The Detroit Express was an American

soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 Football player, players who almost exclusively use their feet to propel a Ball (association football), ball around a rectangular f ...

team based in

Detroit Detroit ( , ) is the List of municipalities in Michigan, most populous city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is situated on the bank of the Detroit River across from Windsor, Ontario. It had a population of 639,111 at the 2020 United State ...

Michigan Michigan ( ) is a peninsular U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, Upper Midwestern United States. It shares water and land boundaries with Minnesota to the northwest, Wisconsin to the west, ...

and a member of the American Soccer League. They joined the league in 1981 after the original NASL Express were moved to Washington D.C. to replace the Diplomats who had folded at the end of 1980. The ASL Express played their home games in the

Pontiac Silverdome The Pontiac Silverdome (also known 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 fi ...

and then at Tartar Field on the campus of

Wayne State University Wayne State University (WSU) is a public university, public research university in Detroit, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1868, Wayne State consists of 13 schools and colleges offering approximately 375 programs. It is Michigan's third-l ...

. The 1981 Express finished second in the Freedom Division with a 15 win, 11 loss and 2 tie record. Mike Mancini was the leading scorer for Detroit with 16 goals, followed by Brian Tinnion with 9. The Express advanced to the second round of the playoffs with a 4–1 defeat of the New York Eagles, but were knocked out of the semi-finals 1–1 and 1–2 by New York United. The 1982 ASL consisted of 7 teams in one division. With 19 wins, 4 ties, and 5 losses, The Express had the best record in the league. They then won the championship, defeating the Georgia Generals in the semi-finals and the Oklahoma City Slickers in the finals. Detroit players Brian Tinnion, Andy Chapman, and Billy Boljevic were 1, 2 and 4 overall in league scoring. And goal keeper Tad DeLorm had the best goals against average in the league. By 1983 the league had shrunk down to 6 teams, but returned to the 2 division format. The Express struggled to a 12–13 record (the league instituted a shootout rule for the season) to finish 2nd in the Western Division behind the Dallas Americans, and did not make the playoffs. Billy Boljevic and Andy Chapman led the team in scoring with 9 goals each. In the early months of 1984, the ASL, which had been in a period of decline for several years, finally collapsed as most of its last few active teams elected to either fold or join a new league being formed by the owners of the Jacksonville Tea Men and Dallas Americans, the

United Soccer League The United Soccer League (USL) is an organizer of various professional and amateur soccer leagues in the United States league system. It currently organizes its Championship, League One, and League Two for men, its Super League and W Leag ...

. Express owner Sonny Van Arnem took steps towards joining this new league, but he ultimately decided against it due to the league not being sanctioned by the USSF. Unable to find another home in an indoor league, the club closed up shop shortly afterwards.

Yearly awards

ASL All-Star Team *1981 – Steve Westbrook *1982 – Chris Tyson ASL Leading Goal Scorer *1982 – Brian Tinnion (22 Goals) ASL Leading Points Scorer *1982 – Brian Tinnion (59 Points) ASL MVP *1982 – Brian Tinnion ASL Leading Goalkeeper *1982 – Tad DeLorm

Year-by-year

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Detroit Express (1981-83) 1981 establishments in Michigan 1983 disestablishments in Michigan Soccer clubs in Michigan American Soccer League (1933–1983) teams Defunct soccer clubs in Michigan Detroit Express Association football clubs disestablished in 1983 Association football clubs established in 1981 it:Detroit Express