Dallas Americans

American Soccer League (1983)
United Soccer League (1984-1985)

Tombstone

Born: 1983 – ASL expansion franchise
Folded: June 25, 1985

First Game: May 12, 1983 (W 2-1 vs. Carolina Lightnin’)
Last Game: June 22, 1985 (L 3-1 @ South Florida Sun)

ASL Championships: None
USL Championships: None

Stadium

John Clark Stadium (14,000)¹

Marketing

Team Colors: Red, White & Blue²

Ownership

Owners: Texas Professional Soccer, Inc. (Bill Spear, 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.

We like this ASL logo tee from American Retro Apparel (they offer a grey version also) and it’s available today in sizes small through XXXL!

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Background

The Dallas Americans were a lower division U.S. pro soccer club active for parts of three seasons in the mid-1980’s. The Americans replaced the NASL’s Dallas Tornado (1967-1981) on the local soccer scene. The team played at John Clark Stadium in Plano.

Longtime Tornado star Bobby Moffatt was instrumental in founding the franchise and arranging its entry for its entry in the 2nd Division American Soccer League in February 1983. Ownership group Texas Professional Soccer, Inc. purchased the rights to the ASL’s long-dormant Golden Gate Gales franchise, which had last taken the field in 1980, and shifted it to northern Texas.

On the field, the Americans featured a number of former Tornado players on the roster, including Jeff Bourne, Neil Cohen, Billy Phillips and player-coach Wolfgang Rausch. After a hot start to the 1983 season, the American cooled off somewhat and finished with a 13-12 record. That was good enough for a semi-final playoff berth, where Dallas was eliminated by the Pennsylvania Stoners.

1984-1985: Into the United Soccer League

Following the 1983 season, the American Soccer League folded after more than a half century of operation. Several former ASL clubs, including the Americans, spearheaded the formation of a successor organization: the United Soccer League. The USL’s focus was on “Americanization” of the sport. League rules required that seven American players be on the field at all times. Dallas’ pre-season roster for the 1984 USL campaign included fourteen Americans and three foreign players.

The USL entered the spring/summer 1984 season with nine franchises and plans for a winter indoor season to follow. But the league began to collapse in the fall of 1984. The USL limped into the spring of 1985 with just four active teams: Dallas, El Paso, Fort Lauderdale and Tulsa. El Paso and Tulsa quickly ran out of money and the USL shut its doors on June 26th, 1985, taking the Americans down with it.