Tag: Mid-South Coliseum

Helmut Dudek and Stan Stamenkovic in action for the 1982-83 Memphis Americans

Memphis Americans

October 23, 2013

The Memphis Americans soccer team… they arrived from Hell and they left for Sin City, but for a few years in between they were God’s club. In 1981 retired Arizona businessman Ray Kuns and Dave Hannah, the founder of the evangelical Christian sports ministry Athletes In Action teamed up to purchase the bankrupt Hartford Hellions of the Major Indoor Soccer League and move the team to Memphis.  Shocker: the Athletes In Action folks weren’t down with the “Hellions” identity. The team was given a patriotic new identity and color scheme: the Memphis Americans.

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Memphis Rogues North American Soccer League

Memphis Rogues (1978-1980)

June 28, 2013

The Rogues were Memphis’ first proper pro soccer team, playing three lackluster seasons at the Liberty Bowl from 1978 to 1980. The team was both more competitive and more popular playing a lone indoor season during the winter of 1979-80 at the Mid-South Coliseum. But the franchise moved to Calgary in 1980 before it could follow up on its promising indoor debut.

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1986 Memphis Storm program from the American Indoor Soccer Association

Memphis Storm

December 4, 2012

The Memphis Storm (1986-1989) were the third attempt to make a buck off of indoor soccer at Memphis’ Mid-South Coliseum during the 1980’s, following on the heels of the original Rogues (1979-80) and the Americans (1981-1984).

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1990 Memphis Rockers program from the World Basketball League

Memphis Rockers

August 26, 2012

The Rockers were a minor league basketball team that made a fleeting appearance on the Memphis pro sports scene during the early 1990’s. The team played a summertime schedule in the World Basketball League at the Mid-South Coliseum in 1991 and 1992. Though the Rockers’ lifespan was brief, the club helped position two players – former Memphis State standout Vincent Askew and future New York Knights All-Star John Starks – for lengthy NBA careers during the later 1990’s.

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