Full name Washington Diplomats Dissolved 1980 Coach Gordon Bradley League NASL | Nickname(s) Diplomats, Dips Chairman Steve Danzansky Founded 1974 | |
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Ground Capacity 55,000, 5,000
6,500 (indoor) Location Washington, D.C., United States Grounds Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium, D.C. Armory (indoor) | ||
Nasl la aztecs at washington diplomats 7 29 1979
The Washington Diplomats were an American soccer club based in Washington, D.C.. Throughout their existence, the club played their home games at Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium and indoor home matches at the neighboring D.C. Armory. Founded as an expansion franchise in 1974, the Diplomats competed in the now-defunct North American Soccer League, then the top-tier soccer league of the American soccer pyramid.
Contents
- Nasl la aztecs at washington diplomats 7 29 1979
- Nasl cosmos at washington diplomats 6 1 1980
- Before the Dips
- Original NASL franchise
- Express relocate to Washington
- Rivalries
- Coaches
- Staff Ownership
- Average attendance per game
- References
Plagued with mediocrity in their first few seasons of existence, the Diplomats did not qualify for the playoffs until 1976, their fifth year in the league. Immediately, the Diplomats were knocked out by the New York Cosmos in the first round. The following season, the club played their home matches in Northern Virginia at W.T. Woodson High School, before going back to RFK Stadium. During the next three seasons, the Diplomats achieved more regular season success and reached the postseason every year from 1977 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 teams' 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 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 spelt the death knell of the franchise, and the Diplomats folded following the 1981 season.
Nasl cosmos at washington diplomats 6 1 1980
Before the Dips
The Washington Whips were a soccer team based in Washington, D.C. that played in the United Soccer Association. The league was made up of teams imported from foreign leagues. The Washington club was actually Aberdeen F.C. from Scotland.
Following the 1967 season, the USA merged with the National Professional Soccer League to form the North American Soccer League with the teams from the former USA having to create their rosters from scratch. Their home field was RFK Stadium. The team's owner was Earl Foreman, later owner of the Virginia Squires of the American Basketball Association and president 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, the North American Soccer League (NASL) granted a franchise to a Washington, D.C. based business group. The team played their home games at RFK Stadium except for 1976 when they played at W.T. Woodson High School in Northern Virginia. They played indoor home matches at the neighboring D.C. Armory. 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. 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 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. This was especially true when Johan Cruyff was playing in DC and NYC had Pele, Beckenbauer and Giorgio Chinaglia. When the Cosmos came to RFK the stadium was close to capacity even though the Diplomats usually lost. However, they were always competitive games.