1980-1992 THE COOPER YEARS | bmoresportsnest

1980-1992 BALTIMORE BLAST--THE COOPER YEARS

by Rick Benson

The first iteration of the Baltimore Blast provided a memorable chapter in Baltimore sports history. I have dubbed the 1980-1992 time as the Kenny Cooper era. Cooper was the Blast’s only head coach during this time; compiling a 327-249 record. He came along with owner Bernie Roden of the Houston franchise. The Baltimore Civic Center (renamed the Baltimore arena in 1986) provided the Blast with a raucous home field advantage and a near 70% home winning percentage (202-88 home). After the Colts departure in 1984, the Blast had the late fall and winter sports landscape all to themselves and carved out a small but nonetheless passionate fan base. Players like Stan Stamenkovic, Bruce Savage, Keith Van Eron, Domenic Mobilio, Billy Ronson, Calvert Hall’s Tim Wittman; along with Cooper became fixtures in the community and tireless ambassadors for soccer in Baltimore. Although the Blast only won one of their championships during the Cooper era, their place in Baltimore sports lore is firmly secure.

1980-81: Under the direction of Cooper, Baltimore’s maiden season in the MISL resulted in a second place finish in the Atlantic Division with a 21-19 record. A pair of 6-5 wins enabled the Blast to take their opening round playoff series over Cleveland. In the semi-finals, Baltimore was trounced 10-1 by eventual league champion New York. League MVP Steve Zungul scored four goals and an assist. Blast goal keeper Sepp Gantenhammer was one of the league’s best and became an early fan favorite.

1981-82: The Blast improved to a 27-17 record and finished third in the Eastern Division. After falling behind 1-0 in the opening playoff series, Baltimore took game two on a Miguel Filardo goal scored at 5:12 of overtime and then won the deciding game on the road over the Pittsburgh Spirit. New York again eliminated the Blast two game to none in the semi-finals en route to another league title. Joey Fink led the Blast with 51 goals and 22 assists.

1982-83: Baltimore captured its first division title with a 30-18 mark. Defender Heinz Wirtz became the first Blast player to earn all-MISL first team honors while goaltender Keith Van Eron was selected as a second team All-Star. After eliminating New York and Cleveland, the Blast faced off against the San Diego Sockers in the best of five championship series. After falling behind two game to none, Baltimore responded to their raucous home crowd to take game three 4-3 and Joey Fink tallied in overtime in game four to even the series. The Sockers returned home for game five and downed the Blast 3-1 to win the league title.

1983-84: The Blast’s fourth season was magical as they won their first MISL Championship. With a team record average attendance of 11,189, Baltimore won 20 of 24 games at the Civic Center and finished the regular season with a 34-14 mark. Stan “The Magician” Stamenkovic---the only Blast player to have his number retired—led the league in scoring with 97 points (34 goals, 69 assists) and was the first Blast player to earn league MVP and 1st team all-star honors. Cooper also won Coach of the Year honors. Stamenkovic also was the leading scorer in the playoffs with 33 points (13 goals, 20 assists). Scott Manning was the leading goaltender in the playoffs; going 8-0 with a 3.72 goals against average. Dave McWilliams (12g, 14a, 26pts) and Pat Ercoli (16g, 2a, 18pts) also had strong playoff stats. After splitting the first two games in the championship series against St. Louis, Baltimore took the next games on the road; with Stamenkovic scoring the winning goal in overtime in game 4. Returning to the Baltimore Arena for game 5, the Blast buried the Steamers 10-3 in front of 12,007 fans to take the league title.

1984-85: Ready to defend their MISL title, Baltimore battled through and influx of teams moving from the NASL outdoor league to repeat as Eastern Division champions with a 32-16 record. The Blast maintained their home field dominance; going 19-5 at the Civic Center. The previous two league champions met again in the championship series as the Blast faced Steve Zungul and the San Diego Sockers. Game 4 was one of the worst home losses ever suffered by the Blast as they were crushed 14-2 and eventually lost the series four games to one. Goalkeeper Scott Manning and defender Mike Stankovic earned First Team MISL honors and Stan Stamenkovic earned Second Team honors.

1985-86: The MISL received their best television coverage to date as ESPN televised 15 regular season games in addition to some playoff games. Unfortunately, the Blast had their most disappointing season in their six-year history; finishing in fourth place in the Eastern Division with a 24-24 mark. After leading Cleveland two games to one, the Blast lost in overtime in game four at the Civic Center and was eliminated in a 5-1 loss in game five back in Cleveland. Despite their uncharacteristically average season, Baltimore got outstanding goal keeping from Keith Van Eron, who led the league with a 3.66 GAA. Defender Bruce Savage earned second team All-MISL honors.

1986-87: The home field advantage returned as the Blast went 20-6 at the newly named Baltimore Arena en route to a second place finish, one game behind Cleveland in the Eastern Division. Baltimore then had the misfortune of drawing eventual league champion Dallas in the opening round of the playoffs. Led by league MVP Tatu, who ran away with the scoring title (73 goals, 111 points), the Sidekicks knocked off the Blast; winning the deciding game five 7-4 at the Arena. Defender Bruce Savage continued his emergence as one of the Blast’s best and most popular players; earning first team All-MISL honors.

1987-88: For the first time in team history, Baltimore finished the season with a losing record (25-31, 4th place in the Eastern Division). The Blast still made the playoffs but exited quietly three games to one in the opening round against the Division Champion Minnesota Strikers.

1988-89: Coach Kenny Cooper won his second Coach of the Year award as Baltimore rebounded to take the Eastern Division title with a 29-19 record. Several other Blast players took home some hardware; including Bruce Savage (1st Team All-MISL), Tim Wittman (2nd Team All-MISL), Scott Manning (2nd Team All-MISL), Rusty Troy (Rookie of the Year) and Domenic Mobilio (Newcomer of the Year). In the playoffs, the Blast knocked off Wichita to advance to the best of seven championship round. Baltimore rallied from a three games to one deficit against San Diego to win the next two games; including a 7-0 shutout in game six at the Arena to force a deciding game seven home game. The championship final was a back and forth contest with goalkeeper Victor Nogueira and the Sockers prevailing 6-5 over the Blast.

1989-90: Baltimore won their second straight Eastern Division title with a 32-20 mark and once again faced San Diego in the championship finals. Hoping to take the championship away from the Sockers, instead the Blast lost in five games. Domenic Mobilio emerged as Baltimore’s leading scorer (41g, 20a, 61pts) along with Carl Valentine (24g, 34a, 58pts).

1990-91: The league changed its name to the Major Soccer League (MSL) and that wasn’t the only change for the season. For the first time in team history, the Blast failed to qualify for the playoffs; falling to last place in the Eastern division with a 21-31 mark. Baltimore was especially bad away from the Arena; posting a 6-20 road record. The newly named league was experiencing an overall drop in game attendance and voted to reduce the next season’s schedule from 52 to 40 games.

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1991-92: The Blast's final season began on an ominous note as they acquired controversial midfielder Paul Wright from San Diego. After refusing to report for training camp due to a contract dispute, an arbitrator ruled that Baltimore still had to pay Wright for the time he sat out. This prompted Cooper to not create a spot for him on the Blast's roster. After months of back-and-forth, Wright was shipped back to San Diego. . Ironically, he would return to Baltimore as a member of the Spirit and finished his career as the 4th leading scorer in franchise history. As far as the season, Baltimore had another sub-.500 finish; landing in fourth place with a 19-21 record. Defender Iain Fraser earned first team All-MSL honor and Domenic Mobilio again led the Blast in scoring (45g, 20a, 65pts). The MSL was down to just seven teams formed in a single division. Despite a slight increase in attendance, the news was pretty much all bad as the MSL folded up shop at the end of the season. Competition from the rival National Professional Soccer League (NPSL) and the folding of franchises in Tacoma and St. Louis left the MSL with just five teams; including the Blast. Owner Ed Hale, faced with moving to the NPSL or the Continental Indoor Soccer League as the MSL was crumbling, elected to fold the team and end the original Baltimore Blast. But as we know, Hale and the Blast would be back.

Now a team without a league, Blast will explore new fields

July 11, 1992, By Mike Preston, Baltimore Sun

Baltimore Blast coach Kenny Cooper said yesterday that he would work to keep a professional soccer franchise here, but it may have to come under new ownership.

Ed Hale, who has owned the Blast for the past three years, said he would keep his options open but ruled out playing in the upcoming Arena or Continental leagues, which are scheduled to begin play next summer.

The 14-year-old Major Soccer League ceased operation yesterday after failing to secure a sixth team for the 1992-93 season. The Blast is the second professional soccer team in the state to close up shop this year.

On Jan. 20, owners of the Maryland Bays announced the outdoor team was folding. The Bays won the 1990 championship of the American Professional Soccer League.

"As I understand it, the Arena League is strictly a regional kind of thing," said Hale. "The Continental League is going to play in the summer, and I don't think indoor soccer would work in Baltimore in the summer. There are a lot of other options here in the summer -- the Orioles, the beach. If I could help out in any way, I would offer to help someone else, but I wouldn't have any interest in owning a team in that league."

"I'm sure there will be discussions [about Baltimore joining another league], and I'm going to keep my options open," said Hale.

That would leave the Blast with at least two other options, possibly the five-team American Professional Soccer League or the indoor National Professional Soccer League.

Observers say at least part of the MSL's troubles were related to competition from the non-union NPSL. The two leagues did not compete in the same cities, but the competition for sponsors, advertisers and expansion cities is fierce.

The league just added its 10th city, one that the MSL had courted heavily: Buffalo, N.Y.

Cooper, who recently completed his 12th season with the team, said he will meet with Hale and Drew Forrester, the team's vice president of soccer operations, Monday to begin discussing the team's future.

"I've already talked briefly with Ed, and he knows I'm committed to keeping professional soccer in Baltimore," said Cooper. "The Blast and San Diego were looked upon as the league's model franchises. I've been in this business for 20 some years, and I didn't burn my bridges. I'll be calling and making some contacts with people over the weekend."

"If I have to play in the summer, then that's what I'll do," said Cooper, added that the team will continue to have its summer camps. "If we have to form an international league, then that's what we'll do. It's been a great journey and great experience in Baltimore. You can tell the fans here love soccer. We've closed one door; it just means we have to open another."

MSL commissioner Earl Foreman said yesterday that several owners, including Donald Carter of the Dallas Sidekicks, would remain in business.

San Diego Sockers coach Ron Newman said yesterday there have already been discussions among several of the owners to bring back the league in some capacity.

"Cities like San Diego, Baltimore, Wichita, Cleveland, they love soccer," said Newman. "People love our product. We just need a little push in the right direction. Baltimore will have a soccer team -- you can count on it. Coops won't let it die."

Meanwhile, several Blast players were shocked that the league folded despite problems during the past five years which annually brought the MSL close to shutting down.

"I'm kind of disappointed, too," said Blast forward Domenic Mobilio. "I really didn't expect the league to go under. Since I came here four years ago, there have always been problems, but they always figured out a way to solve them."

Other players were relieved.

"The league possibly folding has been an issue every summer, so you always made some kind of plans" said Blast forward Rusty Troy. "This time, we have to use them. The impact was kind of taken away because of what has happened before."

Defender Iain Fraser said: "I thought it would come to this. When St. Louis and Tacoma folded, reality set in. I knew it wasn't going to go. There were too many people working against it. I'm going to finish up the camps I'm doing with the Blast. Then I'll be heading back to Kansas City, where I played for five years, unless I can find something here."

Mobilio, as well as others like player/coach Mike Stankovic, said they will see what Blast management does within the next couple of days.

"I hope another league forms," said Mobilio. "If not, I could go to Europe, but there's not really too many other options right now. I want to see what their [Blast] intentions are. If there were another league, I would be more than willing to play."

For 12 seasons, it was a Blast