American Soccer League (1979-1980)
Tombstone
Born: July 27, 1978 – ASL expansion franchise1UNITED PRESS INTERNATIONAL. “Columbus gets soccer”. The Post (Cincinnati, OH). July 28, 1978
Folded: 1980
First Game: April 22, 1979 (T 2-2 vs. Pennsylvania Stoners)
Last Game:
ASL Championships: None
Stadium
Franklin County Stadium (15,000)21979 Columbus Magic Program
Marketing
Team Colors: Sky Blue, African Violet, Silver & White31979 Columbus Magic Program
Ownership
Owner: Ted Celeste, Frank Celeste & Eric Henderson
The Magic Shop
Columbus Magic Logo T-Shirt
Before the Crew, there was the Magic!
Columbus’ original pro soccer club shared the artificial turf at Franklin County Stadium with baseball’s Columbus Clippers during the summers of 1979 and 1980.
This logo design is also available as a crewneck or hooded sweatshirt from the guys at Old School Shirts!
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Background
The Columbus Magic were a short-lived 2nd Division pro soccer club that played for two seasons in 1979 and 1980. The club played at a minor league baseball stadium that it shared during the summer with the top farm club of the New York Yankees.
The Magic were terrific during their expansion season of 1979. They won the American Soccer League’s Eastern Division with a 17-8-3 record. Ron Wigg was the team’s leading scorer with 13 goals. The Magic hosted the ASL championship game against the Sacramento Gold on September 16, 1979 at Franklin County Stadium. 9,378 fans showed up, but went home disappointed after the league’s leading scorer, Ian Filby, scored the only goal of the match for Sacramento in the second half.
Second & Final Season
The Magic’s second season in 1980 was plagued by troubles both on an off the field. Forward Bob Rohrbach was critically injured in a mid-air collision with Cleveland Cobras player Alex Rosul during a match on April 27, 1980. Rohrbach slipped into a coma. While he later recovered, the injury was career-ending.
In August 1980, the Magic failed to show up for a match in California against the California Sunshine and took a forfeit loss. The team was up for sale and apparently neither the departing nor the incoming owners could agree on who was responsible to foot the bill for the West Coast road trip. The team folded quietly after the 1980 season.
Trivia
Club co-founders Eric Henderson, Frank Celeste and Ted Celeste also owned the Cleveland Force of the wintertime Major Indoor Soccer League (MISL) at the time they launched the Magic. However, they sold majority ownership of the Force in 1979.
Columbus Magic Shop
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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Downloads
April 28, 1979 Magic vs. Cleveland Cobras Game Program
4-28-1979 Columbus Magic vs. Cleveland Cobras Program
April 14, 1980 – Columbus Tops Sacramento 2-0 In ’79 Title Rematch ASL Press Release
4-14-1980 Columbus Tops Sacramento 2-0 In '79 Title Rematch Press Release
Links
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