The Edmonton Drillers were a 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:...

 team that played both outdoors and indoors from 1979 to 1982, at the peak of the league's success. The team was brought to Edmonton

Edmonton

Edmonton is the capital of the Canadian province of Alberta and is the province's second-largest city. Edmonton is located on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Capital Region, which is surrounded by the central region of the province.The city and its census...

 by local entrepreneur and Edmonton Oilers

Edmonton Oilers

The Edmonton Oilers are a professional ice hockey team based in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. They are members of the Northwest Division in the Western Conference of the National Hockey League ....

 owner Peter Pocklington

Peter Pocklington

Peter Hugh Pocklington is a Canadian entrepreneur.He made his initial fortune as the owner of one of the largest auto dealerships in Canada, and later took over a meat packing company involved in a high-profile labour strike....

, after witnessing the strong support for Brian Rice's Edmonton Black Gold team in 1978. Previous to playing in Edmonton, the team was known as the Oakland Stompers

Oakland Stompers

The Oakland Stompers were a soccer team in the North American Soccer League which played the 1978 season in the NASL. The Stompers played in the Western Division of the American Conference and finished the year with a 12-18 record...

, Hartford Bicentennials and Connecticut Bicentennials

Connecticut Bicentennials

The Hartford Bicentennials was a soccer team based out of Hartford, Connecticut that played in the North American Soccer League. The team played at Dillon Stadium....

.

Joe Patrone was the Drillers general manager for their entire existence. The Drillers were coached in 1979 and 1980 by Hans Kraay

Hans Kraay

Hans Kraay is a retired Dutch footballer who was active as a defender and then in football management and television.Born in Utrecht, Kraay made his professional debut at DOS and also played for Feijenoord....

, who brought a number of players with him from Holland. After Kraay, Timo Liekoski took over as coach in 1981, while Patrone would serve as the team's final caretaker coach until the team folded at the end of the 1982 season.

During the outdoor season, the Drillers played their home games at Commonwealth Stadium

Commonwealth Stadium (Edmonton)

Commonwealth Stadium is a sports stadium located in the Norwood Area of Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, primarily used by the Edmonton Eskimos of the Canadian Football League. The stadium is owned and operated by the City of Edmonton.- History :...

, but dwindling crowds during the final year saw the team move to much older and smaller Clarke Stadium

Clarke Stadium

Clarke Stadium, in its original incarnation, was a Canadian football stadium located in Edmonton, Alberta.-History:The stadium was originally built in 1938 on land deeded to the City for the purpose of constructing public sports fields by Mackenzie King...

, which lead to even less fans attending the games. The Drillers played their two seasons of indoor soccer at the Edmonton Coliseum

Rexall Place

Rexall Place is an indoor arena in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada situated on the north side of Northlands. It is currently the home to the Edmonton Oilers of the National Hockey League, the Edmonton Rush of the National Lacrosse League and the Edmonton Oil Kings of the WHL...

. The outdoor team was characterized by a strong defensive style of play, but their indoor style was built upon a run-and-go style of attack. Attendance for the outdoor games ranged greatly from 10,000 in the early stages of the franchise to 4,000 per game in 1982. By comparison, the more successful and profitable indoor games had attendances ranging between 5000 to 7000 paying fans per game in 1981 and 1982.

The Drillers beat the Chicago Sting

Chicago Sting

The Chicago Sting was an American professional soccer team based in Chicago, Illinois. The Sting played in the North American Soccer League from 1975 to 1984 and in the Major Indoor Soccer League from in the 1982-83 season and again from 1984 to 1988...

 5–4 in front of 16,257 fans at Chicago Stadium

Chicago Stadium

The Chicago Stadium was an indoor sports arena and theater in Chicago. It opened in 1929, and closed in 1994.-History:The Stadium hosted the Chicago Blackhawks of the NHL from 1929–1994 and the Chicago Bulls of the NBA from 1967–1994....

 to capture the 1981 NASL indoor championship.

Factors leading to the team's (and league's) collapse

In 1982, costs were skyrocketing for the team as they were with a number of the other NASL franchises. In Edmonton's case in particular, the following have been speculated as factors connected with the team's collapse: poor support by local media; difficulties stemming from a tricky deal with the owners of the Coliseum and Commonwealth Stadium relating to the attendance, concessions and parking at the indoor games; and as admitted by John Colbert, the Drillers' business manager in 1982, a business strategy that consisted a "top-down construction" for the team (i.e., bringing in expensive international players as opposed to developing cheaper local talent).

Year-by-year results

Year	League	W	L	T	Pts	Reg. Season	Playoffs	Average Attendance
1979	NASL	8	22	—	88	3rd, American Western	Did not qualify	9,924 (16th of 24 teams)
1979/80	NASL Indoor	Did not participate
1980	NASL	17	15	—	149	1st, American Conference, Western Division	Won 1st Round (Houston Houston Hurricane The Houston Hurricane was a soccer team based out of Houston that played in the NASL. They played from 1978 to 1980. Their home field was the Astrodome. Their colors were orange, white and red.... ) Lost Conference Semifinal (Ft. Lauderdale)	10,920 (15th of 24 teams)
1980/81	NASL Indoor	10	8	—	—	2nd, Northern Division	Won 1st Round (Los Angeles Los Angeles Aztecs The Los Angeles Aztecs were a soccer team that competed in the North American Soccer League from 1974-81. The team was based in Los Angeles, California and part-owned by Elton John.-History:... ) Won Semifinal (Vancouver Vancouver Whitecaps (NASL) The original Vancouver Whitecaps were founded on December 11, 1973 and during the 1970s and 1980s played in the North American Soccer League . The Whitecaps achieved success, winning the 1979 Soccer Bowl. The Whitecaps of that era included international players such as Alan Ball, but also "home... ) Won Championship (Chicago Chicago Sting The Chicago Sting was an American professional soccer team based in Chicago, Illinois. The Sting played in the North American Soccer League from 1975 to 1984 and in the Major Indoor Soccer League from in the 1982-83 season and again from 1984 to 1988... )	n/a
1981	NASL	12	20	—	123	5th, Northwest Division	Did not qualify	10,632 (13th of 21 teams)
1981/82	NASL Indoor	13	5	—	—	1st, Northwest Division	Won 1st Round (Seattle Seattle Sounders (NASL) The Seattle Sounders were a U.S. professional soccer team based in Seattle, Washington. Founded in 1974, the team belonged to the North American Soccer League where it played both indoor and outdoor soccer. The team folded after the 1983 NASL outdoor season.-Stadium:The Sounders played at Memorial... ) Lost Semifinal (San Diego)	n/a
1982	NASL	11	21	—	93	6th, Western Division	Did not qualify	4,922 (14th of 14 teams)

Notable players

The Edmonton Drillers featured a number of notable players during their existence:
Lee Atack

Lee Atack

Lee Atack is a former English-American soccer defender who played four seasons in the North American Soccer League and one in the Major Indoor Soccer League....

 (1979) Andy Atuegbu

Andy Atuegbu

Andy Atuegbu is a former Nigerian football midfielder. Atuegbu was a star midfielder for the University of San Francisco from 1974 to 1977. The Dons won the NCAA championship two of Atuegbu's four seasons with the team, 1975 and 1976. His outstanding play led to his selection as a first team...

 (1979) Pasquale de Luca

Pasquale De Luca

Pasquale de Luca is a former professional soccer player from Alberta, Canada. He is the head coach of the Edmonton Drillers.-Career:...

 (1980–1982) Drew Ferguson

Drew Ferguson

Drew Ferguson is a former Canadian soccer player born November 9, 1957 in Powell River, B.C..-Club career:Ferguson received initial attention during the 1977 Canada Games where he scored in the final championship game...

 (1979–1982) Jan Goossens

Jan Goossens

Jan Goossens is a former star American indoor soccer player. He was the original MISL's sixth all-time leading scorer with 682 points during his 7 years in the league....

 (1979–1982) Kai Haaskivi

Kai Haaskivi

Kai Haaskivi is a retired, Finnish, soccer player. He starred in the North American Soccer League, playing outdoor as well as indoor soccer. He also played for the Finland national football team. He now coaches in the United States.- Professional :The 178 cm midfielder began his NASL career...

 (1981–1982) Klaus Heinlein

Klaus Heinlein

Klaus Heinlein is a German former professional footballer who played in Germany for SpVgg Greuther Fürth and in the North American Soccer League for the Edmonton Drillers.-External links:*...

 (1980–1981) Lorenz Hilkes

Lorenz Hilkes

Lorenz Hilkes is a retired German football player. He spent two seasons in the Bundesliga with Borussia Mönchengladbach and VfB Stuttgart.-Honours:* UEFA Cup winner: 1974–75* Bundesliga champion: 1974–75* Bundesliga runner-up: 1973–74...

 (1979–1980) Brian Hornsby

Brian Hornsby

Brian Hornsby, born in Great Shelford, Cambridgeshire on 10 September 1954, is a former football player who played for Arsenal, Shrewsbury Town, Sheffield Wednesday and Carlisle United in the English league. He also had short spells playing abroad for Edmonton Drillers , IK Brage and Falu FK for...

 (1982)   Bernie James

Bernie James

Bernie James is a former U.S. soccer player and current youth soccer coach. James spent twenty-four years as a professional, both beginning and ending his career with different versions of the Seattle Sounders. He played in the North American Soccer League, Major Indoor Soccer League, American...

 (1980–1982) David Kemp

David Kemp (footballer)

David Michael Kemp is a former English professional footballer and manager. He is currently Assistant Manager at Stoke City.-Playing career:...

 (1982) Edi Kirschner

Edi Kirschner

Eduard "Edi" Kirschner is a German former professional footballer who played as a striker. Active in both Germany and North America between 1975 and 1985, Kirschner made over 250 career league appearances, scoring over 100 goals....

 (1980–1981)   Hayden Knight

Hayden Knight

Hayden Knight is a retired Trinidad-American soccer defender and current high school soccer coach. He earned three caps with the United States men's national soccer team in 1984.-Youth:...

 (1980)   Mark Liverić

Mark Liveric

Mirko “Mark” Liveric is a retired Yugoslavian-American soccer forward who spent eight years in the North American Soccer League and seven in the Major Indoor Soccer League. He also earned sixteen caps, scoring three goals, with the U.S. national team.-NASL:...

 (1979)   Dwight Lodeweges

Dwight Lodeweges

Dwight Lodeweges is Dutch football coach and former professional player now coaching for JEF United Ichihara Chiba in J. League Division 2.- Early life :...

 (1979–1982) Mike McLenaghen

Mike McLenaghen

Mike McLenaghen is a former North American Soccer League player and member of the Canadian national soccer team....

 (1982) Peter Mellor

Peter Mellor

Peter Mellor is an English former professional footballer whose career spanned three decades. Born in Prestbury, Cheshire, Mellor won an England Youth cap whilst with his first club Witton Albion . Tall, fair haired and ever smiling Mellor was soon spotted by Burnley, and quickly became their...

 (1982) Peter Nogly

Peter Nogly

Peter Nogly is a German football coach and a former player. As of February 2009, he is managing an amateur team Wedeler TSV.He earned 4 caps for the West Germany national football team in 1977...

 (1980–1981) Ross Ongaro

Ross Ongaro

Ross Ongaro is a retired Canadian soccer player who earned one cap each with the Canada U-20 men's national soccer team and Canadian Olympic soccer team. He played professionally in the North American Soccer League, Major Indoor Soccer League, Western Soccer Alliance and American Indoor Soccer...

 (1980–1981) Andre Oostrom

André Oostrom

André Oostrom is a Dutch former professional footballer who played as a midfielder. Active in both the Netherlands and North America, Oostrom made nearly 300 career league appearances.-Career:...

 (1980–1982) Joe Raduka

Joe Raduka

Joe Raduka is a former Yugoslav-American soccer player who began his career with Red Star Belgrade before spending time with indoor and outdoor teams in the U.S., Canada and Belgium...

 (1979–1982) Neill Roberts

Neill Roberts

Neill Roberts is a retired South Africa soccer forward who spent six seasons in the North American Soccer League and four in the Major Indoor Soccer League....

 (1982) Alex Schoenmaker

Lex Schoenmaker

Alex "Lex" Schoenmaker is a Dutch former professional football player and manager.-Playing career:Born in The Hague, Schoenmaker played as a striker for ADO, Feyenoord and FC Den Haag...

 (1980) Mike Sweeney

Mike Sweeney (soccer)

Michael "Mike" Sweeney is a former Canadian soccer player.-NASL:In 1980, the Edmonton Drillers of the North American Soccer League signed Sweeney. He spent three seasons with the Drillers before moving to the Vancouver Whitecaps for the 1983 season...

 (1980–1982) Henk Ten Cate

Henk ten Cate

Henk ten Cate is a Dutch football manager and a former professional player.In the 2005–06 season, he was the assistant of Frank Rijkaard at Barcelona that guided the team to a Champions League Trophy and La Liga title...

 (1980) Bogdan Turudija

Bogdan Turudija

Bogdan Turudija is a retired Serbian football player.He played for OFK Beograd, before going to France with Troyes AC. He briefly came back to OFK, before leaving SFR Yugoslavia again for the NASL. He ended his career with U.R...

 (1979) Bruce Twamley

Bruce Twamley

Bruce Richardson Twamley is a former Canadian international footballer.Twamley began his professional career with Ipswich Town but after only two appearances in two seasons, he moved back to Canada and played for the Vancouver Whitecaps of the North American Soccer League for one season in 1975...

 (1979) John Webb

John Webb (footballer)

John Webb is an English former professional footballer who played as a full back. Webb, who was active in England and North America, made over 150 career league appearances.-Career:...

(1980–1982)