Now That's A Comeback!

On August 5, 1979, the Dips stunned the Toronto Blizzard. The only thing more improbable than their rally was the fact that seven days later they were the victim of the same circumstance by the same score to the reviled Cosmos.

Paul Cannell Memoir Forthcoming

Paul Cannell is back in the States gathering information and rekindling memories for a retrospective of his soccer career, F'n Hell, It's Paul Cannell.
Steven Goff caught up with the former Dip in a DC bar...who would have thunk it.


Cannell being cheeky, 1978

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/soccer-insider/post/fandpercent-hell-its-paul-cannell-former-washington-diplomats-star-recalls-the-wild-days-of-the-nasl/2012/04/12/gIQAJID0BT_blog.html
Courtesy Inside Soccer, by Steven Goff

Bobby Stokes

For four years, Bobby Stokes provided consistent and steady play for the Dips. Often overshadowed by teammates like Paul Cannell, Alan Green and Johan Cruyff, he nonetheless found himself in the spotlight in the summer of 1979 &

1980. Ever humble, "The Rat" took it all in stride.

My Kingdom For Your Dips Jerseys

This beauty was on ebay. How I missed it I'll never know. I am always interested
in buying Dips game used jerseys, not matter what condition. If you have something
and can use a little scratch, let me know.

Bob Stetler

The frustration was taking a toll on Bob Stetler early in the 1979 campaign. He clearly had the talent to play regularly in the NASL, but he could not seem to find his way to the top of the depth chart. He would soom depart for a better life in Memphis with the Rouges. Sadly, Stetler died in a 1990 motorcycle accident in Hawaii.

Revisiting Hair Influences

One of the first posts on this blog noted how Sonny Askew had influenced Robert Reed's choice of hair style, or vice versa. New evidence has come to light in the form of the middle photo of Paul Cannell in 1979 that demonstrates this hair do (really a hair don't) appealed to Yanks and Brits alike.

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.