The Detroit Express was a
soccer
Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...
team based in suburban
Detroit
Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at th ...
that played in the now defunct
North American Soccer League The North American Soccer League may refer to:
*North American Soccer League (1968–1984), a former Division I league
*North American Soccer League (2011–2017)
The North American Soccer League (NASL) was a professional men's soccer league b ...
(NASL) from 1978 to 1980. Its home field was the
Pontiac Silverdome
The Pontiac Silverdome (also known simply as the Silverdome) was a stadium in Pontiac, Michigan. It opened in 1975 and sat on 199 acres (51 ha) of land. When the stadium opened, it featured a fiberglass fabric roof held up by air pressure, ...
. The Express were co-owned by Jimmy Hill, Roger Faulkner, Sonny VanArnem, and Gary Lemmen.
Jimmy Hill
James William Thomas Hill, OBE (22 July 1928 – 19 December 2015) was an English footballer and later a television personality. His career included almost every role in the sport, including player, trade union leader, coach, manager, director ...
who was also the managing director and chairman of the English club
Coventry City
Coventry City Football Club is a professional association football club based in Coventry, West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England. The team currently compete in the EFL Championship, Championship, the second tier of the English footbal ...
. The team was coached by
Ken Furphy
Kenneth Furphy (28 May 1931 – 17 January 2015) was an English football player and manager.
Despite being on the books at Everton between 1950 and 1951, Furphy was a lower league player with Runcorn (1951–53) Darlington (1953–62) and then ...
.
History
1978
The Express were Detroit's first professional soccer team since the
ASL
American Sign Language (ASL) is a natural language that serves as the predominant sign language of Deaf communities in the United States of America and most of Anglophone Canada. ASL is a complete and organized visual language that is express ...
's
Detroit Mustangs
The Detroit Mustangs was an American soccer club based in Detroit, Michigan
Michigan () is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly ...
disbanded in 1973, and the city's first NASL entry since the
Detroit Cougars played their last season in 1968. The club made a splash by signing England forward
Trevor Francis
Trevor John Francis (born 19 April 1954) is an English former footballer who played as a forward for a number of clubs in England, the United States, Italy, Scotland and Australia. In 1979 he became Britain's first £1 million player follo ...
; he missed the first third of the season (arriving only after the European season ended in May), but still led the team with 22 goals and ten assists in 19 games. The coach's son, forward
Keith Furphy
Keith Furphy (born 30 July 1958) is an English-American former professional footballer who played forward or winger, spending most of his career in the United States. He played four seasons in the North American Soccer League, seven in the M ...
, was second in scoring with 11 goals and 12 assists, while
David Bradford and
Alan Brazil
Alan Bernard Brazil (born 15 June 1959) is a Scottish broadcaster and former football player, most notably for Ipswich Town, Tottenham Hotspur, Manchester United and internationally for Scotland. He played as a forward before being forced to r ...
added nine goals each.
On July 12, Francis scored five times as the Express slaughtered the
San Jose Earthquakes
The San Jose Earthquakes are an American professional soccer team based in San Jose, California. The Earthquakes compete as a member club of the Western Conference of Major League Soccer (MLS). Originally as the San Jose Clash, the franchise ...
, 10–0, which as of 2021 is still the widest margin of victory in an American major pro soccer match (NASL or
MLS
Major League Soccer (MLS) is a men's professional soccer league sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation, which represents the sport's highest level in the United States. The league comprises 29 teams—26 in the U.S. and 3 in Canada ...
). Detroit went on to win the NASL American Conference Central Division title with a 20–10 mark, and Francis had the only tally in a 1–0 defeat of the
Philadelphia Fury
The Philadelphia Fury was an American soccer team based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, that last competed in the National Independent Soccer Association (NISA). The club formerly competed in the American Soccer League and is currently owned by ...
in the first round of the playoffs. In the second round, the Express split a pair of games with
Fort Lauderdale Strikers Fort Lauderdale Strikers may refer to:
*Fort Lauderdale Strikers (1977–1983), member of North American Soccer League from 1977 to 1983
*Fort Lauderdale Strikers (1988–1994), member of American Soccer League from 1988 to 1989 and American Profes ...
, but lost the mini-game immediately afterward, 1–0. Despite their on-field success, however, the Express were only mediocre at the box office, with an average attendance of 12,194, good enough for seventh place in the 24-team NASL but less than the league average of 13,084.
1979
Back in England, Francis made history as the first player in the UK to command a
£1 million transfer when he was purchased by
Nottingham Forest
Nottingham Forest Football Club is an association football club based in West Bridgford, Nottinghamshire, England. Nottingham Forest was founded in 1865 and have been playing their home games at the City Ground, on the banks of the River Tren ...
from
Birmingham City
Birmingham City Football Club is a professional football club based in Birmingham, England. Formed in 1875 as Small Heath Alliance, it was renamed Small Heath in 1888, Birmingham in 1905, and Birmingham City in 1943. Since 2011, the first te ...
. Forest was not keen to allow their new asset to return to the States, but they relented and Francis returned just past the midway point of the
1979 season. He drew large crowds and contributed 14 goals and 8 assists in 14 games, tying Keith Furphy for the team lead;
Ted MacDougall
Edward John MacDougall (born 8 January 1947 in Inverness) is a Scottish former footballer.
MacDougall was a prolific goalscorer who played for eight teams, scoring 256 goals in 535 League appearances and winning seven full international caps fo ...
added nine goals and 11 assists. But the Express struggled to a 14–16 season and a third-place finish. They were then swept out of the playoffs 2–0 in the first round by the
Tampa Bay Rowdies
The Tampa Bay Rowdies are an American professional Association football, soccer team based in St. Petersburg, Florida. The club was founded in 2008 and first took the pitch in 2010. Since 2017, the Rowdies have been members of the USL Champions ...
. Despite the disappointment on the field, attendance improved at the cavernous
Pontiac Silverdome
The Pontiac Silverdome (also known simply as the Silverdome) was a stadium in Pontiac, Michigan. It opened in 1975 and sat on 199 acres (51 ha) of land. When the stadium opened, it featured a fiberglass fabric roof held up by air pressure, ...
, up to 14,058 per match, right around the NASL average of 14,201.
After 1979, though, Trevor Francis would not return to the NASL. Widely recognized as one of the finest forwards to play in the NASL, Francis notched 36 goals with 18 assists in just 33 regular-season matches—which placed him one spot ahead of
Pelé
Edson Arantes do Nascimento (; born 23 October 1940), known as Pelé (), is a Brazilian former professional footballer who played as a forward. Widely regarded as one of the greatest players of all time and labelled "the greatest" by FIFA, ...
on the all time NASL scoring list, despite playing 23 fewer games. (Francis also had three goals and three assists in five playoff games.) He was a first team all-star selection in 1978 and 1979 alongside
Franz Beckenbauer
Franz Anton Beckenbauer (, ; born 11 September 1945) is a German former professional footballer and manager. In his playing career he was nicknamed ''Der Kaiser'' ("The Emperor") because of his elegant style, dominance and leadership on the fi ...
,
Giorgio Chinaglia
Giorgio Chinaglia (; 24 January 1947 – 1 April 2012) was an Italian footballer who played as a striker. He grew up and played his early football in Cardiff, Wales, and began his career with Swansea Town in 1964. He later returned to Italy to ...
,
Johan Cruyff
Hendrik Johannes Cruijff (, internationally known as Johan Cruyff; 25 April 1947 – 24 March 2016) was a Dutch professional football player and manager. As a player, he won the Ballon d'Or three times, in 1971, 1973 and 1974. Cruyff was a ...
,
Carlos Alberto and
Rodney Marsh
Rodney William Marsh (born 11 October 1944) is an English former footballer and football coach; he later worked as a broadcaster. A forward, he won nine caps for England between 1971 and 1973, scoring one international goal.
Brought up in the ...
and other international greats, and the only Detroit player ever to be selected to the NASL first XI. Francis planned to return to the Silverdome in 1980 in an exhibition match between Nottingham Forest and the Express, but Francis was injured and the match was cancelled. Finally, Francis returned to the Express (now in the
American Soccer League) in 1981 for an exhibition game against the ASL All-Stars; the All-Stars won, 2–0, in front of 14,500 at the Silverdome.
1979-80
The Express headed indoors that winter to play in the
1979–80 NASL Indoor season
The 1979–80 season was the North American Soccer League's first ever full indoor soccer season with playoffs. It began in November 1979, and the championship occurred in March 1980.
Overview
Only 10 of the 24 NASL member-teams chose to field a ...
. They had competition, as the
Major Indoor Soccer League also decided to place a franchise in the Motor City: the
Detroit Lightning The Detroit Lightning was a Major Indoor Soccer League franchise which existed for only one season, 1979–1980. The Lightning finished that season at 15–17. The team's home arena was Cobo Arena.
On May 28, 1980, at the end of the 1979–1980 ...
. The Express managed a 7–5 record, third place in the Eastern Division and a playoff spot; unfortunately, the same Tampa Bay Rowdies that beat Detroit in the outdoor playoffs crushed them in the first round, 12–1, in St. Petersburg. (Tampa Bay would go on to beat
Memphis
Memphis most commonly refers to:
* Memphis, Egypt, a former capital of ancient Egypt
* Memphis, Tennessee, a major American city
Memphis may also refer to:
Places United States
* Memphis, Alabama
* Memphis, Florida
* Memphis, Indiana
* Memp ...
to claim the championship.) Neither of Detroit's indoor soccer teams did much at the box office: The Express drew 3,937 fans per match at the Silverdome, while the Lightning could only manage 3,520 a game at
Cobo Hall
Huntington Place (formerly known as Cobo Hall, Cobo Center, and briefly as TCF Center) is a convention center in Downtown Detroit, owned by the Detroit Regional Convention Facility Authority (DRCFA) and operated by ASM Global. Located at 1 Washi ...
. (The Lightning would move to San Francisco and then Kansas City.)
1980
Without Francis, the Express slipped to a 14–18 mark, missing the playoffs by a single point (130-129 to the
Houston Hurricane
The Houston Hurricane was a soccer team based out of Houston that played in the NASL. They played from 1978 to 1980. Their home field was the Astrodome. Their colors were orange, white and red.
History
The team was the last of six expansion t ...
) and drawing only 11,198 a game—not all that bad by NASL standards, but not enough to pay the bills, either. Argentinian
Pato Margetic
Patricio "Pato" Germán Margetic (born May 17, 1960, in Avellaneda, Argentina) is a former Argentine footballer. He began his career in Argentina before playing five seasons in the North American Soccer League, as well as the Major Indoor Soccer ...
was signed to replace Trevor Francis at the forward spot and he led the team with 11 goals and 11 assists.
Gary Bannister
Gary Bannister (born 22 July 1960) is an English former professional Association football, footballer who played for Coventry City F.C., Coventry City (two spells), Sheffield Wednesday F.C., Sheffield Wednesday, Queens Park Rangers F.C., Queens ...
and Adam Oates added 10 goals each, while Bradford finished with 16 assists. Wearing the number 10 shirt, David Bradford scored 14 goals and had 38 assists in his three years with the Express.
1980-81 and transfer to Washington
The Express' second and last
indoor season produced only a 7–11 record, and they missed the playoffs; the Express' last NASL contest was a 7-5 win over the
Atlanta Chiefs
The Atlanta Chiefs were an American professional soccer team based in Atlanta, Georgia. The team competed in the National Professional Soccer League (NPSL) in 1967 and the North American Soccer League (NASL) from 1968 to 1973 and again from 19 ...
in front of 5,598 at the Silverdome on February 15. (Their last games under the Express name came the following week, when they played a three-game money-raising tour in
Guatemala
Guatemala ( ; ), officially the Republic of Guatemala ( es, República de Guatemala, links=no), is a country in Central America. It is bordered to the north and west by Mexico; to the northeast by Belize and the Caribbean; to the east by H ...
.) Overall attendance improved to 4,761, a bit below league average and not enough to save the Express. In the spring of 1981, Jimmy Hill won a court battle to move the team to
RFK Stadium
Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium, commonly known as RFK Stadium and originally known as District of Columbia Stadium, is a defunct multi-purpose stadium in Washington, D.C. It is located about due east of the U.S. Capitol building, near the w ...
to become the new
Washington Diplomats
The Washington Diplomats were an American soccer club representing Washington, D.C. Throughout their playing existence, the club played their home games at Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium and indoor home matches at the neighboring D.C. Arm ...
, replacing the old franchise of that name which had folded. The Express-turned-Diplomats lasted just one season in D.C. before going out of business. Hill reportedly lost £2 million because of the failed venture, prompting his son to claim
''We've lost all the family money. All we have left is our home.''
Later years
The Detroit Express franchise was purchased and retained by local businessman Sonny Van Arnem, who started the new Express team in the
1981 season. The ASL version of the Express won the league title in
1982
Events January
* January 1 – In Malaysia and Singapore, clocks are adjusted to the same time zone, UTC+8 (GMT+8.00).
* January 13 – Air Florida Flight 90 crashes shortly after takeoff into the 14th Street bridges, 14th Street Bridge in ...
, but the league folded after the
1983 season. The NASL collapsed after the
1984 season.
George Best
George Best (22 May 1946 – 25 November 2005) was a Northern Irish professional footballer who played as a winger, spending most of his club career at Manchester United. A highly skilful dribbler, Best is regarded as one of the greatest pla ...
also appeared for the Express during a tour of Europe in September 1978. Best played two games in Austria with the Express before the team headed to Switzerland.
In popular culture
In the November 2009 episode of ''
How I Met Your Mother
''How I Met Your Mother'' (often abbreviated as ''HIMYM'') is an American sitcom, created by Craig Thomas and Carter Bays for CBS. The series, which aired from September 19, 2005 to March 31, 2014, follows the main character, Ted Mosby, and his ...
'' called "Bagpipes", Ted wears an old Detroit Express shirt when trying to complain to his neighbors about their bagpiping.
Mac also wears a Detroit Express shirt in the Season 5 (2009) episode "
The Gang Gives Frank an Intervention" of ''
It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia
''It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia'' is an American sitcom created by Rob McElhenney and developed by McElhenney and Glenn Howerton that premiered on August 4, 2005 on FX and later FXX beginning with the ninth season in 2013. It stars Charlie ...
''.
Year-by-year
Honors
Division titles
*
1978
Events January
* January 1 – Air India Flight 855, a Boeing 747 passenger jet, crashes off the coast of Bombay, killing 213.
* January 5 – Bülent Ecevit, of Republican People's Party, CHP, forms the new government of Turkey (42nd go ...
Central Division, American Conference
All-Star First Team Selections
* 1978
Trevor Francis
Trevor John Francis (born 19 April 1954) is an English former footballer who played as a forward for a number of clubs in England, the United States, Italy, Scotland and Australia. In 1979 he became Britain's first £1 million player follo ...
* 1979
Trevor Francis
Trevor John Francis (born 19 April 1954) is an English former footballer who played as a forward for a number of clubs in England, the United States, Italy, Scotland and Australia. In 1979 he became Britain's first £1 million player follo ...
Indoor All-Stars
* 1980–81
Pato Margetic
Patricio "Pato" Germán Margetic (born May 17, 1960, in Avellaneda, Argentina) is a former Argentine footballer. He began his career in Argentina before playing five seasons in the North American Soccer League, as well as the Major Indoor Soccer ...
Indoor Soccer Hall of Fame
* 2014
Slobo Ilijevski
Slobodan "Slobo" Ilijevski ( Cyrillic: Слободан Илијевски Слобо) (October 24, 1949 in Skopje, Yugoslavia – July 14, 2008 in Bellingham, Washington) was a Yugoslav and Macedonian football (soccer) goalkeeper who played in t ...
* 2019
Pato Margetic
Patricio "Pato" Germán Margetic (born May 17, 1960, in Avellaneda, Argentina) is a former Argentine footballer. He began his career in Argentina before playing five seasons in the North American Soccer League, as well as the Major Indoor Soccer ...
References
{{North American Soccer League (1966–85)
E
North American Soccer League (1968–1984) teams
Defunct soccer clubs in Michigan
Defunct indoor soccer clubs in the United States
1978 establishments in Michigan
1981 disestablishments in Michigan
Soccer clubs in Michigan
Association football clubs established in 1978
Association football clubs disestablished in 1981
U.S. clubs in CONCACAF Champions' Cup