would see them initially become a minor shareholder but have a controlling interest in the franchise within two years, although this ultimately came to nothing. Sting withdraw from MISL The Sting were experiencing financial challenges through the 1987–88 MISL season. In the spring of 1988, the owners explored the possibility of moving to Denver. A few weeks after the end of the 1987–88 season, in July 1988, owner Lee Stern announced that the Sting had withdrawn from the MISL, citing falling attendances, failure to find new investors and concerns that the league was on the verge of collapse. Occurring the same week that the USA were awarded the 1994 World Cup Finals, Stern stated "Soccer will be back. With the World Cup coming to this country in 1994, interest will be high. The Sting will be involved somehow, some way". Relaunch On May 20, 2021, a new Chicago Sting was officially announced as a charter team in the Arena Soccer League. Year-by-year results Outdoor Indoor Honors NASL Championships (2) 1981, 1984 1980–81 Indoor (runner up) NASL Season Premierships (2) 1980–81 Indoor 1984 Division titles (6) 1976 Northern Division, Atlantic Conference 1980 Central Division, National Conference 1980–81 Central Division Indoor 1981 Central Division 1981–82 Central Division Indoor 1984 Eastern Division Transatlantic Challenge Cup 1982 Coach of the Year 1981 Willy Roy All-Star Game MVP 1983–84 Karl-Heinz Granitza (4 goals) Leading Scorer 1980–81 Karl-Heinz Granitza (111 points) Leading Goal Scorer 1980–81 Karl-Heinz Granitza (42 goals) Hall of Fame members United States: Rudy Getzinger, Karl-Heinz Granitza, Willy Roy, Lee Stern, Clive Toye, Bruce Wilson Canada: Tony Chursky, Gerry Gray, Victor Kodelja, John McGrane, Bruce Wilson Indoor Soccer: Victor Nogueira, Pato Margetic All-Star First Team Selections 1975 Gordon Hill 1979 Bruce Wilson 1980 Phil Parkes 1981 Frantz Mathieu, Arno Steffenhagen 1980–81 Karl-Heinz Granitza 1981–82 Karl-Heinz Granitza 1982 Arno Steffenhagen 1983 Pato Margetic 1983–84 Karl-Heinz Granitza, Victor Nogueira 1984 Karl-Heinz Granitza 1984–85 Karl-Heinz Granitza All-Star Second Team Selections 1978 Bruce Wilson 1979 Karl-Heinz Granitza, Arno Steffenhagen 1980 Karl-Heinz Granitza 1981 Karl-Heinz Granitza 1982 Karl-Heinz Granitza, Pato Margetic 1983 Ricardo Alonso, Young Jeung Cho, Karl-Heinz Granitza 1983–84 Pato Margetic 1984 Pato Margetic All-Star Honorable Mentions 1977 Willie Morgan 1978 Karl-Heinz Granitza, Jørgen Kristensen 1979 Jørgen Kristensen 1980 Frantz Mathieu 1981 Dave Huson, Pato Margetic 1982–83 Pato Margetic 1983 Dave Huson 1984–85 Gerry Gray 1986–87 Nílton Batata Head coaches Bill Foulkes (1975–1977) Willy Roy (1977–1986) Malcolm Musgrove