Major Indoor Soccer League (1979-1981)
Tombstone
Born: April 26th, 1979 – MISL expansion franchise
Moved: May 1981 (Memphis Americans)
First Game: December 1, 1979 (L 6-1 @ Philadelphia Fever)
Last Game: March 8, 1981 (L 5-4 @ Buffalo Stallions)
MISL Championships: None
Arenas
Branding
Team Colors:
Ownership
Owner: William E. Chipman
FWIL FAVORITE
Hartford Hellions Logo T-Shirt
The Hellions weren’t much to write home about during their two seasons in the Major Indoor Soccer League from 1979 to 1981. But the guys at Cincinnati’s Old School Shirts did a wonderful job re-capturing the Hellion’s eye-catching branding and colors with this throwback logo tee.
This Hellions design is available today in sizes Small to 3XL as a Women’s V-neck tee!
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Background
The Hartford Hellions indoor soccer team was the creation of Glastonbury, Connecticut accountant/flim flam man William E. Chipman. Formed on April 26th, 1979 as an expansion franchise in the upstart Major Indoor Soccer League, the Hellions staggered through two losing seasons on the Hartford Civic Center carpet before devout Christians bought the insolvent club, exorcised the (awesome) Satanic logo and branding, and packed the team off to the Bible Belt.
Arena Problems
The condition of the Civic Center impaired the Hellions’ launch in Hartford in late 1979. The roof of the five-year old arena collapsed under accumulated snow in January 1978, and the extensive reconstruction took two full years to complete. The Hellions spent the first two months of their inaugural season playing to small crowds at temporary homes in the New Haven Coliseum and later the Springfield (MA) Civic Center. The Hellions finally debuted at the re-opened Hartford Civic Center on February 10th, 1980, dropping a 7-2 decision to the Wichita Wings before an announced crowd of 12,154. By this point, fewer than 10 games remained in the 32-game MISL schedule.
The Hellions finished their inaugural season with a league-worst 6-26 record. Argentinean Eduardo Marasco led the club in scoring with 29 goals and Cypriot Yilmaz Orhan paced the Hellions in total points with 22 goals and 19 assists. Defender Paul Toomey was Hartford’s lone representative in the MISL All-Star Game. Yale grad Roy Messing – brother of New York Cosmos star Shep – handled the bulk of the goalkeeping duties in a platoon system with Paul Hammond and Mike Hewitt.
Following the dismal 1979-80 campaign, William Chipman blew up the Hellions squad and essentially started over with a new Head Coach (John Kowalski), new administrative staff, and an almost completely new roster. Only four returning Hellions suited up for the 1980-81 campaign, which went south almost immediately.
Final Season
Only 3,356 fans turned out for the November home opener at the Hartford Civic Center. The club was marginally improved but still a league doormat. The 1980-81 Hellions finished at the bottom of the standings again with a 13-27 record.
William Chipman, meanwhile, was not going to be a candidate for any Chamber of Commerce Man of the Year awards. Chipman stopped paying the team and his staff in early 1981, causing a threatened player strike in mid-February. Hartford Courant journalist Tom Condon published a litany of Chipman’s sins in a 1993 retrospective, including housing his players in a YMCA, cancelling their health insurance on the sly, alienating the Connecticut Youth Soccer Association, and bouncing checks from Connecticut to California.
Move To Memphis & Aftermath
In May 1981, Chipman managed to unload the Hellions on Arizona businessman Ray Kuns and Dave Hannah, the Executive Director of the Athletes In Action Christian sports ministry, for an estimated price of $500,000. The franchise relocated to Memphis, Tennessee’s Mid-South Coliseum. Athletes In Action had little use for the club’s devilish identity and the team was re-branded as the Memphis Americans for the 1981-82 MISL season.
The bloodlines of the Hellions franchise ran until 1985. The Memphis Americans played for three seasons, before Las Vegas interests bought the team in June 1984. The club played one final season as the Las Vegas Americans in the winter of 1984-85. The franchise folded in July 1985.
William Chipman served time in federal prison later in the 1980’s for his role in promoting phony literary tax shelters, a scheme he hatched in collusion with the Westport, Connecticut-based author Robin Moore, author of the best-selling novels (and later Hollywood films) “The Green Berets”, “The French Connection” and “The Happy Hooker”.
Hartford Hellions Shop
FWIL COFFEE SHOP
Hellions Ceramic mug
Available now from our friends at Extra Time Vintage Soccer, this fully-insulated porcelain mug is ideal for your morning brew.
Ceramic | Capacity: 11 fl oz
Dishwasher safe
Lead and Cadmium free
Imported; processed and printed in the U.S.A.
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Hartford Hellions Video
1979 local news feature on the Hellions
Hellions visit the San Francisco Fog. December 26th, 1980.
Downloads
2-21-1981 Hartford Hellions vs Chicago Horizons Game Notes
Links
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5 Responses
For some reason, woke up this am missing the Hartford Hellions. Had the mag shown here! Memba them @SadCityHartford?
http://t.co/9sLPisntI6
Thanks to @armchair_genius for making me think of the Hartford Hellions this morning. Loved that logo.
http://t.co/cS6NHppPHP
Left the New Haven Register to work as the PR Director the first year. Didn’t know at the time that Chipman was the state’s biggest con man. Probably the worst management staff known to man. There were some mighty good people on the roster and staff, however.