The Washington Whips were 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

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

that played in the

United Soccer Association The United Soccer Association was a professional soccer league featuring teams based in the United States and Canada. The league survived only one season before merging with the National Professional Soccer League to form the North American S ...

(

USA The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

). The league was made up of teams imported from foreign leagues. The Washington Whips were the

Aberdeen F.C. Aberdeen Football Club is a Scottish professional football club based in Aberdeen, Scotland. They compete in the Scottish Premiership and have never been relegated from the top division of the Scottish football league system since they were ...

from

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

. The name was chosen as the outcome of a newspaper contest. The team's owner was

Earl Foreman Earl Marin Foreman (March 29, 1924 – January 23, 2017) was an American lawyer and sports executive. Foreman practiced law in the District of Columbia. He was the owner of the short-lived Washington Whips professional soccer club of the NASL an ...

, later owner of the

Virginia Squires The Virginia Squires were a basketball team based in Norfolk, Virginia, and playing in several other Virginia cities. They were members of the American Basketball Association from 1970 to 1976. The team originated in 1967 as the Oakland Oaks, a ...

of the

American Basketball Association The American Basketball Association (ABA) was a major men's professional basketball league from 1967 to 1976. The ABA ceased to exist with the ABA–NBA merger, American Basketball Association–National Basketball Association merger in 1976, ...

and president of the original Major Indoor Soccer League. Edward T. Reynolds was the booth announcer for the club prior to the merger. In 1967, the Whips played for the league championship and lost in overtime. After losing a coin toss, the Whips played the Los Angeles Wolves at the L.A. Coliseum in front of a crowd of 17,824. The two teams played to a 4–4 tie in regulation and then a 5–5 tie after the first overtime. At 1:26 in sudden death overtime,

Ally Shewan Ally Shewan (born 5 August 1940) is a Scottish former footballer.Ally Shewan
AFC ...

of the Whips scored an own goal to give the game to the Wolves. Washington played with only 10 players for 94 minutes as Jim Smith was ejected in the 30th minute. After being tied 1–1 at half time, the teams scored 4 goals in 90 seconds early in the second half and then a pair of goals at the 82nd and 88th minutes tied it up again. After falling behind in overtime, the Whips tied the game with only 10 seconds remaining on a shot by

Francis Munro Francis Michael "Frank" Munro (25 October 1947 – 16 August 2011) was a Scottish international footballer who played as a centre back. Munro played for Dundee United and Aberdeen in his native Scotland before moving to Wolverhampton Wanderers ...

. Following the 1967 season, the

merged with the National Professional Soccer League to form the

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 ...

with the teams from the former USA having to create their rosters from scratch. Their home field was

D.C. 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 ...

despite complaints after the 1967 season that the $109,000 a year rent was too high. In 1968 they fielded the only one-armed player in NASL history,

Victorio Casa Victorio Francisco Casa (28 October 1943 – 6 June 2013) was an Argentine professional footballer who played as a forward for San Lorenzo in the Argentine Primera División and in the United States with the Washington Whips and Washington Da ...

of Argentina and they missed the playoffs on the final game of the season. Following the 1968 season, the team disbanded and in November 1968, all players became free agents.

Year-by-year

References

External links

* Dave Litterer:
American Soccer History Archives
' (per February 6, 2012) * Dave Morrison:

', North American Soccer League Rosters (per February 6, 2012) Defunct soccer clubs in Washington, D.C. North American Soccer League (1968–1984) teams United Soccer Association franchises Aberdeen F.C. 1967 establishments in Washington, D.C. 1968 disestablishments in Washington, D.C. Association football clubs established in 1967 Association football clubs disestablished in 1968 {{Scotland-footyclub-stub

Year-by-year

See also

References

External links