List of Washington Diplomats players

The Washington Diplomats were an American soccer club based in Washington, D.C. The club was formed in 1974 when the North American Soccer League (NASL), itself founded in 1968, granted a franchise to a Washington, D.C.–based business group. The team played all their home games at RFK Stadium in 1974, but in 1975 and 1976 they played most of their games at W.T. Woodson High School in Northern Virginia, including all of their 1976 games. They played indoor home matches at the neighboring D.C. Armory.[1][2] After a lackluster beginning to the franchise, the Diplomats qualified for the playoffs and increased average game attendance in each of their last three years of existence. Additionally, in their final year, the Diplomats were able to sign the future European Player of the Century Johan Cruyff. After the 1980 season the Diplomats folded when then owner, the Madison Square Garden Corp., had accumulated losses of $6 million and team president Steve Danzansky could not gather enough money to keep the team alive.[3]

After the original Diplomats folded following the 1980 season, the Detroit Express moved to Washington to become the new Diplomats. This team only lasted for one season.

Below is a non-exhaustive list of players who played at least one league match for the Diplomats.

Key

Regular season players

Name Country Position Years Notes
Joseph Agyemang-Gyau Ghana MF 1974
Sonny Askew United States FW 1977-80
Mike Bakić Canada MF 1978-79
Petar Baralić Yugoslavia MF/FW 1981
Mike Barry Wales MF 1975
Ivan Belfiore Canada DF 1981
Barney Boyce United States DF/MF 1980
David Bradford England MF 1981
Jim Brown Scotland GK 1981
Paul Cannell England FW 1976, 78-79, 81
Peter Carr England DF 1981
Clive Clarke England MF 1974
Eddie Colquhoun Scotland DF 1981
Tony Crescitelli United States FW 1979-80
Johan Cruyff Netherlands FW 1979-81
Benny Dargle England DF 1981
Gary Darrell Bermuda DF/MF 1974-80
Windsor del Llano Bolivia MF 1974
Leroy DeLeon Trinidad and Tobago FW 1974-77
Mike Dillon England DF 1978-79
Don Droege United States DF 1979-80
Roy Ellam England DF 1976
Trevor Franklin England DF 1981
Sepp Gantenhammer United States GK 1978
Randy Garber United States MF 1977-78
Ray Graydon England MF 1978
Alan Green United States FW 1977, 79-80
Bertrand Grell Trinidad and Tobago MF 1974-75
Clive Haywood England FW 1981
Trevor Hebberd England MF 1978
Guus Hiddink Netherlands MF 1978
Kenny Hill England DF 1977
Randy Horton Bermuda FW 1975
József Horváth Hungary MF 1979-80
Robert Iarusci Canada DF 1979-80
Gerry Ingram England FW 1975-76
Bill Irwin Northern Ireland GK 1978-80
Wim Jansen Netherlands DF/MF 1980, 81
Derek Jefferson England DF 1976
Ross Jenkins England FW 1981
John Kerr Sr. Canada MF 1976-77
Kurt Kuykendall United States GK 1974, 78
Mike Lester England MF 1977
Kevin Lewis England MF 1974
Mark Liveric United States FW 1977
Juan Lozano Spain MF 1980
Alain Maca United States DF 1974-76
Tony Macken Ireland DF 1976-77
Carmine Marcantonio Canada MF 1978-80
Eric Martin Scotland GK 1975-79
Andries Maseko South Africa MF 1978-80
Don McAllister England DF 1977
Tommy McConville Ireland DF 1974-76
Charlie McCully United States FW 1976
David McGill Canada MF 1981
Ane Mihailovich United States DF/FW 1978-79
Ole Mikkelsen United States FW 1981
Gus Moffat Scotland MF 1981
Ken Murphy United States DF/MF 1981
Donato Nardiello Wales FW 1981
Ney Marques de Sousa Brazil MF 1974
Tommy O'Hara United States MF 1978-80
Alex Pringle Scotland DF 1977-78
Dragan Radovich Yugoslavia GK 1979-80
Jimmy Redfern England MF 1977
Thomas Rongen Netherlands MF/FW 1980
George Ross Scotland DF 1974
Peter Silvester England FW 1977
Maurice Slater Ireland DF 1974
Alan Spavin England MF 1974-75
Jim Steele Scotland DF 1977-80
Bob Stetler United States GK 1977-79
Bobby Stokes England FW 1978-80
George Taratsides Greece GK/FW 1974-75
Peter Thomas Ireland GK 1975
Trevor Thompson England DF 1976
Art Welch Jamaica FW 1977, 80
Heinz Wirtz West Germany DF 1981
Robbie Zipp United States DF/MF 1981

By nationality

Country Number of
players
Bermuda 2
Bolivia 1
Brazil 1
Canada 6
England 23
West Germany 1
Ghana 1
Greece 1
Hungary 1
Ireland 4
Jamaica 1
Netherlands 4
Northern Ireland 1
Scotland 7
South Africa 1
Spain 1
Trinidad and Tobago 2
United States 17
Wales 2
Yugoslavia 2

References

  1. ^ "St. Petersburg Times - Google News Archive Search". news.google.com.
  2. ^ "St. Petersburg Times - Google News Archive Search". news.google.com.
  3. ^ Feinstein, John (December 9, 1980). "Death of the Diplomats". Washington Post. p. D1.