Arkansas Diamonds

Continental Football League (1968-1969)

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Born:
Folded: January 1970

First Game: August 31, 1968 (L 54-20 vs. Orlando Panthers)
Last Game: November 15, 1969 (L 42-38 vs. Texarkana Titans)

Continental Football League Championships: None

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Continental Football League Collection

Variously described as everything from “semi-pro” football to the “third Major League” behind the NFL and AFL during the late 1960’s, the Continental Football briefly established a sprawling network of pro football clubs that stretched from Florida to Mexico City to British Columbia. The Continental League helped launch the careers of Hall-of-Famers Bill Walsh and Ken Stabler and other NFL stars of the 1970’s including Otis Sistrunk, Bob Kuechenberg and Coy Bacon.

Checkout the COFL Collection from Royal Retros

Background

The Arkansas Diamonds were a professional minor league football outfit that played two seasons in the state capital Little Rock at the end of the 1960’s. The Diamonds were part of the Continental Football League, an ambitious but rickety minor league circuit that featured teams from coast to coast. The Diamonds played teams from as far away as Seattle and Orlando during their two seasons of existence.

Former University of Arkansas stars Fred Williams and John Hoffman, who both went on to become Pro Bowlers for the NFL’s Chicago Bears during the 1950’s, headed up the Diamonds’ coaching staff.

Quarterback Bobby Tiner out of the State College or Arkansas led the Diamonds in both rushing and passing in 1968 and 1969. In truth, Tiner wasn’t much of a passer. He chucked 44 interceptions over two seasons against just 16 touchdowns and had a two-year passer rating of under 40.

The team struggled mightily both on and off the field. The Diamonds finished the 1968 season with a 2-10 record.. The team improved marginally in 1969 to 5-7, but barely finished the season due to crushing financial problems. The club played before puny crowds (sometimes less than 1,000) at Quigley Stadium, a high school football facility. In October 1969 the IRS field a tax lien against the team and the Diamonds’ local backers abandoned the club in midseason. Diamonds players mounted a fundraising drive and played much of the season unpaid in order to finish out the year.

Both the Diamonds and the Continental Football League went out of business in early 1970.