bay Rowdies	20	10	10	23	21	30
4	Orlando Lions Orlando Lions The Orlando Lions was an American soccer team from Orlando, Florida which existed from 1985 to 1996. Over the years, the Lions competed at both the amateur and professional levels including some seasons as an independent team....	20	8	12	21	31	24
5	Miami Sharks	20	4	16	24	42	12

Semifinal 1

Semifinal 2

Final

Points leaders

Rank	Scorer	Club	Goals	Assists	Points
1	Jorge Acosta Jorge Acosta Jorge Acosta is a retired Colombian American soccer forward. He spent most of his career in the lower U.S. divisions, as well as four in the Colombian first division. He also earned twelve caps with the U.S...	New Jersey Eagles New Jersey Eagles The New Jersey Eagles were an American soccer team founded in 1987 as the Cosmopolitan Eagles. In 1988, they entered the third American Soccer League as the New Jersey Eagles. They folded following the 1990 American Professional Soccer League season....	14	4	32
2	Steve Kinsey	Fort Lauderdale Strikers	10	3	23
3	Teófilo Cubillas Teófilo Cubillas Teófilo Juan Cubillas Arizaga is a Peruvian former footballer. He was selected as Peru's greatest ever player in an IFFHS poll, in which he was also included in the world's Top 50...	Fort Lauderdale Strikers	7	5	17
4	Mark Lamb	Orlando Lions Orlando Lions The Orlando Lions was an American soccer team from Orlando, Florida which existed from 1985 to 1996. Over the years, the Lions competed at both the amateur and professional levels including some seasons as an independent team....	8	1	17
5	Scott Snyder	Washington Stars Washington Stars The Washington Stars were an American soccer team established in 1987 as F.C. Washington. The team entered the American Soccer League in 1988 under the name Washington Stars and merged with the Maryland Bays in 1990.-History:...	8	1	17
6	Maicol Antelo	New Jersey Eagles New Jersey Eagles The New Jersey Eagles were an American soccer team founded in 1987 as the Cosmopolitan Eagles. In 1988, they entered the third American Soccer League as the New Jersey Eagles. They folded following the 1990 American Professional Soccer League season....	6	4	16
7	Roger Chavez	New Jersey Eagles New Jersey Eagles The New Jersey Eagles were an American soccer team founded in 1987 as the Cosmopolitan Eagles. In 1988, they entered the third American Soccer League as the New Jersey Eagles. They folded following the 1990 American Professional Soccer League season....	5	6	16
8	Marcelo Carrera Marcelo Carrera Marcelo Carrera is a retired Argentine footballer who played both indoor and outdoor soccer in the United States for the nearly a dozen teams.-Player:...	Fort Lauderdale Strikers	4	8	16
9	Mirko Castillo Mirko Castillo Mirko Castillo was a Peruvian soccer forward who spent his entire professional career in the United States. He played two seasons in the American Soccer League, tying Ricardo Alonso as the 1990 league leading scorer...	Fort Lauderdale Strikers	5	5	15
10	Guillermo Pizzaro	Miami Sharks	6	2	14
11	Andy Bing	Boston Bolts Boston Bolts The Boston Bolts were a short lived U.S. soccer team which came into existence in 1988 as a member of the third American Soccer League . They played in Boston, Massachusetts at Nickerson Field...	5	4	14
11	Russ Downing	Albany Capitals Albany Capitals The Albany Capitals joined the third incarnation of the American Soccer League in 1989. The team joined the American Professional Soccer League in 1990 when the ASL merged with the Western Soccer League...	4	6	14
11	Leonel Suazo	Washington Diplomats	6	1	13
11	Mike Sweeney Mike Sweeney Michael John "Mike" Sweeney is a former Major League Baseball first baseman. Sweeney played his first 13 seasons in the majors with the Kansas City Royals, originally as a catcher and then moving to first base. Sweeney has also played for the Oakland Athletics, Seattle Mariners, and Philadelphia...	Boston Bolts Boston Bolts The Boston Bolts were a short lived U.S. soccer team which came into existence in 1988 as a member of the third American Soccer League . They played in Boston, Massachusetts at Nickerson Field...	5	3	13
11	Kurt Manal	Boston Bolts Boston Bolts The Boston Bolts were a short lived U.S. soccer team which came into existence in 1988 as a member of the third American Soccer League . They played in Boston, Massachusetts at Nickerson Field...	5	3	13

External links

• AMERICAN SOCCER LEAGUE III (RSSSF)
• The Year in American Soccer League - 1988
• Game results