Origins Founded in 1963 as the amateur club Washington Britannica and eventually rebranding as the
Washington Darts, the team joined the
North American Soccer League in 1970 after playing three seasons in the
American Soccer League and winning two consecutive ASL championships. After the 1970 season, the team was sold to
John Bilotta, former part owner of the
Rochester Lancers, and
Arthur Bant a hotel owner, who relocated and rebranded as the team as the
Miami Gatos. After one season, the team was sold to a group of 25 local business leaders including
Miami Dolphins owner
Joe Robbie and his wife Elizabeth and renamed the
Toros. In December 1976 and after five seasons in Miami, the team announced it was moving to
Fort Lauderdale. The team played its first game, an
indoor friendly, on February 27, 1977, against the
Tampa Bay Rowdies, the first meeting in what was to become one of the most enduring rivalries in North American soccer, the
Fort Lauderdale–Tampa Bay rivalry.
Early Success The Strikers won their debut match 2–1 at
Lockhart Stadium against the
St. Louis Stars on April 10, 1977. They finished the
1977 season in first place of the Eastern Division American Conference with a record of nineteen wins and seven losses, tying the league record for most wins in a season. The team drew an average 8,148 fans for the season, a 165% increase over the team's last season as the Toros, and head coach
Ron Newman, who had been hired before the team announced its move to Fort Lauderdale, was named NASL coach of the year. In the return leg played in Fort Lauderdale, the Strikers lost 3–2 in an overtime shootout. Finishing the
1978 season in third place with a record of sixteen wins and fourteen losses, the Strikers made it to the third round of the playoffs, losing the Conference Championship to the
Tampa Bay Rowdies. The team was one of four to participate in the
1979 NASL Budweiser Indoor Soccer Invitational, losing both games the played The
1979 North American Soccer League season ended with the Strikers in second place of the Eastern Division behind the Rowdies with a record of seventeen wins, thirteen losses and averaging 13,774 attendance per game. The day before the second game, it was announced that the team had relieved Ron Newman as head coach and offered him a job in the team management.
Post Newman Era played for the Strikers from 1979 to 1981 After Newman declined the front office position, the Strikers hired
Bob Lemieux who had been working as an executive for the
Detroit Red Wings as the team's General Manager. In December 1979, the Strikers announced that
Cor van der Hart had been hired as head coach. During the
1980 NASL Season there were several reports of arguments between van der Hart and the players as well as publicity referencing a drinking problem, both issues led to difficulties with the head office. Finishing with a record of eighteen wins and fourteen loses, the team ended the season in second place of the Eastern Division, behind the
Tampa Bay Rowdies again. On September 21, 1980, at
RFK Stadium in
Washington, DC the Strikers lost to the Cosmos 3–0. In mid October, Lemieux was fired from his position as General Manager with Tim Robbie, son of owners Joe and Elizabeth Robbie, taking over the position. Then in late December 1980 with the team 0–6 in the
1980–81 NASL Indoor season and after having announced just after the Soccer Bowl that he would return as head coach for the following outdoor season, van der Hart was fired. Team spokesman stated "personal issues" and "team morale" as the primary reason and that Assistant
Bill Nuttall was named caretaker for the remainder of the indoor campaign. German
Eckhard Krautzun who had coached the
Houston Hurricane during the 1980 season, was named head coach for the 1981 Outdoor season. The day after the Strikers were eliminated from contention for
Soccer Bowl '81, the
North American Soccer League announced that the team would not participate in the upcoming
1981–82 NASL Indoor season, but would return for 1982 outdoor season.
Decline The Strikers ended the
1982 North American Soccer League season with an identical eighteen wins and fourteen losses from the previous season which won them the Southern Division title with another decline in attendance of 12,345 average attendance. After two seasons, Krautzun was fired as head coach with former Striker player and head coach of the recently folded
Georgia Generals David Chadwick rumored to be interested in the position. His hiring was confirmed a week later. In addition to compiling a record of one win and seven losses in the
1983 NASL Grand Prix of Indoor Soccer, the Strikers played two indoor friendlies during the offseason. The team's attendance continued decline in the
1983 outdoor season and the team recorded their first losing record in an outdoor NASL season with fourteen wins and sixteen losses.
Relocation Following the conclusion of the
1983 outdoor season season long rumors that the team was looking to move were confirmed when General Manager Tim Robbie met with officials in
Minneapolis On November 30, 1983, team owner Elizabeth Robbie,
Minnesota Governor
Rudy Perpich, and NASL president
Howard Samuels officially announced the team was moving and indicated the team had lost around $1 million in the last year. In 1984 the team began play as the
Minnesota Strikers. The team survived the NASL folding after the 1984 season and competed in the
Major Indoor Soccer League for an additional four seasons before going out of business. ==Year-by-year==