The Glamour of Life in the NASL

I apologize for the sparsity in posts recently. Teaching history on two seperate grade levels is much more challenging than anticipated.

John Feinstein wrote a poignant piece about life on the road with the underachieveing Diplomats of 1980. It serves as a cautionary tale about big time sports.

Rare Piece of Dips/Cruyff History Up for Auction

The ball Johan Cruyff used to end the Dips 1979 season is up for auction via greyflannelauctions.com. A video of Cruyff's amazing 70 yard gallop and goal is also available on the site.

Timber, indeed

To say the Dips crashed to the ground hard and fast in the second half of their 1977 match in Portland would be an understatement.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2GUHGAwJ-GY

Teamen in the Rain

Although I did not attend the game, I remember this match better than some I did. On Sunday, June 3, 1979, during an afternoon of torential rain, I listened on WTOP 1500 AM in my room as the Dips played the Teamen. The photos attest to the field conditions as well as where the covered seating began at RFK.

Diplomats Beat Reporter

Before he was ubiquitous on the sports scene, John Feinstein was the Washington Diplomats beat reporter for the Washington Post. He discusses those days on his blog.

Photo Matching

From a collecting standpoint, it is always exciting when you are able to match a jersey to a photo or video clip from game action. Don Droege wore the jersey shown below in the Dips June 1, 1980 match against the Cosmos at RFK Stadium. The letters used to spell out the name on the back of Droege's jersey are not consistent with others used during the 1980 season. Those were thicker and a slightly different font, as exemplified by the photo of Johan Cruyff below. There were a few jersey anomalies over the years which will be featured in future posts.

John Kerr Passes

John Kerr, who played for the Dips during the 1976 & 1977 seasons, passed away from heart disease on June 19. He was a leader in the 1979 movement to unionize the NASL. Mr. Kerr was always kind and candid when I spoke with him, and he was his own harshest critic when discussing past matches. The Dips uncerimoniously released Kerr in the midst of the 1977 season, a move that puzzled many.

Kerr watches with

Alex Pringle in 1977.

Kerr in action during the 1976 season.

1979 Training Camp

Jack Mann of the Washington Star added a touch of social commentary to his coverage of the Dips preparations for the upcoming season.

First Year Jersey Mystery

The 1974 program includes two photos of the Diplomats playing in what appear to be powder blue (carolina blue) jerseys with white trim. I am only familiar with solid navy blue jerseys (first picture below) or solid white jerseys being used during the first season.

The jerseys in question were made by Unbro, who maufactured the Dips uniforms their first three seasons, as evidenced by the company's trade mark triangle at the neck. The body is the lighter blue color, with the sleeves, collar and triangle at the neck in white. The logo patch used during the first season is on the left breast, and player numeral on the right. They lack the horizontal stripes the navy blue and white versions sported. If anyone has any informaton, or can provide other photos, please help me out.

First Game

The first Dips game I attended was on August 10, 1975 against the Chicago Sting. The Dips had been eliminated from the playoff contention in their previous match but still came from behind to win via penalty kicks.

Paul Cannell Sighting

Paul Cannell is alive and well and running a pub east of New Castle named The Alexandria. Perhaps there was already a pub named The Georgetowner.

Photo from: http://voices.washingtonpost.com/soccerinsider/2010/01/saturday_kickaround_24.html

1979 Highlight Film

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GNL_fSagtjs

Enjoy!

Washington Post Ad 1978

Melee over Pele

I saw Pele's final regular season NASL game as a 12 year old. The Cosmos, who had defeated the Dips, 8-2, less than 10 days prior did not dress Georgio Chinaglia or Franz Beckenbauer. My most vivid memory from that match came in the final seconds as a mass of humanity descended on the great one in hopes of claiming his jersey.

He zigged, then zagged, shaked and baked, sending the jersey in one direction as he dashed in the other. Two Diplomats ended on top of the jersey, and each other. The real story would be how they resolved who would retain possession of the prize.

I am still learning the video editor software I bought a few months back, and apologize for the delayed beginning of the clip. Move to the 33 second mark to see the incident.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i12ihrz0tg4

Program Surprise

Fans who attened the June 6, 1975, Diplomats game against Toronto Metros-Croatia found two facsimile autographed photos inside. One was of Randy Horton, Dip midfielder and 1972 NASL MVP. The other was of a German soccer fan who had recently been in the news. After his playing days were over, Horton went on to have his own career in politics, serving as a cabinet minister in his native Bermuda.

Dips Shootout

Fast Forward to the 1:00 mark.

A Chance Meeting with Paul Cannell

Paul Cannell played hard and hit the DC bar scene harder. He once gave an interview to the Washington Star at Tramps, a bar in Georgetown. Tom C. from Bethesda, Maryland, has his own

Cannell pub story. "The Sign of the Whale was a popular after-match spot and I remember approaching striker Paul Cannell to shake his hand and talk soccer, but he looked frightened and looked frantically for an exit. 'Why the alarm? I just want to shake your hand,' I said. He sheepishly admitted that he took me for the cuckolded of one of his many 'birds.'

Cannell accosts Gordon Banks at RFK Stadium, 1978.

Final Tour

In November, 1980, only days before the NASL would euthanize the franchise, the Dips traveled to Japan for 5 friendly matches.

Ownership Change

Circa mid-May, 1975.