Memphis Americans

The Memphis Americans were a soccer team based out of Memphis, Tennessee that played in the original Major Indoor Soccer League (MISL). They played from 1981 to 1984. Their home arena was the Mid-South Coliseum.

In May 1981, the Christian group Athletes in Action, headed by former stand out soccer player Kyle Rote, Jr., purchased the financially troubled MISL team then known as the Hartford Hellions and moved the team to Memphis. The team, renamed the Americans, played in Memphis through the end of the 1984 season before relocating to Las Vegas, but retained the name 'Americans'.

The team's first coach was German Horst Bertl, who was an experienced player and coach from the Bundesliga, but new to indoor soccer. In the later years to save money the team's general manager, Kyle Rote Jr, would coach the team.

The team was primarily stocked with talented foreign players such as Tony Carbognani, Helmut Dudek and Stan Stamenkovic. Some Hartford players came with the franchise to Memphis, including Thomas Nevers, Hank Liotart and Bruce Rudroff. The Memphis franchise added young Americans like number one draft choice Mike Garrett and Steve Allison along with more experienced pros to round out the first year roster. The team was very competitive and finished at just under .500 in the first season.

The team had good attendance at the Mid-South Coliseum – averaging around 7,000 per game in the 10,000 arena – but expectations were higher and even as they entered year two there was some expectation that the ownership needed to do better. A new group of owners were added shortly after that and included local owners that would provide more attention to franchise operations. In year two the team continued to compete at around .500 and play attractive soccer. After the end of their third season, the team was moved to Las Vegas – where they only lasted one additional year.

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