Tombstone
Born: 1982 – ASL expansion franchise
Folded: Postseason 1982
First Game: May 15, 1982 (W 2-0 vs. Carolina Lightnin’)
Last Game: August 29, 1982 (W via forfeit vs. Georgia Generals)
ASL Championships: None
Stadia
1982: Hale Stadium (16,000)
1982: Brentwood Academy
Marketing
Team Colors: Black, Silver & Columbia Blue
Ownership
Owner: Ralph Woerheide, et al.
Our Favorite Stuff
American Soccer League
T-Shirt
For most of its existence, the American Soccer League was a collection of ethnically-based semi-pro clubs clustered in the northeast. But in the 1970’s, the ASL expanded nationwide and became American’s de facto 2nd Division, underneath the bigger-budgeted NASL. This logo was used by the league from the 1970’s until its demise in 1983.
Our favorite distressed ASL logo tee is made by American Retro Apparel and available today in sizes small through XXXL!
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Background
The Nashville Diamonds were a woeful and all but forgotten entry in the minor league American Soccer League during the summer of 1982. Material for this team is practically non-existent, so I was thrilled to find this more-or-less pristine team pennant in a recent auction. The black-on-silver font cracks me up. This doesn’t say “soccer” to me. Or “Nashville” for that matter. More like an iron-on patch design for a D-list 80’s metal band like Autograph or Accept. Or Talas. Or Wyld Stallyns from Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure.
But anyway. The Diamonds were atrocious. The club won only 3 of their 28 games (3-21-4). One of those wins came early in the season at home against a disbelieving Carolina Lightnin’ squad, defending champs of the ASL.
The Diamonds were “the worst team in the league”, Lightnin’ Head Coach Rodney Marsh told The Rock Hill (NC) Herald.
Lightnin’ captain and assistant coach David Power elaborated in the same article. “They’re probably the worst team I’ve ever played in my life – and that’s saying something.”
Fans stayed away from Hale Stadium on the campus of Tennessee State University in droves and the team quickly ran into financial problems. By July 1982, team officials stated that the club might not finish the season unless 15,000 fans turned out a Friday/Sunday homestand. 700 showed up. Diamonds Head Coach Hector Guevara told The Associated Press a few days later that the entire team voluntarily took 25% to 35% pay cuts to help the team finish out the schedule.
After the 1982 ASL season ended in September, the Nashville Diamonds quietly faded into oblivion. The ASL itself followed a year later, folding in early 1984 after a half century of operation.
Links
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6 Responses
1982 Nashville Diamonds #failurefriday http://t.co/fkUgIXvB
Accept is not a D-list metal band. Neither is Autograph.
Accept is big.
To each their own. I’ll meet you halfway on Accept – Balls to the Wall is fun.
As for Autograph, their big moment was a cameo in Kirk Cameron’s 1987 body-switching masterpiece Like Father Like Son. So I rest my case on that one.
AC
Bring back the Nashville Diamonds! @NASLofficial #2013 http://t.co/3Nhkadbl
Bring back the Nashville Diamonds! http://t.co/3Nhkadbl
does anyone have a jersey?