The Edmonton Drillers were a North American Soccer League team that played both outdoors and indoors from 1979 to 1982, at the peak of the league's success. The team was brought to Edmonton by local entrepreneur and Edmonton Oilers owner Peter Pocklington, after witnessing the strong support for Brian Rice's Edmonton Black Gold team in 1978. Previous to playing in Edmonton, the team was known as the Oakland Stompers, Hartford Bicentennials and Co...
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The Edmonton Drillers were a North American Soccer League team that played both outdoors and indoors from 1979 to 1982, at the peak of the league's success. The team was brought to Edmonton by local entrepreneur and Edmonton Oilers owner Peter Pocklington, after witnessing the strong support for Brian Rice's Edmonton Black Gold team in 1978. Previous to playing in Edmonton, the team was known as the Oakland Stompers, Hartford Bicentennials and Connecticut Bicentennials.
Joe Patrone was the Drillers general manager for their entire existence. The Drillers were coached in 1979 and 1980 by Hans Kraay, who brought a number of players with him from Holland. After Kraay, Timo Liekoski took over as coach in 1981, while Patrone would serve as the team's final caretaker coach until the team folded at the end of the 1982 season.
During the outdoor season, the Drillers played their home games at Commonwealth Stadium, but dwindling crowds during the final year saw the team move to much older and...
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