Nothing like soccer on a rug. Can you just imaging the rug burns these guys had playing in the Pontiac Silverdome on that old nasty style turf.
Hi, I wanted to Post a new thread but am not allowed yet. So I will just go ahaid in here. My name is Kim Granitza I am the daughter of Karl-Heinz Granitza and I am desperatly searching for something, maybe someone could help me here. Ok.. Karl Heinz Granitza was invited to a Bulls game I think 1979 or 1980 and was asked to shoot the Ball from the line into the basket and he shoot and hit the ball right at the first shot in the basket. I am desperatly searching for someone that maybe has a picture of this day or even video. I wasnt born yet or too small to remember it. Please if anyone could help me, or tell me more about that day, was someone there? Im starting to write a Biography about him. I need stories input, all you can tell me what you remember. Of course I remember alot and all his stories.... but I would be happy to hear some of yours. Thank you Best Wishes, Kim Granitza
Hi, I've started a thread in the Chicago Fire forum about this: https://www.bigsoccer.com/forum/showthread.php?t=407835 And in the Indoor forum: https://www.bigsoccer.com/forum/showthread.php?t=407840
Kim: I don't have pictures or video but I was at the game. I remember your father attempting five shots from the free throw line and making three. I was shocked. Some of the NBA players didn't make that high of a free throw percentage shooting with their hands. I believe this happened in either 1981 or early in 1982 after the Sting won its first NASL title. I also have a book called "The Official Chicago Sting Book" which came out in 1983. Your father is mentioned fairly prominently. If you are interested in seeing it, send me a PM. Good luck with the biography.
Yes I contacted the Bulls, but there was no one that knew about that and they couldnt help me further. So I was hoping maybe someone was there and taped it or made pictures.
Kim: I don't have any info on that event at the Bulls game. But I do have DVDs of many Sting games from the years your father played on the team. Have you seen my web site www.DaveBrett.com? If you want copies of any of these just email me: DaveBrett@msn.com 4/09/78 Sting 0 at Diplomats 1 6/25/78 Sting 4 at Colorado Caribou 2 7/12/78 Sting 2 at Memphis Rogues 3 - overtime match 7/15/78 Sting 4 at Ft. Lauderdale Strikers 3 7/19/78 Sting 3 at Tampa Bay Rowdies 2 4/7/79 Sting 2 at Philadelphia Fury1 - 2nd half & OT only 7/7/79 Sting 5 at Detroit Express 6 -- Great ABC game 7/11/79 Sting 4 at Minn. Kicks 5 - The disputed shootout - 1979 Playoffs: Strikers at Sting: Game 1 - First half only Sting 1 at Strikers 0 -- Game 2 (ABC broadcast) 4/5/80 Sting 2 at T. Bay Rowdies 1 -- Opening Day 5/03/80 Sting 2 at Vancouver Whitecaps 1 - Overtime 6/28/80 Sting 2 at Kicks 1 -- last 10 minutes and OT 7/23/80 Sting at Detroit Express: First half only 7/28/80 Sting 1 at Drillers 2 -- 2nd half & overtime 8/2/80 Sting 1 at Tulsa Roughnecks 3 - 1980 Playoffs: San Diego Sockers at Sting - Game 2 (includes mini game and shootout -- ABC broadcast) 5/17/81 Sting 3 at Cosmos 2 - Classic overtime match 5/20/81 Sting 5 at Minnesota Kicks 2 5/23/81 Seattle Sounders 1 at Sting 3 5/27/81 Sting 1 at Toronto Blizzard 3 6/7/81 Sting 1 at San Diego Sockers 0 6/14/81 Washington Diplomats 2 at Sting 1 6/17/81 Sting 0 at Seattle Sounders 1 7/18/81 Sting 2 at Minnesota Kicks 0 - 1981 PLAYOFFS: 9/02/81 Sting 2 at Montreal Manic 3 (Game 1) 9/12/81 Sting 1 at San Diego Sockers 2 (Game 1) 9/26/81 SOCCER BOWL: Cosmos vs Sting - overtime 4/17/82 Timbers 2 at Sting 1 -- 2nd half and OT only 5/27/82 Nacional Uruguay at Sting (Trans-Atlantic Cup) 5/31/82 Sting 4 at Cosmos 3 (Trans-Atlantic Cup) 6/5/82 Sting 0 at Sounders 3 (sound is low on this tape) 7/1/83 Cosmos 2 at Sting 5 7/5/83 Sting 4 at Sockers 3 -- overtime 7/30/83 Cosmos 1 at Sting 2 8/05/83 Sting 3 at Rowdies 4 (missing first few minutes) 9/3/83 Sting 0 at Manic 4 -- French broadcast 1983 Indoor: Sting 3 at Cleveland Force 6 1984 Indoor Playoff Game 3: Sting 7 at Cosmos 8 5/12/84 Sting 2 at Minnesota 3 -- Opening Day 5/25/84 Roughnecks 2 at Sting 3 - Overtime 6/9/84 Sting 5 at Cosmos 0 6/17/84 Tulsa Roughnecks 2 at Sting 3 7/11/84 Sting 2 at Minnesota Strikers 3 8/08/84 Golden Bay Earthquakes 6 at Sting 3 8/16/84 Sting at Roughnecks -- Overtime match 9/15/84 Cosmos 0 at Sting 1 - late goal sends Chicago to the playoffs, and eliminates New York - - - 1984 PLAYOFFS - - - 9/23/84 Sting 3 at Whitecaps 1 -- Game 2 - Second half only 9/28/84 Whitecaps 3 at Sting 4 -- Game 3 - - - - 1984 Soccer Bowl - - - 10/1/84 Toronto Blizzard 1 at Sting 2 -- Game 1 10/3/84 Sting 3 at Toronto Blizzard 2 -- Game 2 (includes post game show in the locker room) - Misc Sting Films: 1981: Hilights of NY at Chi 6-5 game (30 minutes) 1981: The Year of the Big Sting" (half hour) 1984: Sting Preview Show www.DaveBrett.com
Now online here: http://soundercentral.com/gallery/NASLSeattleSounders Watch for more as the years go by. See http://soundercentral.com/MuseumLobby.htm for year-by-year coverage of the club.
Ah, I remember buying a carton of those waxpacks at a baseball card show back in the time. Never saw 'em in the stores around NE Ohio. Don't ask me what happened to all of 'em. Have one complete set in plastic, and maybe a wrapper or two. Don't think I'll ever get out of 'em what I got for my Topps baseball sets from the 50s & 60s... helped put me through college. Maybe if I found those duplicates I could swap 'em for a Lancermania poster !
Hi all Soccer fans, I'm looking for any Indoor Nasl/Misl/Aisa/NPSL games on video or DVD that Granitza played in to buy . Anyone with any games please send me a message . The most memorable in 81-82 indoor season even in a loss i believe it was New York 12 Chicago 11 it was broadcast on WGN ,It was a bizarre game where Giorgio Chinaglia scored 7 goals and Karl Heinz Granitza had 5 . i was like 11 years old and it was just non stop goal to goal action , The other one i don't believe there's any footage except for the News was the 83-84 Nasl all star game where Chicago Sting played the Nasl all stars and won , Granitza getting 5 goals and MVP . Steve Zungle was on that team and i think Tatu and all the greats . Even a news clip would be cool . Anyway any Indoor games please mail me . I'd also love to see a New York Arrows game , Anyone out there with a video (Preferably transfered to DVD) not being picky LOL , please contact me . Thanks ! Steve
If nobody PM'd you already, check out www.davebrett.com More NASL videos than the mind can fathom. Also a great number of indoor. Re: NASL... The Cleveland Stokers live again! http://rosedogbookstore.com/stsewhsoinne.html
Then there was the greatest player to ever step foot on the Spartan Stadium pitch. George Best 1980-81 SJ QUAKES
Oit of all the great Sting players, Dick Advocaat is still in the news. Aren't he and Neeskens coaching together? Or is he with w/former Quakes & Dips midfielder Gus Hiddink?
The Sting may have had some good teams, but they struggled at the gate. Only 3 out of 10 years did they average over 10,000 a game, (and never over 13,000). In 1978, when the Cosmos were packing in the crowds to the tune of 47,000+ per game, the Sting was last in the league at 4,618. In my opinion, the top franchises were: New York Cosmos Seattle Sounders Tampa Bay Rowdies Vancouver Whitecaps Minnesota Kicks A rung below: Portland Timbers San Jose Earthquakes Tulsa Roughnecks FT. Lauderdale Strikers
No offense GoSounders because I agree with you most of the time... I agree with your list of Top 5 NASL franchises with one exception... There is NO way the Sounders belong in that group. I would agree that they should be in your Rung below, but not top 5! Chicago belongs in the rung before bloody Tulsa as well! One thing we agree upon is that it would be awesome if these clubs still existed! Those were the days!
I'm not sure what was really the problem with attendance in those years with the Sting. I mean they were probably the 3rd or 4th best franchise during the NASL halcyon era and couldn't put too many fans in the stands. I remember reading because their games conflicted with the amateur soccer of the area. When the games were rescheduled to accommodate those games and teams, not much changed. I never knew the real answer because Lee Stern put out a great team in those years.
So why wouldn't the Sounders be in the top group? They are in the top 5 for attendance during their NASL existence. First sellout ever for the NASL. (Granted, it was at Memorial Stadium which only held 17,000+) 2 Soccer Bowl appearances. Most wins ever in one year. (25 in 1980) Transatlantic Cup winners. Beat teams such as Manchester United, Glasgow Celtic. Involved in 4 of the top 20 single game attendances in league history. Those were just off the top of my head, I could probably come up with a lot more. Again, I definitely believe the Souunders were one of the top teams in the NASL.
Well the Sounders made 2 Soccer Bowls in 77 & 82 I believe. Too bad they had to face the Cosmos twice. They gave them tough matches as they were both 1 goal affairs. .
It was strange how in the NASL had some teams who didn't have a big name in England or in Europe but did better than others with bigger names. You saw Seattle, Vancouver, Minnesota and Chicago either take the Cosmos to the extreme or even beat them and never lost by big margins. Seattle had a big name in Alan Hinton & Mike England I believe, but Steve Buttle, Jockey Scott and a number of others were just club players in England. Roger Davies was great for the NASL I'm not so sure about England. I remember Peter Ward had some success in England. Then on the Whitecaps you had Alan Ball, & Dave Watson but Trevor Wymark, Phil Parkes, Kevin Hector and a host of others weren't stars either. Bruce Grobbelar and Peter Beardsley had played for the Caps but I think it was when they were still real young and before they got big. The Sting had bought Arno Steffenhagen and Karl Heinz Granitza in 1978 after starting the 78 season horrible. Those guy were pretty much no names in GMY but made names for themselves in the NASL. The Minnesota Kicks had Alan Merrick, Steve Litt, Alan Willy and Wlilly Morgan with Freddie Goodwin on as a coach. They were great players but by no means stars in Britain. They beat the Cosmos 9-2 in their first round match in the Cosmos best season ever of 1978. That is incredible. Then they lost 4-0 in New Jersey and then lost in the shootout as Carlos Alberto put it over Tino Lettieri's head. If the NASL used the FIFA aggregate system, the Kicks would have gone thru on a 9-6 goal advantage. Because the NASL used their American rules of a best of 3 series, the Cosmos qualified. This just goes to show you how well the journeymen with no names played in the NASL. In this respect, one would think it was not all that easy for the Cosmos, at least in the playoffs. They were eliminated by Vancouver in the shootout in 1979 and the Sting won the Soccer Bowl in 1981. If you break down the Cosmos in 78, 79, 81 and 82 they were always put to the test until the end. I guess however, if you use that (FIFA Rules ) arguemnt the Cosmos should have won them all in 78,79,80 & 81 by being top of the table. Americans in general however love the playoff series, however. I never uderstood the concept but I guess it works.