Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

Robert F. Kennedy Memorial 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. located on East Capitol Street near the Anacostia River. Opened in 1 ...

indoor Indoor(s) may refer to: *the interior of a building *Indoor environment, in building science, traditionally includes the study of indoor thermal environment, indoor acoustic environment, indoor light environment, and indoor air quality *Built envi ...

D.C. Armory The D.C. Armory is an Armory (military), armory and a 10,000-seat multi-purpose arena in Washington, D.C. Managed by the Washington Convention and Sports Authority, the Armory was constructed Founded as an expansion franchise in 1974, the Diplomats competed in the now-defunct

North American Soccer League The North American Soccer League (NASL) was the top-level major professional soccer league in the United States and Canada that operated from 1968 to 1984. It is considered the first soccer league to be successful on a national scale in the ...

, then the top-tier soccer league of the

American soccer pyramid The United States soccer league system is a series of professional and amateur association football, soccer leagues based, in whole or in part, in the United States. Although sometimes called the American soccer pyramid, teams and leagues are no ...

. Plagued with mediocrity in their first few seasons of existence, the Diplomats did not qualify for the playoffs until 1976, their third year in the league. The Diplomats were knocked out by the

New York Cosmos New York Cosmos may refer to * New York Cosmos (1970–1985), a team in the North American Soccer League (then the top-tier soccer league in the United States and Canada) * New York Cosmos (2010), a team playing since 2020 in the National Indepen ...

in the first round. That season, the club played their home matches in

Northern Virginia Northern Virginia, locally referred to as NOVA or NoVA, comprises several County (United States), counties and independent city (United States), independent cities in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. ...

at

W.T. Woodson High School Carter G. Woodson High School, commonly known as C. G. Woodson High School or simply Woodson, (formerly Wilbert Tucker Woodson High School) is a public high school located in Fairfax County, Virginia, just outside the east end of the city of Fair ...

, before going back to RFK Stadium in 1977. During the next three seasons, the Diplomats achieved more regular season success and reached the postseason every year from 1978 until 1980. Consequently, the club experienced a spike in average attendance, nearing 20,000 fans a game by the 1980 season, although a significant number of tickets were "comps" or "papered" by the team's front office staff. Following the end of the 1980 season, the original Diplomats club folded when then owner, the Madison Square Garden Corp., had accumulated losses of $6 million and team president Steve Danzansky could not gather enough money to keep the team alive. However, that same season the

Detroit Express The Detroit Express were a soccer team based in suburban Detroit that played in the now defunct North American Soccer League (NASL) from 1978 to 1980. Its home field was the Pontiac Silverdome. The Express were co-owned by Roger Faulkner, Son ...

NASL franchise relocated to the Washington metropolitan area, renaming themselves the "Diplomats" due to perceived familiarity of the moniker to the area. However, a regression of attendance and a lack of field success sounded the death knell of the franchise, and the Diplomats folded following the 1981 season.

History

Before the Dips

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 Football player, players who almost exclusively use their feet to propel a Ball (association football), ball around a rectangular f ...

team based in

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

that played in the

United Soccer Association The United Soccer Association (USA) was a professional association football, 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 ( ...

. The league was made up of teams imported from foreign leagues. The Washington club was actually

Aberdeen F.C. Aberdeen Football Club is a Scottish professional Association football, football club based in Aberdeen, Scotland. They compete in the and have List of unrelegated association football clubs, never been relegated from the top division of th ...

from

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

. Following the 1967 season, the USA merged with the National Professional Soccer League to form the

North American Soccer League The North American Soccer League (NASL) was the top-level major professional soccer league in the United States and Canada that operated from 1968 to 1984. It is considered the first soccer league to be successful on a national scale in the ...

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

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. located on East Capitol Street near the Anacostia River. Opened in 1 ...

. 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 a ...

, 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 professional basketball league that operated for nine seasons from 1967 to 1976. The upstart ABA operated in direct competition with the more established National Basketball Association thr ...

and commissioner of the original Major Indoor Soccer League. Edward T. Reynolds was the booth announcer for the club prior to the merger.

Original NASL franchise

The original Washington Diplomats first came into being when in 1974 when the

North American Soccer League The North American Soccer League (NASL) was the top-level major professional soccer league in the United States and Canada that operated from 1968 to 1984. It is considered the first soccer league to be successful on a national scale in the ...

(NASL) granted a franchise to a Washington, D.C.–based business group. The team played all their home games at

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. located on East Capitol Street near the Anacostia River. Opened in 1 ...

in 1974, but in 1975 and 1976 they played most of their games at

W.T. Woodson High School Carter G. Woodson High School, commonly known as C. G. Woodson High School or simply Woodson, (formerly Wilbert Tucker Woodson High School) is a public high school located in Fairfax County, Virginia, just outside the east end of the city of Fair ...

in Northern Virginia, including all of their 1976 games. They played

indoor Indoor(s) may refer to: *the interior of a building *Indoor environment, in building science, traditionally includes the study of indoor thermal environment, indoor acoustic environment, indoor light environment, and indoor air quality *Built envi ...

home matches at the neighboring

D.C. Armory The D.C. Armory is an Armory (military), armory and a 10,000-seat multi-purpose arena in Washington, D.C. Managed by the Washington Convention and Sports Authority, the Armory was constructed After a lackluster beginning to the franchise, the Diplomats qualified for the playoffs and increased average game attendance in each of their last three years of existence. Additionally, in their final year, the Diplomats were able to sign the future European Player of the Century

Johan Cruyff Hendrik Johannes Cruijff (25 April 1947 – 24 March 2016), internationally known as Johan Cruyff (), was a Dutch professional Association football, football player and Manager (association football), manager. Regarded as one of the greatest ...

. After the 1980 season the Diplomats folded when then owner, the Madison Square Garden Corp., had accumulated losses of $6 million and team president Steve Danzansky could not gather enough money to keep the team alive. The cheerleaders for the original Diplomats were known as the Honeydips until 1980 when their name was changed to the Sidekicks. The team also ran ad campaigns calling themselves "the Dips."

Express relocate to Washington

After the original Diplomats folded following the 1980 season, the

Detroit Express The Detroit Express were a soccer team based in suburban Detroit that played in the now defunct North American Soccer League (NASL) from 1978 to 1980. Its home field was the Pontiac Silverdome. The Express were co-owned by Roger Faulkner, Son ...

moved to Washington to become the new Diplomats. This team only lasted for one season.

Rivalries

The Diplomats' greatest rivalry was with the

New York Cosmos New York Cosmos may refer to * New York Cosmos (1970–1985), a team in the North American Soccer League (then the top-tier soccer league in the United States and Canada) * New York Cosmos (2010), a team playing since 2020 in the National Indepen ...

. This was especially true when Johan Cruyff was playing in DC and the Cosmos had

Pelé Edson Arantes do Nascimento (; 23 October 1940 – 29 December 2022), better known by his nickname Pelé (), was a Brazilian professional Association football, footballer who played as a Forward (association football), forward. Widely reg ...

,

Franz Beckenbauer Franz Anton Beckenbauer (; 11 September 1945 – 7 January 2024) was a German professional football player, manager, and official. Nicknamed ("the Emperor"), he is widely regarded as one of the greatest players of all time, and is one of nine p ...

and

Giorgio Chinaglia Giorgio Chinaglia (; 24 January 1947 – 1 April 2012) was an Italian association football, footballer who played as a striker (association football), striker. He grew up and played his early football in Cardiff, Wales, and began his career with ...

. When the Cosmos came to RFK the stadium was close to capacity even though the Diplomats usually lost. However, they were always competitive games.

Year-by-year

Players

A number of high-profile soccer players lined out for the Washington Diplomats. Arguably the most famous were the Dutch pair of

Johan Cruyff Hendrik Johannes Cruijff (25 April 1947 – 24 March 2016), internationally known as Johan Cruyff (), was a Dutch professional Association football, football player and Manager (association football), manager. Regarded as one of the greatest ...

and

Wim Jansen Wilhelmus Marinus Antonius "Wim" Jansen (; 28 October 1946 – 25 January 2022) was a Dutch professional association football, football player and manager. As a midfielder or defender (association football), defender, he spent most of his caree ...

who had over 100 caps for

the Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

between them and who represented the ''Dips'' between 1979 and 1981. Other international players to play for Washington included

Tommy McConville Tommy McConville (19 March 1946 – 25 October 2013) was an Irish professional footballer. Career McConville was put on the transfer list in September 1974. He earned his first international cap for the Republic of Ireland national football te ...

who was capped 6 times by

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

and

Windsor del Llano Windsor Alfredo del Llano Suárez (born 17 August 1949 in Cochabamba, Bolivia) is a retired football forward who earned one cap with the U.S. national team in 1973 and another thirty with Bolivia between 1975 and 1981. He played professionall ...

who played 30 times for

Bolivia Bolivia, officially the Plurinational State of Bolivia, is a landlocked country located in central South America. The country features diverse geography, including vast Amazonian plains, tropical lowlands, mountains, the Gran Chaco Province, w ...

. Future

Real Madrid Real Madrid Club de Fútbol (), commonly referred to as Real Madrid, is a Spanish professional Football club (association football), football club based in Madrid. The club competes in La Liga, th ...

and

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

coach,

Guus Hiddink Guus Hiddink (; born 8 November 1946) is a Dutch former football manager and professional player. He enjoyed a long career playing as a midfielder in his native Netherlands. Retired as player in 1982, Hiddink went into management, leading both c ...

also played for the Diplomats.

Coaches

*

Dennis Viollet Dennis Sydney Viollet (20 September 1933 – 6 March 1999) was an English footballer who played for Manchester United and Stoke City as well as the England national team. He was famous as one of the Busby Babes and survived the Munich air disa ...

(1974–1977) *

Gordon Bradley Gordon Bradley (23 November 1933 – 29 April 2008) was an English-American soccer midfielder born and raised on Wearside who played several seasons with lower-division English clubs before moving to play in Canada at the age of 30. During the ...

(1978–81) *

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 the ...

(1981)

Staff & ownership

*

Stephen Danzansky Stephen or Steven is an English first name. It is particularly significant to Christians, as it belonged to Saint Stephen ( ), an early disciple and deacon who, according to the Book of Acts, was stoned to death; he is widely regarded as the firs ...

1975–1978 *

Sonny Werblin David Abraham "Sonny" Werblin (March 17, 1910 – November 21, 1991) was a prominent entertainment industry executive and sports impresario who was an owner of the New York Jets and served as chairman of Madison Square Garden, and who built and ...

1979–1980 *

Jimmy Hill James William Thomas Hill, Order of the British Empire, OBE (22 July 1928 – 19 December 2015) was an English football in England, footballer and later a television personality. His career included almost every role in the sport, including pla ...

&

Duncan Hill Duncan may refer to: People * Duncan (given name), various people * Duncan (surname), various people * Clan Duncan * Justice Duncan (disambiguation) Places * Duncan Creek (disambiguation) * Duncan River (disambiguation) * Duncan Lake (disam ...

1981

Washington Diplomats Relaunch

Washington Diplomats trademarks have been filed by soccer agent Scott Michaels for utilization in his newly established professional league, the National Soccer League. Concurrently, a fundraising endeavor is set to commence on

Wefunder Wefunder is an online service that allows individual investors to crowdfund startup companies. Wefunder uses a provision in the 2012 JOBS Act that allows unaccredited investors to purchase equity in early stage private companies. Foundation ...

, a crowdfunding platform.

Average attendance per game

*1974: 4,975 *1975: 8,847 *1976: 5,963 *1977: 13,037 *1978: 10,783 *1979: 11,973 *1980: 19,205 *1981: 16,106

References

External links

nasljerseys.com, unofficial NASL website
includes Diplomats info {{North American Soccer League (1966–85) Defunct indoor soccer clubs in the United States Defunct soccer clubs in Washington, D.C. North American Soccer League (1968–1984) teams 1974 establishments in Washington, D.C. 1981 disestablishments in Washington, D.C. Association football clubs established in 1974 Association football clubs disestablished in 1981

History

Before the Dips

Original NASL franchise

Express relocate to Washington

Rivalries

Year-by-year

Players

Coaches

Staff & ownership

Washington Diplomats Relaunch

Average attendance per game

See also

References

External links