INDOOR SOCCER IN PRINT

Here we are, right smack in the middle of the holiday season.

There is so much to do, including thinking about what we are going to get the soccer fans in our lives.

There are soccer balls, jerseys, equipment and even books.

There are plenty of books about the beautiful game, whether it is at your local independent bookstore, Barnes and Noble, Amazon or another website.

Finding the right one can be a challenge.

Make that a challenge and half if your friend, family member or significant other is an ardent indoor soccer fan.

Unfortunately, outside of how-to books – and there is nothing wrong with that - there are few if any around that will spotlight the beautiful indoor game.

It was a bit surprising, considering that professional indoor soccer has been kicking around since Dec. 22, 1978, when the New York Arrows hosted the Cincinnati Kids in the very first Major Indoor Soccer League game at the Nassau Coliseum in Uniondale, N.Y. That's 46 years.

For those of you who have followed me and read my columns on MASLsoccer.com over the years, know that I like to delve into indoor soccer's past on occasion.

Yours truly has written about indoor soccer personalities and events from back in the day including goalkeeper Alan Mayer, an incredible bus ride of a road trip with the Harrisburg Heat from three decades ago to Carl Rose, who played in an indoor tournament in Toronto that helped kick start his professional soccer career. He was a teammate of the legendary Gordon Banks, Bobby Moore and Jimmy Greaves on the Canadian team of the World Indoor Football Association in November and December 1973.

Rose’s recently self-published a book, A Resilient Spirit (from www.StoryTerrace.com), tells his life story, in and outside of soccer. The book, naturally, has a lot more details of his life and career than I could have written in two columns I penned about the former St. Louis Steamer and New York Arrows player.

In 2004, Jacques Ladouceur published a book, Make Your Life Count, through BookSurge, about his career. In 2021, he authored another book, Raising a Pro Athlete, to help parents understand the value of time spent in youth sports.

And that's all I have been able to find.

While searching on the internet, I did find a book an indoor soccer book written by former Steamers head coach and U.S. Men's National Team captain and midfielder Pat McBride. McBride passed away last week at the age of 81. Published in 1985, the book is titled Pat McBride's The Great Indoor Soccer Style. I suspect it was about how to play the indoor game.

I asked Erik Bergrud, the color announcer for the Kansas City Comets broadcast, for his input. He is an indoor soccer enthusiast from way back, following the Los Angeles Lazers (MISL)

"I think you could look at, let's call it 1970s and 1980s professional soccer in North America, and it seems like generations of fans who weren't alive or around then don't appreciate what occurred during those eras," he said in a recent interview. "And so that would be both NASL, indoor and outdoor, as well as MISL. And I think you see this not only in terms of the lack of books, but in terms of Hall of Fame decisions, National Soccer Hall of Fame. It feels like there's a general lack of appreciation of what happened in The United States during that time. And yes, books absolutely would be helpful. I think what is also missing is, in addition to books, there's a lack of video content that really explains a in a 3-D kind of way, what it was like back then to experience sold-out crowds in St Louis at the Checkerdome. Maybe you can see a still picture and try to get it. But, for some reason, there hasn't been that next step in terms of chronicling what it was really like, because when you talk about indoor, there were teams in the MISL who routinely outdrawing NBA teams in the 1980s. I don't know that too many soccer fans Today could fathom that."

That's correct. The Steamers and Comets were outdrawing NBA teams. In fact, the Kansas City Kings left K.C. for Sacramento, Calif. in 1985.

"It’s also what was that indoor soccer phenomenon in the 1980s because unless you were there, it’s really hard to explain the craziness in a positive way that was taking shape then," Bergrud said.

After the North American Soccer League went belly up after the 1984 season, Bergrud noted that indoor soccer helped stock the USMNT and Olympic teams of the decade because the players had nowhere else to play.

"The roster was fairly heavily representative of the MISL," he said. "People today talk about Landon Donovan or Christian Pulisic as the face of U.S. Soccer, but without really understanding Ricky Davis and what doors he opened, it's really hard to get to where you are today. It does a disservice to the earlier players who paved the pathway. ... It's great that Christian Pulisic is getting documentaries done and rightfully so, but his father was a trailblazer. His father's story hasn't been told in a way that people can appreciate the doors that he opened for his son and this current generation, because there was no Apple TV back then. There wasn't really an opportunity for American players to go to Europe the way there is now."

Bergrud was referring to Mark Pulisic, who played in 296 games for the Harrisburg Heat in the indoor National Professional Soccer League from 1991-99.

Now, I was not born yesterday. I realize publishing companies want to make money when they take on a book project. Soccer books, outdoor or indoor, aren't necessarily at the top of the publishing totem pole.

Still, there are plenty of personalities and history to write about.

The obvious indoor soccer book would be about The Lord of All Indoors, the great Steve Zungul, who terrorized goalkeepers in the early days of pro indoor soccer with the New York Arrows, Golden Bay Earthquakes and San Diego Sockers in the original Major Indoor Soccer League more than four decades ago.

In my humble opinion, that would make a fabulous read about how he left his native Yugoslavian to play with the Arrows and some of the political machinations that occurred while setting scoring standards that have been difficult to equal since.

Unfortunately, Zungul has been a recluse over the years and has been difficult to pin down, even for a story. He did not show up for his induction into the National Soccer Hall of Fame in 2023. I have heard various rumors as to why he has been so reclusive over the years. I won't share any of them because most, if not all could be wrong.

But Zungul isn't the only indoor soccer standout - player, coach or team who deserves a book about them.

Branko Segota - He had a two-decade career, mostly indoors. He started as a protege to Zungul and wound up shining in his own right.

Tatu - A fan favorite, Tatu threw his shirt into the crowd every time he scored a goal. And yes, he went through a ton of shirts. Tatu has been involved in the modern indoor game as head coach of the Dallas Sidekicks and Texas Outlaws in the Major Arena Soccer League in recent years.

New York Arrows - The first indoor dynasty back in the day. I know of and heard of some of the behind the scenes stories of this powerhouse of a team.

San Diego Sockers - The second indoor dynasty back in the day, which competes in the Major Arena Soccer League today. Like the Arrows, the Sockers have housed many intriguing characters and personalities over the years.

Ron Newman - Born in England, Newman forged a reputation as a successful outdoor and indoor coach, winning championships in several leagues, including building the Sockers into a formidable side.

Kenny Cooper - He played for Newman with the Dallas Tornado, faced the New York Cosmos and Pele, in the Black Pearl's first game (a friendly) after he signed with the North American Soccer League team. He then went on to forge a reputation as one of the best indoor coaches of the game, helping to define the rules.

The stars of the MISL – Perhaps a book about the indoor stars of the past, a chapter about the big names of the past, including the aforementioned Zungul, Segota, Shep Messing, Zoltan Toth, Slobo Ilijevski, Scott Manning, Keith Van Eron, Victor Nogueira, Julie Veee, Stan Stamenkovic, Hugo Perez, Kai Haaskivi, Jan Goossens, Chico Borja, Fred Grgurev, Erik Rasmussen, Kevin Crow, Kim Roentved, Val Tuksa, Bernie James, Preki, Jorgen Kristensen, among others.

I covered many of those players back in the day, and trust me, they have some interesting stories to share with the soccer universe.

Again, finding a publisher likely will be difficult.

If any writer is "crazy" like me, he or she could self-publish it. I did for my two latest endeavors, about the Rochester Lancers.

The first volume is ALIVE AND KICKING The incredible but true story of the Rochester Lancers.

The second work is STILL ALIVE AND KICKING The Rochester Lancers in the 21st century.

The second book zeroes in on the indoor Lancers, their players, coaches and personalities of the team that competed in the modern version of the MISL, MASL and Major Arena Soccer League 2.

Best sellers were not. I made some money, but not enough to retire on, but I felt good after finishing and publishing each book.

Whether it is printed by a traditional publisher or self-published, it would be great to see an indoor soccer book featuring a personality or a team.

There has to be another "crazy" writer or two out there.

Saying that, have a Merry Christmas, Happy Chanukah and a Happy New Year!

Michael Lewis can be followed at Soccerwriter on BlueSky and X (formerly Twitter).