Wichita Wings

History

Founding

In 1978, Tom Marshall, a local youth soccer promoter with the American Youth Soccer Organization (AYSO), convinced the North American Soccer League's (NASL) Dallas Tornado to come to Wichita to play an exhibition game, with proceeds to benefit the local AYSO organization. On December 1, the Tornado squared off against the Houston Hurricane at the Kansas Coliseum. It was Roy Turner's last professional game. Over the next year, Marshall and other soccer enthusiasts, including Jackie Knapp, worked to find investors and bring a professional soccer team to Wichita. Bob Becker, the owner of Great Plains Corporation, an oil marketing operation, agreed to fund the new team. The newly christened Wichita Wings joined the Major Indoor Soccer League (MISL) in 1979, the league's second year of operation.

1979–80: Inaugural season

Becker hired Roy Turner as head coach and brought in Ward Lawrence to help oversee operations. Tom Marshall became the Wings' general manager. On November 23, 1979, with only a week to go before the opening game, Marshall ceased to be a part of the Wings organization. The Wings and Marshall disagreed on the details of the separation, but it was to be permanent. Lawrence took over as general manager and Becker brought in Ray Denton to help run day-to-day operations. Mike Ivanow was to be the first signing, but the paperwork sent to his home misspelled his name. The delay resulted in Norman Piper becoming the first Wichita Wing. Piper was joined by the former Dallas Tornado and Liverpool player Kevin Kewley, who became the team's captain. Former Manchester United forward Jimmy Ryan and Argentinian player Omar Gomez anchored the team's offense. Roy Turner brought on George Ley as a player-coach. Later in the season, the team added former Manchester United winger Willie Anderson and forward Andy Chapman. Chapman had signed with Arsenal at age 16 and would become a fan favorite in Wichita, becoming the fifth leading scorer in Wings history. Ivanow was joined in goal by Keith Van Eron. Though Ivanow had US Olympic experience, Van Eron would end up playing more time in goal.

The Wings ended the season at 16–16, barely making the quarterfinals of the playoffs. The Detroit Lightning faced the Wings in that one-game playoff. A victory propelled the Wings into the semifinals, where they lost the first two games of a three-game series against the Houston Summit. In addition to the Wings' playoff loss, the city of Wichita was faced with the potential loss of the franchise. Owner Bob Becker announced that he would no longer be involved with the team and was attempting to sell the team. Fans and civic leaders began a campaign to sell season tickets for the next year, with hopes that this would help convince a new owner that the people of Wichita wanted to keep the Wings. On April 16, 1980, it was announced that Pizza Hut co-founder Frank Carney and a group of investors would buy the team. The Wings would return for a second season.

1980–1986: Carney–Kentling era

Bob Becker's departure as owner brought wholesale change to the organization. Ward Lawrence, Ray Denton, and Jackie Knapp all departed. Frank Carney brought Bill Kentling with him from Pizza Hut to take over the role of general manager. Kentling had previously served as director of corporate communications at Pizza Hut and, prior to that, the vice president of the National Baseball Congress. Kentling brought in Steve Shaad as director of media relations, Dave Bennett as director of sales and marketing, and Virginia Creamer as director of operations to help run the team. Future KWCH sports director Bruce Haertl became the radio voice of the Wings on KFH radio.

On the field, the Wings looked to athletes from Denmark to help improve the team. Bundesliga veteran Jørgen Kristensen and a young Kim Røntved made a huge impact on the team. Kristensen would become the MISL Passmaster while Røntved was twice named MISL Defender of the Year and would become the Wings' all-time leader in goals scored. Mike Dowler from Wales secured the goalkeeper position after a battle with Keith Van Eron. Dowler would earn an MISL record four shutouts in his career with the Wings. The team's popularity increased in the 1980–81 season in part due to a controversy involving the San Francisco Fog's forward Mike Mancini. On December 28, 1980, in a Wings blowout win, Mancini punched Kristensen hard enough to drop him to the ground. The incident was televised, leading to a great deal of media coverage. Bill Kentling credited this incident with helping to improve attendance. That season was the beginning of the Wings' epic rivalry with the St. Louis Steamers. The Wings met St. Louis in the semifinals of the 1981 playoffs. In the third and decisive game, the Steamers came from behind to beat the Wings in a shootout. The game was marred by an ugly foul against Mike Dowler, sending him to the bench for the remainder of the game. Many considered it the greatest game in MISL history.

The 1981–82 season saw the Wings bring in two Englishmen that had a lasting impact on the team. Sheffield United alum Terry Nicholl became known as "The General" during his time in Wichita from his ability to coach on the field. Jeff Bourne was a potent scorer who had played in the English first division with Derby County. The Danish connection continued to bear fruit as the Wings added midfielder Frank Rasmussen to the squad. That year's Wings squad was very successful, finishing with a 27–17 record. Though the Wings defeated the Memphis Americans in the playoff quarterfinals, they once again fell to the Steamers in the semis. Off the field, a new force provided a strong backbone to the Wings' efforts: the Orange Army, a group of dedicated fans, followed the Wings wherever they went and met the Wings at the airport upon the team's return from every road trip.

1986–1992: Change is afoot

Big changes came to the front office and coaching staff in 1986. Francis Dale stepped down as commissioner of the MISL and the Wings' own Bill Kentling took his place. When Kentling went to the new league headquarters in New York City, it was decided that Roy Turner was the logical choice to replace him. Turner stepped down as head coach and was named president of the Wings. Frank Carney also decided to step down as managing general partner and was replaced by Bill Oliver Jr. Scottish player Charlie Cooke, the "Bonnie Prince", was brought in to replace Turner as coach. Cooke instituted an up-tempo style that emphasized defensive pressure. It was not always popular with the older veterans. In 1986–87, the Wings added the young forward Mark Kerlin from Arizona and the Welsh player Mickey Thomas, who had previously played for Chelsea and Manchester United. A rookie from California named Dale Ervine would have the biggest long-term impact. At the end of his eight years in Wichita, "The Bruin" would be second on the all-time goals scored list. The Wings lost in the division semifinals to Tacoma in 1987 after finishing the season with a 27–25 record.

In 1987–88, the Wings brought in Nenad "Ziggy" Zigante to replace Seamus McDonagh in goal. Former US Olympian Jean Willrich and longtime indoor pro Mike Stankovic also joined the squad in Charlie Cooke's second year. But it was a season that Cooke himself would not finish. On January 30, 1988, Cooke and assistant coach Norman Piper were fired after starting the year 11–16. Former Wing Terry Nicholl took over as head coach, with Kevin Kewley adding "assistant coach" to his duties on the field. Though the Wings had their worst ever season, finishing 23–33, two Wings ended up leading the MISL. Erik Rasmussen became the scoring champion and league MVP, while Zigante was named the league's Newcomer of the Year.

The MISL lasted until the end of the 1991–92 season, but Terry Nicholl's tenure as coach lasted only until February 1991. After a poor start to the season, he was replaced by original Wings coach Roy Turner. The Wings failed to achieve a winning record during those final years of the MISL. However, the team added several players that had positive, multi-year impacts on the team, including defender Tommy Soehn, midfielder Perry Van der Beck, former Derby County and Northern Ireland national team player Victor Moreland, Yugoslav midfielder Goran Hunjak, goalkeeper Kris Peat, and Baltimore Blast striker David Byrne.

1992–2001: NPSL years

In 1992, after several years of struggling to keep franchises, the MISL folded. The Wings, under a new ownership group led by local businessman Mike Relihan, joined the National Professional Soccer League (NPSL). The player salaries were smaller and it lacked some of the large cities that the MISL was proud to include, but it provided the Wings a league in which to play. In 1996, Roy Turner left the team. Though the Wings had some success on the field during the NPSL years, their home attendance never equaled that of the 1980s. In 1998, Randy and Shirley Johnson took over as owners of the Wings. At the time the team folded in 2001, it was the longest-running soccer franchise in the United States.

Statistics

Television and radio

The Wings appeared nationally on USA, ESPN, and CBS. Their first local television contract was with KSN-TV (NBC) and announcer Dave Armstrong in 1981–82. KSN continued to broadcast the Wings through the 1985–86 season. Other announcers included Craig Bolerjack, Mike Kennedy, and Steve Dennis. Former Wing Joe Howarth and director of media relations Steve Shaad, respectively, served as the color commentator for several of those seasons. KAKE-TV (ABC) took over the broadcast for the 1986–87 season. Mark Allan was their announcer through the 1988–89 season. The Wings had no television contract thereafter.

KFH Radio (1330 AM) broadcast the Wings from 1981 through 1986, with first Bruce Haertl and then Jim Hawley announcing. Steve Shaad, Blake Schreck, and Klaus Kollmai served as color commentators on the KFH broadcasts. In 1986, KRZ (1240 AM) took over the radio broadcasting, with Dave Phillips as announcer. As KNSS, they continued to broadcast the Wings through the 1989–90 season. Phillips was the voice of the Wings with KZSN (1480 AM) through the 1993 season. Steve Dennis took over KZSN's announcing duties in 1994 and continued through the transition to KFH in 1995–96. Former Wings goalkeeper Kris Peat served as announcer in 1996–97. In 1997, Rob Barzegar and KQAM (1480 AM) became the Wings radio broadcaster.

Arenas

The Kansas Coliseum (Britt Brown Arena)

During home games in the mid- to late 1980s, the Wings used the "Gonna Fly Now" theme from the movie [Rocky] to celebrate Wings goals. For some time this music was also used for player introductions.