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 Americans featured a number of former Tornado players on the roster, including Jeff Bourne, Neil Cohen, Billy Phillips and player-coach Wolfgang Rausch. The club played at John Clark Stadium in Plano.
The Detroit Express began life as an expansion team in the North American Soccer League in 1978. The Express, who played at the Pontiac Silverdome, swiftly gained international attention by acquiring English soccer star Trevor Francis on loan from Birmingham City. It was an era when NASL owners lured numerous aging European stars to America with eye-popping paychecks. Francis was an exception to this NASL retirement plan. He was only 25 years old and at the peak of his powers during his two Express seasons in 1978 and 1979. The NASL Express franchise moved to Washington D.C. after three seasons in early 1981. A new version of the Express immediately formed and joined the lower division American Soccer League, playing three more seasons from 1981 through 1983.
The Los Angeles Skyhawks were a 2nd Division pro soccer outfit that competed in the American Soccer League during the late 1970’s. The Skyhawks won a league championship in its debut season of 1976 under the direction of British coach Ron Newman, who went on to be a highly successful coach in the NASL, MISL and Major League Soccer. The club labored in the shadows of the bigger budget Los Angeles Aztecs of the NASL, who boasted international superstars such as George Best and Johan Cruyff during the same years that the Skyhawks scuffled along in obscurity.
The Rochester Flash soccer club – great moniker for a company town like Rochester where Kodak cameras & film was the key employer of the era. The Flash were a lower division club formed in 1981 to fill the void left by the departed Rochester Lancers (1967-1980). The club played in 1981 and 1982, sat out 1983 entirely and then returned for one final campaign in 1984.
The Oakland Buccaneers (also known as the Golden Bay Buccaneers) were an obscure U.S. pro soccer club that played one season in the summer of 1976. The team was a typical lower-division disaster of the era, beset by bounced paychecks, non-existent promotion and vanishing owners.
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