Tag: W.T. Woodson High School

Johan Cruyff Washington Diplomats NASL

Washington Diplomats (1974-1981)

Of Washington D.C.’s multitude of professional and semi-pro soccer clubs, the original Diplomats of the North American Soccer League were by far the longest-lasting and most popular until the arrival of Major League Soccer and D.C. United in 1996. The Dips played from 1974 to 1981, spending most of those years at RFK Stadium. At the peak of their powers in 1980, the club shelled out a $1 million transfer fee to acquired Dutch superstar Johan Cruyff. But the Dips’ high powered corporate ownership group quickly soured on their investment and the club was out of business by late 1981. The Diplomats name and logo was later revived by a completely separate and much lower-budgeted American Soccer League club from 1987 to 1990.

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1988 Washington Stars Program from the American Soccer League

Washington Stars (1988-1990)

The Washington Stars were a professional soccer franchise based in Fairfax, Virginia that operated for three seasons between 1988 and 1990. The Stars were a founding franchise in the American Soccer League, which debuted in the summer of 1988 with ten East Coast franchises stretching from Albany to Miami. Stars midfielder Bruce Murray went on to earn 86 caps with the U.S. National Team and induction into the National Soccer Hall of Fame in 2011.

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