Now Philadelphia is on the verge of joining the National Professional Soccer League.
The 12-team NPSL has received an expansion-team application from a group headed by Philadelphia businessman Ed Tepper that wants to begin play in the 1996-97 season. League acceptance is expected to be a formality.
"After the success of our neutral-site game in Philadelphia last October, it was just a matter of time before Ed and his group formally applied," said NPSL commissioner Steve Paxos.
Tepper staged the Spirit-Chicago Power game Oct. 22 at Philadelphia's CoreStates Spectrum before 9,371. Tepper's involvement with indoor soccer dates to 1978, when he was a co-founder of the Major Indoor Soccer League.
Tepper's team would be the league's 14th. The 13th will be the Tampa Bay-St. Petersburg franchise headed by former Spirit coach Kenny Cooper that will begin play next fall.
Brady is working out
Coach Dave MacWilliams has reached into his soccer-playing past for a possible reinforcement as the Spirit begins the stretch run. Michael Brady, who played with MacWilliams on the Blast during the 1986-87 and 1987-88 seasons and had five goals and 11 assists in 66 games, is participating in workouts this week.
Brady, 30, a midfielder-forward, was born in Chicago and raised in Coventry, England, but returned to this country to play for American University. The past five years he has been a soccer gypsy, playing in Tampa Bay, Holland, Japan, Washington, Los Angeles, Maryland (Bays) and for the Penn-Jersey Spirit of the American Professional Soccer League. MacWilliams was his Penn-Jersey coach.
"We're looking at Michael and we'll decide later in the week whether to add him to the squad," MacWilliams said. "He has the ability and the skills and two years of indoor experience.
"He could be insurance for us. The deadline to add players before the playoffs is March 3, so we have to make sure we're fortified. We're looking ahead not only to the final regular-season games but to the playoffs. We don't want to go into the playoffs, get an injury and suddenly have an ingredient missing."
Two Spirit players are hobbled by injuries now. Tim Wittman missed Sunday's All-Star Game because of a strained calf muscle and a back spasm, and Brad Smith has a bruised, swollen shin.
"You want to try to add quality players at the end of the season," Spirit vice president Drew Forrester said. "We're 20-10 and happy with that, but you have to be prepared."
Wittman is questionable for the Spirit's three-games-in-three-nights stretch that will include road games against the Buffalo Blizzard on Friday and the Cleveland Crunch on Saturday, and Sunday's here against the Crunch. Smith is probable.
"We hope Timmy can play, but we're not sure how many games," MacWilliams said.
Miscellaneous
Cris Vaccaro will start two of the games this weekend in goal, Joe Mallia the third. "Cris is still No. 1, but for anyone to play three in a row is too much," MacWilliams said. . . . Jon Parry's winning goal against the Canton Invaders on Friday was his seventh of the season, breaking the Spirit record of six by Joe Koziol in 1992-93.